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The Indian atomist. He said the world is made of indivisible particles, centuries before Democritus said the same thing in Greece.
Four ways to know: perception, inference, comparison, and testimony. He built Indian logic from the ground up.
Connection
Kanada atoms joined to logic Akshapada Gautama — Vaisheshika's atomism and Nyaya's logic were treated as allied systems for centuries and eventually merged into one school, Kanada supplying the account of what exists and Akshapada the account of how we know it.
Ideas
Words
“The combination of atoms produces the diversity of the world.”
“Perception, inference, comparison, and testimony are the four valid means of knowledge.”
Key Moments
c. 6th century BCE
The Atom-Eater
c. 6th century BCE
Proposes the Atomic Theory of Matter
c. 6th century BCE
Founds the Vaisheshika School
c. 590 BCE
The Six Categories of Being
c. 2nd century BCE
Born in the Gangetic Plain
c. 2nd century BCE
Founds the Nyaya School of Logic
c. 2nd century BCE
Writes the Nyaya Sutras
c. 195 BCE
Four Means of Knowledge
Works
Vaisheshika Sutras
Nyaya Sutras