Jain Syllogisms for and against Liberation for Women

In this paper, I argue that Svetambaras fail to persuade the Digambaras because they rely on oppositional inferences instead of straight-up attacks on the Digambara points. For example, unlike the Yapaniyas who claim a piece of clothes should not dictate deliberations on moksha for women, the Svetambaras prefer only to oppose, say, the Digambara position that there is no valid evidence to justify moksha for women by inferring that there is no valid evidence of the opposite either. It would be better to deduce that there is no such evidence than to infer the opposite likelihood. This is further problematic because the nature of inference is not validity but only likelihood. This will become clear as I analyze some of the first arguments and objections both sides pose