Modern introduction to Indian logic.

There is a tendency among yonng Indian philosophers to
deprecate the study of Indian logic. This is for two opposite
reasons. One section thinks that Indian logicians have made
logic so verbose, hairsplitting, technical and superficial that
real philosophical problems slip out of it. This section wants
to make philosophy idealistic and mystical consistently with the
official tradition of India. The other section discourages the
historical study as useless. Philosophers belonging to this
fraction think that when new techniques are being developed
in logic no useful purpose can be served by going back to old
and primitive theories which are smothered with theology and
metaphysics. This may be only partially true. For even if we
may not accept the Buddhist view that it is only the past that
is known, anything known certainly becomes a part of history
and if the study of history is to be discouraged the same
truth will have to be discovered again and again. It is not
true that we do not act on past knowledge polishing it when
required. We should profit by old experience and it is likely
that the past discoveries may help us view the new theories
with greater ease and in better perspective. The past need not
always be strewn only with primitive techniques. Moreover,
the cultural value of history cannot be denied. The study
of Indian logic is all the more important from this point.
For as Professor Ingalls put it, “It is in logic that they created
a new style and method in Indian Philosophy.