Purva paksha explained

Pūrva paksha (Sanskrit: पूर्वपक्ष), sometimes also transliterated as Poorva paksha, literally means former view/position.^[1] It is a tradition in the debates of Indian Logicians. It involves building a deep familiarity with the opponent's point of view before criticising it, similar to the modern day device of steelmanning. The purva paksha approach has been used by Adi Shankaracharya as well as Ramanuja and later acharyas in their works.

In ancient Indian jurisprudence, purva paksha referred to the complaint, with other parts of a trial consisting of the uttar (the later),^[2] the kriyaa (trial or investigation by the court), and the nirnaya (verdict or decision).^[3]

In his book Being Different (2011), Rajiv Malhotra sought to use the purva paksha approach.^[4] Malhotra states that purva paksha

According to Shrinivas Tilak, Malhotra's use of purva paksha in Being Different may be regarded as a kind of "reverse anthropology."^{[5] [6]} Tilak states that

See also

• Tarka sastra

Notes and References

1. Web site: Apte . Vaman Shivaram . Vaman Shivram Apte . Macdonell . Arthur Anthony . Arthur Anthony Macdonell . 1957–1959 . Revised and Enlarged Edition of Prin. V. S. Apte's The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary . 16 March 2022 . dsal.uchicago.edu.
2. Web site: Apte . Vaman Shivaram . Macdonell . Arthur Anthony . 1957–1959 . Revised and Enlarged Edition of Prin. V. S. Apte's The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary . 16 March 2022 . dsal.uchicago.edu.
3. Book: Kumar, Raj . Essays On Legal Systems In India. 2003 . Discovery Publishing House . 9788171417018 .
4. Book: Malhotra, Rajiv . . Rajiv Malhotra . 2011 . New Delhi . HarperCollins Publishers India . 9789350291900 . 769101673 .
5. Tilak . S. . 2013 . Differing Worldviews (Western and Dharmic) in Rajiv Malhotra's Being Different . . 16 . 3 . 287–310 . 10.1007/s11407-012-9130-2 . 143869600.
6. Tilak states "The methodological stance of the purvapaksha in Being Different may be broadly described as a context-sensitive approach to "anthropologize" the Western worldview in a manner akin to what Roy Wagner has called "reverse anthropology" (1981: 31).