On the Intellectual Genealogy of Hetuvidyā

If we define Hetuvidyā simply as the study of the Buddhist three-part reasonings (trayāvayava) and their rules, by rereading the classics and by getting access to the text, the intellectual genealogy of Hetuvidyā is then derived from the text: viewing from the evolution of Hetuvidyā, there is a conversion achieved from Indian Hetuvidyā to the sinicized Hetuvidyā; from the aspect of theory, three-part reasonings are the perfection of five-part reasonings, with a conceptual group distinct from that of the Aristotelian syllogism; from the scope of study, it encompasses both the theory and the application of Hetuvidyā. The analysis of intellectual genealogy shows that, Hetuvidyā has its own conceptual system as well as application range, which differentiates itself from the validity of reasoning. Logic has been a tool for the argumentation of thoughts ever from its emergence, thus our studying and writing of its history should start from the argumentation of thoughts as a perspective, to identify and summarize the characteristics of different logics in terms of logic theory and its application, which forms the basis of civilization exchanges and mutual considerations.