Anirvachaniyakhyati

(“indescribable discrimination”) This
is a particular theory of error that
aims to explain why people make
errors in judgment, such as the stock
example of mistaking the silvery flash
of a seashell for a piece of silver. This
theory was advanced by the philosophical school of Advaita Vedanta, a
group that would consider this judgment to be a false one; they would also
believe, however, that until one realizes that the object is just a shell, one
actually sees the silver there.
The Advaita theory of error is based
on the fundamental concept of superimposition (adhyasa), in which one
perceives something that is actually
there (in this case, the shell). This
real object is the basis for the illusory
perception (the silver), which is a
mistaken projection. The Advaitins
claim that the “silver” is real insofar
as it is based on the shell, and false
insofar as one believes it to be
precious metal.
Of course, according to the
Advaitins, the shell and all the other
“real” things of the world are themselves ultimately illusory since they
are superimposed on Brahman, the
only thing in the universe that is truly
real. For further information see
Bijayananda Kar, The Theories of Error
in Indian Philosophy, 1990; and Karl
H. Potter (ed.), Presuppositions of
India’s Philosophies, 1972.