A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v2.c35.89

v2.c35.89

Now innumerable particular uniformities of this kind ( Vyáptis ) are observed, and as a result of this repeated observation, a belief in the Uniformity of Nature ( स्वभाव प्रतिवन्ध ), as well as in the principle of Causality ( कार्य्यकारणभाव ) is generated in the mind, a belief which has evidential value and validity. It is not intuition ( न मानसम् ) but a mental pre-disposition based on uniform and uninterrupted experience ( भूयोदर्शनजनितसंस्कारसहितम् इन्द्रियमेव स्वाभाविकसम्बन्धग्राहि, —अत्र भूयोदर्शनम् असाधारणम् इति प्रमाणान्तरं जातम् ). Then armed with these new resources, the belief in uniformity and in causality as general principles, we proceed to fortify our particular inductions ( Vyáptis ), whether of uniformity of nature or of causality, by indirect deduction from these general principles :—We argue if, under these observed circumstances, A were not the mark of B, the principle of uniformity of nature would be violated,—Nature would not be uniform,—or, if under these observed circumstances A were not the cause of B, the principle of causality would be violated, the phenomenon B would be without a cause ;—and such indirect proof (तर्क, ऊह) gives us the overwhelming probability which we call practical certitude, and on which every reasonable man (every thinking and judging person) proceeds to act in due natural course.—स्वभावतश्च प्रतिबद्धा हेतवः स्वाध्येन, यदि साध्यन्तरेण भवेयुः, स्वभावादेव प्रच्यवेरन्निति तर्कसहायः पनिरस्तसाध्यव्यतिरेकवृत्तिसन्देहा यत्र दृष्टाः, तत्र स्वाध्यम् उपस्थापयन्त्येव । Váchaspati I, 1, Sutra 5; cf. also, I, 1, Sutra 40—ऊहः कारणस्योपपत्त्या संभवेन ज्ञायते । कारणासम्भवे कार्यस्य असत्त्वात् ।