Abhinavagupta and Dignāga both distinguish two aspects of cognition — objective and subjective — but Abhinavagupta grounds them in a prior non-dual consciousness

{
 "eo_id": "eo:reflexivity-two-aspects-v4",
 "schema_version": 2,
 "title": "Abhinavagupta and Dignāga both distinguish two aspects of cognition — objective and subjective — but Abhinavagupta grounds them in a prior non-dual consciousness",
 "status": "draft",
 "question": {
  "question_id": "q:reflexivity-intrinsic-or-constructed",
  "tension_point": "Does Abhinavagupta's two-aspect account (niścaya + pratipatti from avikalpa) genuinely differ from Dignāga's two-appearance account (grāhyākāra + grāhakākāra), or are they the same structure described in different frameworks?",
  "why_it_matters": "If they converge on the structure of cognition while diverging on its ground, the reflexivity debate reduces to a single refined question: what grounds the two-aspect structure?",
  "resolution_level": "local_argument"
 },
 "syllogism": {
  "pratijna": {
   "proposition": "Abhinavagupta (TĀ 1/181-182) and Dignāga (PS(V) 1.9ab) both distinguish objective and subjective aspects of cognition. They converge on the structure but diverge on its ground. This single refined question — what grounds the two-aspect structure? — is all that remains of the original reflexivity debate.",
   "what_it_claims": "After four probes, the reflexivity debate has distilled to one question. Both traditions agree cognition has two aspects. They disagree on whether these aspects are self-grounding (Dignāga) or grounded in a prior non-dual consciousness (Abhinavagupta)."
  },
  "hetu": {
   "evidence": [
    {
     "claim": "TĀ 1/181-182: objective ascertainment (niścaya: 'this has been perceived') and subjective awareness ('I perceive') are two aspects of cognition. The subjective aspect arises from oneness with thought-free consciousness (avikalpa).",
     "pramana": "sabda",
     "source_id": "text:tantraloka-ahnika1",
     "target": "cand:abh-vimarsa-intrinsic"
    },
    {
     "claim": "PS(V) 1.9ab: cognition arises with two appearances — self-appearance and object-appearance. Self-awareness is the result. No further ground is posited.",
     "pramana": "sabda",
     "source_id": "text:coseru-consciousness-causality",
     "target": "cand:dharmakirti-conditioned-reflexivity"
    },
    {
     "claim": "Neither Abhinavagupta nor Dignāga is named in connection with the other's two-aspect theory. The convergence may be independent development.",
     "pramana": "anumana",
     "source_id": "text:tantraloka-ahnika1",
     "target": "bridge:convergence-assessment"
    }
   ],
   "source_ids": [
    "text:tantraloka-ahnika1",
    "text:coseru-consciousness-causality"
   ]
  },
  "udaharana": {
   "examples": [
    {
     "scenario": "TĀ 1/181-182: 'the ascertainment that this has been perceived' is the objective aspect; 'I perceive' is the subjective aspect. Both arise from avikalpa.",
     "what_it_shows": "Abhinavagupta distinguishes the same two aspects as Dignāga but adds a third term (avikalpa) as their ground."
    },
    {
     "scenario": "PS(V) 1.9ab: cognition has self-appearance and object-appearance. No ground beyond cognition itself.",
     "what_it_shows": "Dignāga posits the two aspects as intrinsic to cognition, with no further substrate."
    }
   ]
  },
  "upanaya": {
   "application": "The four probes (scores → level distinction → original arguments → two-aspect convergence) have progressively refined the question. The only remaining disagreement is: is the two-aspect structure self-grounding or grounded in a prior non-dual consciousness?",
   "cruxes": [
    "Is the two-aspect structure evidence for an unconditioned ground, or does it exhaust what we can know about cognition?",
    "Can the phenomenological convergence between the two accounts be resolved by argument, or does it require a decision between frameworks?"
   ]
  },
  "nigamana": {
   "best_current_answer": "The reflexivity debate between Abhinavagupta and Dignāga has converged on a single question: what grounds the two-aspect structure of cognition? Both describe the same phenomenon; they disagree on whether it points beyond itself. This is a genuinely metaphysical disagreement, not resolvable by additional textual analysis.",
   "status": "structurally_suggestive",
   "scope": "Phenomenology: convergence established. Ground: underdetermined by available texts."
  }
 },
 "candidates": [
  {
   "candidate_id": "cand:two-aspects-self-grounding",
   "name": "The two-aspect structure is self-grounding (Dignāga)",
   "tradition": "dharmakirti_buddhist",
   "position": "Cognition presents itself as two-aspect. No further ground is needed or warranted. The burden of proof is on those who claim a ground beyond what cognition presents.",
   "proponent": "Dignāga / Dharmakīrti tradition",
   "source_ids": [
    "text:coseru-consciousness-causality"
   ],
   "hard_to_vary_core": [
    "Cognition's structure is given in cognition itself",
    "Inference to an unconditioned ground is not warranted"
   ],
   "current_problems": [
    "Cannot explain why cognition has two aspects rather than one"
   ],
   "falsifiers": [
    "A demonstration that cognition presents itself as grounded in something beyond itself"
   ],
   "status": "live"
  },
  {
   "candidate_id": "cand:two-aspects-grounded",
   "name": "The two-aspect structure is grounded in a prior non-dual consciousness (Abhinavagupta)",
   "tradition": "trika_pratyabhijna",
   "position": "The two aspects of cognition arise from oneness with thought-free consciousness (avikalpa). This is not an inference but the direct self-presence of consciousness.",
   "proponent": "Abhinavagupta",
   "source_ids": [
    "text:tantraloka-ahnika1"
   ],
   "hard_to_vary_core": [
    "The subjective aspect cannot arise from objective cognition alone",
    "A pre-conceptual ground is directly evident"
   ],
   "current_problems": [
    "Requires accepting that avikalpa is more than an absence of concepts"
   ],
   "falsifiers": [
    "A demonstration that the two-aspect structure can arise from cognition alone with