Tetralemma

Not to be confused withTetrablemma.

Thetetralemmais a figure that features prominently in thelogic of India.

Definition

It states that with reference to any a logical proposition X, there are four possibilities:

$X$(affirmation)

$\neg X$(negation)

$X\land \neg X$(both)

$\neg (X\lor \neg X)$(neither)

Catuskoti

The history of fourfold negation, theCatuskoti(Sanskrit), is evident in the logico-epistemological tradition of India, given the categorical nomenclature Indian logic in Western discourse. Subsumed within the auspice of Indian logic, 'Buddhist logic' has been particularly focused in its employment of the fourfold negation, as evidenced by the traditions ofNagarjunaand theMadhyamaka,particularly the school of Madhyamaka given the retroactive nomenclature ofPrasangikaby the Tibetan Buddhist logico-epistemological tradition. Though tetralemma was also used as a form inquiry rather than logic in the Nasadiya Sukta of Rigveda (creation hymn) though seems to be rarely used as a tool of logic before Buddhism.

See also

• Logical connective
• Dialetheism
• De Morgan's laws
• Paraconsistent logic
• Prasangika
• Two-truths doctrine
• Catuṣkoṭi,a similar concept in Indian philosophy
• Pyrrhonism

External links

• Wiktionary definition of tetralemma