Discuss Cārvāka's critique of the belief in the existence of suprasensible entities.
Cārvāka, a radical materialist and empiricist school, vehemently rejects the existence of suprasensible entities (those beyond direct perception) on fundamental epistemological grounds. Their philosophy asserts that Pratyaksha (direct perception) is the only valid source of knowledge.
Consequently, Cārvāka dismisses all entities that cannot be directly perceived by the senses. This includes:
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God: Rejected as there is no sensory evidence of a divine creator.
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Soul (Ātman): Denied as distinct from the body and consciousness, which are products of matter. The soul is not perceivable independently.
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Heaven and Hell: Dismissed as imaginary realms, unverifiable by experience.
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Karma and Rebirth: Rejected because the unseen consequences of past actions and future lives are beyond direct perception.
For Cārvāka, any belief in such entities relies on inference (which they reject as uncertain) or verbal testimony (which they deem unreliable without empirical verification). To assert the existence of something unperceivable is, for Cārvāka, an epistemological fallacy and leads to superstition.
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