Concept · Cognitive Bias: Indian logic fallacies (Nyāya tradition, c. 6th BCE–2nd CE)
Badhita (contradicted by perception)
Origin: Nyāya tradition
Biological Parallel
Inference: 'Fire ants form supercolonies, therefore they're highly cooperative.' But direct observation reveals constant intracolony aggression—the inference is contradicted by perception (badhita). Theory predicted cooperation; observation shows conflict. The fallacy: maintaining inferences when direct evidence contradicts them. Molecular data suggests hybridization between species, but hybrids are never observed in nature—perception trumps inference. When seeing and reasoning conflict, Nyāya tradition trusts seeing. Theories bow to data, not vice versa.