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    Udayana in Nyāyakusumāñjali argues that Īśvara's agency i... — Carmelics
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    Supports→The Nyāya inference that the world has an agent as an instrumental cause is defeated by the upādhi having-a-perceptible-body

    Udayana in Nyāyakusumāñjali argues that Īśvara's agency is established through inference to the best explanation of ordered complexity, not by direct perceptual analogy to embodied artisans.

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    1 reason for
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    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Inference to best explanation avoids the problem that embodied artisans require material bodies, which Īśvara cannot possess.
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    • 2.Cosmic order exhibits complexity that exceeds what finite, embodied causes could produce without invoking an infinite, omniscient designer.
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    • 3.Inferential arguments ground theism in rational demonstration rather than mere analogy, making the conclusion more epistemically rigorous.
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    Reasons Against

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    Reason against
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    • 1.Inference to best explanation still implicitly relies on analogy: we infer divine agency because it resembles how human artisans explain order.
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    • 2.Natural selection and evolutionary mechanisms can explain biological complexity without invoking conscious design, undermining the inference's force.
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    • 3.The claim that Īśvara is the 'best explanation' remains unproven; competing materialist or impersonal explanations are equally parsimonious.
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    Key Terms

    Embodied artisans(the comparison Udayana argues against)
    Craftspeople or creators who have physical bodies, like a sculptor or carpenter—contrasted with a non-physical God.
    Nyāyakusumāñjali(the specific text being referenced)
    The title of Udayana's main philosophical work, which translates to something like 'a bouquet of logical flowers' and defends the existence of God using logical arguments.
    Ordered complexity(what Udayana points to as evidence)
    Things in nature that show intricate design and organization, like a watch or the structure of an eye.
    Udayana(as a historical figure in Indian philosophy)
    An Indian philosopher from the 10th century who developed arguments defending the idea that things can persist over time, arguing against Buddhist thinkers who said everything only exists for a single instant.
    agency(Used to assess whether switching the trolley is deontologically prohibited.)
    A morally relevant sense in which an agent is the direct cause of harm, invoked in deontological constraints; its absence removes a deontological bar to acting.
    inference to the best explanation(Used to characterize the structure of the argument for moral non-objectivism)
    A form of reasoning in which the hypothesis that best explains the observed phenomena is inferred to be true
    perceptual analogy(in philosophy of religion)
    Using something we can directly experience or see as a way to understand something we cannot directly experience, by saying 'God is like X, just in a non-physical way.'
    Īśvara(the subject whose existence Udayana is arguing for)
    The Sanskrit word for God or a supreme divine being in Hindu and Indian philosophy.

    Connections

    2 topics

    Causation1 linkedNatural Theology1 linked

    Related

    Cosmic order exhibits complexity that exceeds what finite, embodied causes could...Inference to best explanation avoids the problem that embodied artisans require ...

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Inference to best explanation still implicitly relies on analogy: we infer divin...
    Inferential arguments ground theism in rational demonstration rather than mere a...
    +3 moreShow less
    Natural selection and evolutionary mechanisms can explain biological complexity ...The Nyāya inference that the world has an agent as an instrumental cause is defe...The claim that Īśvara is the 'best explanation' remains unproven; competing mate...