The Satapatha Brahmana : Part 4 (SBE Vol. 43) Sacred Books of the East

The author gives a critical and comprehensive study of the fundamental problem of universals in Indian Philosophy. The center of the study is the controversy between the Nyaya-Vaisesika and the Mimamsa realists on the one hand and the Buddhist nominalists on the other. The author discusses not only the epistemological and metaphysical approach to the problem of universals but also the semantic approach made by the various systems of Indian Philosophy. In this context, the view of the Grammarians with special reference to Bhartrhari has been discussed in some detail. A brief but critical analysis of some of the main trends of thought on universals in Western Philosophy--beginning from Pluto to the contemporary philosophers--has also been given. Besides his scholarly and eminently readable treatment of the fundamental problem of universals, the author has attempted to give his own solution to the problem. It is based on the recurrent identities and similarities which are the principles of grouping and which form the foundation of our thought and speech.

About the Author
Friedrich Max Muller was a great linguist and scholar born in Germany. He began his study of Sanskrit under Prof. Brockhaus and soon chose it as his special pursuit. The East India Company commissioned him to edit the Rigveda, which resulted in the publication of six giant volumes on the subject. His publications include a Sanskrit translation of Kalidasa's Meghaduta, a History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, and an Introduction to the Science of Religion. Before his death in 1900 at Oxford, he was crowned with the most honors and awards a scholar could aspire for.