The Character of Logic in India (Suny Series in Indian Thought, Texts and Studies)

Rating:
Summary: Informative but Rough
Review: This book provides a good introduction to Indian logic, though it is suited for a rather small audience. Knowledge of both 20th cent. logic and Indian Pramana theory is needed for a full understanding of the issues Matilal confronts in the book. Because this book was published after Matilal's death but before he was finished putting the book together, many aspects of the editing are quite rough. Beyond numerous typographical errors, there is little flow between the chapters (as different chapters of the book come from essays that were written over a period of many years), and several logical concepts are treated in vastly different ways from one chapter to another. On the whole, my view is that the editors did not put enough of their own effort into making Matilal's views publishable in book form. These deficiencies aside, Matilal is still presently unrivaled in his combined understanding of both Indian philosophy and Anglo-American Analytic philosophy, and so this book will be an important addition to scholarship on Indian logic for some time to come.