ABSTRACT
This title of this chapter ends with a question mark. Did Bhattacharyya elucidate the relationship between his theories of the absolute in three alternatives and his theory that all philosophical thinking is rooted in different types of negation, specifically four types of negation? This chapter examines the key points in Bhattacharyya’s exposition of the four different types of negation. Each type of negation, understood in terms of removing illusion, leads to a different type of philosophy; hence understanding the different forms of negation provides insight into the fundamental differences in philosophical schools. The next challenge is illuminating Bhattacharyya’s formulation of three absolutes – the absolutes related to knowing, willing, and feeling – namely, truth, freedom, and value. Bhattacharyya declares that these absolutes are incompatible with each other, and he does not hide their incompatibility behind a facade of penultimacy. One might assume that his fourfold schema of negations would map onto his three absolutes since he sees each as fundamental to philosophical thinking. But how? How does the three map onto the four and the four map onto the three? That is the challenge this chapter engages, and the answer will be multivalent.
