Archaeology of Indian Logic- the Sumerian Roots

Archaeology of Indian Logic- the Sumerian Roots

As far as I am aware only TWO nations in the world have developed Logic, the Indians and the Greeks and with a fundamental difference between them.

While the Greeks with Aristotle as the main exponent developed Syllogistic Logic which was superseded only recently in the West by Mathematical Logic and so forth. The Indian Logic has been essentially Hermeneutic Logic, also called the Circular Logic. This applies both to the Naiyaayikam of Nyaya Sutras and the EraNaviyam ( a term that I have begun to use) of the Tamil Tolkaappiyam. Here while Naiyayikam is more widespread, EraNaviyam is confined to the Tamils alone where both the Saivas and Jainas have developed it further where many interesting texts have been written most of which are still available.

Here it appears to me that the Logic of Tolkaappiyam with its Three Limbs of Sutra( Proposition) Etu(reason) and edutuk kaaddu( demonstration) is earlier than Nyaya as this text proposes a Five member arguments suggesting a later development.

But what interests me here is the beginnings of such a logical tradition where the technical terms Sutra(Pratignja) Etu and Edutukaadu (udaraNa) define it I see the beginnings of such a Logic as part of the Moral Aphorisms of Sumerian Surruppak where the language is clearly Archaic Tamil (as a I have shown in many places).

The clue to this archaeology of Indian Logic is to be located in the concept of Mutumozi as defined by Tolkaappiayar and where occurs the word Etu in isolation but essentially in the logical sense.

Dr Loganathan Krishnan@ Ullaganar