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8. Idealism & Realism
As per Jain philosophy, we have two kinds of existence - one is Parama Astitva (Transcendental Existence) and the other is Apara Astitva (Empirical Existence). The idealist school of philosophers, particularly the Vedāntins and the Buddhists do not accept Apara Astitva as real. They regard that there is nothing else in existence other than the consciousness itself. The Western philosophers like Kant, Fichte, Shelling, Hegel, Green, James Ward etc. also hold the same view.. On the other hand Vastuvādis (Realists) regard empirical existence as real. According to them, the empirical reality exists independently of the consciousness. Other Indian philosophies like Sānkhya and Vaišeşika hold the same view. The Western philosophers like Reed, Hamilton and Bertrand Russell and others also hold similar views. On this issue, the Jain philosophers have followed a distinct line. They, regard that there is only partial truth in both i.e. Vastuvāda and Pratyayavāda and both of them are true only relatively. The Jain philosophers suggest an amendment to the aphorisms formed by Pratyayavādis, by putting them in a slightly different way. Instead of saying that there is nothing outside consciousness, one can say that nothing exists beyond existence. The 'existence' is a unit combining both the living and non-living, which is not the case with consciousness. Both Jīva and Ajīva can be parts of the existence, but the latter
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