NYĀYA or Tarkavidyā (“science of debate”), or Vādavidyā “science of discussion”), Skt., lit. “correct” or “logic”; one of the six philosophical systems of Hinduism (darshana); it is thought to have been established by Gotama, who presumably lived between the sixth and third centuries B.C.E. Nyāya, the science of logical proof, provides a well-founded system for the philosophical investigation of objects and the subject of human knowledge. Its adherents, known as niyayikas, represent Nyāya as a means toward true knowledge of the soul and the aim of human life, according to natural law. Nyāya means “to investigate thoroughly” through analytic and logical inquiry. Vātsyāyana, the classical commentator on the Nyāya-Sūtra, refers to this method as “a critical testing of the objects of knowledge, by means of logical proof.”
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Documents on the Nyaya
Books on the Nyaya
External Link: Nyaya / Nyāya Sūtras