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Vacaspati Misra was a famous logician born in Mithila. He studied Nyaya under the logician Trilocana. Vacaspati wrote a number of works expanding on the Nyaya system of philosophy. Some of these works are –
1) Nyaya-suci-nibandha
2) Nyaya-kanika (a commentary on Mandana Misra’s text Vividhi-viveka)
3) Nyaya-vartika-tatparya-tika (a commentary on Uddyotakara’s Nyaya-varttika)
Vacaspati states that in his works that his explanation of pratyaksa (direct perception) in so far as it refers to its division into savikalpaka (the determinate) and nirvikalpaka (the indeterminate) is derived from his preceptor Trilocana. Savikalpaka refers to knowledge that admits of specification (the knowledge of an object peculiarised by its common characteristics). Nirvikalpaka is the opposite – the indeterminate perception or knowledge that admits no specification (or knowledge of an object derived through its first meeting with one of our senses). Vacaspati observes that the doctrine of Savikalpaka and Nirvikalpaka is very simple to comprehend.
Vacaspati did not limit himself to Nyaya. He also wrote a commentary on Sankara’s commentary to the Vedanta-sutras entitled Bhamiti-tika which actually gave birth to a sub-school of Advaita Vedanta known as the Bhamati school of philosophy.
Vacaspati misra's Bhamati attempts to harmonize Sankara's thought with that of Mandana Misra. Following this line of reasoning, later authors in the Bhamati school describe the individual jiva as the locus of avidya i.e. avidya is ignorance or false knowledge, but it pertains to the individual, who is subject to it. Brahman is never subject to avidya, but controls it in its capacity as Isvara. This school describes two functions of avidya - one is its capacity to veil the truth, and the second is its capacity to project an illusion. This school also describes avidya in terms of a root avidya (mulavidya), which is universal, and is equivalent to maya, and an individual avidya (tulavidya), which vanishes when brahma0jnana arises. Thus, this school develops its theses primarily along ontological lines.
Vacaspati’s commentary on Sankhya is known as the Sankhya-tattva-kaumudi and is considered to be a masterpiece by Indian philosophers. He also wrote the Tattvaisaradi on Patanjali’s Yoga-sutras.
In Vacaspati’s book Tattva-bindu, he explores four competing theories of liguistic philosophies. Firstly he deals with Mandana Misra’s Sphotavada doctrine – the conception that the meaning of a word is perceived in a sphota, or a single subtle atomic sound that is distinct from the gross sounds and characters that make up a word. Vacaspati then looks at a theory amongst some of the followers of Nyaya that involves linking the memory traces of momentary components of a word when one hears the final momentary component. He then examines a similar Mimamsaka theory according to which our grasp of the meaning of a word lies in the memory traces created by the words. Finally Vacaspati looks at the theory of Anvitabhidanavada – a Prabhakara Mimasaka theory wherein the meaning of a sentence is derived from the meanings of its words, each of which has an individual meaning in the sentence as well as having syntactic relations with other words – no sphota or memory traces are required. After examing these four theories, Vacaspati presents his own theory of Abhihitanvayavada – the understanding of the meaning of a whole sentence is reached by inferring to it, in a separate act of laksana, or implication, from the individual meanings of the constituent words.
Vacaspati Misra was so conversant with the teachings of various schools, he bacame known as ‘Sarva-tantra-svatantra’ – master of all philosophies.
In polemical debates, Vacaspati defeated various philosophical opponents including the famous Buddhist logicians Dharmakirti and Dignaga.
