An epistemological text “Mana-MeyaRahasya-Sloka-Varttikam (MMRSV)”
for cognitive modeling of
Indian Knowledge Systems
Dr. P. Ramanujan
Associate Director (IHLC)
C-DAC, Bangalore (KP)
During ICPR-National Seminar on S&T in Indic Systems
4.2.2017, CSA, IISc, Bangalore
Mana-Meya-Rahasya-Sloka-Varttikam
(An Anthology of Epistemological Concepts)
मान – माङ् माने Mana has two meanings - to
measure, to cognise - Mana – source of
knowledge/cognition;
मेय - Meya – that which is measured/cognised –
object of knowledge/cognition;
रहस्य - Rahasya – secret – basis
श्लोक - Sloka = verse – in poetic form;
वार्त्तिकम् - Varttikam – examining चिन्ताकरं what is
उक्त said, अनुक्त unsaid and दुरुक्त mis-said
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Preamble
• The parable of the combination of a blind and
lame person, both achieving their respective
requirements, by mutual co-operation, as
enunciated in the ancient Sankhya Karika, in the
context of Prakrti and Purusa, is applicable to
Science as well, regarding the known and
unknown, concrete and abstract, seen and
unseen, living and non-living, quantitative and
qualitative, subjective and objective aspects of
the Universe, for the sake of completion and
efficacy in real-life situations, with necessary
diverse tools and techniques to be developed.
• CBSE Syllabus on Knowledge Traditions and
Practices of India could have theoretical research
• Karnataka Knowledge Commission recommends
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Desiderata
• Science has for long concerned itself with physical world more
than ‘living-being-in-the-loop’; avoids value-based issues
• For a true knowledge society/economy, nature/humans are to
be considered as part of the scheme for ethical/moral aspects
• AI/NLP etc. have attempted knowledge representation, but
not very rigorously, using epistemological basis
• Indian languages being phonetic, rich in cultural content and
multiple dialects, need Shastra-ic treatises on epistemology/
ontology for handling KR issues
• Speech I/O issues also need attention for Ind. Lang. interfaces
• Inputs from traditional scholars need to be put in place
• Inputs from Artificial Intelligence, cognitive models etc. from
Computational side also needed in cultural space
• Issues in integrating the two domains to be dealt with
• Dissemination, outreach etc. need discussion and articulation
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Why MMRSV?
Caution needs be exercised in using works like Sarvadarśanasaṃgraha to form ideas about Buddhism or any
other non-Advaita system of thought. Such text's author
is presenting a caricature of the opposing systems in the
form of skeletal pūrvapakṣas, to be ultimately shot down.
It is always best to read Buddhist texts to form our view
of Buddhism, rather than base it on the presentations of
their opponents. This caution applies across the board.
Must read Jain texts to form our view of Jainism.
Should not form our idea of Pūrva-Mīmāṃsā based on
our reading of Uttara-Mimāṃsā critique of PūrvaMīmāṃsā, and so on. Similarities in vocabulary can be
deceptive between different systems.
- Prof. Madhav Deshpande
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Why MMRSV?
There are three problems to be addressed: 1. Learning 2. Translation 3. Comparison.
1. Learning: Learner tries to learn the unknown in terms of known. Western learners of Indian wordconcept worlds tried to understand the Indian stuff in terms of the word-concept worlds known to
them. The vice-versa too happened. The result is these application of misfit word-concepts to describe
the Indian things.
2. Translation: Indian scholars had a need to explain Indian stuff in European languages, mostly English.
They worked hard to learn the European word-concept worlds to be successful in their endeavour
(of explaining Indian stuff in European languages). They were not careful enough or critical in carrying
out this job.
3. Comparison: Most of the early modern studies in the fields (such as philology, ethnology,
comparative mythology) which lead to different contemporary fields of Social Sciences and Humanities
were comparative in nature and were trying to arrive at human universals. They were excited by the
outward similarities and were not equipped enough to grasp the deeper dissimilarities.
We can now review all mistranslations, correct them and help ourselves and our audience grasp things
in a way they deserve to be grasped.
- Prof. Nagaraj Paturi
In view of such concerns and opinions of well-meaning modern researchers/scholars, we select a good
text with wide coverage of all theories developed in our country from times immemorial and organize
them on objective and logical principles and present them with deep abstraction.
So, we have chosen MMRSV, as it is not judgemental, is neutral, sticks to authentic and accurate facts,
with references to original sources and is exhaustive/comprehensive in coverage.
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ManaMeyaRahasyaSlokaVarttikam
• Extent - 3 sections, 125 topics, 608 sub-topics, 6194 slokas
(verses), 890 quotations
• Coverage – Theoretical/abstract - about all 14 systems of
philosophy/schools of thought: orthodox and heterodox
• System and concept-wise description; top-down & bottom-up
For studying this text, We need to • Create facility to browse, search, hyperlink, model, depict,
transform, compare source texts in original to authenticate
• Build ontological tools to answer “what is a ..” type of queries
• Undertake Case-studies like: Allegory - Life as a Sacrifice,
Categorising teachings of Scriptures, Upanishads, Epics etc.,
Modelling morals from Epic stories/episodes
• Applications in domains like health, education etc.
• Help understand basics of life, e.g, satvic, rajasa, tamasa food
types; species, contact, context, time, space, stage-based etc.
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मान-मेय-रहस्य-श्लोक-वार्त्तिकम्
चवषयानुक्रमचिका List of Topics and Sub-Topics
A. प्रमेय-काण्डः Prameya Section
1. पीठिका [23] Introduction
• 1.1. मङ्गलम् [2] Benediction
• 1.2. प्रबन्धृचवषयः [6] About Author
• 1.3. प्रबन्धचवषयः [9] About Treatise (Text)
• 1.4. प्रबन्धक्रमः [6] Scheme of text
2. शास्त्रारम्भः [36] Commencement of Discipline
• 2.1. प्रवृत्त्यङ्गितुष्टयम् [3] Four auxiliaries for engaging
• 2.2. चनवृत्त्यङ्गितुष्टयम् [6] Four auxiliaries for desisting
• 2.3. तत्रानुपपचतः [12] Objections thereof
• 2.4. समाधानम् [5] Solutions
• 2.5. उपबृंहिम् [6] Elaboration
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• 2.6. चनत्यपदार्िः [4] Meaning
of eternal thing
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3. मङ्गलचविारः [23] Discussion on auspiciousness
3.1. अङ्गम् [6] Subordinate
3.2. प्रधानम् [1] Main thing
3.3. नैचमचतकम् [2] Incidental
3.4. चनत्यम् [2] Permanent (regular)
3.5. प्रािीनमतम् [2] Ancient view
3.6. नवीनमतम् [2] Modern view
3.7. अचनबन्धनम् [3] Non-inclusion
3.8. चनबन्धनम् [1] Inclusion
3.9. महाकाव्याङ्गम् [2] Auxiliary of great literature
3.10. तस्य प्रभेदाः [2] Sub-types thereof
4. चसद्धान्तचविारः [54] Discussion on Siddhanta (established view)
1. चसद्धान्तपदार्िः [1] Meaning of 'Siddhanta'
4.2. चसद्धान्तस्र्ापनम् [2] Establishing 'Siddhanta' or doctrine
4.3. अभावचसद्धान्तः [1] Doctrine of non-existence
4.4. संख्यैकान्ताः [11] Enumerations [numerical listing]
4.5. तत्त्वसंख्या [7] No. of Entities or Realities
4.6. पदार्िशास्त्रम् [3] Object [word-meaning] Classification
4.7. मतभेदाः [11] Various viewpoints [heterodoxy]
4.8. नैरात्म्यचसद्धान्तः [6] Doctrine of indeterminacy
4.9. सावाित्म्यचसद्धान्तः [3] Doctrine of Plausibility
4.10. सविसमासः [4] Summary of Doctrines
4.11. स्वस्वोत्कषिः [5] Self-Superiority [aggrandisement]
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5. िावािकदशिनम् [46] Carvaka philosophy
5.1. प्रवृचतः [4] Initiative [action]
5.2. प्रमेयः [10] Objects of cognition
5.3. उद्देशः [8] Intention/Enumeration
5.4. सुखम् [4] Pleasure
5.5. सम्प्रदायः [6] Tradition
5.6. वैराग्यम् [10] *10.5 Dispassion/Renouncement
5.7. रसेश्वरचसद्धान्तः [4] Doctrine of Raseswara
6. सौगतदशिनम् [164] Buddhist Philosophy
6.1. नैरात्म्यम् [3] No-soul Theory
6.2. भावना [2] Efficient Force/Truth
6.3. वासना [4] Tendency/Aptitude
6.4. माध्यचमकः [5] Madhyamika-Bouddha
6.5. बौद्धप्रभेदाः [3] Sub-groups of Bouddhas
6.6. आयिसत्यम् [9] Arya-satya - basic tenet
6.7. प्रतीत्यसमुत्पादः [7] Creating by perception/thought
6.8. बाह्यः पदार्िः [7] External object
6.9. आभ्यन्तरः [18] Internal Object
6.10. जीवोत्पचतः [18] Creation of Soul/Self
6.11. स्वप्रकाशवादः [3] Self-luminosity Theory
6.12. शून्यवादः [26] Nihilism (Theory of void)
6.13. चवज्ञानवादः [8] Theory of Consciousness/knowledge
6.14. बाह्यवादः [21] Theory of Externality
6.15. क्षचिकवादः [23] Theory of Dr.
momentariness/transitoriness
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6.16. उपप्लववादः [7] Theory of Instability
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Indian Knowledge Systems
• A cognitive Representation Framework needs to be developed
to assist research on knowledge-related issues
• Definition, classification, characterisation, modelling,
inferencing and utilisation are involved
• Epistemological basis from Indian Shastras to be looked into
• We might look at various disciplines of study that have good
descriptions of knowledge content, sources, examination etc.
• Numerous Sanskrit works deal with these from multiple
perspectives, rigorously in a variety of domains
• Sutra literature of shastras, darsanas and independent works
may be studied
• We begin with a great compilation ‘Mana-meya-rahasyasloka-varttikam’ [poetic treatise on the secrets of means and
objects of knowledge] by Late Mahamahopadhyaya,
Panditaratnam, Lakshmipuram Srinivasacharya of Mysore
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Indian Epistemological Systems
• Systems of Indian philosophy – known as darshana shastras – have a solid
foundation in both epistemology and ontology.
• Immense need to computationally study the underlying ontological and
epistemological structures of our heritage.
• Such computational structure to be a knowledge organization (KO) scheme
to classify and organize traditional knowledge and heritage of India;
• Enable present-day readers to understand and appreciate the wealth of
knowledge in our heritage;
• Allow comparative analyses of the different knowledge systems, both
ancient and contemporary;
• Provide tools for making informed decisions involving our traditions in
contemporary social, political and judicial contexts.
• Help to answer “what is (something)?” kind of conceptual questions, with
universal, hierarchical categories and descriptive characterisation
• Assist understanding nature, scheme of things in life, mould personalities
by setting up moral/ethical value system for harmonious co-existence
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Sample statements to represent
• One should help one by self and not allow diffidence
to prevail. One’s Self alone is one’s friend and foe
[based on how one behaves]. Self-help = best help.
• A single drop of water, when in contact with red-hot
iron, goes without a trace; that itself glows like a
pearl, when placed on a lotus-leaf; that ‘actually’
becomes a pearl, when it falls into an oyster-shell in
the ocean during ‘svati’ asterism. Thus, bad,
medium/neutral and good qualities are brought
about by such contacts.
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Different cognitive states
• When I knew very little, I was blind with arrogance as
an elephant; and my mind was haughty, feeling I was
omniscient. When I started learning little by little
from learned people, I knew how idiotic I was and
my arrogance disappeared like fever.
• If one does not have his own intellect, what can
Shastras do (to him)? For one who does not have
eye-sight, what will a mirror do? [Learning only
hones and refines; = transforms existing knowledge].
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States of Cognition, Functions
• Knowing Self (‘I’), attributive knowledge, its many states
• Recollection, Memory, refinement
• Invariable concomitance, being together, repeated/ frequent
observation, consideration
• Cognition/Knowledge – illumining for self or others
• Sentient [Cognizant] Self, illumining for others
• ‘Noble’ men accomplish good for others, foregoing their own;
‘Ordinary’ men do good to others without affecting their own;
‘Demons in human form’, destroy others’ good for selfish
ends; We ‘do not know what to name’, those who destroy
others’ welfare for no reason [not even for themselves].
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Knowledge Issues
• Classification, characterisation, facts, entities, means,
relations, states, eternal, transitory, illusion,
examination, validation
• Sructures to represent, transform, deal with various
perspectives, filters, truth values
• Multi-valued facts, (object)real-world correlation
• Description – words, denotation, connotation,
illustration, reference, implication, extension,
demonstration, simile, metaphor = meaning
• Prameya – Objects/subjects of knowledge, real
world, virtual, cognitive world, imagination, dreams,
deep sleep, coma, death
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To begin with, we could study:
•
•
•
•
•
Allegory - Life as a Sacrifice
Categorising teachings of Upanishads
Modelling Pancatantra etc.
Applications in health, education domains
Building ontological tools for answering “what
is a ..” type of queries
• Mind Maps/Concept Maps to facilitate better
understanding of the contents
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Concept Map of Saugata Darsanam
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There is a need to modify the characterization of Buddhism as "reliance on tarka, rejection of SabdapramaaNa and
rejection of ontological reality". Yes, Buddhism relies on Tarka, but the ultimate experience of bodhi or enlightenment
is not tarka, but something like a sākṣātkāra of the truth. The Buddhists of course reject the prāmāṇya of the Veda,
but do indeed accept the prāmāṇya of the words of the Buddha, who is called Pramāṇabhūta in the very first verse of
Dharmakīrti's Pramāṇavārttika.
प्रमािभूताय जगचद्धतैचषिे प्रिम्य शास्त्रे सुगताय ताचयने ।
कु तकि सम्रान्तजनानुकम्पया प्रमािचसचद्धर्त्विचधवद् चवधीयते ।। १ ।।
There are important articles on the Buddhist notion of the Buddha as Pramāṇa, if anyone is interested. Do the
Buddhists categorically reject the ontological reality? The Theravādins and Sarvāstivādins accept ontological reality
momentarily existent psychic and physical elements. The Vijñānavādins accept ontological reality of momentarily
existent psychic elements, while rejecting the reality of the material world. Even the Śūnyavādin Mādhyamika notion
of Śūnya or emptiness does not mean that there is a universe with zero content. Their emptiness refers to emptiness
of a self-sustaining continuous reality, but Nāgārjuna explicitly says that by the word Śūnyatā is equivalent to Pratītyasamutpāda "causally conditioned origin" of everything", and that this view of Śūnyatā for him is the same as Buddha's
madhyamā pratipad "Middle Way" between the extremes of some permanently existing reality and total nothingness.
Here are Nāgārjuna's words:
य: प्रतीत्यसमुत्पाद: शून्यतां तां प्रिक्ष्महे । सा प्रज्ञचिरुपादाय प्रचतपत् सैव मध्यमा ।।
Here are the beginning verses of Nāgārjuna's Madhyamakakārikā that explain his understanding of the doctrine of
Pratītyasamutpāda.
अचनरोधमनुत्पादमनुच्छेदमशाश्वतम् । अनेकार्िमनानार्िमनागममचनगिमम् ॥१॥
यः प्रतीत्यसमुत्पादं प्रपञ्चोपशमं चशवम् । देशयामास संबुद्धस्तं वन्दे वदतां वरम् ॥२॥
Hope this clarifies some of the characterizations of Buddhist views.
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- Madhav Deshpande, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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Concept Map of Visistadvaita
Darsanam - Overview
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Concept Map of Adrstam
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Complete Concept map of अदृष्टम्
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Concept Map of Shastra Encoding Plan
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Example of Upanisadic Text
महानारायणोपननषत् तैत्तिरीयारण्यकम् 6.64.1
तस्यैवव्विँदुषो यज्ञस्यात्मा यजमानः श्रद्धा पत्नी शरीरत्तमद्ध्ममुरो वेव्दर्ोोमानन
बर् हहवेद
ो त्तिखा हृदययययूँपः काम आज्यं मनयुः पशुस्तपोऽग्नििमनयता दत्तिणा
वाग्घोता प्राण उद्गाता चिुरद्ध्वयुोमोनो ब्रह्मा श्रोत्रमिीद्यावत्तियते सा दीिा
यदश्ञाहत यत्पपबहत तदस्य सोमपानययूँद्रमते तदुपसदो यथ्सञ्चरपयुपहवश
पयुत्तिष्ठते च स प्रवग्योो यन्मुखन्तदाहवनीयो यदस्य हवज्ञानन्तज्जुहोहत
यथ्सायं प्रातरत्ति तथ्सत्तमधो यथ्सायंप्रातमोद्ध्यत्नदनञ्च तानन सवनानन ये
अहोरात्रे ते दऱ्शपयणोमासौ येऽद्धोमासाश्च मासाश्च ते चातुमाोस्यानन य
ऋतवस्ते पशुबन्धा ये सवूँथ्सराश्च पररवथ्सराश्च तेऽहर्ोणास्सवोवेदसवाूँ
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एतथ्सत्रययूँन्मरणन्तदवभृथ एतद्वै जरामयोमग्निहोत्र
Dr. P. Ramanujan, Bangalore
सत्रम्
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Visual Ontology: E.g. yagna
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Visual Ontology: e.g., yagna
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Representation of Dravya1 - Protege
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Representation of Dravya2 - Protege
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Representation of Darsanas - Protege
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Cognitive modeling for Indian Philosophy
Where does scientific progress fall short?
While S&T have significantly expanded our knowledge of the universe and caused
significant changes to our material life, a number of fundamental questions have
remained un-addressed. After hundreds of years of using scientific methods that
rely on observation, inference and verifiable proof, it is not clear either if we are
getting any closer to answering these questions. Here are some examples:
•How did matter originate?
•How does life originate and continue to do so?
•Is there a superior controlling force that is causal in nature?
•Is a living organism simply an assembly of functioning organs or is there a
controlling self?
•How is one to classify something as “right” and “wrong” or “moral” and
immoral” or are these only social rules?
•Do actions have inevitable consequences for the doer or is the fear of
consequence an irrational feeling?
Seeking answers to such questions is essential for the emotional well-being of
people. And conversely, dejection, confusion, emotional stress etc., which are
common in today’s society may sometimes be indirectly attributed to a lack of
purpose
and happiness in life due
to not seeking answers.
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Modeling Indian Philosophy as a system
•An interesting question is whether Indian Philosophy can be
disassembled and deconstructed into its fundamental tenets
and principles and variations and then reconstructed and
rebuilt as a computer based knowledge system to which a
person can pose questions and obtain answers. Systems that
are fundamentally based on logic are natural candidates for
computer based modeling and analysis.
• Much of Indian philosophy is expressed in Sanskrit which is
very suitable for computer based processing. It is fundamentally
based upon a comprehensive grammar and logical rules which
make it very suitable for syntactic and semantic processing by
computers. Besides, compared to about 15 years ago, we have
a number of advantages now in utilizing the available
philosophical content in powerful ways.
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Currently a very large number of Indian philosophical
texts have been digitized and are in searchable form
freely available on the internet.
There are also programs available that attempt
grammatical analysis of words, phrases and sentences
in Sanskrit; transliteration and translation as well.
On the internet, there are engines that can answer
simple questions such as “what is the time now?” or
“Where is Bangalore?”
Computer Science has advanced in capabilities
significantly permitting very large scale computational
problems to be solved at much lower costs
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How would the system model Indian Philosophy?
With the above advantages being recognized, we can consider a
system that stores knowledge suitable for epistemological
purposes and list some of its characteristics
•It would store Indian philosophical knowledge as a cognitive
model
•It would model fundamental philosophical building blocks or
concepts such as “matter” or “self” objectively as entities with
attributes, identity and operations
•It would model relationships between concepts using modeling
terms such as associations, specializations, aggregations etc.
•It would model philosophical systems as rule bases or
perspectives bound by a set of tenets using which concepts can be
analyzed, explained and understood
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What does Indian philosophy have to offer?
•It is to philosophy that one must turn to look for answers to such
problems.
•Indian Philosophy (IP) firstly contends that the answers to
questions like the above are not directly accessible to
observation-based inference.
•IP aims to meta-physically answer questions such as the origin of
matter and the origin of life for building upon basic rules and
accepting certain frameworks and advancing logical arguments.
•IP focuses on addressing fundamental problems such as the
character of the self, the goal to be attained, the difficulties of
attaining the same the means to overcome the difficulties and the
fruit of attaining the goal.
•Attempting to understand IP directs the mind of the seeker away
from the material and the mundane to the spiritual &
transcendental; provides a purpose in life for the seeker
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Learning by logical questioning and answering
Indian philosophy is deeply rooted in logic and is highly
amenable to posing and answering questions.
Many Epics, Puranas etc. originated as a consequence of a
genuine seeker filled with curiosity, confusion or
despondence asking fundamental questions to a learned
expert and gaining peace of mind as a consequence of
understanding/listening to the answers.
Nyaya (Logic), Mimamsa (Investigation) and Vyakarana
(Grammar) formed the basis of philosophical debates
between scholars of opposing/differing systems of
thought.
By applying logical arguments on the tenets of any
framework, it was possible to convince someone on the
validity or falsity of a school of thought or expose
contradictions within.
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What use-cases would the system allow at the basic level?
•Answer well-bound “what is ..?” questions about each
philosophical term or concept” such as “what is matter?” or
“what are the attributes of the self?”
•Qualify each answer with the perspective and conditions
under which the answer is valid
•Allow navigation from answers to related concepts by
navigating relationships inherent in the modeling
•Allow the construction of glossaries and encyclopedia, where
terms and concepts are highly inter-linked/related mutually
•Allow movement from answers and explanations to source
or reference texts, which form the basis of a particular system
of philosophy
•Permit one to learn Indian philosophy at his/her own pace
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What would the system attempt to provide at an
advanced level?
•Attempt to answer much more loosely bound questions
such as “what should I do to achieve happiness” within
the bound of a philosophical system with appropriate
justification
•Explain the validity of imperatives such as सत्यं वद,
“speak the truth”, and explain under within bounds and
qualifications such statements may be valid and what
exceptions are allowed (पञ्चानृतान्याहुरपातकाचन)
•Compare systems of philosophies and explain why two
different systems deviate in explaining the same idea
•Attempt to point out logical fallacies in an arbitrarily
constructed
system of Dr.philosophy
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Motivation – Why Epistemology?
• Conventional (modern western) approach and cognitive
models proving inadequate to deal with complex linguistic,
cultural, ethnical, behavioural, national and personal issues in
the globalised scenario
• Need felt for Value systems, ethics/morals in the light of
serious frauds, scams, misrule, corruption etc. worldwide
• Inclusivity, equity and fairness demanded by deprived people
• Lopsided priorities creating a wide gulf between similar
populations; diversity and differences to be respected
• Knowledge society touted as the panacea for all such ills
• All these beg a satisfactory answer to the inevitable question:
What is Knowledge?
• Karnataka Knowledge Commission constituted a mission
group to study local community knowledge and practices
• Evaluation/validation of these required a theoretical basis
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Wiki Definition of Epistemology
• Epistemology (from Greek ἐπιστήμη (epistēmē), meaning
"knowledge, understanding", and λόγος (logos), meaning
"study of") is the branch of philosophy concerned with the
nature and scope (limitations) of knowledge.
It addresses mainly the following questions:
• What is knowledge?
• How is knowledge acquired?
• To what extent is it possible for a given subject or entity to be
known?
• Much of the debate in this field has focused on analyzing the
nature of knowledge and how it relates to connected notions
such as truth, belief, and justification. One view is the
objection that there is very little or no knowledge at all—
skepticism. The field is sometimes referred to as the theory of
knowledge.
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Wiki Definition of Ontology
• Ontology (from onto-, from the Greek ὤν, "being; that which
is", present participle of the verb εἰμί, "be", and -logia:
science, study, theory) is the philosophical study of the nature
of being, existence, or reality, as well as the basic categories of
being and their relations. Traditionally listed as a part of the
major branch of philosophy known as metaphysics, ontology
deals with questions concerning what entities exist or can be
said to exist, and how such entities can be grouped, related
within a hierarchy, and subdivided according to similarities
and differences.
• Consider e.g., animals classified as: bipeds/quadrupeds; with
single and two rows of teeth; single and two hooves; domestic
and forested; of a number of species, aquatic, land-based and
amphibian; sacrificial and otherwise; holy and otherwise;
edible and non-edible; eating with hands – human, elephant
and monkey; herbivorous and carnivorous, etc.
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A sample of modern Scientific
Epistemological Study
John P. Van Gigch’s [California State University] Research Paper “Comparing
the Epistemologies of Scientific Disciplines in two distinct domains: Modern
Physics versus Social Sciences”, [considered ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ respectively,
due to ‘mechanistic-analytical’ and ‘behavioral-biological’ nature of the
disciplines] discusses about the Characteristics of Knowledge in terms of
the following parameters:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Characteristics and properties of domains
Sources of knowledge and representation
Concept of reality and knowability
Description, causality and prediction
Measurement and precision
Complexity
Truth Value and guarantor
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Epistemology and Knowledge Characteristics of the
Physical Sciences
1. Closed Systems without behavioral characteristics; nonpurposeful or goal-seeking
2. Mathematical theories and models; Empirical inferences and
results
3. Objectivity – external world independent from observer;
complementarity principle [AND/OR]; descriptions of
observable events
4. Logical relationship between premises and conclusions; Only
statistical links between causes and effects
5. Uncertainty principle
6. Length of schema to encompass regularities
7. Undecidability; value of metalogic
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Epistemology and Knowledge Characteristics of New
Social Sciences
Even Social Sciences are categorised as ‘traditional’ (psychology, Sociology and Anthropology) and ‘new’ (Sciences of Complexity, Constructivist Theories, Sciences of the Artificial, Sciences of Design etc.)
1. Open systems, purposeful, goal-seeking
2. Levels of formalisation, heuristic models, empirical inference and
result; objectification – free knower from practices producing him
3. Subjectification – search of evidence dominated by power; Act of
knowing – no external reality separate from knower
4. Logical relationship between premises and conclusions; overt
refusal of an objective truth
5. Statistical links between causes and effects
6. Sciences of Complexity and Sciences of Design
7. Judgments may be value-laden and create an obligation;
importance of consequences on recipients
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THANK YOU!!
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