The Problem of Universals in Indian Philosophy.

• Author: Nicholson, Hugh R.
• Position: Reviews of Books - Book Review

The Problem of Universals in Indian Philosophy. By RAJA RAM DRAVID. Delhi: MOTILAL BANARSIDASS, 1971; 2nd revised ed., 2001. Pp. 384.

The problem of universals, that is, the question of the basis of the general notions of our thought and language, is one that has fascinated and challenged thinkers both in the West and in India. This issue touches upon at least three fundamental questions of philosophy, namely, the ontological question, "What is there?"; the epistemological question, "How do we come to know reality?"; and finally the linguistic question, "What is the meaning of words?" Given the way in which a study of this issue can thus bring to light the central insights of a given philosophical system, it provides a promising basis upon which to compare the various schools of Indian philosophy, all of which have something to say about it. At the same time, the problem of universals is a topic with respect to which Indian thought can be brought into dialogue with Western philosophy. Both of these considerations undoubtedly lie behind the project Raja Ram Dravid undertakes in his book, The Problem of Universals in Indian Philosophy.

As suggested by its title, the book's primary focus is a survey of various positions on this vigorously debated question of universals in Indian philosophy. This discussion occupies roughly two-thirds of the book, while the final eighty pages or so are given to a quick overview of the history of the topic in Western philosophy. The author, however, does not draw nearly as many parallels between the Western and Indian thinkers as the bipartite structure of the book might suggest. In fact, the overview of Western philosophy appears to be little more than a lengthy appendix. However, a careful reading of the book suggests that what Dravid's study of Western philosophy has contributed to his presentation of the Indian thinkers is the categories in terms of which the various positions of the Indian schools are arranged.

The first of these categories, which is associated with the philosophy of Plato, Dravid calls "extreme realism." This is the view that there are real entities in extramental reality corresponding to the general notions of our speech and thought, and that these universal entities have an existence of their own, separate from the particulars with which they are associated. This view is represented in India by the Nyaya-Vaisesika thinkers, who include the universal (samanya) among the six fundamental constituents (padartha) of reality. Dravid next identifies another position he terms "moderate realism," which agrees that there are real universals in extramental reality answering to our general notions, but denies that these universals...