Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge c4.2

c4.2

Subsections (*Numbers here denote paragraphs and not pages*). Introductory observations (1–5). The germs of scepticism regarding the possibility of knowledge (6–10) The quest for simplicity (11) and order (12). Scriptural authority as a source of knowledge (13). The rôle of analogy in reasoning (14). The place of doubt in the Brāhmaṇas (15). The importance of knowledge (16–17) and the growth of speculation (18–20). Reason in the construction of metaphysical theories (21–44). The origin and development of the institution of the debate; the study of rhetoric and the elements of reasoning (45–66). The means of knowledge recognized in the Early Upaniṣads—scriptural authority, perception and reason (67–72). Mystical intuition as a new way of knowing in the Middle and Late Upaniṣads (73–76). The interest in one of the main problems of epistemology at the close of the Vedic period (77). The chronological and historical relationship between the Upaniṣads and Buddhism (78–81).