Presentation of logic and reasoning in Ayurveda. Building epistemologies of the South

Abstract

A collaboration of academic and non-academic researchers examines the logic and reasoning of Ayurveda, an ancient Indian medical system. Ayurveda views health as a dynamic balance between the “Tridoshas” and emphasizes intrinsic host-centered factors for disease prevention and management, including for COVID-19. The foundations of Ayurveda, built on philosophical schools like Sankhya, Nyaya and Vaiseshika, use logic and deductive reasoning to build a solid epistemological framework. This logic weaves a rigorous mesh structuring the practice of Ayurveda and is found even in the naming of diseases, emphasizing the importance of rationality in this process. The limits of the reductionist vision of Western science are highlighted by the holistic perspectives of Ayurveda in the interconnected and global understanding of life and health. The injustices faced by Ayurveda due to the dominance of biomedicine call for medical and scientific cooperation that is ethical and respectful of different medical systems to address global health challenges. The recognition of epistemologies from the South, such as those of Ayurveda, in global academic and scientific discourses, gives the reader the possibility of perceiving the complexity of our World and the plurality of our relationship to Life in order to enrich understanding. of Health and to promote the practice of cooperative medicine.