Purva paksha, (पूर्व पक्ष) sometimes also transliterated as Poorva paksha, literally means ''former view/position''. 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. The purva paksha approach has been used by
Adi Shankaracharya
Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...
as well as
Ramanuja
Ramanuja (Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmanuja; 1017 CE – 1137 CE; ; ), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and a social reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents o ...
and later acharyas in their works.
In ancient Indian jurisprudence, ''purva paksha'' referred to the complaint, with other parts of a trial consisting of ''uttar'' (the later), ''kriyaa'' (trial or investigation by the court), and ''nirnaya'' (verdict or decision).
In his book ''
Being Different
''Being Different: An Indian Challenge to Western Universalism'' is a 2011 book by Rajiv Malhotra, an Indian-American author, philanthropist and public speaker, published by HarperCollins. The book reverts the gaze of the western cultures on Indi ...
'' (2011),
Rajiv Malhotra
Rajiv Malhotra (born 15 September 1950) is an Indian-born American Hindutva ideologue, author and founder of Infinity Foundation, which focuses on Indic studies, and also funds projects such as Columbia University's project to translate the Ti ...
sought to use the ''purva paksha'' approach.
[ ] 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."
[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).] Tilak states that
See also
*
Tarka sastra
Tarka sastra (, IAST: , ) is a Sanskrit term for the philosophy of dialectics, logic and reasoning, and art of debate that analyzes the nature and source of knowledge and its validity. ''Shastra'' in Sanskrit means that which gives teaching, instru ...
References
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Hindu philosophical concepts