Satkhyati

(“discrimination of the real”) Theory of
error propounded by Ramanuja, the
eleventh century philosopher who was
the founder of Vishishthadvaita
Vedanta. This theory is also known as
yathakhyati (“discrimination [of things]
as they are”). All the theories of error aim
to explain why people make errors in
judgment, the stock example being mistaking the silvery flash of sea shell for a
piece of silver. Ramanuja’s analysis is
based on the understanding that all
things are composed of the five elements, and that the different proportions of the elements account for their
differences. The viewer is correct in perceiving the silvery flash, since this is a
property shared by both shell and silver.
The error comes in supposing that the
object is silver—that is, taking the part
of the judgment that is true, and making
an incorrect assumption based on that.
As for some of the other theories, the
ultimate reason one “sees” silver and
not other silvery things comes from
karmic dispositions stemming from
avidya, specifically the greed for silver
that prompts us to look for such items of
value. For further information see
Bijayananda Kar, Theories of Error in
Indian Philosophy, 1978; Karl H. Potter
(ed.), Presuppositions of India’s Philosophies, 1972.