Editing Problem of universals (section)

=== Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika (Realist position) ===
Indian philosophers raise the problem of universals in relation to [[semantics]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Perrett |first=Roy W. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/an-introduction-to-indian-philosophy/B9CD240194015F1D13BCDE7CA376CB86#contents |title=An Introduction to Indian Philosophy |date=2016-01-25 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-85356-9 |edition=1 |pages=132 |doi=10.1017/cbo9781139033589}}</ref> Universals are postulated as referents for the meanings of general terms.

The [[Nyaya|Nyāya]]-[[Vaisheshika|Vaiśeṣika]] school conceives of universals as perceptible eternal entities, existing independently of our minds. Nyāya postulates the existence of universals based on our experience of a common characteristic among particulars. Thus, the meaning of a word is understood as a particular further characterized by a universal.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Perrett |first=Roy W. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/an-introduction-to-indian-philosophy/B9CD240194015F1D13BCDE7CA376CB86#contents |title=An Introduction to Indian Philosophy |date=2016-01-25 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-85356-9 |edition=1 |pages=132–133 |doi=10.1017/cbo9781139033589}}</ref> For example, the meaning of the term 'cow' refers to a particular cow characterized by the universal of 'cowness'. Nyāya holds that although universals are apprehended differently from particulars, they are not separate, given their inherence in the particulars.<ref name="Perrett 135">{{Cite book |last=Perrett |first=Roy W. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/an-introduction-to-indian-philosophy/B9CD240194015F1D13BCDE7CA376CB86#contents |title=An Introduction to Indian Philosophy |date=2016-01-25 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-85356-9 |edition=1 |pages=135 |doi=10.1017/cbo9781139033589}}</ref>

Not every term, however, corresponds to a universal. [[Udayana|Udāyana]] puts forward six conditions for identifying genuine universals.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Perrett |first=Roy W. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/an-introduction-to-indian-philosophy/B9CD240194015F1D13BCDE7CA376CB86#contents |title=An Introduction to Indian Philosophy |date=2016-01-25 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-85356-9 |edition=1 |pages=133–134 |doi=10.1017/cbo9781139033589}}</ref>