Beyond Smoke and Fire: Towards Developing New Tools For Teaching <i>Anumana</i>

Abstract

This paper presents a few novel teaching tools for teaching <i>Anumana</i>. A major difference between teaching Greek Logic (or Modern Logic) and <i>Anumana</i> is that there are several teaching tools, in the form of examples and practice problems, for the former. On the other hand, for teaching <i>Anumana</i>, the same traditional examples are being used ad nauseam. This presents a major problem in teaching <i>Anumana</i> especially to a contemporary audience and also to non-Jariana/non-philosophy students. There is a need for more relatable examples and problems so that students can analyse and evaluate an <i>Anumana</i> just as they do so when learning Greek or Modern Logic. This will help them acquire greater clarity about the concepts involved in <i>Anumana</i>. Further, with growing interest in Indian Knowledge Traditions and with Philosophy electives being offered at school level, it is necessary to develop innovative teaching tools which can cater to such needs. This paper hopes to be a step in that direction.