View source for Philosophy:Ancient Indian rhetoric

{{Short description|Traditional forms of an Indian art of discourse}}
{{wipe|India}} has a long tradition of [[Philosophy:Rhetoric|rhetoric]] about politics, [[Philosophy:Philosophy|philosophy]], and [[Religion:Religion|religion]], starting from [[History:Ancient history|ancient times]].{{Further explanation needed|date=March 2023}}

== Overview ==
Indian rhetors in the seventh century BCE held public debates on religion to the public's amusement.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Kennedy |first=George A. |title=Comparative Rhetoric: An Historical and Cross-Cultural Introduction |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1998 |isbn=0195109333 |location=New York |pages=171–190}}</ref> The Vedic verses, composed over three thousand years ago, use similes that indicate a developed sense of rhetorics in the intellectual sections of the society.<ref name=":0" />

The ancient Indian epics, the [[Biology:Ramayana|Ramayana]] and [[Religion:Mahabharata|Mahabharata]], include many speeches and debates that are examples of rhetoric. Indian rhetoric utilizes systems of categorization.<ref name=":0" /> The [[Religion:Upanishads|Upanishads]], a collection of ancient Vedic philosophical dialogues, place some value in categorizing technical terms.<ref name=":0" />

Indian Buddhist rhetoric places value in calm and humorous discourse.<ref name=":0" />

=== Nyaya Rhetoric ===
Lloyd (2007) has proposed [[Philosophy:Nyaya|Nyaya]]’s inclusion in the field of rhetorical studies, exploring its methods within their historical context, comparing its approach to the “traditional logical syllogism, and relating it to the contemporary perspectives [[Biography:Stephen Toulmin|Stephen Toulmin]], [[Biography:Kenneth Burke|Kenneth Burke]], and [[Biography:Chaïm Perelman|Chaim Perelman]].”<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Lloyd|first=Keith|date=2007|title=Rethinking Rhetoric from an Indian Perspective: Implications in the 'Nyaya Sutra.'|journal=Rhetoric Review|volume=26|issue=4|page=365|doi=10.1080/07350190701577892 |s2cid=43698162 }}</ref>

Nyaya is a [[Social:Sanskrit|Sanskrit]] word which means just or right and refers to “the science of right and wrong reasoning” (Radhakrishnan & Moore, 1957, p.&nbsp;356).<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=A Source Book in Indian Philosophy|last1=Radhakrishnan|first1=Sarvepalli|last2=Moore|first2=Charles Alexander|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1957|location=Princeton, N.J.|language=en}}</ref> [[Philosophy:Sutra|Sutra]] is also a Sanskrit word which means string or thread. Here Sutra refers to a collection of aphorism in the form of a manual. Each Sutra is a short rule usually consisted of one or two sentences. Example of a Sutra: “Reality is truth, and what is true is so, irrespective of whether we know it is, or are aware of that truth.” The [[Philosophy:Nyāya Sūtras|Nyaya Sutra]] is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text composed by Aksapada Gautama.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=The Nyaya Sutras of Gotama|last=Vidyabhusana|first=M.M. Satisa Chandra|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|year=1930|isbn=8120807480|location=Delhi}}</ref> It is the foundational text of the Nyaya School of Hindu Philosophy. The date when the text was composed, and the biography of its author is unknown. It is estimated that the text was composed between 6th-century BCE and 2nd-century CE.<ref name=":1" /> Zimmer (2013) has said that the text may have been composed by more than one author, over a period of time.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Philosophies of India|last=Zimmer|first=Heinrich|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=978-0415462327}}</ref> Radhakrishan and Moore (1957) placed its origin in the “third century BC…..though some of the contents of the Nyaya Sutra are certainly a post-Christian era” (p.&nbsp;36).<ref name=":2" /> Vidyabhusana (1930) stated that the ancient school of Nyaya extended over a period of one thousand years, beginning with Gotama about 550 BC and ending with Vatsyayana about 400 AD.<ref name=":3" />

''Nyaya'' provides significant insight into the Indian rhetoric. Naya presents an argumentative approach that works a rhetor how to decide about any argument. In addition, it proposes a new approach of thinking of a cultural tradition which is different from the Western rhetoric. It also broadens the view of rhetoric and the relationship among human beings.<ref name=":1" /> ''Nyaya'' proposes an enlightenment of reality which is associated with situations, time, and places. Toulmin emphasizes on the situational dimension of argumentative genre as the fundamental component of any rhetorical logic.<ref name=":1" /> On the contrary, ''Nyaya'' views this situational rhetoric in a new way which offers context of practical arguments.<ref name=":1" />

==References==
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[[Category:Philosophical arguments]]

{{Sourceattribution|Ancient Indian rhetoric}}