Anekantavada
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'''''' (, "many-sidedness") is the Jain doctrine about metaphysical truths that emerged in ancient India. It states that the ultimate truth and reality is complex and has multiple aspects and viewpoints.
~41 min read
Encyclopedic overview
28 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Philosophical overview
- Syādvāda
- Nayavāda
- Jiva, the changing soul
- Inclusivist or exclusivist
- History and development
- Origins
- Early history
- Parable of the blind men and an elephant
- Medieval developments
- Influence
- Role in Jain history
- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
- Against religious intolerance and contemporary terrorism
- Comparison with non-Jain doctrines
- Criticism
- Hindu philosophies
- Nyaya
- Vaisheshika
- Vedanta
- Buddhist philosophy
- Self-criticism in Jain scholarship
- See also
- References
- Citations
- Bibliography
- External links
'''' (, "many-sidedness") is the Jain doctrine about metaphysical truths that emerged in ancient India. It states that the ultimate truth and reality is complex and has multiple aspects and viewpoints.
According to Jainism, no single, specific statement can describe the nature of existence and the absolute truth. This knowledge (Kevala Jnana), it adds, is comprehended only by the Arihants. Other beings and their statements about absolute truth are incomplete, and at best a partial truth. All knowledge claims, according to the anekāntavāda doctrine must be qualified in many ways, including being affirmed and denied. Anekāntavāda is a fundamental doctrine of Jainism.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Anekantavada” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.