Anyathakhyati

(“discrimination of something else”)
A theory of error that aims to explain
why people make errors in judgment,
such as the stock example of mistaking the flash of a seashell for a piece
of silver. This particular theory of
error originated with the Naiyayika
philosophical school. Like the Purva
Mimamsa philosopher Prabhakara,
the Naiyayikas believe that the simple
judgments “that object is silvery” and
“silver is silvery” are both true and
indisputable. Whereas Prabhakara
explains the error as an error of omission, in which one fails to notice the
non-relationship between these judgments, the Naiyayikas explain this as
an error of commission, by projecting
something that actually is not there.
In Naiyayikan metaphysics all
objects and their attributes are connected by a dependent relationship
known as inherence (samavaya),
which in this case connects a silvery
color with two different objects: elemental silver, and a shell. They believe
that the perceiver is projecting a wrong
inherence relationship (silver) onto the
perceived object (shell).
The Naiyayikas can claim this
projection is real because they
accept the reality of nonexistent
things (e.g., the nonexistence of
a crocodile in my bathtub). For
the Naiyayikas all such projections
are rooted in karmic dispositions
stemming from avidya, or primal
ignorance, specifically the greed
for silver that prompts people to
look for such items of value. For
further information see Bijayananda
Kar, The Theories of Error in Indian
Philosophy; 1978 and Karl H. Potter
47
Anyathakhyati
(ed.), Presuppositions of India’s
Philosophies, 1972.