Tamil Philosophic Tradition
When we view the growth and development of Tamil Philosophy right from the Prevedic Sumero-Tamil times, we can recognise two basic tendencies that we can call Siddhantic and Viddhantic.
Both words are derived from the Sumero-Tamil root: sid- meaning to recite, learn, understand etc. to which are related such terms as cittam, cintai, cittu, cittar, and cettu. We can also derive such terms as vid- vittai veda and so forth from the same root.
But here by Siddhanta we mean the sciences and by Viddhanta ideological systems where man sets himself to construct various conceptual systems through the power of imagination alone. The Viddhantic includes the Vedantic but more comprehensive. Thus while the Siddhantic leads to an UNDERSTANDING of the world and hence EXISTENCE and the birth of theorias (note: not the theories of positive sciences) i.e. a deep understanding of the world or a DARSANA of TRUTH, the Viddhantic leads to various conceptual fabrications or ideological systems satisfying in some ways.
In this sense and in a very simplistic way, we can view the philosophical battle in the Tamil country as between these two forms of thinking with Siddhantic constituting the central tendency. If for Greeks and the West man is a rational animal, for the Tamil man is a learning-teaching animal, i.e. pedagogic. The Tamil entelechy, the moving principle is that of pedagogy.
Dr Loganathan Krishnan @ Ullaganar
(theoria, a word coined by Dr Loga, as he uses in Hermeneutic Science)
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