Artha

"In this second volume in the Foundations of Philosophy in India series (the first was Cit: Consciousness by Bina Gupta), Jonardon Ganeri examines theories of meaning or artha. He discusses approaches in different schools of thought. He focuses primarily on the Navya-Nyaya school, especially its two tenets: that the central function of a word is to stand for an object, and that a language is essentially a device for the reception of knowledge. This approach is in marked contrast to the position generally exhibited in western literature until recent times. Ganeri probes further the tension between these two tenets. He also elucidates on the important changes brought about by the introduction of modes of thought in the theory of meaning."--Jacket.