Founds the Nyaya School of Logic
Akshapada Gautama established Nyaya, the school of logic and epistemology, as one of the six classical systems of Indian philosophy. Where other schools asked what is real, Nyaya asked: how do you know?
Akshapada Gautama founded the Nyaya school, one of the six orthodox systems of Indian philosophy. His Nyaya Sutras lay out a complete theory of knowledge, argumentation, and debate. He identified four valid means of knowledge: direct perception, logical inference, comparison with known objects, and reliable testimony. He also formalized the five-part syllogism used in Indian philosophical debate. The Nyaya system became the standard framework for logical argument across all Indian philosophical traditions, including those that disagreed with its metaphysics.
Akshapada Gautama established Nyaya, the school of logic and epistemology, as one of the six classical systems of Indian philosophy. Where other schools asked what is real, Nyaya asked: how do you know?