Abstract
The idea of nature as constituted by five elements, or pa
camahabhūtas, is very popular in many naturalistic philosophies. Such a universe consists of both living and non-living parts of the cosmos
. These elements are imagined as intangible to begin with, and then, they are understood as combining to form the gross elements which make up the cosmos. Traditions such as Vaiśeṣika and Saṁkhya explain the nature of these five fundamental elements and the process of creation of manifold diversities within them. This chapter will describe the materialism within Indian traditions and also dwell on the Vaiśeṣika atomism and the evolutionary nature of Saṁkhya tradition.
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Notes
- 1.
The Cārvākas for instance believe in only four elements. They do not admit inference as a valid proof or meaning of knowing. Since space is intangible and cannot be grasped by senses, they do not admit that space can be an element.
- 2.
- 3.
This has been discussed as one of the main conceptualisations of nature in Chap. 3.
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Baindur, M. (2015). Nature as Elemental: The Matter of Nature. In: Nature in Indian Philosophy and Cultural Traditions. Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures, vol 12. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-2358-0_4
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