Editing Ātman (Hinduism) (section)

====Nyaya====
Early atheistic [[Nyaya]] scholars, and later theistic Nyaya scholars, both made substantial contributions to the systematic study of ''Ātman''.{{sfn|Plott|2000|p=62}} They posited that even though "self" is intimately related to the knower, it can still be the subject of knowledge. John Plott{{sfn|Plott|2000|p=62}} states that the Nyaya scholars developed a theory of negation that far exceeds [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel|Hegel]]'s theory of [[negation]], while their epistemological theories refined to "know the knower" at least equals Aristotle's sophistication. Nyaya methodology influenced all major schools of Hinduism.

Nyaya scholars defined ''Ātman'' as an imperceptible substance that is the substrate of human consciousness, manifesting itself with or without qualities such as desires, feelings, perception, knowledge, understanding, errors, insights, sufferings, bliss, and others.<ref name=elisa/><ref>KK Chakrabarti (1999), Classical Indian Philosophy of Mind: The Nyaya Dualist Tradition, State University of New York Press, {{ISBN|978-0791441718}}, pages 2, 187-188, 220</ref> 

Nyaya theory of the ''ātman'' had two broader contributions to Hindu conceptions of the ''ātman''. One, Nyaya scholars went beyond holding it as "self evident" and offered rational proofs, consistent with their epistemology, in their debates with Buddhists, that "Atman exists".<ref name="nyayaexamples" /> Second, they developed theories on what "Atman is and is not".<ref name="royperrett">Roy W. Perrett (Editor, 2000), Indian Philosophy: Metaphysics, Volume 3, Taylor & Francis, {{ISBN|978-0815336082}}, page xvii; also see Chakrabarti pages 279-292</ref> As proofs for the proposition 'self exists', for example, Nyaya scholars argued that personal recollections and memories of the form "I did this so many years ago" implicitly presume that there is a self that is substantial, continuing, unchanged, and existent.<ref name="nyayaexamples">See example discussed in this section; For additional examples of Nyaya reasoning to prove that 'self exists', using propositions and its theories of negation, see: [https://archive.org/stream/TheNyayaSutrasOfGotama/Vidyabhusana_Nyaya-Sutras_1913#page/n39/mode/2up Nyayasutra] verses 1.2.1 on pages 14-15, 1.2.59 on page 20, 3.1.1-3.1.27 on pages 63-69, and later chapters</ref><ref name="royperrett" />

[[Nyāya Sūtras|Nyayasutra]], a 2nd-century CE foundational text of Nyaya school of Hinduism, states that Atma is a proper object of human knowledge. It also states that Atman is a real substance that can be inferred from certain signs, objectively perceivable attributes. For example, in book 1, chapter 1, verses 9 and 10, Nyayasutra states<ref name=elisa/>
{{Blockquote|
''Ātman'', body, senses, objects of senses, intellect, mind, activity, error, ''pretyabhava'' (after life), fruit, suffering and bliss are the objects of right knowledge.<br>
Desire, aversion, effort, happiness, suffering and cognition are the ''Linga'' (लिङ्ग, mark, sign) of the ''Ātman''.
|Nyaya Sutra|I.1.9-10<ref name=elisa>Original Sanskrit: [https://archive.org/details/Anandashram_Samskrita_Granthavali_Anandashram_Sanskrit_Series Nyayasutra] Anand Ashram Sanskrit Granthvali, pages 26-28;<br>English translation 1: [https://archive.org/stream/TheNyayaSutrasOfGotama/Vidyabhusana_Nyaya-Sutras_1913#page/n29/mode/2up Nyayasutra] see verses 1.1.9 and 1.1.10 on pages 4-5;<br>English translation 2: Elisa Freschi (2014), Puspika: Tracing Ancient India Through Texts and Traditions, (Editors: Giovanni Ciotti, Alastair Gornall, Paolo Visigalli), Oxbow, {{ISBN|978-1782974154}}, pages 56-73</ref>}}

Book 2, chapter 1, verses 1 to 23, of the Nyayasutras posits that the sensory act of looking is different from perception and cognition–that perception and knowledge arise from the seekings and actions of ''Ātman''.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/TheNyayaSutrasOfGotama/Vidyabhusana_Nyaya-the Sutras_1913#page/n47/mode/2up Nyayasutra] see pages 22-29</ref> The Naiyayikas emphasize that ''Ātman'' has qualities, but is different from its qualities. For example, desire is one of many qualities of ''Ātman'', but ''Ātman'' does not always have desire, and in the state of liberation, for instance, the ''Ātman'' is without desire.<ref name=elisa/> Additionally, the self has the property of consciousness, but that too, is not an essential property. Naiyayikas take the ''ātman'' to lose consciousness during deep sleep.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thompson |first=Evan |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Waking_Dreaming_Being/q_vpBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 |title=Waking, Dreaming, Being: Self and Consciousness in Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy |date=2014-11-18 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-53831-2 |pages=240 |language=en}}</ref>