Abstract:

Ancient India and Greece are countries with ancient civilization in the world. Their philosophies are the treasures in Eastern and Western cultures. The theory of padqrtha in India and the theory of category in Greece are the remarkable theories in ancient philosophy. There are quite a few of similar respects in these two theories. The obvious similarity is that both make a clear distinction between things and their properties and states, and take substance as the basis for padqrtha or category. The obvious difference is that the meaning of padqrtha in Vaishesika is different from the meaning of category in Aristotle. For some of Vaishesika’s padqrtha outside the meaning of substance- although not all of them- we can find counterparts in the categories established by Aristotle outside the meaning of substance. Had the ancient Indian theory of padqrtha drawn upon the ancient Greek theory of category, or the latter had learnt anything from the former? It is impossible to make a completely positive or negative conclusion based on the available materials. More likely, they were similar theories created independently.

Key words: Indian philosophy, Greek philosophy, comparison between Eastern and Western philosophy, padqrtha, category