Abstract

‘Tarka’ is a technical term that occupies a significant position in the logico-epistemological traditions in India. In this paper, it is attempted to expound the exact meaning of the term, in particular in the early Nyaya tradition, on the basis of the explanations found in the Nyayabhasya. The view that the essential feature of tarka consists in the differentiating approach (vibhaga) to the matter on discourse is substantiated, and with it a possible explanation is given for the well-known ambivalent valuations that tarka was often loaded with a negative connotation on the one hand and, was considered as the positive characteristic feature of the Naiyayika approach to epistemological problems on the other. In the case of tarka, the general applicability and the impression of logically exhaustive access to any given problem was combined with the danger of misuse of the reason without any quasi-formal deficiency. It is hoped that my suggestion to characterize tarka as the differentiating approach to the given matter without any factual information may give a plausible explanation for the double-pole character of tarka in the history of Indian philosophy.