Interdisciplinary Studies

Doing Research With Undergraduates by Brian Taylor

2011-08-25T03:34:00.000-07:00

Doing Research With Undergraduates

August 15, 2011

Brian Taylor

By James M. Lang

One of the most disheartening experiences of my undergraduate education—a mostly terrific four years—came about when I decided, in my senior year, that I wanted to pursue an independent study. I had some vague ideas about what I wanted to focus on, but mostly I was hoping for the kind of intensive research experience, working closely with a faculty mentor, that would help me figure out whether I should pursue graduate study.

I approached a faculty member in one of my two majors. He apologized, and said he was too busy to supervise an independent study in the coming semester. I tried another faculty member. She also told me that she was too busy; she recommended a colleague of hers who worked in the same area. As I was leaving her office, though, she said something strange.

"Don't tell him I sent you."

The faculty member she recommended, of course, was also too busy. At that point I realized that I was, perhaps, asking for more from those faculty members than I understood, which would help explain the second professor's cryptic comment. I gave up the search and finished my senior year with a regular suite of courses.

In defense of all three faculty members, I did not know any of them as well as I should have—I was a relatively quiet student in class, and never visited faculty members in their office hours—and I did not have a fully worked-out proposal for what I hoped to study. As a faculty member now, I can understand perfectly well why they expressed little interest in supervising an ill-conceived project with an undergraduate they barely knew.

Having now sat on the other side of the desk, and supervised several intensive student-research projects—a few independent studies, and a few honors theses—I also understand more fully that I missed out on a terrific opportunity as a student. One of the best learning experiences that an undergraduate can have is to tackle a complex problem or question, one that requires them to do research, guided by an experienced researcher, and think creatively in the face of obstacles and dead ends. Students in the honors program that I have been directing for the past two years have consistently pointed to their senior thesis as the most substantive learning experience of their education.

This past spring I had the good fortune to learn about a program, paid for by the National Science Foundation, that helps support undergraduate research experiences in a wide range of disciplines at institutions around the country. Those opportunities are not exactly like the kind of independent study experience that I was seeking as an undergraduate, but they do provide that rare and valuable opportunity for a student to work closely with a faculty member on a complex problem or question—in this case, by joining a faculty member or a team of researchers who are tackling an issue that stems from a larger research agenda.

The Research Experience for Undergraduates Site program, as the Web site explains, "supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation."

Faculty, programs, or institutions in any of the covered fields—primarily science and social-science disciplines—apply to become REU Sites. Once accepted, they receive grant money that allows them to support undergraduates who will join them for specific research projects. The deadline for applying to become an REU Site for some disciplines is coming up on August 24; interested faculty can find more information here. Undergraduates can check the listings for participating colleges here. Sites are organized by discipline; clicking through to any discipline will then yield a full list of institutions doing work in that area, with deadlines and information on the application process.

The good work being done through this federal program first came to my attention when I attended a talk by Colin Polsky, an associate professor of geography at Clark University, where he is also an associate dean and director of Clark's Human-Environment Regional Observatory, or HERO, which is also a REU Site.

Clark's HERO program was created a decade ago but has been supported by an NSF grant for the past three years. Polsky said the program "integrates undergraduates and graduate students into cutting-edge geographical research. We examine land-use and land-cover change, applied to Massachusetts woodlands and suburban settings."

Like all REU Sites, the program attracts undergraduates from around the country by advertising each year through the NSF Web site; and although compensation may vary from institution to institution, Clark has been able to offer its student researchers—in addition to the opportunity to work in innovative research teams with Clark faculty members and graduate students—a generous salary (plus a stipend for travel, room, and board) for eight weeks of summer work. Clark's program will also pay the travel expenses for any students who present their research at select scientific conferences.

After listening to Polsky's talk about the program, I wrote to him to learn more about it. Although it might seem obvious, I asked him to articulate what separates the learning that students might do during their summer research from the learning they do in the traditional classroom.

"HERO," Polsky said, "is one example of what Clark calls a 'community of effective practice.' Learning in a classroom is very different from learning in a community of effective practice. These communities are (1) enduring and (2) multigenerational groups who coalesce around a shared research theme, and that (3) intentionally develop 'capacities of effective practice,' a concept Clark takes from research in the learning sciences." He means capacities like creativity, adaptability, and the art of collaboration.

Helping undergraduates develop all of those qualities in a single session of summer work might seem like a pretty tall order. But he said the research that students do "has an exploratory feel. We announce on Day One that, because the research is motivated by faculty's research projects, we're pushing the boundaries of what we know, so we may not be sure of what specific data collection and analysis we should do, or even sometimes how to do the data collection and analysis."

In other words, the students are not simply cogs in a laboratory assembly line, performing the same task over and over again. As the research project develops, they—along with the faculty members and graduate students—might find themselves pulled up short by the data, befuddled by an unexpected result, or staring at a seemingly insurmountable obstacle.

In those moments, the collaborative nature of the experience, and the multigenerational nature of the groups, can prove to be a tremendous asset.

"We assign tasks," Polsky said, "to teams composed of undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. The learning-sciences literature has demonstrated that learning is more efficient and effective in such groups. For example, not only do undergrads learn well from grad students, but so, too, do junior undergrads learn well from senior undergrads, and beginning grad students learn from advanced grad students. The undergrads bring fresh perspective—they are not entrenched in views from the discipline. As a result, the faculty and grad students tend to learn a lot from the undergrads, too."

But the unpredictable and open-ended nature of the research, even with the support of the teams, can prove to be a source of anxiety for some undergraduates. "There is a natural uncertainty that comes with conducting cutting-edge research," Polsky said. "By definition, we do not necessarily know before we begin which is the 'best' set of data collection and analysis steps to take. This uncertainty can translate quickly into anxiety in the student, because students are used to a prescribed schedule of lectures and assignments given to them on Day One of the semester."

And while Polsky sees the teams as one of the program's primary strengths, they can also provoke problems: "Anxiety can also arise from the team-based nature of the project. Working on a team means negotiating interpersonal dynamics—that is, spending considerable energy on nonscholarly activities."

Despite the challenges, Polsky believes strongly in the value of the experience for undergraduates. Clark has also been cultivating a handful of additional programs that provide similar experiences—regardless of field and regardless of whether the programs can obtain federal grant support.

So if a curious student comes to you this semester looking for an independent study or an intensive research experience, and you really don't have the time to take on one more obligation, consider pointing that student to the REU Web site, and encouraging him or her to take advantage of an opportunity to engage in a deep, collaborative, and exciting research process.

James M. Lang is an associate professor of English at Assumption College and author of "On Course: A Week-by-Week Guide to Your First Semester of College Teaching" (Harvard University Press, 2008). He welcomes reader mail directed to his attention at careers@chronicle.com

http://chronicle.com/article/Doing-Research-With/128613/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

· The Council on Undergraduate Research (www.cur.org) has resources for those working outside the sciences. There is a forthcoming book: Models of Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity in the Arts and Humanities Edited by Jenny Shanahan, Naomi Yavneh, and Greg Young. CUR also has a book available: Reading, Writing, & Research: Undergraduate Students as Scholars in Literary Studies.

The REU program is not the only undergraduate research oriented grant program There is NSF-RUI (research at undergraduate institutions), NIH-AREA (research enhancement award) , Research Corporation for Science Advancement Cottrell College Sciance Awards, Petroleum Research Fund Undergraduate Research Awards, etc. To learn more, join the Council on Undergraduate Research community. CUR has ben involved in promoting faculty-undergraduate student research for more than 30 years, and was a key player in establishing many of these undergraduate research grant programs. Although most funding is currently devotes to science or NSF eligible discliplines, CUR now has active membership in the Arts and Humanities .

******* 19/8/2011 PHW

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Dr P H Waghodekar
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date	Fri, Aug 19, 2011 at 3:23 AM
subject	Fw: Research at UG level

Bhakti in Upaniṣads: A detailed Perspective on Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad

2011-08-01T04:49:00.000-07:00

Bhakti in Upaniṣads: A detailed Perspective on Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad

-Ms. V.Durgalakshmi & Dr Meera Baindur

Upanishads are some of the oldest texts in Indian intellectual traditions. A part of the Vedic literature, Upaniṣads are distinguished from the rest of the Veda-sections because of their emphasising the path of knowledge called Jñana kānda as opposed to the rest of the Vedic sections that focus on ritual or karma kānda.

The term Upaniṣad is formed from the root word śad which means ‘to sit’ and the two prefixes, ni that means ‘down’ and upa which means ‘near.’ The term therefore refers to the act of ‘sitting down near’ or in another sense it also means ‘to draw close to’. The word represents both the context and the content of the Upanishads. The context is that of a close conversation between the teacher and the taught and the content of teaching of these texts is the revelation of a secret knowledge that leads the student closer to a supreme spiritual state. The Upaniṣad-s are also called Vedanta, a culmination of Vedic enquiry into the nature of the truth (Dasgupta, 1922, p.30-31).

One can say that with the requisite physical, mental and intellectual temperaments, an entire generation of seekers exhausted enquiry into all possibilities of material sciences. Having done so, they turned inward and continued their seeking in the depths of their own personality. Having observed, analyzed and experienced “life”, they generously imparted their wisdom to deserving students, the next generation of sincere seekers. These experiences and teachings were crystallized into what is available to us as the Upaniṣad-s.

This article come to our forthcoming book entitled: Reconsidering Classical Indian Thoughts.

RE-INTERPRETING THE CONCEPT OF DHARMA IN CLASSICAL INDIAN ETHICAL PERSPECTIVE

2011-08-01T04:46:00.000-07:00

RE-INTERPRETING THE CONCEPT OF DHARMA IN CLASSICAL INDIAN ETHICAL PERSPECTIVE

-Dr Aditi Patra (Nee Ray)

In India, morality is never considered as separated from human existence and life. As a matter of fact, it is necessary to consider the basic factors of morality in relation to the study of human nature. Moral type of an individual depends on the basic intrinsic nature of the individuals. Each individual according to his own capacity is supposed to sustain a society, and that is value, that is his ‘dharma’. In my present thought provoking paper, my intention is to analyze and explicate the multidimensional interpretations of the concept of dharma from the classical Indian ethical perspective and more specifically from some of the thoughts of the Indian philosophical schools.

This paper is divided into four sections. The first section of this paper begins with the analysis of the etymological and other meanings of the word ‘dharma’. The term ‘dharma’ may be explained in the sense of objective morality as well as subjective morality. In the second section, the concept of dharma has been analyzed in the sense of objective morality. In the third section, discussions have been made about dharma as character trait and its consequences, i.e. in the sense of subjective morality. How does an individual achieve moksa or liberation by performing dharma has been critically analyzed in the concluding section.

Dharma, in the Indian ethics, is a key term and it is a term with many senses. The multivocal character of the word ‘dharma’ is evidenced by the fact that it has been used to denote such widely different things as nature, law, custom, religious rituals, rules, morality, duties, character-trait. This term, actually, covers the entire range of a man’s life. However, behind all of these dimensions, there is a normative one which constitutes also the central core. Dharma as a human value or purusartha, can be said to be the value which consists in, or is constituted by, living a morally good life, a life which is in accordance with the requirements of morality appropriate to a man’s just being a human being in his society or to his being a participant in interpersonal transactions .In this paper, the word ‘dharma’ is understood in the sense of morality and the other sense of dharma as religious consciousness has been excluded.

This article come to our forthcoming book entitled: Reconsidering Classical Indian Thoughts.

The Transformation of Women in Early North India: A Study in Historical Perspective

2011-07-29T04:20:00.000-07:00

The Transformation of Women in Early North India: A Study in Historical Perspective

-Dr. Sheena Krishnan Ulamparambath

In recent decades, women’s studies in India have raised important questions and issues about the invisibility, distortion and marginalization of gender as a category of analysis in the mainstream disciplines and their practices of canonization. Hence, an attempt is made in this paper to trace the transformation of women from Vedic period to the medieval period. There are certain hymns in Atharva Veda, which celebrate and glorify the power of Mother Earth like a woman. The hymns describing the goddess Ushas were apparently inspired and motivated by the glorious dawn of north India. Hence another attempt is made here to evaluate their transformation from an enviable and exalted position of the Vedic times, which is clearly indicated in their participatory scholarly and ritual status, to the medieval period of the decline of their status.

This article come to our forthcoming book entitled: Reconsidering Classical Indian Thoughts.

Indian Value System with Special Reference to the Holy Quran

2011-07-27T04:07:00.001-07:00

Indian Value System with Special Reference to the Holy Quran[1]

-Mohammed Abdullah

FARISHTUN SE BEHTAR HAI INSAN BANNA

MAGAR IS ME LAGTI HAI MEHNAT ZIYADA

Its is better to become human rather than Angle

But the efforts are much more in this

BASKAY DISHWAR HAI HAR KAM KA INSAN HONA

ADMI KO BI MAYSAR NAHI INSAN HONA

Just as it is difficult for things to be easy

It is not easy for man to become human.

Philosophy starts with the question ‘Who am I’, and since the beginning thinkers have been trying to answer this question. If we limit this question to a person then the question would be ‘Who is a person’. If we try to answer in precise words then we would say that our values make us human and which is very difficult.

We know that need good road to travel, clean water to drink and clean environment to live in, but we don’t know what is needed to become a good human being? In Today’s time, if you ask this question the answer would be in terms of money. It is interesting that our classical thinkers never negate money; in fact they have included it as one of the values of Purusharthas namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. Now, we can say that for a person all these are equally important, only then we can say that today we are developed. The progress should be in the all fields of life. It should advance both the culture of man and the civilization. Hence, progress is not one sided it includes both internal and outer progress of man.

[1] This paper is revised version of paper presented “Indian Value System with Special Reference to the Holy Quran” in ICPR Sponsored One-Day Regional Seminar at P.G.Govt College for Girls, Sector-11, Chandigarh on 27^th November,2011।

This article come to our forthcoming book entitled: Reconsidering Classical Indian Thoughts.

New Publication: ACPI Encyclopedia of PHILOSOPHY

2011-06-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

ACPI

Encyclopedia of PHILOSOPHY

2 Volumes

Editor-in-Chief

Dr. Johnson Puthenpurackal

Associate Editor

Dr. George Panthanmackel

About 420 Entries contributed by above 250 Scholars

Unique and Specific Themes in Philosophy

Philosophizing with a difference

Authoritative, Compact and Relevant source book on Philosophy

Various themes developed from the platform of India, but inclusive of global philosophical concerns

Published by

Asian Trading Corporation, Bangalore

For Orders:

Cheque or Demand Draft drawn in favour of

“Association of Christian Philosophers of India”

payable at “ELURU” or Money Order to be sent to

Vallabadoss John Peter

Consultant in Philosophy,

CBCI-Chair, SOSW, # 111, G-Block,

IGNOU, Maidan garhi, New Delhi – 110 068

011 29534394, 09811687807

मैकाले की प्रासंगिकता और भारत की वर्तमान शिक्षा एवं समाज व्यवस्था में मैकाले प्रभाव

2011-04-25T03:33:00.000-07:00

मैकाले की प्रासंगिकता और भारत की वर्तमान शिक्षा एवं समाज व्यवस्था में मैकाले प्रभाव :

मैकाले नाम हम अक्सर सुनते है मगर ये कौन था? इसके उद्देश्य और विचार क्या थे कुछ बिन्दुओं की विवेचना का प्रयास हैं करते.
मैकाले: मैकाले का पूरा नाम था थोमस बैबिंगटन मैकाले .. अगर ब्रिटेन के नजरियें से देखें तो अंग्रेजों का ये एक अमूल्य रत्न था .. एक उम्दा इतिहासकार, लेखक प्रबंधक, विचारक और देशभक्त ॥इसलिए इसे लार्ड की उपाधि मिली थी और इसे लार्ड मैकाले कहा जाने लगा..अब इसके महिमामंडन को छोड़ मैं इसके एक ब्रिटिश संसद को दिए गए प्रारूप का वर्णन करना उचित समझूंगा जो इसने भारत पर कब्ज़ा बनाये रखने के लिए दिया था...
Details:
http://ashutoshnathtiwari.blogspot.com/2011/04/blog-post_24.html

AMANASK – YOGA:A Break Through in Yogic Technology

2011-04-04T21:43:00.000-07:00

AMANASK – YOGA:A Break Through in Yogic Technology

Realise the self beyond mind and body. Enter the field of Creativity, Wisdom and Bliss

The Amanask Yoga (S.N. M. Technology) has been carved upon the natural tendency of mind to go in the direction of greater charm and happiness. So it is natural, scientific and very effective yogic system to cater and boost all five aspects of human personality.

Today, in spite of great scientific inventions, technological innovations and development of civilization, man is neither healthy nor happy. He is physically ill, mentally tense and emotionally disturbed. This is because of great stresses and strains to which he is subjected on physical, mental and emotional levels.

Today, he is more susceptible to psychosomatic diseases. The most recent multi dimensional research also reveals and confirms the same.

S.N.M system of yoga is an important antidote to mental-tension, stress and strain. It improves physical health and provides balanced psychological growth. It introduces vitality and vigor in body, mind and soul. It is panacea for most ills of modern stress ridden society.

What is S. N. M. Yoga?

It is unique, integrated, wholesome yogic system based on unified-field.

Having human biodynamism in mind, each technique of this holistic yogic system is selected in such a way that it complements and supplements the rest of techniques to foster

rapid pace of all round development of various aspects of human personality i.e. physical, mental, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual.

Main Constituents

¨ Supra Natural Meditation

A simple, natural meditation technique which allows one’s awareness progressively to move from grosser to subtler aspects of the mind and finally even transcending the subtlest aspects of mind to the unified field of all creativity, wisdom and bliss.

¨ Pranayam

Yogic techniques for conscious control and regulation of vital energy (Prana) by manipulations of breathing pattern. Pranayam are selected in a manner that each helps in rejuvenation and revitalization of the respiratory and nervous system in particular and other systems of the human body in general.

¨ Asanas

These are chosen to give exercise to deep seated muscles, gland etc. to tone them up and improve their efficiency. They also help in increasing neuro-muscular co-ordination. Great emphasis is given on selection of asanas for spinal column and endocrinal glands.

¨ Health rejuvenating exercises

To give exercise to muscles, lymphs organs etc. of human body with reference to joints and various system of human body.

¨ Cleansing Technique

To remove three dhosas (Vata, Pita and Kapha) in the human body.

¨ Life style

To be in alliance with the natural laws i.e. achar (way of living), vichar (mental outlook), ahaar (diet) and vyavahar (behaviour).

Benefits of S.N.M

If one takes various techniques of the system seriously and perform them efficaciously under the expert guidance, it can improve each and every aspect of the body, mind and soul.

¨ Physical level

Improves the working of almost each cell, tissues, organs and system of human body, resulting in good physical health with improved vitality. It also increases neuro muscular co-ordination. It improves immunity power to prevent and ward off diseases also.

¨ Mental level

It is an antidote for mental stress and strain. It increases creativity and intelligence. It improves co-ordination between creative thinking and dynamic activity, very essential to gain success in any undertaking in life.

¨ Emotional level

It helps to unfold the full potential of heart and mind leading to better interpersonal relationship with the fellow beings.

¨ Spiritual level

To ignite the divine power within you and thus divinize your total personality.

The benefits that one gets from the sincere practice of this unique yogic system are automatic, cumulative, enriching each and every aspect of life of the practitioner.

S. N. M. is free from any theological dogmas:

This system has no theological or communal bias. It does not insist on any particular belief or dress. It is a scientific system. Any body without any distinction of caste, creed, culture etc. can learn the techniques of this simple, natural, unique scientific system of yoga.

Steps for learning S.N.M yoga:

· Intra-cum-preparatory talk about the techniques of this system (30 min.)

· Personal interview with GURU (10 min.)

· Personal instructions regarding meditation technique of this system (30 min.)

· Verification and validation of experience after practice (30 min.)

· Further verification, validation of experiences and conclusion after practice (30 min.)

· Q & A after each session (10 min.)

Time required

5-7 sittings, each comprising of above 45 minutes are needed after, intro-cum-preparatory talk or demonstration of various techniques of this unique scientific system of Supra Natural Meditation of Yoga.

Contact:

Dr. Rajeshwar Sharma

M.Sc (Chemistry) , M.A (Philosophy), Degree in Yoga , Ph.D (Yoga)

C-10, Parivahan Apartments,, Sector-5, Vasundhra,Ghaziabad – 201012, U.P.

Ph: (0120) 4552632, Mob: 09871258853

For original voucher, download it from:

http://drsirswal.webs.com

To All Human Beings: If Some Are

2011-02-23T03:28:00.001-08:00

To All Human Beings: If Some Are

By Dr Desh Raj Sirswal. Saturday, 5. February, 12:04

This is an address to all human beings living in this beautiful world. This is not for any Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Christian or of any typical religious person. I ever thought that religion is a big problem for this world because mostly person favours, propogate own religion and criticize others religion. Every religious order education system should be stopped and a universal religious education system should come to existence where every child learn about all religions of the world, know the meaning of love, peace etc. We should try to give a new world to our children.

Comments

Moefi (mor air fee) # 6. February 2011, 13:48

...religion has always provided humanity with a sense of belonging. Unfortunately it cannot be ascribed to democracy or vice versa. Human beings have always tolerated each other as individuals but religion has taught them to differ at group level. This being said, there are huge benefits in the form of positive teachings individuals get from their religions.

I contend that individuals should exercise their right to subscribe to a religion that help them to be better people and in the not looking down on others or even take them to be enemies because they have a different subscription.

We can learn to coexist. I mean there no children of a lesser god.

Dr Desh Raj Sirswal # 6. February 2011, 13:59

Thanks Sir. Its nice thinking and it is also urgent matter of thinking about religious harmony in the world. Keep in touch.

I am I # 8. February 2011, 03:11

If every child studies all kind of religious, I think it will have 2 results.

1. The child will be a none religious person for knowing all of Gods.

2. Or the child will fight on mind " Who do I believe? " . And then, the struggles between religious will happen.

Raj, dream a peace world is a nice dream and me also too.

Dr Desh Raj Sirswal # 8. February 2011, 03:16

Dear there is a need of personal god, not social or community god. It is religion who is killing thousands of people around the world everywhere. Then I think it is better to become non religious, like me.

I am I # 8. February 2011, 03:33

Are you sure you are non religious? What does make you passionate in phylosophy?

Difficult to find a non religious. Of course, people is always saying " science is not religion " so what did you do with your passion?

Dr Desh Raj Sirswal # 8. February 2011, 04:23

Philosophy is an intellectual persuit in reference to our all believes. Whether they are religious, social, personal etc. Philosophy gives a critical insight to our life. Science and religion both are two sides of human life. Philosophy gives a synthesis to both and make our life more justify.

Link to original post:

The Positive Philosophy (Group)

http://my.opera.com/positivephilosopher/blog/to-all-human-beings-if-some-are

FRIENDS DO SEND IN UR FREE AND FRANK OPINION

2011-02-14T04:04:00.000-08:00

FRIENDS DO SEND IN UR FREE AND FRANK OPINION
January 29, 2011

In general I agree with Pollock's views and I wish him success on his Indian classics series. My one reservation is over his observation:

"I have been coming to India for long, but in all these years I am yet to meet a student at the university level who knows enough Sanskrit that could fill this cup of coffee."

I can only say that he has been going to the wrong places. I can find him at least a dozen students in and around Bangalore who would be happy to engage him in conversation in Sanskrit. The real problem is the competence and capacity of Sanskritists in Western academia.

They are quite articulate in English but become tongue tied when they have to express themselves in Sanskrit. This was painfully apparent when Michael Witzel of Harvard toured India in 2009 summer when schoolchildren exposed his limitations in Sanskrit.

Of course, no Western Sanskritist has produced any worthwhile literature in Sanskrit, while many Indians have attained distinction in English and other languages. I hope Sheldon Pollock proves to be an exception.

N.S. Rajaram

Dear Scholars

Please visit this link to read Sheldon Pollock's interview to the magazine named 'Business World' recently.

http://www.businessworld.in/bw/2011_01_27_The_American_Born_Confused_Desis_Are_Ideal_Students_Of_Sanskrit.html

He has very cleary and modestly put up his ideas about various issues related to Sanskrit. I feel it is very necessary to voice our modest agreement or disagreement to his views. This will help us avoid the development of a general feeling that these are the views of all the Sanskrit scholars in general and have only been voiced by Sheldon Pollock .Thanks to this group we have a forum of scholars almost all at one place to put this up and ensure that it is thoroughly discussed.

I am pasting the same article bellow for the convenience of those who for some reason may not be able to access the link provided above -

Renowned scholar Sheldon Pollock’s monograph, The Language Of The Gods

In The World Of Men: Sanskrit, Culture And Power In Premodern India (2006), is a journey of the pundit's love affair with Sanskrit and Indian culture. A Padma Shri winner, Pollock continues to fight for recognition of Sanskrit and other classic languages of India. He is general editor of the Murty Classical Library of India. BW’s Anjana Saproo caught up with him over a few cups of coffee during the Jaipur Literature Festival.

Do you think Sanskrit should get more space in Indian curriculum?

I would love to see Sanskrit being taught extensively at the university level. This is a subject that needs academic rigour. And why just Sanskrit, we should teach classical Kannada, classical Tamil, among others, at the Bachelor’s level. At the school level, Sanskrit teaching does not make sense simply because of the way it is being taught. The approach of most teachers is pedantic, and it is being taught in the rote manner – memorisation by repetition – and this destroys its very relevance.

What does the future hold for Sanskrit as language of communication?
Sanskrit is dying an exotic death. Over the years, we have seen it become a tool in the hand of fanatics, creating grave discomfort among academicians and the public. The relevance of Sanskrit lies in using its principles of thinking in various other aspects of scientific study. The reduced number of students doing humanities India has gone
down drastically unlike in the West. This is, in some way, linked to the decline in Sanskrit learning.

I have been coming to India for long, but in all these years I am yet
to meet a student at the university level who knows enough Sanskrit
that could fill this cup of coffee.

What kind of students take up Sanskrit at Columbia where you are a faculty?

There are three types of students. First, the post-modern hippies. They are interested in a little yoga and Ayurveda and then want to learn Sanskrit too. They fall off on the wayside pretty soon. Then there are some ABCDs who actually are the ideal students. They are
Indians born in the west and want to have a connection with Indian culture. So, they spend 2-3 years learning Sanskrit and then go on to become successful lawyers, doctors and even scientists. They are ideal because they carry with them a great Indian cultural resource, which they apply in life. Finally, there are the videsi students, who come
to pick up a degree in Sanskrit and most of them go back to their country.

I have an inbred connection to India and its language. I was lucky enough to have many good Sanskrit teachers in India. Above all, I am married to a professor of Hindi; I call her the Hindiwali.

What are the barriers that you faced in India while promoting Sanskrit?

I was expecting this question. A group of scholars and I had approached the Bikaner princess, Rajyashree Kumari, for access to the thousands of Sanskrit manuscripts lying in their library. We wanted to photograph these manuscripts and create an online archive, where any scholar could go and read about the rich Indian culture. But it was impossible to do so. I waited for four days in Bikaner. And they didn't allow us to do that. It was so frustrating and killed my enthusiasm in this whole project. Such historical relics are meant to be deciphered and disseminated and are not meant to be locked up in royal palaces to die a dusty death.

So, what next?
I am involved in two or three things, but I would like to talk about the newest initiative – The Ambedkar Sanskrit Fellowship Program at Columbia. It aims to establish an endowment to fund graduate studies in Sanskrit for students from historically disadvantaged communities.

We are ready to support the students till they are able to stand on their own feet

--
अथ चेत्त्वमिमं धर्म्यं संग्रामं न करिष्यसि।
ततः स्वधर्मं कीर्तिं च हित्वा पापमवाप्स्यसि।।
तस्मादुत्तिष्ठ कौन्तेय युद्धाय कृतनिश्चयः।
निराशीर्निर्ममो भूत्वा युध्यस्व विगतज्वरः।। (भ.गी.)

--

अथ चेत्त्वमिमं धर्म्यं संग्रामं न करिष्यसि।

ततः स्वधर्मं कीर्तिं च हित्वा पापमवाप्स्यसि।।

तस्मादुत्तिष्ठ कौन्तेय युद्धाय कृतनिश्चयः।

निराशीर्निर्ममो भूत्वा युध्यस्व विगतज्वरः।। (भ.गी.)

From

Dr. Ashutosh Angirash

Wed, Feb 9, 2011

ashutosh angiras sriniket2008@gmail.com

Title: Fwd: {भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्} Re: An interview of Sheldon Pollock- Your views?

Social Sciences as a Career

2011-02-08T06:18:00.001-08:00

Social Sciences study all aspects of society-from past events and achievement to human behavior and relationship among groups.Their research provides insights thats helps us understand different ways in which individuals and groups makes decisions, exercise powars and respond to change. Through their studies and analyses, social scientists sugguest solutions to social, business, personal, govermental and environmental problems. Research is a major activity of many social scientists, who use a variety of methods to assemble facts and construct theories. Applied Research is designed to produce information that will enable people to makes better decisions or manage their affairs more effectively. Collecting information takes many forms, including interviews and questionnaires to gather demographic and opinion data, living and working among the population being studied, performing field investigation, analysing historical records and documents, and preparing and interpreting maps and computer graphics. The work of specialists in one field may find that their research overlaps work being conducted in another discipline. (Sudhakar Kumar Mishra, Employement News, Vol.XXXV,No 44, 29 Jan - 04 Feb , 2011)

Logic Errors in Newton’s Laws which the British Royal Society and Cambridge University Will Not Notice for another 300-400 Years

2010-12-15T04:06:00.000-08:00

Logic Errors in Newton’s Laws which the British Royal Society and Cambridge University Will Not Notice for another 300-400 Years

(Satar from aldiyar and Abulizi from YIKMAT will offer each 500 US dollars to award the scientific talent who can develop new the Newton’s Law)

Tutor of the paper:
Wuper•Yunus, associate professor, director and chairman of board of Xinjiang Modern Occupational Technology College; Padamuhan•Mainik, Lecturer of physics of the Xinjiang Modern Occupational Technology College; Adily•Maimaity (from Jiashi County) Associate Professor and Master Instructor of Law and Politics Institute, Xinjiang Normal University
Authors:
Akmu’aini aldiyar , Aini•Naiyim aldiyar , Abuliz•Abula YIKMAT, Satar•Wusman aldiyar , Azguly•Keyumu YIKMAT, Mulila•Wupur ,yasin xukur YIKMAT,

Main contents
It is Newton who combined the religion and the science, put himself in God's position, established the Three Laws and became a successful physicist. Newton did not find himself this logic error, neither did the physicists pay attention to this issue 300 years later after Newton.
(1) In 1684, when Newton summed up the whole universe as a huge mechanical clock, he felt that God forgot to energize this clock for the first time to make it move, then requested the God to do it, if you are the God, are you willing to come?
(2) If the omniscient God would not come, then how did Newton's mechanical clock move? Was it Newton who made the clock to move with the first clause, and then established Newton's first law?
(3) In the same time when Newton requested the God, Unconsciously denied all the discoveries by scientists from the era of Aristotle to the year of 1684. In the time before Newton, Nothing was moved.
(4)The logic of Newton’s laws consider that, all the movement from the atom to solar system including human beings and animals, also started in 1684 i.e. the time when Newton requested the external force.
(5) In 1684, Newton denied the entire scientific basis related to the universe movement when he studied universal gravitation together with Robert Hooke. And the universal gravitation commenced after Newton became the God.
(6) The year in which Newton requested the God and established the First Law has already passed 2320 years. The whole world does not recognize this fact yet.
(7) Newton's logic believed that the God is an external object out of all objects, not the spirit; this differs from the conception of the invisible God mentioned in the Bible.

Key Word: Scientific development concept and new development of Engel’s logic; the Big Bang Theory; subtraction of the mathematics.

It can be seen that British Royal Society and Cambridge University did not notice Newton’s logic errors for 320 years. We have always considered that Newton is one of the greatest scientists in the world. In the past 300 years or so, our worship was overheated, nobody noticed the basis of Newton's laws – what does the external force mean? Is the External Force God requested by Newton matter or spirit? Although our previous paper Emperor's New Clothes and New Newton's Laws was spread to many places in the world, few people understood this new law.
During more than one year after publishing our Paper, we continued studying Newton's laws and we found we committed a grave logical mistake, and it is also a common mistake of the human beings i.e. we neglected the concept of ‘Almighty God is omniscient and all good’. The religion has many categories, Newton professed Christian in his middle age, therefore when we analyzed Newton's laws in the position of Christians we found we were all wrong. Now it is known publicly that Einstein's theory of relativity is very difficult to understand. At least, Einstein should know his theory, but Newton himself did not know how he became the God.
Of course, any religion shall not publicly acknowledge that Newton is a God, but the reality of 300 years proved that any one of the religious believers does not oppose the external force – God requested by Newton in Newton's laws. They did not ask why God denied himself, why the God came to help Newton, could it be that the God did not have other choice but help Newton? Is it true that the motion did not exist in the universe before Newton requested God? What did the scientists before Newton study? Please read the following analysis:
Monthly UFO Exploration published a paper Inextricably Involved Interlink in its volume of June, 2002. The author presents in the thesis "The first milestone in theoretical physics belongs to Newton, his world view is mechanical, he believed that the universe was a huge clock, everything was determined accurately, and this clock excluded completely the effect of the spirit. Newton's merit will never be neglected; nevertheless, the huge universe clock he found was lack of a first push, that is, who will start its wind spring for this huge clock? He had no alternative, ha had to request the external force to help him. However, after the clockwork spring of this universe clock was fully wound up through external force, Newton did not allow external force to land a hand to the matters of the universe. After that everything would be dominated by the laws discovered by Newton.
Analysis (1) - Christians’ Bible believed that the God created the Earth on October 23, Sunday of 4004 BC. It can be said that just before the end the sixth day, the God had created everything (all objects) including the human beings i.e. Adam and Eve etc - the highest level of existence of the objects. Of course, the movement began with the birth of mankind. The movements conducted earlier than human beings were the movements by the whole solar system and all the celestial bodies and all other matters, which refers to the solar system, Earth, atoms, molecules, elementary particles. With Logical thinking of a Christian, people can also find that before Newton requested God, they had moved for more than 2,320years, that is 4004-1684 = 2320. This is a very simple mathematical algorithm, Newton was a mathematical genius, and unfortunately he did not pay attention to this small problem. If he noted it, he would not request the God in 1684. Under normal circumstances, what an authority’s statement means business and the majority’s saying is right. This formula 4004 year-1684 year = 2320 year demonstrates that scientists are common human beings, not gods, including the scientists from British Academy and the University of Cambridge, they will make mistakes too.
(2)Now we have relatively complete Big Bang theory, which has been awarded Nobel Prize for six times. The matters in physical research mentioned in the theory of Big Bang and the matters defined in Marxist philosophy were formed during a Big Bang about 13.7 billion years ago, and then about 13.695 billion years later after the Big Bang, human spirit appeared, and this spirit moved about136.94998316 billion years to develop into Newton era. These figures prove Marxist philosophy “substance is primary and consciousness is secondary.” This basic principle is correct and non-critical. We also found Newton's logic error through this criterion. If all people think of Newton's laws in this logic way, the problem is very clear.
(3)It is difficult for us to understand that Newton did not recognize Aristotle’s On the Heavens, Geocentric Theory by XX in 1st century AD and Heliocentric Theory by Nicolas Copernicus in 16th century. Johannes Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion and Dialog between Science and Faith by Galileo and other theories studied the rules of the object movement, although some point of view of these theories differ greatly, their common ground is: the solar system and objects of solar system are in motion before the birth of Newton. The movement continues for more than 2320 years. Newton did not need to request the God and the God does not need to come.
(4)Recent scientific research discovers that gravity formula was firstly put forward by Robert Hooke. Newton adopted this formula, developed his own theories, at that time Newton did not admit Hooke’s contribution. Newton studied the movement of the Earth, Moon and Apples. When Newton invented the law of mechanical motion, he did not notice the moon and the apple were in motion.
(5)In physics, the impact of an object onto another object is called the force. At that time the whole solar system is an integral body of all the objects. Besides the solar system, other objects exist, which made the first drive for the solar system and all objects in the solar system. According to the explanation of logic of physics, God is an exterior object out of all objects. Then, how did the God, an exterior object start this movement? In times of Newton, the God was a kind of spirit but not objects. In the meantime, we found that the God obeyed Newton's request. When God was requested, he would come. When the movement of the mechanical clock was over, Newton would mandatorily send God away, or would not let the God participate in the rest issues. Newton could manage the God.
(6)Another analysis is like this - We are relatively familiar with the books on the presentation of Newton's life in scientific fields just like Biography of Newton etc., The information says, Newton joined the Christian in his middle age. Just at that time, he believed that the reason for the movement of all objects was due to God. That is, when the God created this universe, he moved the entire universe with the First Cause. Here is a suspected problem, in the Bible, God created all lives on earth on October 23, 4004 B.C. (Sunday). God spent totally six days to create all the objects; we do not know that date is the first day or the sixth day in which the God created all things.
In one word, the mechanical clock mentioned by Newton was made completely by the God in the sixth day. Of course, this mechanical clock referred to the sun, earth, moon, living human beings, animals, atoms in microscopic world and combination of numerous objects in the whole universe. Our questions remain that the God pushed once when he created each object, or only after the construction of the whole mechanical clock (all objects) had completed, he pushed it to move with the first clause? A key problem is the time for Newton’s mechanical clock to move and the time for the objects inside this mechanical clock to move differ in time sequence i.e. the starting times are different. The God created everything, so should hundred million times of first cause or once of pushing force be used? If hundred of million times of pushes are conducted, this mechanical clock should have hundred of million of clocks, so hundred of million of pushing force and hundred of million of time shall be needed.
If a hundred of million times of pushing was not needed, all the objects did not move from the first day to the sixth day, the motion is the form for substances to exist. Is possible that the God did not know such a simple question? The procedure of the objects from elementary particles to whole solar system etc lies in motion in various layers; infinite objects need infinite pushing forces. Besides now new species of substances come into being continuously on the earth, as it were, now the God is using infinite pushes to move these new objects. In this way the God has no way to have a rest.
We admit the first push from the Newton’s logic, but we have no way to know the right time-the time for the first clause to exert its effect, was the first second of the first day or the last second of the sixth day? If it exerted its effect in the first day, this force moved the matters of the micro word of elemental particles and atom etc; if it moved in the sixth day, what was its form of existence during the first day and the sixth day? Nobody cold solve this problem. The problem is the first clause theory was put forward by Newton, so this first clause theory cannot be the real reason for the movement of the objects.
(7)As we mentioned above, Newton established Newton's Law under the premise of combining religion and physics. Therefore, we use the traditional religious point of view to analyze Newton's laws. They see more clearly how Newton put himself in God's position and set up Newton's laws and the evidence to control our thinking. We can see through the basic elements that during 320 years after the birth of Newton's law to nowadays, scientists from the field of Christian do not notice whether the God is omniscient?
Is the God the spirit as stated in Christianity or material as Babbage states? Actually Newton’s logic is not the same with Babbage; Babbage did not think that Newton was the God. We support Newton's law, unconsciously receiving Newton is God. The God is the object out of all objects, because in physics the impact by an object onto other object is called the force, thus the objects inherent in the first clause should be the first object, not the spirit.
(8)The history of Newton's first law, Galileo once conducted such tests in this field, but his test objects were an iron ball and the space for ball movement. When Newton developed this idea, this ball represented all the objects including humans and animals, atoms and objects smaller than atoms.
(9)In 1900 when physicists discovered through tests that Newton's law could not explain the motion of atoms and objects smaller than the atoms. Professor Stephen Hawking from Cambridge University said “Today’s scientific development does not use the theory of First Clause, the universe can have motion.” The problem we mention is also related to the issue of the first clause. The first clause that Professor Hawking talked about should the pushing force of the God, not Newton’s first clause. Then could the traditional Newton's law be changed? The paper Emperor's New Clothes and New Newton's Laws developed Newton’s logical point of view and developed his laws.
(10)Humans now generally acknowledged that Newton's laws of motion and gravity are the theory to explain the movement of objects as an integral theoretical system. So you can judge the objects stated in all objects and the objects mentioned in gravity have the same concept. Of course, when we study the substances of gravity through the point of view of Marxist philosophy, we can find that in fact the targets of the research by the two subjects are the same contents and similar objective existence. What it differs is we have difference point of view and thinking. Regarding the basic form of matters, we refer the unity between objects and substances put forward by Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, and they have the same concept.
Einstein is the most famous scientists of the 20th century and also regarded as the most famous scientists in human history. In 1905 he published Special Theory of Relativity, which unified the concept of materials between physics and philosophy. But we have not accepted his main logic.
The first logic that is not accepted - That is the sameness of humanity defined in natural sciences and social sciences, which was unified by Einstein. Physicists and philosophers now still consider that the substance in physics and the matter of Marxist philosophy is different, they are two different concepts. Here is a simple explanation, the premise of the movement of objects in physics aspect is external force, whereas Marxist philosophy keeps the concept that the premise of the motion of the matter is mainly the internal factors, but the external factors plays the role of the side effects. Of course, this view is our previous result before we developed Engels's basic form of movement. Surely the problem is not such simple, because we can see from Einstein's special theory of relativity that the human, animal, atoms, molecules and elementary particles studied in physics and Marxist philosophy are the same, are all born at the same time about 137 million years.
Our previous paper Emperor's New Clothes and New Newton's Laws is based on the logic of Marxism. In more than one year after its publication, we received valuable comments from many teachers of physics and fans engaged in the comprehensive research of the logic of Marxism. During this period of more than one year, we found that our original thesis has certain shortcomings after communication and argument with them through telephone and e-mail etc. the mistakes and shortcomings are - although Marxist view of history is a scientific world view, Marxism has not spread to every corner of the world yet, for many countries - religion is the state religion, and their number of population is considerable. However they did not study in the standpoint of religion the problem- Could Newton request the God or not. They have always supported Newton's law.
Not paying attention to the spirit of religion. They analyzed Newton's law on the basis of their standpoints, yet they also found weakness of Newton's law in simple way. Thus people must conduct the research of Newton's law with Marxist world view and develop Newton's laws on this basis. Thus New Newton's laws come into the world.
The experts we contact through various channels are:
Aikpar, associate research fellow from Planning Office of XJ Region Party Committee; Palidan•Wupur, Germany education background; Abudu• Rixiti, Doctor of Mathematics, Professor, Vice President of Mathematics & Systematical Science College of Xinjiang University;, staff from Bank of Agriculture; Gu Shuigen,lin xin ping ,lin ni ,yao jin zhi ,chen bing , Liu Xinhua, Dou Wenqiang, Mai Yongqing senior journalists; Aspujiang•Yashen , lawyer of Xinjiang Gonglian Law Office Li Qiang, Bai Yutao, colleagues; Kerim•Aili, PhD from a Japan university, professor from XJ University of Agriculture; Muheta, from XJ University, France study background; Turdi•Wumar, physics PhD of Moscow University, Physics Institute attached to XJ Academy of Science; Abuliz •Abulaity, senior engineer from Institute of Exploration & Planning of National Land Resources of Turpan; Guzadinur•Juma, Baihelaty •Turxun, Peng Shi, Zhulipia •Jialaliding teachers from Urumqi No. 2 Middle School; Aikpa, Studies Section of Urumqi No.6 Middle School; Yalikun, teacher from Studies Section of Urumqi No.6 Middle School; Sdik•Maisudy, Turpan TV Station; Bari from Turpan Bureau of Civil Affairs; adila aini(Yikmat), Gulibahar•Nurdun (Yikmat) assistant of the authors; Caimaitijiang, XJ Science and technology Newspaper; Adilijiang•Ablimity, Channel 9 of XJ TV Station; Maitiniyazi•mainik, Niyazi•Ezizi, Afar•Wupur, ,anwar amislim ,Bawudong•Silajiding from Turpan Aiding Lake Middle School; Patar•Maimaity, Maimaity•Chaidu from XJ Water Conservancy and Electric Power School; Aihemaity•Maimaity from Petroleum Hospital; Adily•Yasheng from Urumqi Shuimogou District; Ainiwa•Abdureyimu, Amty•Mayity, Senior Engineer from Water Conservancy Department; Abliz•Wusman, Ainy•Mutaly from Hami City etc. The original paper has been modified fore many times, but we feel that there are still many deficiencies.
As the facts above mentioned, we may find that no matter it is Newton's law or Marxist philosophy both need developing, both science need to replenish mutually. The development of modern physics promotes the development of Marxist philosophy; in the meantime Marxist philosophy looked back and discovered the mistake made over 300 years ago. Newton's law has been developed, from this fact, we naturally find why not select Marxist philosophy as common textbook for the world. Further, we think Marxist philosophy should be selected as an optional course in all universities around the world. This point of view is another kind of new development of Marx - Engels (The Communist Manifesto). Marxism is a theory which Keep pace with the times, when the times goes forward, the theory also develops. New development of Engels’s theory (basic form of the matter).
Marx and Engels cooperated for 40 years and created jointly Marxist theory. Classics of Marxist theory – regarding the reasons for the motion and development of any matter, the internal factors of the matter play principal role and the exterior factors play side effects during the implementation. This point of view can replace the reasons for the motion of Newton’s mechanical clock. New Newton's laws are established on this basis. The papers we are studying this time include:
(1) The Basic Form of the Matter
(2) Einstein’s Logic Error
(3) Correct Special Relativity
(4) Big Bang energy formula
(5) The Universal Gravity Newton Created
And more papers. We can cooperate and we have the ability to de it well if any research institute or foundation has these subjects in its project.
YIKMAT and ADIYAR two trademarks offer each € 500 to reward scientific talents who can develop the point of view, unlimited number, time is scheduled in the period after the releasing date within three years, and the standpoint must be based on new development of Marxist philosophy (basic form of materials).
　　

References
1. Selected Works of Marx and Engels, Volume 4, People's Publishing House published in 1972
2. Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Volume 1-5, People's Publishing House Edition1991,
3. Selected Works of Lenin Volume 1-6 People's Publishing House, Edition 1994
4. Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Volume 1-2, People's Publishing House, Edition 1994,
5. 25 Theoretical issues concerned by cadres and the masses, Bureau of the CPC Central Committee Propaganda Department of the theory. - Learning Press 2003-2 printed for the first time
6. Greatest scientists in the world (UK) John•Fan Dayton etc. Jin Yin translator
(strongly recommended works by 2007 Nobel Prize award-winning scientists) Heilongjiang Science and Technology Press. May 2008
7. Brief History of Time from the Big Bang to Black Holes by Stephen•Hawking, translated by Wu Zhongchao, Hunan Science and Technology Press (10-year revised and enlarged edition)
8. Did Einstein believe the God? Author Fang Zhouzi, Guangxi Science and Technology Press, August 2009 first edition, Author Liang Heng, Uygur language edition translated by Maimaitijiang•Nuerwula Urumqi: Xinjiang People's Publishing House. 2006 March
9. UFO Exploration; all magazines from 2001 to 2008
10. Imperialism Excellent Financial by Engels, People's Publishing House July 1978, Uygur version
11. Dialectics of Nature by Engels People’s Publishing House1978 July
12. Principles of Marxist Philosophy - Uygur version. 1984 teaching materials by Peng Xizi,
13. UFO Exploration Volume VI Inextricably Involved Interlink
14. Concise Astronomy Guide Science Press

Akmu’aini aldiyar Jianshe Rd. Branch of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Agricultural Bank of China Limited
Aini•Naiyimu aldiyar Education background in Japan Master degree, Xinjiang Airline
Abuliz•Abula YIKMAT director of Xinjiang Zemin New Technical Project Development Institute
Satar•Wusiman• aldiyar general manager of Xinjiang Turpan Aldiya Fruit Industry Co., Ltd.
Azguly•keyumu YIKMAT, employee of Xinjiang Huakang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Yasin xukur YIKMAT of Xinjiang Zemin New Technical Project Development Institute

Reference:
An email attachment:
fromakimenistiyin
to"drs.kuk"
Date: Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 10:34 PM
Blog of the Writer:
http://blog.163.com/akimenistiyin@yeah/

Western Philosophical Terms by Prof. Dharmanand Sharma

2010-08-14T00:02:00.000-07:00

Philosophy is:
· A search for meaning and truth- The general beliefs and attitudes of an individual or group.
· The body of principles underlying a branch of learning or major discipline.
· Of What Value is the Study of Philosophy
o Provide clarification for what is or has been done by others
o Provides a frame work for life and our action
o Can be useful in solving educational problems
o A good mental activity
· Three Major Areas of Philosophy
o Metaphysics – The nature of reality.
o Axiology – The nature of values.
o Epistemology – The nature of knowledge.

Metaphysics
· Concerned with theories of the nature of reality.
o What does the earth exist?
o How did it come into being?
o Is man free?
o Is there God?
o What is real?
· Common terms used in metaphysics are:
o Theology
o Creationism
o Evolution
o Spirit
o Free will
o Atheism

· Metaphysics is the area, many people think of when they hear the term philosophy.

Axiology

· Concerned with theories of value.
· Two major divisions of axiology.
o Ethics
§ What is right and wrong?
§ What is evil and good?

o Aesthetics
§ What is beautiful and ugly?
· Some common terms used that relate to axiology are pessimism, optimism, hedonism, egoism, and altruism.

Epistemology

· Concerned with theories of the nature of knowledge
· Epistemological questions:
o How do people learn?
o What knowledge is of utmost value?
o What are the different types of knowledge?

Philosophical Schools of Thought
· Idealism
· Realism
· Pragmatism
· Existentialism
· Re-constructionism

Idealism (Idea-ism)

· Idealist believes that ideas are the only true reality.
· The material world is characterized by change, instability, and uncertainty; some ideas are enduring
· We should be concerned primarily with the search for truth. Since truth is perfect and eternal, it cannot be found in the world of matter that is both imperfect and constantly changing.
· Methods of Idealism
o Study the classics for universal truths
o Mathematics (2+2=4 is an absolute truth)
o Dialectic (critical discussion)
§ The dialectic looks at both sides of an issue
o Lecture is used to transmit known truths and to stimulate thinking.
· The Dialectic
o Thesis “War is good”
o Antithesis “War is bad”
o Synthesis

· Leaders of Idealism
o Socrates (469-399 BC)
o Plato (427-347 BC)
o St. Augustine (350-430)
o Descartes (1596-1650)
o Berkeley (1685-1753)
o Kant (1724-1804)

· Socrates
o Regarded as the father of philosophy
o Believed we learned through questioning (the Socratic method)
o Wrote nothing, what we know of his views were written by his followers, most notably Plato.

· Plato
o A student of Socrates
o Known as the father of idealism
o Operated a school named the “Academy”
· Plato’s views toward education
o The state must take an active role in educational matters
o The curriculum must lead bright students from a concern with concrete data toward abstract thinking
o Students with little ability for abstraction should go into the military, business and industry.
· Those who demonstrate proficiency in the dialectic would continue their education and become philosophers in positions of power to lead the state toward the highest good (the Philosopher-King)
· Believed both boys and girls should be educated and girls should be equals.

· Augustine (354-430)
o Born in North Africa (Roman citizen)
§ Mother – Christian
§ Father – Pagan
o Attended Roman Primary School
§ Grammar and literature emphasized
o At 16 went to Carthage and studied:
§ Rhetoric, music, geometry, grammar, mathematics
o During his younger days “He lied, he stole, he winched.”
o Became a Grammaticus in his native town
o Taught rhetoric in Carthage, Rome, Milan
o While in his 30’s was converted to Christianity, took his holy orders and became a great evangelist and priest.
o Found great favour in the church and became a great religious leader.
o People do not create knowledge; God has already created it, but people can discover it through trying to find God.

· Augustine’s Beliefs
o Women were held in low regard (this view was incorporated into the church and held for a thousand years)
o Only a few people possessed the mental ability to quest for the truth. Therefore most people should rely on the church for knowledge.
o Augustine used Greek writing but began to have doubts how people who did not know God could write anything which could be of value to Christians.
o In 401 the Church outlawed pagan writings such as Plato and Aristotle (even the church leaders were not allowed to read the ancient literature). This continued for 1000 years.

· Augustine’s Beliefs about Teaching
o Encouraged the use of summaries
o Believed teachers should teach through persuasion and by leading impeccable lives.
o Teachers should not expect to increase their worldly stores through teaching.
o The “stick and fist” were needed to keep students in line since people were wicked (because of Adam).

· The Church and Idealism
o Idealism has exerted a great amount of influence on Christianity.
o For centuries the Christian church was the creator and protector of schooling.
o Generations educated in these schools were indoctrinated with the idealist point of view (including early American education).

· Descartes (1596-1650)
o A renown mathematician
o Wrestled with the question of what was real and did he really exist (perhaps he was a dream). He finally concluded: “I think, therefore I am”
o Thinking and ideas are the ultimate truth.

· George Berkeley (1685-1753)
o Existence is dependent upon some mind to know it, and if there are no minds, nothing would exist unless it is perceived in the mind of God.

· Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
o “… the greatest and most difficult problem to which a man can devote himself is the problem of education…”
o Education should teach students how to think according to principles- moral laws, moral ideals and moral imperatives
o Enlightenment is the goal of education

· Educational Aims of Idealism
o Develop the mind
o Search for true ideas
o Character development
o Self-realization
o True education is concerned with ideas rather than matter.
o The idealists want to give students a broad understanding of the world in which they live.
· The Idealist and the Chair
o To an idealist the concept of “chair” is important. You could destroy all the chairs in the world but they would still exist in the mind. The idea of a chair is the ultimate truth.

Realism

· Realism, knowledge and value exist independent of the human mind, Trees, sticks and stones exist whether or not there is a human mind to perceive them.
· Ideas must be subject to public verification
o Must be proven through scientific experimentation
· “Science for the sake of science”
· Universal properties of objects remain constant and never change, whereas particular components do change
· Need to study nature systematically
· Deductive reasoning – truth is derived from generalizations
o Earth is the center of the universe

· Leaders of Realism
o Aristotle (384-322 BC)
o Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
o Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
o John Locke (1632-1704)

· Aristotle (384-322 BC)
o Ideas may be important but a proper study of matter could lead us to better and more distinct ideas.
o Golden Mean – a path between extremes
o Balance is key – body and mind operate together in a balanced whole

· Aquinas (1225-1274)
o God created matter; therefore it must be ok to learn about it
o This view helped leas civilization out of the dark ages, replaced the influence of Augustine.
o Truth was passed from God to Humans by divine revelation, but God also has endowed humans with the reasoning ability to seek out truth.

· Bacon (1561-1626)
o Novum Organum – challenged Aristotelian logic
o Science must be concerned with inquiry, pure and simple with no preconceived notions
o We need to examine all previously accepted knowledge
o Need to rid our mind of “idols”
§ Idol of the Den – we believe things because of limited experience
§ Idol of the Tribe – we believe things because many people believe them
§ Idol of the Marketplace – we are mislead by language
§ Idol of the Theatre – Religion and philosophy may prevent us from see the world objectively

· Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
o known as the father of inductive reasoning
§ Arrive at generalizations from systematic observations of particulars
o Died as a result of the only experiment he performed – stuffed a dead chicken with snow to see if it would preserve the flesh, caught a cold and died.

· John Locke (1632-1704)
o At birth, the mind is a blank sheet of paper – a tabula rasa
o All ideas are derived from experience by way of sensation and reflection.

· Realism and Education
o Promotes the study of Science and the scientific method
o There are essential ideas and facts to be learned; therefore lecture and other formal methods of teaching are useful
o Find specialization to be desirable
o Like structure
§ Ringing bells, departments, daily lesson plans
o If something exists, it can be measured
§ IQ, Effective teaching
o Approve of competencies, performance – based teaching, accountability
o Teacher should present material in a systematic, organized way and teach that there are clearly defined criteria for making judgements in art, economics, politics, etc.

· The Realist and the Chair
o To a realist, the actuality of “chair” is important. A realist would measure the chair, weight it, examine the physical characteristics, etc. The fact that the chair exists is the ultimate truth.

Pragmatism

· The root of the word Pragmatism is a Greek word meaning “Work”
· It is primarily a 20th century philosophy developed by Americans.
· Truth is what works in the real world. We must keep the desired end in mind.
· Ideas should be applied to solving problems; including social problems.
· Leaders in Pragmatism
o Auguste Comte, 1798-1857
§ Not a pragmatist but emphasized using science to solve social problems
o Charles Darwin, 1809-1882
§ Reality is not found in being, but in Becoming
§ Reality is open-ended, in process, with no fixed end.

· American Pragmatists
o Charles Sanders Peirce, 1839-1914
§ Widely acknowledged as the father of pragmatism
§ Wrote an article on “How to make our Ideas Clear” in Popular Science Monthly that is regarded as the basis for pragmatism.
§ True knowledge of anything depends upon verification of our ideas in actual experience
o William James, 1842-1910
§ The truth of an idea is its “workability”
§ Truth is not absolute and immutable; rather it is made in actual, real – life
§ James called his philosophy “radical empiricism”
§ James’s 1907 book “Pragmatism” did much to promote pragmatism.
§ Rufus stemson, a leader in agricultural education, studies under James.
o John Dewey, 1859-1952
§ Need to concentrate on real – life
§ Sought Practical solutions for practical problems
§ How we think
· Felt difficulty
· Define the possible
· Formulate possible solutions
· Examine & Evaluate possible solutions
· Accept or reject solutions

· Pragmatism and Education
o Education should be preparation for life
o Solving problems is important; therefore use real-life situations
o Teaching methods should be varied and flexible
o Education should be action oriented
o Needs and interests of students should be considered
o Project approach to teaching is desirable
o Curriculum is varied
o A broad education is more desirable

· The Pragmatist and the Chair
o To a pragmatist, the use of the “chair” is important. What is the purpose of the chair and does it fulfil that purpose? The “workability” of a chair is the ultimate truth

Reconstructionism

· Society is in need of constant reconstruction
· Such social change involves both a reconstruction of education and the use of education in reconstructing society
· Problems are viewed holistically
· Futuristic thinking (utopian thinking)
· Do not believe preparing students for the world as it exists today will be sufficient (too much emphasis on the status quo)
· The goal of education should be to emphasize the need for change
· Students should be out in the real world
· “World” curriculum
· Technology is valuable in solving problems

· Reconstructionists want to:
o Link thought with action
o Theory with practices
o Intellect with activism

· Noted Reconstructionists
o George S. Counts
o Theodore Brameld
o Paole Freire
o Karl Marx
o Lvan Illich
o John Dewey (he is also recognized as a pragmatist)
· The Resonstructionist and the Chair
o To a reconstructionist, the redesign of the “chair” to better serve the needs of society is important. How can the chair be improved to prepare society for the future?

Existentialism

· Received new emphasis on the 60s and 70s
o Civil rights
o Women rights
o Individual rights
o Special needs
o
· In education
o Curriculum was revamped to meet the needs (more accurately - demands) of individuals
o Mainstreaming
o Pass or fail grade policies
o Extended drop deadlines in college
o Elimination of core courses
o Decline of corporal punishment
· In extension there was a focus on serving non-traditional clientele
· Focus shifted toward the urban environment
· Traditional philosophies – consider questions about the nature of knowledge, truth and meaning but:
o Existentialists are concerned with how these things are educationally significant within the lived experiences of individuals.

· Existentialism and Education
o People come first, then ideas
§ People create ideas
o Emphasis on self discovery

· Existentialism and Schools
o A good education emphasizes individuality
o Students should take a positive role in shaping their schools
o Students shouldn’t have to:
§ Attend classes
§ Take examinations
§ Receive grades
§ There is no set curriculum

· Noted Existentialists
o Soren Kierkegaard
o Martin Heidigger
o Martin Buber
o Jean-Paul Sartre

· The Existentialist and the Chair
o To an existentialist, the individuals use to “chair” is important. Whatever the individual wants to do with the chair is important. The experience of the individual with the chair is the ultimate truth.

By Prof. Dharmanand Sharma
Professor, Department of Philosophy &
Coordinator, Centre for Swami Vivekananda Studies,
Panjab University.
E-mail: vivekanandastudies@gmail.com
On dated: August 13,2010

Post Link:
http://niyamakreference.blogspot.com/2010/08/philosophical-terms-by-prof-dharmanand.html

THE MEANING AND OBJECTIVES OF EDUCATION

2010-05-09T23:29:00.000-07:00

Become a part of the book Philosophy, Education and Indian Value System(CPPIS 2011) Contact:
http://drsirswal।webs.com

CLASSROOM INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY

2009-10-09T23:45:00.000-07:00

CLASSROOM INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
(Understanding the nature of Reality, Knowledge and Value)

It is often felt that teaching a course in ‘Introductory Philosophy’ is far more difficult than teaching a course on a specific philosophical area at a relatively higher level. The ‘introductory’ nature of Philosophy is not elementary in nature. Indeed, there is not ‘elementary’ philosophy with which one can begin as a way of introducing the student to Philosophy. Philosophy is, by nature, intrinsically ‘deep’ right from the beginning. The pool of philosophy is deep all over, with no shallow banks. Any enduring academic experience of teaching Philosophy surely testifies to this claim.

If a teacher has to introduce Philosophy as a specific discipline in an under-graduate class, how would he or she go about doing that? Are there basic chapters of a typical text to start with, in the way there are in other disciplines like Physics and Economics and Biology? Even if certain basic chapters are touched upon, how basic are the contents of those topics or concepts? It seems that the so-called ‘basics’ of Philosophy are far too dense in meaning to help the student make a smooth and easy entry into the subject.

It is almost pointless to begin the discourse with the etymological meaning of ‘Philosophy’, e.g. ‘Love of Wisdom’. After all, the term ‘wisdom’ itself is not too clear or free from ambiguity. Besides, wisdom is not what the teacher is going to teach in a professional academic discourse of Philosophy. The teacher would therefore do well to think of a more ‘practical’ and ‘relevant’ way of accompanying the student in the journey
of Philosophy.

Perhaps the best strategy is to begin with the illustration of the central samples of philosophical discussion that have traditionally been the occupation of philosophers. Here the move would require making use of the traditional classification of Philosophy into three broad categories of discourse: Metaphysics or the Theory of Reality; Epistemology or the Theory of Knowledge; Axiology or Value Theory. The introductory discourse of Philosophy ought to take up the principal concerns of these three sectors.

The two-week long WINTER SCHOOL IN PHILOSOPHY is conceived as an interactive
workshop for young philosophy teachers and doctoral students, who will be instructed by a team of experts on how to deliver effectively introductory lectures in the classroom. Attention is to be drawn specially towards the role of being a teacher of philosophy inculcating philosophical knowledge to beginners in Philosophy. But the teacher himself or herself needs to be sufficiently clear about the way one ought to unfold the conceptual story of Philosophy. That unfolding is to follow the principal issues and arguments available in the discussions of metaphysics, epistemology and axiology.

Metaphysical issues relate to the question of being, whether it is the “Being of God, the World, or the Self”. There are traditional “Arguments for the existence of God: Especially the Ontological Argument”, arguments of “Realism or Idealism about the existence of the World”, and both “Substance-essentialist and Anti-substantivist arguments regarding the existence of the Self”. Furthermore, there are subsidiary metaphysical questions concerning “Mind-Body Dualism”, “Causality, Determinism and freedom of the Will”, and about “Universals and Particulars”.

Epistemological issues that prominently figure in discussion include the “Platonic Definition of Knowledge and the Gettier Problem”, “Perceptual Knowledge”, “A Priori Knowledge”, “Internalist and Externalist theories of Epistemic Justification”, and the general “Problem of Skepticism”.

Axiological questions basically concern Ethics and Aesthetics. Some major issues include “Morality and Egoism/Altruism”, “Moral relativism/Absolutism”, Moral Theories like “Eudaimonism, Utilitarianism and Deontology”, “Virtue Ethics”, and the rise of “Applied Ethics”. Aesthetic problems related to questions about the “Ontology of Art”, “Aesthetic Detachment”, theories of “Artistic Representation/Expression/Form”, and the “Value of Art in Human Culture”.

The Winter School will consist of discussions on a chosen set of topics that relate to these three branches of Philosophy. It is presumed that a basic understanding of Philosophy as an intellectual discourse is an understanding of the principal problem of metaphysics, epistemology and value theory. This understanding is supposed to be uniform and wellintegrated, so that a teacher of Philosophy is capable of rendering that understanding in a format which conduces to a systematic and coherent grasp of the subject.

Emphasis will be laid on thematic discussion and understanding of Philosophy rather than a historical understanding. Reference to history of philosophy would be subservient to thematic relevance. The Indian/Western division of Philosophy would be circumvented by an attempt to tackle a given problem from different angles.

It is most important to realize that the young mind of the student is quite likely to be puzzled by the kind of questions that arise in Philosophy. That is because of the unique peculiarity of the discourse. The teacher must therefore be able to explain why at all such peculiar problems arise, and how they inevitably arise given human rational inquisitiveness. The Winter School will take special care to alert the participants to the utmost need of grasping the rationale of philosophical questions.

It is expected that the two weeks of rigorous philosophical training and interactive exercise of reflection will create enough confidence in the mind of the young teacher/scholar of Philosophy. Towards the final stage of the School, some particular sessions will be exclusively devoted to the demonstration of teaching by the participants.

This exercise will be accompanied by regular written assignments on relevant issues. It is hoped that the result of this exercise in the Winter School will eventually be a rough working paper that synoptically describes a fairly standard programme of ‘A Classroom Introduction to philosophy’. The urgency of such an outcome cannot be denied at least for one reason. Philosophy is certainly unlike other academic discourses because of its peculiar nature. The ‘justification’ of Philosophy is often demanded in view of its apparently ‘impractical’ and abstract character. A young philosopher therefore must be well-versed in the arguments that lend justification to the philosophical enterprise. And the ‘arguments for justification’ must be amenable to their grasp at the introductory level.

It is known that the patterns of courses/papers taught in different Universities are not always the same, and not all Universities have Semester-system method of teaching. But the Winter School programme is catered to a generality of pattern that would be compatible with these variations. In other words, a participant duly trained in the course of these two weeks can be reasonably expected to play a better role in inculcating philosophical ideas in any pattern in which he or she is supposed to adjust to in his or her home-institution. On the whole, the Winter School programme is supposed to have a tutorial flavour. In this respect, it is supposed to be rather different from the usual Refresher Courses in Philosophy. The level of interaction is supposed to be much greater, and constant attention is to be maintained towards improving the analytical teaching potential of the participant.

From the Circular of:
Winter School in Philosophy (December 30, 2008 – January 10, 2009)
Organized by Department of Humanities and Social Sciences Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati in association with Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla

Link:
http://niyamakreference.blogspot.com/2009/10/classroom-introduction-to-philosophy.html
Friday, October 9, 2009

Relevance of Philosophy in Social Sciences and Humanities

2009-10-09T22:36:00.002-07:00

Become a part of the book Philosophy, Education and Indian Value System(CPPIS 2011) Contact:
http://drsirswal।webs.com

THE STATE OF TEACHING, STUDY AND RESEARCH IN PHILOSOPHY IN INDIA

2009-10-09T22:28:00.000-07:00

One thing that appears not to have been done in the country in recent times is to take a serious look at where the teaching, study and research in philosophy are actually heading. Such stock-taking is absolutely vital because philosophy itself has always been a very core area in the history and culture of our country. But, for all practical purposes, philosophy appears to have become just like any other routine academic discipline in the country since its teachers appear to have lost the vision of its special place and role in the general scheme of things. This is an extremely unfortunate development. It is sad that philosophy needs to be rescued from some of those very persons whose duty it happens to be to nourish and promote it. Philosophy should never become a tool for self-promotion and if it is being so used anywhere, every attempt must be made to stop it. We must also note that if such misuse is taking place at all, it is only because regular stock-taking by the community of philosophers in the country has stopped taking place long ago.

Philosophy teachers in our country seem to be perfectly satisfied in carrying on their teaching just like any other academic teaching the students if they like such teaching, doing some reading and preparing academic papers and attending academic seminars like all others in other fields. They are not playing any pro-active role. They have not been examining their own actions and roles critically. One of the chief purposes of this National Seminar is to focus on this serious shortcoming which has come to threaten the very survival of philosophy in our country where there was a time when philosophy was at the pinnacle of serious study and research.

While completely granting the academic character of philosophy, we should remind ourselves that in our country philosophy was always used as a tool for self-transformation and for the making of total and complete human beings. Philosophy was almost never pursued just for its own sake. This role of philosophy has become gradually lost on us probably under the inescapable and wide-spread spell of the colonizing West whose philosophy has for a very long time been fiercely autonomous and with no defined human purpose as its chief goal. In fact, the very notions of self-transformation and self-discovery have today come to be regarded as old-fashioned and have been relegated to the blind and ineffective sphere of religion. It is completely forgotten that self-examination necessarily involves self-criticism and self-assessment which are invaluable in themselves irrespective of whether they are rooted in any philosophical need or religious regimen. Having lost the benefit of self-criticism, some of our teachers of philosophy have gradually ceased to uphold any value even in public and private life and have thus ceased to lead a life of value. Such teachers are no more an asset to philosophy because no person not leading a life of value can value philosophy. They can only hypocritically claim to value it and live for it when they are actually living on it.

This sort of development must be arrested and systematically reversed in the interest of protecting and promoting philosophy. When some philosophy teachers themselves do not value philosophy, it is futile to expect the members of the general public to value it. That is how, it seems, philosophy is fast losing public esteem which it had gloriously enjoyed in the classical past. Nobody can dispute the idea of philosophy as a discipline valuable in itself even if s/he disputes it as a valuable tool for self-realization. Therefore it is high time that all of us in the field of philosophy pay serious attention to its study and teaching, to proper research in it. We are uniquely fortunate in the Government of India itself recognizing the importance of philosophy and we should try to make the best use of the assistance of the Government.

The Indian Council of Philosophical Research has already being doing whatever it can to promote the study of, and research in, philosophy all over India for the past several years. The present National Seminar is to bring together all like-minded individuals in order to take stock of all that has been done well and also of all that has gone wrong in teaching and research in philosophy. The attempt is to arrive at a generally acceptable diagnosis and also a general plan of attacking the maladies. Specific issues concerning the teaching of philosophy in India and also the shortcomings in philosophical research need to be clearly identified and addressed. This document is only tentative and indicative of the enormous task lying ahead and therefore the participants are welcome to add new dimensions and issues relating to the main theme of the National Seminar. The chief aim is to take into confidence one another and proceed as a united group with the generally accepted common goal of improving the quality of teaching and research in philosophy in the interest of philosophy itself and in the interest of all those engaged in the teaching and research in philosophy in India. It is hoped that this most urgent issue of revitalizing philosophical studies in India is as dear to your heart as it is to ours and that you will therefore join us in seriously trying to do what best we can for the future of philosophy in India since this future seems to be under serious threat from within the community as well as without.

Reference:
NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON THE STATE OF TEACHING, STUDY AND RESEARCH IN PHILOSOPHY IN INDIA in Mumbai between 23rd to 25th October 2009. From the Notice of the ICPR New Delhi, October, 2009.

Link:
http://niyamakreference.blogspot.com/2009/10/state-of-teaching-study-and-research-in.html
Date:10-10-2009

DR. AMBEDKAR’S VIEWS ON HUMANISM AND BUDDHISM

2009-07-07T03:47:00.000-07:00

“One should always cherish some ambition to do something in the world. They alone rise who strive.”1 is the great wording of Dr.Ambedkar. There are two fundamental types of human nature. Creative and possessive. Creative humans use human intellect for creative endeavors which enriches human thought; knowledge and wealth thereby contribute to the development of human heritage for the posterity. Possessive people, on the other hand do not believe in the use of human intellect for creative purpose. Gautam Buddha, Jesus Christ, Guru Nanak, Kabeer, Ravidas, Tukarama, Krantiba Jotirao Phoolay, Periyar and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar they all belong to the great class of Ceative humans called as Humanists in Indian context.

Apart from his father, three names or figures- Gautama Buddha, Jotibha Phule, and Kabir-are the most important. They were regarded by Ambedkar as his three masters or gurus.
Dr। Ambedkar stayed in America, the land of liberty, for his higher studies. There he studied the western liberal thought and the humanitarian philosophy expounded by great thinkers such as Prof. John Dewey, who was also his teacher, John Stuart Mill, Edmund Burke, and Prof. Harold Laski to name a few. The impact of these original thinkers on Dr. Ambedkar's mind is evident from the frequent quotations one comes across in his writings and speeches. Whereas the West gave Ambedkar his ‘weapon’, the Indian masters gave him his soul force. According to Sonawane, “Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's personality had strong humanistic underpinnings. It is only regrettable that the press in the past as well as the contemporary has projected Ambedkar mainly as a great social rebel and a bitter critic of the Hindu religion. Critics of Dr. Ambedkar have ignored his basic humanistic instincts and strong humanitarian convictions behind his every act or speech throughout his life. It is important to trace the origin and consolidation of his humanistic convictions.”2

In his article “Buddha and the Future of his Religion” published in 1950 in the Mahabodhi Society Journal, Ambedkar has summarized his views on religion and on Buddhism in the following manner:
1. The society must have either the sanction of law or the sanction of morality to hold it together. Without either, the society is sure to go to pieces.2. Religion, if it is to survive, it must be in consonance with reason, which is another name for science.3. It is not enough for religion to consist of moral code, but its moral code must recognize the fundamental tenets of liberty, equality and fraternity.
4. Religion must not sanctify or make a virtue out of poverty.3
In May 1956, a talk by Ambedkar titled "Why I like Buddhism and how it is useful to the world in its present circumstances" was broadcast from the British Broadcasting Corporation, London। In his talk Ambedkar said: “I prefer Buddhism because it gives three principles in combination, which no other religion does. Buddhism teaches Prajna (understanding as against superstition and supernaturalism), Karuna (love), and Samata (equality). This is what man wants for a good and happy life. Neither God nor soul can save society.”4

Dr. Ambedkar will be remembered for all time to come as the architect of the Indian Constitution, specially for the Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles Chapters which, aim at eradicating “all injustice and tyranny” and ushering in social democracy and social equality. He was however, disappointed that the dominating section of our society did not rise to the occasion and did not water the plants that he had planted. Our political rulers have failed Ambedkar and his vision. It is now for human rights groups and grassroots activists to make social democracy and equality a way of life in the absence of which political democracy will always stand on a shaky foundation. “To translate into action the cherished dream of Dr. Ambedkar in an honest manner requires strong commitment, honest approach and effective implementation of the constitutional mandates upholding the ethos of secularism and eschewing ulterior considerations, narrow party politics, deep-rooted prejudices based on historical events and the so-called religious bigotry.”5 As Ambedkar himself says: “Men are mortal. So are ideas. An idea needs propagation as much as a plant needs watering. Both will otherwise wither and die.”6Dr.Ambedkar also laid down distinction between Dhamma and Religion. He says, “Religion, it is said, is personal and one must keep it to oneself. One must not let it play its part in public life. Contrary to this, Dhamma is social . It is fundamentally and essentially so.”7 So, for him it is system. But in reality when we give an analysis of Buddhist countries then we found that it fails to established equality, freedom, peace and socialism in China and Japan etc. being as a national religious system. They are suffering from the same problems as another countries do. It is another sound matter of consideration. In the West most people come to Buddhism for psychological reasons. In India it is different. Dr Ambedkar's followers were moved by his vision of a new society brought about by the practice of Buddha Dhamma. In the word of T.K. Tope: “Dr. Ambedkar’s erudition and learning were no doubt great….The generations to come may not remember the political achievements of Dr. Ambedkar, Ambedkar the social revolutionary, Ambedkar the modern exponent of Buddhism, may be forgotten, but Ambedkar the scholar, will be immortal.”8
Notes & References:

१. Ambedkar’s citation from Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission, p.२३४

2. Vijay Chintaman Sonawane, Dr. Ambedkar as a Humanist, p.०२

3. Ambedkar’s citation from Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission, p.४९०

4. R. M. Pal, Remembering Dr. Ambedkar ,p.०२

5. Mohammad Shabir, “Dr. Ambedkar’s Quest For Social Justice: An Analysis of Contemporary Scenario,”p.७६

6. Ambedkar, The Buddha and His Dhamma, p.३१५

7. ibid, p.३१६

8. D.C. Ahir, The Legency of Dr. Ambedkar, p.251

Link:
http://niyamakreference.blogspot.com/2009/07/dr-ambedkars-views-on-humanism-and.html
Tuesday, July 7, २००९

Last Modified:१०-१०-2009

Foundations of Marxism

2009-04-10T01:21:00.000-07:00

We are here to give you a starting point, a grounding in what Marxism is about. A Marxist has a certain kind of practice, a way of living and working, that we call being a Communist. A Marxist’s thought is based on this daily practice, a philosophy called Dialectics. Thus, Marxism is both a theory and a practice. The theories of Marxism are sometimes called dialectical materialism; to be clear there is no one answer to a question – theory is based on a particular set of conditions that are always finite, and thus, any theory is necessarily limited. To test the validity of theory, Marxists rely on practice as the criteria of truth. Using such a methodology Marx and Engels examined history, which lead them to elaborate theories of the class struggle, the basis of social relations through economics, and the form of society that could follow capitalism. These theories are not immutable truths, they follow something similar to the scientific method. Naturally, there are countless examples of Marxist theories that have been modified, revised, or altogether changed: starting with Marx’s own changes! In this sense, in reading the classics of Marxism your most important task is to comprehensively understand the method; having accomplished that, you’ll begin to see relevant and up to date answers for modern times on your own. :)
What does this mean past all the words and definitions? We are judged by our historical practice and our understanding of the past, present, and future. You can find information about our history in the History of Marxism section. You can see an enormous spectrum of our ideas, the vibrance of debate within our movement, in our Marxist Writers archive. You can find a wealth of ideas we find invaluable to understanding, from the Physics of Einstein to the morality of Lao-Tzu, in our Reference Archive. If your mind is on certain subjects, like the women's movement, art, philosophy, etc, look into the Subject Archive. When you come across some term that just doesn't make sense, a word which has a meaning you want to explore or critique, go to our Encyclopedia of Marxism. Lastly, if you love educating people around the world about Marxism as much as we do, feel free to volunteer! :)
Whew! Okay, so there is enough material up there to fill your nearest public library. It is helpful to have an area of concern, a topic of interest, and work from there. :) To start your journey, a grounding in the basics is important! Read a couple of the Selected Works of Marx/Engels, and to better engage these works you may like to read our study guides. Read Lenin's The State and Revolution, compare and contrasts that with Trotsky's Revolution Betrayed. Alternatively, before going to the classics you can read What is Marxism? by Emile Burns. In this handful of material you will gain a view of what Marxism is capable of. If you take one step further and embrace critique, you will then begin learning and understanding Marxism.
Marxists Internet Achieves, २००९

http://www.marxists.org/subject/students/index.htm, dated,08-04-2009

The Definition of Social Change

2009-04-03T21:32:00.000-07:00

The Definition of Social Change
Jo Hazelhurst
When I looked this up on the internet there were not many variations on the definition of social change. What is lacking is what it might mean practically. So I would like to invite you to make contributions of what it means for you, and how you see these changes making a difference to the lives of your own community.
For now here is a summary of the Wikipedia definition. It defines social structure as:
* change in social structure: the nature, the social institutions, the social behaviour or the social relations of a society, community of people, and so on.
* When behaviour pattern changes, in large numbers and is visible and sustained it results in a social change. Once there is a deviance from culturally inherited values, it may result in a rebellion against the established system, causing a change in the social order.
* any event or action that affects a group of individuals that have shared values or characteristics.* acts of advocacy for the cause of changing society in a normative way (subjective).
Others speak about it as any change that alters cultural or social patterns of a society.
This includes patterns of behavior influenced by a system and people in different social positions in relation to: patterns of modus operandi; the patterns that emerge as a result of belief systems; the goals and aspirations; the communication modes
Another interesting site I found offers visitors a chance to say what they think it means. You may have to wade through some rubbish and vulgarities. Go to Grace.evergreen.edu
What I would be interested to explore is what changes you would like to see in the social structure.
If you were president how would you go about creating change in a social context?
What is the ideal? What is missing? How would we know change has happened? i.e. In order to say change has taken place - enough to change the world - what would need to look and feel different?
Give practical examples. Try to look at it from Wilbur's model. i.e. What would need to change internally and externally in both the individual and the social context?

Social Change

2009-04-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

Social Change
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Social change is a general term which refers to:
change in social structure: the nature, the social institutions, the social behaviour or the social relations of a society, community of people, and so on.

When behaviour pattern changes, in large numbers and is visible and sustained it results in a social change. Once there is a deviance from culturally inherited values, it may result in a rebellion against the established system, causing a change in the social order.

any event or action that affects a group of individuals that have shared values or characteristics.
acts of advocacy for the cause of changing society in a normative way (subjective).

The term is used in the study of history, economies, and politics, and includes topics such as the success or failure of different political systems, globalization, democratization, development and economic growth. The term can encompass concepts as broad as revolution and paradigm shift, to narrow changes such as a particular cause within small town government. The concept of social change imply measurement of some characteristics of this group of individuals. While the term is usually applied to changes that are beneficial to society, it may result in negative side-effects or consequences that undermine or eliminate existing ways of life that are considered positive.
Social change is a topic in sociology and social work , but also involves political science, economics, history, anthropology, and many other social sciences.
Among many forms of creating social change are theater for social change, direct action, protesting, advocacy, community organizing, community practice, revolution, and political activism.
Models of Change
Hegelian-- The classic Hegelian dialectic model of change is based on the interaction of opposing forces. Starting from a point of momentary stasis, Thesis countered by Antithesis first yields conflict but subsequently results in a new Synthesis.
Kuhnian-- Thomas Kuhn in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions argued with respect to the Copernican Revolution that people are unlikey to jettison an unworkable paradigm, despite many indications that the paradigm is not functioning properly, until a better paradigm can be presented.
Heraclitan-- The Greek philosopher Heraclitus used the metaphor of a river to speak of change thus, "On those stepping into rivers staying the same other and other waters flow." (DK22B12) What Heraclitus seems to be suggesting here, later interpretations notwithstanding, is that in order for the river to remain the river change must constantly be taking place. Thus one may think of the Heraclitan model as parallel to that of a living organism, which, in order to remain alive must constantly be changing.
Daoist-- The Chinese philosophical work Dao De Jing, I.8 and II.78 uses the metaphor of water as the ideal agent of change. Water, though soft and yielding, will eventually wear away stone. Change in this model is to be natural, harmonius, and steady, though imperceptible.
References:
Gene Shackman, Ya-Lin Liu and Xun Wang. Measuring quality of life using free and public domain data. Social Research Update, Issue 47, Autumn, 2005. Available at http://sru.soc.surrey.ac.uk/
Cited from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_change, date of citation:02-04-2009.

Preface for the 4th Issue

2009-03-30T02:32:00.000-07:00

The title of the present issue is On Social Problems in this we will discuss about some social problem. We will find here some collection of articles by different thinkers on different issues. They will give us the right direction to understand social problems. How we define them and what is the right way to find them as a basic problem. The following articles are:

1. Defining Social Problems Dr. John S. Mahoney
2. Corruption in Education system in India – A UNESCO Report
3. Domestic Violence Against Women
4. Corruption is a Violation of Human Rights -Justice K. G.
Balakrishnan

We have a first article on defining the problems, second and fourth about the Corruption with special reference to Education and Human Rights. The third article is related to the violence against women in family.May this collection of articles give us a good understanding about the social issues. We will continue it to the next issues of the Journal also.
-Desh Raj Sirswal

Corruption is a Violation of Human Rights

2009-02-27T21:29:00.000-08:00

Justice K G Balakrishnan
November 24, 2008
When I was thinking about the theme for this summit, i.e. the restoration of national values -- I asked myself several questions. The first question was whether a discussion on abstract ideas will serve any constructive purpose. However, after going through the programme schedule and the writings of Swami Bhoomanada Tirtha, these doubts were quickly dispelled. There is a clear focus on evolving specific measures for instilling values in public as well as private life and the impressive list of speakers consists of those who have led by personal example in their respective fields.
The second question that I asked myself was whether I can bring in some new ideas to this discussion. Admittedly, what I am about to say is obviously shaped by my personal experiences not only as a member of the bar and subsequently the judiciary, but also as a concerned citizen of India. Hence, I would like to briefly dwell on two issues pertaining to public life -- firstly, corruption in public institutions and secondly, the means used for conflict-resolution in our society. I choose these two themes in particular since they have a direct bearing on the common understanding of citizenship and morality.
Corruption is identified with any person or institution who misuses the power and discretion conferred on the same. Ordinary citizens face unnecessary problems in their routine interactions with governmental agencies. Practices such as the acceptance of favours or misappropriation of public funds have actually come to be described as 'perks' of holding public office and employment. Admittedly, the extent of corruption may have a link with the increasing disparity between the pay-scales offered in the public and private sectors. However, the pervasive culture of graft provokes pessimism about the quality of governance.
In the words of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan: "Corruption is an insidious plague that has a wide range of corrosive effects on societies. It undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to violations of human rights, distorts markets, erodes the quality of life, and allows organised crime, terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish."
In the discourse of international law, the prevalence of corruption is now considered to be a violation of basic human rights.
This means that the act of demanding or accepting bribes in lieu of performing routine governmental functions is being equated with unjust restraints on personal liberty -- such as suppression of civil liberties and arbitrary detention. If this understanding is adopted in India, then there will be a case for the judiciary to grant constitutional remedies in respect of instances of corruption, over and above the statutory remedies envisaged under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
In recent months, there has been considerable anxiety on account of allegations of corruption in the higher judiciary. The judiciary is the watchdog of the rights of citizens and these instances have once again raised the question of 'who will watch the watchdogs'.
Legal and judicial measures for deterring corruption are only a part of the solution. The long-term solution lies in the realm of education at all levels -- whereby the importance of personal integrity and the spirit of public service will be imbibed in our citizens. Such an education has to take place not only in classrooms but in a variety of social settings -- namely, the family, the workplace and the public discourse shaped by the mass media. Just as some of the distinguished persons gathered here have transformed the lives of people around them by setting strong personal examples, we need to re-build a culture where examples of integrity, personal sacrifice and innovation are given due recognition.
The second issue that I would like to touch on is that of the means being used for conflict-resolution in our country. In a pluralist society such as ours, there are bound to be perpetual differences as well as conflicts among the interests of various sections. However, the test for building an inclusive nation is one that pertains to the means used to resolve these differences.
With the maturing of our democracy, one would expect that social, economic and political differences are increasingly being resolved through means such as rational and constructive dialogue between groups with competing interests. Our liberal constitutional philosophy privileges methods such as reasoned persuasion through public institutions -- such as the legislature and the judiciary. In fact the advent of Public Interest Litigation over the last three decades has clearly widened the role of the higher judiciary in resolving conflicts that have a wider social dimension.
However, it is quite distressing to note that differences based on caste, religion, gender, class and regionalism continue to be the root causes behind organised and often institutionalised violence. Especially in the last few months, one can recount several instances of senseless violence and disruption of routine life in different parts of the country. In many instances, such extreme measures are clearly a strategy to polarise the electorate. Agitations are resorted to on the flimsiest of reasons and public order is threatened even in circumstances where an inclusive dialogue is the best solution.
Such a regressive brand of political action is threatening to undo the very foundations on which our constitutional order has been built, namely those of respect for 'rule of law', 'equal treatment before the law' and 'due process'. One of the key characteristics of a society that respects 'rule of law' is that the state is given a monopoly over the use of violence in the form of the military, police powers and the criminal justice system. This means that all other group interests in society -- whether they are in the form of political parties, caste groups, linguistic groups or business concerns, must respect the legitimacy of the state.
That is a pre-condition for ensuring a climate where constitutionally guaranteed rights are respected and promoted. Even if there is a strong polarisation of views among certain groups, the 'methods of persuasion' need to be preferred as opposed to 'methods of confrontation'. As US President-elect Barack Obama has repeatedly urged during his campaign, it is when we learn to reason with those who disagree with us, that we actually learn more about ourselves.

Justice K G Balakrishnan, Chief Justice of India, delivered this keynote address at the National Summit organised by the Foundation for Restoration of National Values on November 18 at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

Cited from:
http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/nov/24corruption-is-a-violation-of-human-rights.htm, dated:28-02-2009.

Defining Social Problems

2009-02-19T21:00:00.000-08:00

Dr. John S. Mahoney

I. We have addressed the historical involvement of Sociology in the definition and study of social problems and noted that early studies were done with the ultimate purpose of making the world a better place to live in. We also conducted a brief review of the theoretical perspectives involved in viewing social problems. We now turn to some of the conditions which must be met for a social problem to exist.

II. Not all social conditions become elevated to the status of "social problem." For example, here are some "objective conditions" which exist today, and as you will see, not all of them are considered to be social problems.

Environmental Pollution Resource Depletion Limited Energy Supplies Education Corporate Corruption Unemployment Poverty Drug Abuse Family Decline, (Increased Divorce, Family Abuse, etc.) Nuclear War Crime Racial/Ethnic/Sexual Discrimination Health Care Aging Moral Decline Weakening Institution of Religion Government

Each of the above represents an existing condition which threatens the well-being of the United States and, in some cases, the entire world. Also all are objective conditions that really exist! But we all realize that many of them draw relatively little public concern-- Why?

III. If you review a variety of social problems texts, you find that there is general agreement that four conditions must be met before an objective reality in the greater society becomes elevated to the special status of "social problem." They are:

1. The objective condition must be perceived to be a social problem publicly. That is, there must be some public outcry. People must become actively involved in discussing the problem. Public attention becomes directed toward that social condition.
2 The condition must involve a gap between social ideals and social reality। That is, the condition must run counter to the values of the larger society. At the beginning of the 20th century alcohol abuse was perceived to be a very serious social problem, responsible for family breakdown, abandonment of children, accidental death at work, and violence in society. A "Temperance Movement" emerged that further consolidated public opinion to a point that people wanted to do something about it.
३. A significant proportion of the population must be involved in defining the problem. (A large proportion of the population must be concerned about the condition… It must have national attention. If only a small segment of the population gets involved you have an interest group pushing for the general public to do something about the condition-- not a social problem).

4. The condition must be capable of solution through collective action by people. If no solution is perceived possible, people will resign themselves to their fate. A good example is government bureaucracy-- If everyone takes the attitude that "you can't fight city hall", government bureaucracy doesn't emerge as a social problem. Rather, it is a part of life that everyone must live with.

IV. OK, so lets say that a certain objective reality exists. Also, lets, agree that each of the above conditions is met. There are still other factors which will determine the degree to which something comes to be perceived as a social problem. These are all very logical--
1. If people affected by a condition are influential, or powerful, the condition is more likely to be considered a social problem than if those affected are not influential. When a condition begins to affect the white middle class, particularly those able to influence government policy, or the content of the mass media, the chances of it being considered a social problem increase substantially.

Example: Hard drug addiction had been a lower class, black problem for some time before it reached the suburban white middle class। But when it began to affect middle class kids, we see the emergence of a new social problem!

2. A condition affecting a relatively small segment of the population is less likely to be considered a social problem than if it has adverse effects on a much larger segment of society.

Example: The poverty of Native Americans has received much less attention than the poverty of Black Americans. Why? Native Americans are a relatively small and isolated segment of the U.S. population. African Americans are a much larger minority and are much more visible. The poverty of African Americans also has a greater impact on the middle classes than that of Native Americans.
3. A rapid increase in the number of people affected by a social condition is also important-- perhaps even as important as the number of people affected!

Example: People become accustomed to the prevailing levels of crime, pollution, and urban congestion-- But a sharp increase in the intensity of any of these leads to elevated public concern. One airline crash every year is grounds for concern, but not for the definition of a social problem. But, five crashes in one month will get the public's attention!
4. The mass media also plays an important role in the selection and definition of social problems. It gives selective attention to certain conditions. The liberal press will highlight certain issues while the conservative press will select others.

Example: A good example is the controversy over the Monica Lewinsky affair. The liberal press lamented it, but maintained that the larger issue was the quality of the job that the President was doing. The conservative press saw it as a basic flaw in the moral fabric of the presidency and counter to the values of the larger society. On this issue, the general public seems to have sided with the liberal position if public opinion ratings of the President's job performance are to be believed.

5. Finally, ideology plays an important role in determining which conditions are singled out as social problems.
Example: If the general population has adopted a Marxist ideology, then such things as corporate power, militarism, imperialism, etc. will be perceived as serious social problems in the U.S. However, if the public, as a whole, holds conservative values then "big government," "national defense," and "declining morality" will be perceived as social problems.
Ideology also determines how a social problem is defined। Conservatives and liberals agree that America has a poverty problem-- but they do not agree on a specific definition of the problem, nor do they agree on how the problem should be solved.

Example: Conservatives will perceive poverty as being caused by lack of intelligence, lack of motivation, lack of the ability to delay gratification, and other personal characteristics of those who are poor. Thus, they will tend to defend the system, or in the case of radical conservatives, will argue for a dismantling of the "welfare state" and a return to the free market system.
Liberals emphasize the lack of opportunity and structural factors in the system. The system must be adjusted to open up opportunity. Radical liberals will advocate overthrowing the current system of government and establishing something entirely new.
Cited from:
http://www.people.vcu.edu/~jmahoney/define.htm, Dated:05-02-2009

Corruption in Education system in India – A UNESCO Report

2009-02-19T20:22:00.000-08:00

India’s education system is mired in corruption and a high rate of teacher absenteeism in the country was a key factor for it according to the new global study. The UNESCO’s International Institute of Educational Planning study on corruption in education released recently says that 25% teacher absenteeism in India is among the highest in the world, second only after Uganda that has a higher rate. The global average of teacher absenteeism is about 20%.
Teacher absenteeism does not just affect quality of education; it is also a huge drain on resources resulting in the wastage of 22.5% of education funds in India the study said. Politics in teacher appointments and transfers is a major reason for teacher absenteeism according to a professor at National University for Education Planning and Administration.
The study identifies the absence of well established criteria for teacher recruitment a uniform policy on promotion, remuneration and deployment as some of the main reasons identified for teacher absenteeism. However the report found married teachers to be more regular at job than unmarried teachers.
In Bihar two of every five teachers were reported absent the figure in UP was reported to be one-third of the total teachers। However in states like Gujarat and Kerala the figure was lower than 15% the report based on several small studies.

Teachers also believe highly in private tutoring a practice identified by UNESCO as unethical. It does not complement learning at school and leads to corruption the report said. The practice of ghost teachers and involvement of teachers in mismanagement of schools were other gray areas identified in the Indian education system.
Another indictment of the sorry state of Indian education was the view held by students that cheating in examinations is their traditional right। In India universities cheating is now well-established. The fees for manipulating entrance tests ranges between $ 80 to $ 20,000 for popular programmes such as computer science, medicine and engineering the report said.

Cited from:

http://azadindia.org/social-issues/education-system-in-india.html

Dated:२०-०२-2009

Domestic Violence Against Women

2009-02-18T02:00:00.000-08:00

"…the wife: however brutal or tyrant she may unfortunately be chained to-though she may know that he hates her, though it may be his daily pleasure to torture her, and though she may feel it impossible not to loathe him- (he)can claim from her and enforce the lowest degration of a human being ,that of being made an instrument of an animal function contrary to her inclinations." John Stuart Mill
The above lines reflect the brutality that one out of every three women has to face at the hands of their husbands, fathers, brothers and uncles in their homes around the globe। Domestic violence can be described as when one adult in a relationship misuses power to control another. It is the establishment of control and fear in the relationship through violence and other forms of abuse. It is basically an abuse of power. The abuser tortures and controls the victim by calculated threats, intimidation and physical violence. Although men, women and children can all be abused, in most cases the victims are women. In every country where reliable, large-scale studies have been conducted, results indicate that between 16 and 52% of women have been assaulted by their husbands\partners. These studies also indicate widespread violence against women as an important cause of morbidity and mortality. These physical attacks may also include rape and sexual violence. Psychological violence includes verbal abuse, harassment, confinement and deprivation of physical, financial and personal resources. For some women emotional abuse may be more painful than the physical attacks because they effectively undermine women's security and self-confidence.

Violence within the home is universal across culture, religion, class and ethnicity। The abuse is generally condoned by social custom and considered part and parcel of marital life .An example of this can be seen through the gist of a popular Spanish riddle: Question: What do mules and women have in common? Answer: A good beating makes them both better."

The statistics reveal grim picture of the realities prevalent in developing and developed countries alike.
In the United States a women is beaten every 18 minutes; between 3 million and 4 million are battered each year, but only 1 in 10 cases of domestic violence is ever reported.
In the United Kingdom, 1 in 3 families is a victim of assault and 1 in 5 a victim of serious assault, according to a recent report by the home office.
In Austria, in 59%of 1500 divorce cases, domestic violence is cited as a cause in the marital breakdown.
In India the records of National Crimes Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs government of India revealed a shocking 71.5% Increase in cases of torture and dowry deaths during the period from 1991 to 1995 .In 1995, torture of women constituted 29.2%of all reported crimes against women.
In Bangladesh, half of the 170 reported cases of women murdered between 1983 and 1985 took place within the confines of the homes.

The question arises why women put up with the abuse in the home? The answer lies in their unequal status in society। They are often caught in a vicious circle of economic dependence, fear for their children's lives as well as their own, ignorance of their rights before the law, lack of confidence in themselves and social pressures. These factors effectively force women to a life of recurrent mistreatment from which they often do not have the means to escape. The sanctity of privacy within the family also makes authorities reluctant to intervene, often leads women to deny they are being abused. This is equally common in the higher as well as in the lower segments of a society. A woman who files a charge of abuse is often forced to drop it by her husband's family if she wants an uncontested divorce. Social prejudices reinforce domestic violence against women. They are treated as their spouses' property; husbands assume that this subordinate role gives them right to abuse their wives in order to keep them in their place. Against this background is the tradition of dowry, an expectation of gifts and cash from the bride's family, one can imagine the anxiety these expectations may cause to a woman and the consequences she has to face if it is inadequate. Women's physical and mental health is often permanently damaged or impaired and in some cases violence can have fatal consequences as in the case of dowry deaths in India. Physical torture as well as mental torture usually occurs on a regular basis causing suffering and inflicting deep scars on the psyche of the victims and their families. Many assault incidents result in injuries ranging from bruises and fractures to chronic disabilities. Domestic violence has devastating repercussions on the family. Mothers are unable to care for their children properly. Often they transmit to them their own feelings of low self-esteem, helplessness and inadequacy. Violence against women is the most pervasive human rights violation in world today. We need to think and ponder as how this form of degradation of women can be stopped. It needs support from all quarters be it government, NGOs and women themselves. There is also a need to improve women's economic capacities that include access to and control of income and assets and also share in the family's property. The government should strengthen and expand training and sensitization programs.

१८-०२-2009">http://azadindia.org/social-issues/DomesticViolence.html,date:१८-०२-2009

Editorial of 3rd Issue

2008-11-17T20:44:00.000-08:00

In third issue we have selected the title "Problems of Students and its Solutions". Here in this issue we will find article related to this theme. As you that we have started our project of Positive Philosophy after its formulation in last two issues. In these issues we have discussed nature and need of Positive Philosophy with how to do philosophy discussion. We have the theme that the teacher should follow the slogan “Towards Better Living” and “Towards Better Teaching” as permanent values in their personal and professional lives. Continuous development both as a person and as a teacher would make their lives enjoyable, fruitful and worthwhile in the truest sense. The philosopher can perform a useful, indeed a vitally important role, by bringing his or her training to bear on the task of elucidating the morally relevant features of the problem-situation and so making clear what factors need to be taken into account in arriving at a decision. Universal values must be our foundation if we are to enjoy a rich, profound and fulfilling life. Our personal and cultural biases limit and distort our perception of the universal wonder that is life. Even as the hands of a clock are powered from the center that remains ever still, so the universal values remain ever at the center of human life, no matter where the hands of time are pointing—past, present or future. And lastly we have conscious about the student’s problems then we should try to solve these by all means. Hope this issue benefited you with some relevant information regarding the main theme.
DESH RAJ SIRSWAL

Editorial of the 2nd Issue

2008-11-04T20:44:00.000-08:00

In the previous issues we have discussed about the concept of Positive Philosophy, its need and related themes. In present issue we will discuss about “How to Do Philosophy.” Auguste Comte said,” The Positive philosophy offers the only solid basis for that social reorganization that must succeed the critical condition in which the most civilized nations are now living.” With this spirit here in the present issue we will find that thinkers of the articles tried to explain their ideas about doing, studying, reading and dialoguing philosophy, as they experienced themselves. And we can found here better way to do philosophy, philosophically.All thinkers agree with that doing philosophy needs great practice and patience। Philosophical inquiry is very demanding, suitable only for those who possess a fair degree of courage, humility, patience and discipline. To do it better we should have a good methodology also, because methodology often decides the fate of a research project and lastly philosophy is a very abstract subject, and it is one of the more difficult , it requires exercise of very advanced analytical skills, and very highly developed language skills. So having endeavored to determine the spirit and influence of the positive philosophy and to mark the goal of our labors, let’s consider this issue positively.
DESH RAJ SIRSWAL
Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Teacher-Student Relationship

2008-11-04T20:30:00.000-08:00

Become a part of the book Philosophy, Education and Indian Value System(CPPIS 2011) Contact:
http://drsirswal।webs.com

Instructions for the Articles

2008-08-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

1. Article should include heading, sub-heading, your name and formal address.
Sample: Rashmi, Research Scholar,
Department of Philosophy,
University of…………….
Email :(…if you want to add.)
2. Articles are not more than 1000 words.
3. Articles will be of your interest, but must concentrate on the theme of the issue.
4. Last date for receiving articles 1oth of month of publication.
5. Try to give your original ideas about the themes.

Teaching is a life time mission

2008-08-13T01:49:00.000-07:00

25/Jul/2007 : -
To enable development of youth first and foremost, the teacher’s love for teaching is essential, with teaching as the soul of the teacher. The teacher must realize that they are responsible for shaping not just students but ignited youth who are the most powerful resource under the earth, on the earth and above the earth. With their full commitment to the great mission of teaching, the teacher transforms himself or herself as a great teacher only when he or she is capable of elevating the average student to high performance. The teacher conducting himself or herself in a noble way itself is a lifetime message for students. They should encourage the students and children to ask questions and develop the spirit of enquiry, so that they blossom into creative enlightened citizens. They should treat all the students equally and should not support any differentiation on account of religion, community or language and continuously upgrade the capacities in teaching so that they can impart quality education to the students. They should realize by being a teacher, they are making an important contribution to the efforts of national development. The teachers must constantly endeavour to fill their mind, with great thoughts and spread the nobility in thinking and action among the students. Teacher should celebrate the success of the students.
www.abdulkalam.com, dated:१३-०८-२००९

Teaching Indian culture to your children

2008-08-05T21:24:00.000-07:00

August 3rd, 2008
India is a basket of various gems, pearls, diamonds etc. Indian culture is surely one of the possessed diamonds of India. Our culture is so rich and varied that it becomes the duty of every Indian parent to impart values and traditions of our proud culture. Today, due to western influence on India, the young population of India is deprived of our culture. Parents can impart Indian cultural education at home itself. Encourage your child to read books on Indian dances, Indian Classical music, Indian religions, Indian temples etc. Most grandparents in Indian homes are known to narrate mythological stories to children that have some moral learning. These mythological serials are also shown on television. Children can learn a lot from these serials rather than watching cartoons or music channels.
India also has a lot of variety in weddings as well. Different weddings have different customs and traditions. Take your children to weddings and tell them about the customs that are followed and their significance. As parents, you may not only praise and appreciate Indian culture. Let your child also know about the caste system in India and tribal population and their own customs. Encourage your child to have his own opinions.
India also has a lot of oral traditions that includes shlokas and mantras. You can teach your children these shlokas with its relevance and the Gods and the Goddesses it refers to.
Children love festivals। But most of them are not aware of the significance why the festival is celebrated. Thus while Holi and Diwali is celebrated with colours and crackers respectively, tell your child the reason why these festivals are celebrated and what customs and traditions are followed during these. Cultural education in today’s scenario is as important as other subjects that your child studies!

Cited From: goodparenting.co.in ,dated:०६-०८-2008

What is the Use of Philosophy?

2008-07-01T00:52:00.000-07:00

To ask what the use of philosophy is is like asking what the use of understanding i One answer is that understanding is something that we very often seek for its own sake. As Aristotle said long ago: “All human beings by nature desire to understand.” We are curious if nothing else, and it is one of the more admirable traits of human beings. We like to know what is going on and why. After we have fed ourselves and put a roof over our heads, and attended to other basic needs, the question arises what we are to do with our time. One suggestion is that we should raise our heads a bit and look around us and try to understand ourselves and things around us. This turns out to be interesting. It is the genesis of both science and philosophy, with science taking the more empirical road to understanding and philosophy the more conceptual. These are complementary enterprises and there have always been important connections between them which continue despite the growth of institutional science and its increasing splintering into more and more highly specialized sub-disciplinnes.

There are universities only because human beings are by their nature curious। Universities are centers of curiosity. They are repositories and preservers of the accumulated knowledge and understanding of humankind as well as the primary centers in the modern of world of the pursuit of pure inquiry, that is, inquiry for sake of slacking our thirst for understanding. Why is this valuable? Well, why is anything valuable? It is a good question, isn’t it? It’s a philosophical question. Curious? You ought to be. To think that one thing is more valuable than another is already to have presupposed answers to a range of questions, questions which most people scarcely raise for themselves. Wouldn’t it be a good thing to know whether you had any good grounds for thinking the things you do, and to know what they were and how they supported what you thought? It would be. But then what you are seeking is understanding. The question why understanding is valuable answers itself. Once you ask the question, any sound answer requires that you seek an understanding of what makes something valuable and what understanding is. Understanding pays its own way.

-------

What about philosophy in particular? Philosophy is a very abstract subject, and it is one of the more difficult ones। It has many values, but one is that it requires exercise of very advanced analytical skills, and very highly developed language skills, the sort mentioned above that are inseparable from being able to think well. Now, what is philosophy? That’s an interesting question.

------

Here is the beginning of an answer.
Prepared by the Philosophy Department at the University of Florida. © २००७

For full article please go to:

http://web.phil.ufl.edu/ugrad/whatis/useof.html, dated:०१-०७-२००८

Centre for philosophy,NIAS,Bangalore

2008-06-13T04:17:00.000-07:00

NIAS has initiated a new Centre for Philosophy. The inaugural lecture for this Centre was delivered by Prof Richard Sorabji, Fellow, Wolfson College, Oxford and Emeritus Professor, King's College, London on 20th January 2006.

About the Centre

Philosophy in India is in a state of crisis today. There are very few Universities which have a sustainable programme in philosophy. Philosophy teaching is restricted to a few colleges in the country whereas in the universities there is a dearth of both quality and quantity, with a few exceptions.
There are many deleterious consequences of this neglect of philosophy in the country. Primarily the intellectual health of a country should be gauged in terms of its philosophical traditions and practices, as much as the scientific and artistic traditions. Also, philosophy is essential for a good grounding in the Social Sciences and Humanities, and arguably for the natural sciences also.
Philosophy offers a rational tradition by which one can participate in the society in various ways. In India today, there is, on the one hand, a continued neglect of philosophy and on the other there is an upsurge of popular interest in philosophy primarily through the agencies of religion and spirituality. Although the latter are important cultural practices, philosophy as a discipline or even as a worldview cannot be subsumed under these practices alone.
Philosophy, not just as a discipline but also as a fundamental agent for both personal and social action, needs to be inculcated and promoted in societies, especially the civil society. In these days of rapid change, in the transformations entailed by the processes of globalisation, a society must equip itself with a 'philosophical temper', much like the emphasis on scientific temper that is now enshrined in the Indian constitution. Moreover there is great public interest in issues of philosophy. Often we hear from those who are not even in the academic field that their major interest is philosophy. The sales of popular philosophy books is another important indication of the desire of the larger public community to partake and participate in the philosophical discourses. The lack of academic training in philosophy has left a large number of ordinary citizens with no access to contemporary philosophical thinking, one which is influencing many new contemporary ideas in the world.
Since all disciplines draw upon philosophical themes, implicitly or explicitly, it is essential to have systems that will empower not only students but also the interested public to learn philosophy. Since philosophy is intrinsically linked with action there is a tangible and immediate benefit in supporting programs in philosophy. Almost all debates today - whether it is on ethics, development, poverty, education, alternative systems of knowledge, ideas of social justice, understanding of conflict and peace, etc., - all involve various philosophical ideas. A clearer understanding of these ideas would enable a more cohesive and rational social response to these issues. It would also help in the establishment of a deeper public discourse on these topics.
We cannot hope to solve the problems in philosophical teaching and research in the country immediately. However, it is time we addressed it in a sustained fashion. One such initiative has just been started at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore. We have started a Centre for Philosophy primarily to help support and sustain philosophy in India. As part of its activities, we plan to focus on philosophy education both for students in philosophy and in other disciplines, primarily in the Social Sciences and Humanities. Also, there are programs for the public where public discussion of contemporary themes from a philosophical perspective will be arranged. Our outreach program in education extends to the colleges as well. Also, we want to create a coherent and networked community of philosophers in the country through visits and annual meetings. This will enable teachers and faculty members in colleges and universities to spend some time at the Centre using our library facilities and participating in research and teaching.

Some Basic Objectives
To support a culture of philosophy in the colleges and Universities.
To establish structures to enable philosophical thinking and practice in the larger society, including organizing public lectures and discussions on various philosophical themes of contemporary interest.
To promote teaching of philosophy in the vernacular, both in the urban and rural areas.
To conduct advanced summer schools for graduate and undergraduate students in philosophy.
To develop outreach programs in undergraduate colleges where courses in philosophy will be offered by guest faculty.
To create an infrastructure to enable students and faculty of all levels to visit the Centre for Philosophy at the National Institute of Advanced Studies in order to pursue research, participate in teaching and access the library facilities.
To enable networking of younger faculty and teachers in philosophy (and in general those in Humanities and Social Sciences) who will meet once a year in order to know about each others' work and create a sustainable network for future action.
To have eminent people from all over the world visit the Centre thereby fostering international cooperation in the fields of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Contact: Prof Sundar Sarukkai (Email)

From:http://nias.res.in/researchgroups-cfp.php , Dated:१३-०६-२००८

How To Have Productive Philosophical Conversations

2008-05-11T23:32:00.000-07:00

By Scott Hughes

When discussing complex topics such as philosophy, skillful conversation becomes even more important. If conversationalists fail to use good technique, then they will not communicate with each other effectively, and the conversation will become unproductive. Let me suggest some ways to make and keep a conversation productive when discussing philosoph.

Listen - Most importantly, you need to listen as well as you can to the other people in the discussion. Many people talk too much and listen too littl. Ironically, if you talk too much, you will have a lot of trouble expressing yourself. If you listen well, you can express yourself better because you can tailor your response to what the person has already said. Additionally, if you listen to others intently, they will likely return the favor. If you do not listen to them and just try to talk over them, then they will likely do the same to you.

Ask Questions - Plato's dialogues show how Socrates used questions to have productive philosophical conversations with other. The Socratic Method can come in great use in discussions of philosophy. Asking questions will help you better understand the other speakers, and it will cause them to express their contentions more clearly to you. That will greatly reduce misunderstandings. Additionally, asking questions makes you seem genuinely interested in the other person's ideas. Making disagreeing statements, instead of asking questions, may make the other person feel attacked and may make you seem preachy, both of which will make the discussion less productive.

Speak Clearly - This may seem obvious, but many people instead try to show off or make their ideas seem stronger by using more complex language. However, you will have most productive conversation by having the least misunderstandings, which you can do by expressing yourself as clearly as possible. Using concise, simple, and specific phrasing will usually help you express yourself clearly. Rambling, over-elaboration and the unnecessary use of "big words" will make you less clear. Additionally, you can express yourself most clearly when you match the formality of your speech or writing to the formality of the situation. In other words, use formal phrasing in a formal situation and more informal phrasing in a more informal setting.

Speak Nicely and Politely - If the conversation turns into a contest, or if any of the speakers feel angry or offended, it will greatly reduce the philosophical productivity of the discussion. A discussion about philosophy can quickly degenerate into a name-calling, insult-throwing fight. The other person will listen to you more if they feel more comfortable and respected. Do not just speak as nicely as you must in order to keep the conversation philosophical; instead, speak as nicely, respectfully, and politely as you can. Avoid insults, name-calling, or offensiveness as much as possible. Also, especially if you disagree, try thanking the other person for discussing the topic with you.

If you genuinely try to have a productive conversation, you almost always will. Most people do philosophy for fun out of interest, so why not try to have a productive conversation when discussing philosophy?

Whatever you do, good luck and have fun!

About the author: Scott Hughes maintains an internet-based philosophy club at OnlinePhilosophyClub.com. You can discuss philosophy at the Philosophy Forums

Cited From:http://onlinephilosophyclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=289, Dated:१२-०५-2008

The Importance of Philosophy in Human Life

2008-04-22T02:53:00.000-07:00

PHILOSOPHY is a study that seeks to understand the mysteries of existence and reality। It tries to discover the nature of truth and knowledge and to find what is of basic value and importance in life. It also examines the relationships between humanity and nature and between the individual and society. Philosophy arises out of wonder, curiosity, and the desire to know and understand. Philosophy is thus a form of inquiry--a process of analysis, criticism, interpretation, and speculation.

The term philosophy cannot be defined precisely because the subject is so complex and so controversial. Different philosophers have different views of the nature, methods, and range of philosophy. The term philosophy itself comes from the Greek philosophia, which means love of wisdom. In that sense, wisdom is the active use of intelligence, not something passive that a person simply possesses.
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By studying philosophy, people can clarify what they believe, and they can be stimulated to think about ultimate questions. A person can study philosophers of the past to discover why they thought as they did and what value their thoughts may have in one's own life. There are people who simply enjoy reading the great philosophers, especially those who were also great writers.

Philosophy has had enormous influence on our everyday lives. The very language we speak uses classifications derived from philosophy. For example, the classifications of noun and verb involve the philosophic idea that there is a difference between things and actions. If we ask what the difference is, we are starting a philosophic inquiry.
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Every institution of society is based on philosophic ideas, whether that institution is the law, government, religion, the family, marriage, industry, business, or education। Philosophic differences have led to the overthrow of governments, drastic changes in laws, and the transformation of entire economic systems. Such changes have occurred because the people involved held certain beliefs about what is important, true, real, and significant and about how life should be ordered.

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For full article go to following link:
http://www.unexplainable.net/artman/publish/article_1182.shtml,dated:22-042008

ACADEMIC PROBLEMS

2008-04-15T23:00:00.000-07:00

Are you…
failing exams or classes?
getting nervous about your sliding GPA?
feeling overwhelmed?
experiencing severe test anxiety?
having trouble studying?
studying, but having trouble with tests?
thinking about quitting school or changing your major.

You are not alone. These are common problems for college students, including really smart and capable people.

What Are Some Common Reasons College Students Experience Academic Problems?

Motivation: Some students don't have a clear vision regarding their reason for being in college. Perhaps they are here at their parent's insistence while not feeling that they are doing what they really want to do with their life. Sometimes courses and majors are chosen to please others, but have little or no relationship to the student's true interests. Many students just aren't sure about what they really want to do in their future career. It takes a fairly clear purpose to motivate a student to successfully engage in the lengthy and difficult process of higher education.

Inadequate Time Management: The majority of U।C. students work at part-time jobs and/or are engaged in time consuming extra-curricular activities at the University. The demands of academic assignments almost require students to have the time management skills of a successful busy business executive. Unfortunately, not many students have had any formal training in this area.

Study Skills: Apart from time management skills, it is known that a large proportion of students entering college have not had much in the way of useful instruction or assistance with specific study methods.

Social Distractions: Love and friendship are the most important things in the lives of most people. It is often difficult to find the needed balance between socializing and studying.

Learning Disabilities: There are several disorders that are currently understood to be primarily neurological in origin that are frequently undiagnosed and treated, and which can be academically devastating. Capable students who may be interested in a topic and who spend a great deal of time studying can find themselves struggling or failing due to these problems.

Substance Abuse: While some college students bring with them serious problems of substance abuse or addiction from their pre-college years, it is know that the college years are those where alcoholism and other forms of substance abuse begin and become serious (sometimes life-long) problems। While not all addicted or substance abusing students flunk out of college, none do as well as they could. Some of these students are actually treating themselves chemically for a psychological problem that they may or may not be aware of.

Psychological Issues: A large number of U।C. students are struggling with the many demands of college life while also dealing unassisted with major emotional issues such as loss, depression, and anxiety. Undiagnosed and untreated, many of these kinds of problems lead to academic difficulties or failure.

What Can I Do? Any of the above issues and problems may cause students to feel inadequate or result in serious academic difficulties and failure। It is important to avoid waiting until it is too late to ask for assistance। You may find one or more of the other counseling services fact sheets helpful. The professionals at your counseling center are trained to help you cope with most of these problems. They can provide strategies that will help you solve your problems, reduce your anxiety, and get back on track. They also provide vocational and career counseling to assist you in making good decisions and choices about your future. In addition, the Office of Student Affairs and Services provide additional assistance and information to The University of Cincinnati student. Experiencing academic difficulties is nothing to be ashamed of. Don't avoid the problem. Tackle it straight on by stopping by or calling…

Source: The University of Cincinnati Psychological Services Center, Evening Clinic, and the Division of Student Affairs and Human Resources

Cited From:

http://www.campusblues.com/acad.asp, Dated:१६-०४-2008

Philosophical Dialogue

2008-04-03T01:13:00.000-07:00

Verbal discussion of serious topics is in no way tangential to the practice of philosophy. From Socratic gatherings to the philosophical conventions of today, thinking things through out loud—and in the presence of others—has always been of the essence of the philosophical method. (Most philosophical texts embody this give-and-take, either in explicit use of dialogue form or by a more subtle alteration of proposal, objection, and reply.) Your philosophical education demands that you enter into the great conversation of Western thought. A few suggestions may help:

Be prepared
Productive dialogue presupposes informed participants. This means that during every class session, each of us will have read the material assigned for the day, we will pay careful attention to what others have already said, and we will think carefully before speaking. Of course, each of us will often be mistaken, but none of us should ever speak randomly.

Respect others
Joint participants in dialogue show a deep, personal respect for each other. We owe it to each other to listen well and to give each other the benefit of doubt in interpreting charitably what has been said, trying always to see the worthwhile point. Although we will rarely find ourselves in total agreement on the issues at stake, we will never attack or make fun of each other personally.

Expect conflict
Disagreement with an expressed opinion and criticism of its putative support is not disrespectful; it is an acknowledgment that we are taking the matter seriously. The more significant the issue under discussion, the more likely our exchanges will become passionate, even heated. But we must always deal with each other fairly, helping each other to see the light.

Quality counts more than quantity
No discussion will be perfectly balanced among its participants, and each of us will have days on which we are quieter or more vocal. But no one should dominate the conversation, nor should anyone be utterly silent. If you find yourself speaking too much, try to listen more; if you find yourself saying too little, look for opportunities to contribute. But always remember that it is what you say, not the fact of your speaking, that matters.

Ask questions
Not every contribution to the dialogue needs to be the proposal or defence of a thesis. It is always proper to ask for a clarification of the meaning of something that has already been said or for the justification of a claim that has already been made. (Those who are naturally quiet may find that a well-timed question is the most comfortable way to participate in the dialogue.)
Above all, remember that philosophical discussion is a cooperative activity, aiming at a mutual achievement of truth (or, at least, convergence on a shared opinion). It is not a competition in which "points" are to be scored against an opponent. We are working together, and each can learn from all.

Cited from:

http://www.philosophypages.com/sy.htm#pap, Dated:03-04-2008

Socio-Ethical and Cultural Importance of Philosophy,

2008-03-26T21:25:00.000-07:00

Keeping in view the multi-dimensional importance of Philosophy its importance is as follows:-

(1) The academic and socio-ethical importance of ‘Philosophy’ is immens. Epistemology, logic and scientific method, philosophy of science, aesthetics, ethics, philosophy of religion, philosophy of law and social philosophy are some of the important branches of Philosophy. Epistemology deals with the nature, scope and sources of human knowledge. Logic discusses the basic principles of valid reasoning. Scientific method refers to the methodology of sciences. Philosophy of science analyses the basic concepts of sciences and tries thereby to provide them a rational basis. Thus, it provides conducive to pursuits of scientific researches.

A clear comprehension of the fundamentals of epistemology, logic and scientific method is a necessary pre-requisite of undertaking any meaningful rational activity including theory-formation and decision-making. In view of its importance, ‘Logic and scientific method’ is taught as a compulsory course to all the students in some of the European and American Universities। In India too, some IIT’s and the Department of Economics, Commerce and Management in Universities provide for ‘Logic and Scientific method as a compulsory course of study, and it is also a compulsory paper in the test for Chartered Accountants.

(2) Science & Philosophy are certainly the two most dominant forces that have shaped the course of humanity। It is also true that science alone can solve the problems related to hunger, poverty, illiteracy, environment pollution, illness and unemployment but then through the study of Philosophy one can achieve compassion, love, honesty and integrity, peace, tolerance, discipline and humanism without which the very existence of mankind will be at stake.

Cited From:

Starting the teaching of M.A. Philosophy in Distance Mode through Directorate of Distance Education, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra

Is Moral Philosophy Any Use? By Eric Matthews

2008-03-23T23:23:00.000-07:00

Is philosophy (and specifically moral philosophy) any real use in practice? This question is sometimes asked, not only by hard-headed practical people, but even by moral philosophers themselves। In both cases, there is an assumption that moral philosophy is a purely theoretical and abstract activity, and as such is divorced from the messy and complex decisions we have to take in the real world. My own experience of serving as a moral philosopher on a number of Ethics Committees, and of having to make my own professional contribution to their deliberations on a number of very thorny practical decisions, leads me to think this assumption is wrong. It involves a misunderstanding, both of the nature of moral decision-making and of the nature of moral philosophy. In this paper, I want to try to defend that claim, using as illustrative examples the ethical problems created by developments in medical technology.

Those who believe in the practical relevance of moral philosophy often invoke a comparison with the way in which a theoretical science like physics can be applied in engineering (although, strictly speaking, their analogy is rather with the way in which they think that physics is applied to engineering problems than with the use which engineers actually make of physical theory)। This 'engineering model', as we may call it, is implicit in the very term 'applied ethics', which has come to designate a whole area of philosophical activity in recent years. I want utterly to reject the engineering model, and with it the description of the role of the philosopher in practical moral decision-making as 'applied ethics'.

What, in greater detail, is 'the engineering model'? It is supposed that what happens in engineering is that answers to practical problems (such as the construction of load-bearing structures or of an efficient machine for achieving a particular task) are obtained by deducing them from relevant scientific theories। The general laws of physics are 'applied' to the particular case which constitutes a problem: that is, the particular case is seen as an instance of a certain general law or laws, and in this way a solution for the problem is found based on rational scientific principles, rather than mere hunch। In the same way, according to the engineering model, moral philosophy provides a set of general rational principles, from which the answers to concrete moral problems can be deduced when the particular case is seen as falling under a general moral rule or rules. These philosophy-based solutions will be better than those which may be offered by people without philosophical training in that they will be more rational, more (as it were) 'scientific'. Like the engineer, the moral philosopher will be, in virtue of his or her specialised training, an expert in the relevant field.

This view is, I want to argue, flawed in a number of related ways। First, the conception of the moral philosopher as an expert in moral decision-making is objectionable. The objection is not so much to the idea of a moral expert as to the idea of the philosopher as such an expert. Some people do seem to be better at making good moral decisions than others, and so might be described (perhaps not very felicitously) as 'moral experts': but their expertise arises, not from possession of some specialised knowledge, but from the acuteness of their moral sensitivity and the extent of their commitment to leading a moral life. In a word, moral experts are saints. But most moral philosophers are patently not saints, and saints are not moral philosophers, except accidentally.

Secondly, there is no science of morality which stands in the same relation to practical decision-making as, say, the science of physics stands to engineering decisions (which is why moral 'expertise' does not consist in possession of such scientific knowledge)। The rules of morality are not like the laws of science: they are not established by careful empirical investigation involving the use of specialised technical procedures and concepts, and so knowledge of them is not confined to specialists. Rather, we are all capable of acquiring an awareness of right and wrong in the course of our ordinary upbringing. Every sane, decent, properly brought up person knows that murder, torture, rape and exploitation are wrong, and that kindness, generosity, and cooperation are good things. All decent human beings thus have the knowledge required to make moral decisions: if some are better than others at making such decisions, as said above, it is because they have a more acute sense of how these general values apply in actual situations, combined with a greater willingness to apply them.

Thirdly, moral philosophy, as it has been practised in our culture from Plato onwards, is not to be identified with this universally shared knowledge of the rules of morality। It could not be, since it presupposes that knowledge. Different moral philosophers - Aristotelians, Kantians, utilitarians, intuitionists, and so on - do not disagree about the wrongness of murder or the goodness of generosity, but about how we should account for that wrongness or goodness. Moral philosophers are concerned with understanding the nature of morality in general and the connection of moral concepts with other concepts, such as those of a 'fact', of 'human nature', of an 'imperative', of 'reason' and so on. Training in moral philosophy is not the acquisition of scientific knowledge of what is right and what is wrong, but the development of the ability to reflect on the nature of our judgements of right and wrong.

It is significant that the one school of moral philosophy which does present itself as a quasi-scientific discipline, capable for instance of criticising received views of what is right and wrong, is utilitarianism in its various forms। The principle of maximising utility is supposed to be directly applicable to concrete moral decisions, when taken in conjunction with relevant facts. I say that this is significant because there is a marked (though not universal) correlation between practitioners of 'applied ethics' and utilitarians [1]: those 'applied ethicists' who follow the engineering model, in particular, are almost always utilitarians. They see themselves as moral experts in much the same way that the scientifically-knowledgeable engineer is in that field [2]. This is perfectly intelligible, given the nature both of utilitarianism and of the engineering model. But it gives those who object to the utilitarian conception of morality as concerned with the maximisation of pleasure and pain rather than with the well-being of persons an additional reason for thinking of the engineering model as flawed.

If we accept such arguments, does it follow that moral philosophy can have no possible practical relevance in moral decision-making? Only if the one way in which it could have relevance was that described in the engineering model। I want to argue, on the basis of my own experience, that there is another way. When it comes to making the standard sorts of moral decisions which we all have to make in everyday life, the moral philosopher is in no better position than any other person of equal decency and sensitivity. Should I steal this expensive watch from the jeweller's? Should I betray the confidences of my best friend to a malicious gossip? Should I lie to escape blame for something I have done? We all know the right answers to these questions, whether or not we have had a training in moral philosophy.

Where moral philosophy may come into its own, however, is in those cases in which the guidelines supplied by a good upbringing are harder to apply - cases in which the moral issues are more complex than usual, or in which we are confronted with qualitatively new sorts of moral issue। It is the latter kind of case which I want to concentrate on here, since it is well instantiated by the problems thrown up by developments in medical technology. For what we principally have in mind when we speak of 'medical technology' is the application of scientific knowledge to enable human beings to achieve medical goals which they could not achieve otherwise. Thus, to mention only a few examples, organ transplantation, kidney dialysis, the use of 'iron lungs', ventilators, endogastric feeding tubes and the like, all enable us to prolong human life in circumstances in which in the past that would have been impossible. New reproductive technologies make it possible for human beings who would otherwise be infertile to have babies of their own. And the technologies of gene manipulation may make it possible in future for children who would otherwise have inevitably suffered from some genetic condition causing problems of a more or less serious kind to be born without that condition or those problems.

Being able to do radically new sorts of things in this way also means being confronted with new sorts of moral problems for which our upbringing as normally decent and well-meaning human beings has not prepared us। Faced with a young person seriously injured in an accident, we would all say that we must obviously do all that we can to save that person's life: but does it follow that we need to prolong the (entirely unconscious) life of someone in a permanent vegetative state (as it is now called) by intravenous or intragastric feeding? Is prolonging breathing and heartbeat with no other benefit to the patient what is meant by 'saving life' in the moral principle that we should do all we can to save human life? Or again, we may agree with the claim in the European Convention on Human Rights that there is a universal right to have children. But does it follow that those who are naturally infertile have a right to IVF, and that therefore the state has an obligation to provide IVF treatment regardless of patients' ability to pay? Or finally, we would probably agree that cystic fibrosis is a terrible disease, and that we should do all we can to find a cure for it, or at least some way of alleviating its worst consequences. But does it follow that we should, if we can, use germline gene therapy to eliminate the cystic fibrosis gene altogether from the human population, so that no one will ever have to suffer from this condition again?

In all these cases, our ability to do new sorts of things creates moral problems of a new kind। It is in cases like this that a training in moral philosophy can be a help. The ordinary moral training which we receive in the course of a decent upbringing consists in learning to apply standard moral rules (don't steal, don't tell lies, keep your promises, be considerate to others' feelings, etc.) to cases in which their application is clear. But in the cases just cited, what is in doubt is precisely which rules should be applied and how they fit these new circumstances. We need to have developed a certain kind of moral imagination, consisting in a capacity to pick out the morally relevant features of these new sorts of case and so to determine which of our fundamental moral principles may apply to them and how.

What is it about human life, for instance, which makes it worth preserving, and is that feature to be found, say, in the PVS patient whose life can be preserved only by tube-feeding? What does the right to have children consist in, and do naturally infertile people who can have children only by IVF qualify for that right? How far does our obligation to prevent human suffering extend? Does it include suffering which is preventable only by intervention in the whole future development of the human species?

Answering questions such as these requires reflection on the whole nature of our moral concepts - standing back from the demands of practical decision-making in order to think in a more theoretical and general way about the principles involved। But such theoretical reflection is precisely what we mean by moral philosophy. A training in moral philosophy may not be the only way, but it is the best and most obvious way, to develop one's powers of reflection on moral concepts and moral principles. Furthermore, one cannot study moral philosophy seriously without being aware that such reflections may and do lead to differing conclusions, not only about what the moral concepts mean, but about which concepts are important in moral thought. Singer's talk (see endnote 2) about the meaning of the moral concepts results from an excessively narrow understanding of moral philosophy, no doubt inseparable from his utilitarian view of moral philosophy as a quasi-scientific discipline.

In his essay 'Philosophy and Government Repression' [3], Isaiah Berlin argues that philosophy is not like a science: it solves its problems, not by the accumulation and ordering of facts, but 'by altering the point of view from which the problem seemed a problem; by shifting emphasis, by transposing, by shifting the vision of those who are perplexed, in such a way that they perceived distinctions which had hitherto not been visible, or came to see that the distinction upon which they had laid so much stress did not in fact exist, or rested upon muddles or lack of insight' (p।60). It is my contention that a training in this way of problem-solving is peculiarly useful in approaching the new and particularly difficult kinds of moral problems thrown up, for example, by developments in medical technology.

This still does not make the moral philosopher an 'expert', informing his or her colleagues in medicine, law or whatever what is the 'correct', rational, scientific answer to their problems। Not only would this be offensive, it is also not the moral philosopher's job. The usefulness of the moral philosopher, according to the picture presented in this paper, does not consist in making the decisions for the professional people: that is their responsibility and theirs alone. Nevertheless, the philosopher can perform a useful, indeed a vitally important role, by bringing his or her training to bear on the task of elucidating the morally relevant features of the problem-situation and so making clear what factors need to be taken into account in arriving at a decision. It is my experience that performing that task is making a genuinely useful contribution, and is appreciated as such by most of those who have in the end to make the decisions.

Notes For further discussion see Anne Maclean, The Elimination of Morality, London, Routledge, 1993। A leading protagonist of this view (and a utilitarian) is Peter Singer: in a book which he wrote with Deane Wells in 1984 called The Reproduction Revolution (Oxford University Press), he argues that we could make more progress with difficult moral issues if we were 'a little more ready to gather together those best qualified to consider the issues in an open and informed manner' (p।199): among their qualifications would be 'an understanding of the nature of ethics and the meanings of the moral concepts' and 'a reasonable knowledge of the major ethical theories' (P.200). Reprinted in Isaiah Berlin, The Sense of Reality, London, Chatto and Windus, 1996. Eric Matthews is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen

Cited from:http://www।abdn।ac.uk/philosophy/endsandmeans/vol2no1/matthews.shtml
February 29, 2008 12:34 AM

Philosophy as Methodology

2008-03-04T22:46:00.000-08:00

-Dialectical Materialism (A.Spirkin)

The general concept of methodology:

A methodology is a system of principles and general ways of organising and structuring theoretical and practical activity, and also the theory of this system। Genetically methods go back far into the past, when our distant ancestors were acquiring, generalising and handing down to new generations their skills and means of influencing nature, the forms of organising labour and communication. As philosophy emerged, methodology became a special target of cognition and could be defined as a system of socially approved rules and standards of intellectual and practical activity. These rules and standards had to be aligned with the objective logic of events, with the properties and laws of phenomena. The problems of accumulating and transmitting experience called for a certain formalisation of the principles and precepts, the techniques and operations involved in activity itself. For example, in ancient Egypt geometry emerged in the form of methodologically significant precepts concerning the measuring procedure for the division of land. An important role in this process was played by training for labour operations, their sequence, and the choice of the most effective ways of doing things.

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A characteristic feature of the development of philosophical thought in the 20th century is the rapid growth of methodological research and the increase of its specific share in the general system of scientific knowledge। This is due to the conversion of science into a direct productive force, to the rapid development of science as a special form of intellectual production and to the differential and integrative processes occurring in it, which has led to the specific changes in the classical disciplines and the appearance of many new ones। The development and perfecting of methods is a crucial element in all scientific progress. Contemporary society is confronted with global problems whose solution demands large-scale programmes that can be carried out only through the collaboration of many sciences, programmes designed to cope with the problems of ecology, demography, urbanisation, space exploration, and so on.

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There are several classifications of methodological knowledge. One of the most popular is the division of methodology into substantive and formal methodology. The former includes such problems as the structure of scientific knowledge in general and scientific theory in particular, the laws of the generation, functioning and mutation of scientific theories, the conceptual framework of science and its separate disciplines, the definition of the explanatory patterns accepted in science, the structure and Operational composition of the methods of science, the conditions and criteria of scientificalness.

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According to another classification, methods are divided into philosophical, general scientific, and special scientific methods. Yet another classification relies on different methods of qualitative and quantitative study of reality. The distinction between methods depending on the forms of causality—determinist and probability methods—is of considerable importance in modern science. For example, in biology dialectics is seen through the prism of general scientific methods (systems analysis, the principles of self-regulation, etc.), in specific research projects through apply ing special scientific methods and systems of methods (electronic microscopy, the method of tagged atoms, etc.). One or another method makes it possible to know only separate aspects of the object of research. In order to comprehend all the essential aspects of the object, there must be complementarity of methods. The whole system of methodological knowledge necessarily involves a world-view interpretation of the basis of the research and its results. It should be stressed that general methodology is always at work in the brain of every scientist but, as a rule, it is kept in obscurity, as the intellectual background of a searching mind. This obscurity is sometimes so complete that the scientist may even deny that he acts according to any philosophical methodology, and insist that he is in general free of any philosophy. But this is merely an illusion of the consciousness.

For full article,please go to the following link:

http://marxists.architexturez.net/reference/archive/spirkin/works/dialectical-materialism/ch01-s03.html
March 3, 2008 1:01 AM

Career Opprtunities for Students of Philosophy

2008-03-04T22:37:00.000-08:00

Traditionally, philosophy students have found their majors prepared them mainly for teaching positions or as a base for future study. However, it has been proven that no matter how technical or specialized your career field may be, the study of philosophy can give you the basic skills needed for thinking about, analyzing, understanding, and solving problems. Philosophy graduates today are discovering that a wide range of non-academic careers are now opening to them. Among these new careers are opportunities in:

Business: advertising executive; assistant manager; hotels; development manager; manpower services coordinator

Computers: systems analyst, consultant, programmer, technical writer ,Consulting

Education: non-teaching fields of admissions, librarian, residence hall director, provost, archivist

Finance: bank officer, investment broker

Government: officer in armed forces, CIA, congressional staff member, diplomat, immigration, policy and planning consultant, United Nations official, human services agency, county commissioner Insurance

Journalism and Publishing: freelance writer, magazine editor, technical writer

Law: lawyer, criminal justice programs, legal researcher, paralegal, security officer marketing and/or Sales Religion/Ministry

Research: business, education, government, scientific।

Cited From:http://baby.indstate.edu/art_sci/phil/careers.html
March 3, 2008 1:02 AM

Domestic Violence

2008-03-02T23:06:00.000-08:00

The Delhi Commission for Women main aim is to protect women from all kind of harassment and it has worked extensively in this aspect over the years till date: -

The harassment of women ranging from physical beatings, emotional torture, mental abuse, sexual abuse, threat of violence, denial of basic necessity such as food and maintenance or where there are children, there is the additional blackmail that custody of the children will be denied to her if she does not fall in line, every kind of help and support, its provided to women who approach the Commission. It is no solace to be told that women can go to court for her rights. As going to Court itself is a long drawn process and torture, and very extensive often the women are simply abandoned and deserted with no means of sustenance.

Another very common form of violence is she taking of a second wife. It makes no difference that bigamy is crime, many men continue to believe that they have a right to home extra martial affairs. Statistics indicate that women in this society do not own property or she matrimonial home, which belongs either to she husband or to his family members. The man is therefore literally the lord and master of the home and hence considers the women to be just a worker in the house mostly and more prove to violence.

However, there are also situations in which people have laid together in what has come to be described as common law manages for several years and such women too face violence within the relationship.

Factors that determine the success of a domestic violence law.

It is therefore be clear to us that the success of any law on domestic violence depends on the following factors: -

A declaration of basic intent of the law, namely, the object of preventing domestic violence;

A clear and unambiguous statement of the right to be tree from domestic violence and the recognition of domestic violence as a violation of the human rights of the women;

The definition of domestic violence, which captures women’s expensive of abuse with some degree of precision;

The definition of the shared household so that rights can be protected within that household;

The relief that can be given to protect the women from violence;

The infrastructure available to victims of violence that can make the remedy accessible;

Clarity and simplicity of Court procedures;

Monitoring of the functions of the law, as it serving its intended purpose;

Providing a coordinated respond to domestic violence by recognizing the role of other agencies such as NGO’s the medical profession, shelter homes and the police in assisting the prevention of domestic violence.

The Government of India passed a Bill on 8th March, 2002 on Domestic Violence. The Government of India Bill defines “Domestic Violence” as follows: -

for the purpose of this Act, any conduct of the respondent stall constitute domestic violence if he,

habitually assault or makes the life of the aggrieved person miserable by cruelty of conduct even if such a conduct does not amount to physical ill-treatment,

faces the aggrieved person to bad an immoral life or otherwise injuries or harms the aggrieved person.

Nothing contained in clause (c) of the sub-section (1) shall amount to domestic violence if the pursuit of course of conduct by the respondent was reasonable of his own protection or for the protection of his or another’s property.

The United Nation framework for model legislation on domestic violence states. “All acts of gender-based physical and Psychological abuse by a family member against women in the family, ranging from simple assault to aggravated physical battery, kidnapping, threats, intimidation, coercion, stalking, humiliating verbal use, forcible on unlawful entry, arson, destruction of property, sexual violence, marital rape, dowry or related violence, female genital mutilation, violence, related to exploitation through prostitution, violence against household workers and attempts to commit such acts shall be termed ”Domestic Violence.”

Though the Govt. of India Bill has been criticized by different organization in India. They say that Govt. of India bill fails to define domestic violence and washes itself off the responsibility of defining it and leaves it to judges to decide. This leaves too much to the mercy of the judge and too little to the rights of the person aggrieved. The definition does not use the language of rights and uses instead the outdated concept of conduct, making ”The life of an aggrieved person miserable.” It does not even define cruelty. There is in the Govt. of India Bill, a persistent denial to recognize that domestic violence exists and the need to articulate its various forms. This definition will defeat the very purpose of the law and will render its meaning less for women, if not make their position worse.

We, in the women’s movement have a long battle ahead of us getting the government to politically commit itself to pass a law on domestic violence is a victory no doubt but an incomplete one.

In a democratic country citizens have a right to participate in the forming of legislation.

We must insist that: -

“Domestic Violence” is defined in accordance with the UN framework for model legislation on domestic violence. The right to reside in the shared household is included.

The law should enable judges to pass orders of residence, restraining dispossession, restoring possession.

Law should enable grant to monetary relief, custody and compensation.

There should be no procession for mandating counselling for the women.

Protection officers are appointed through an open process of inviting applications from all qualified persons through advertisements in a transparent manner.

A suspended warrant of arrest is attached to the protection order or in the alternation. Violation of a protection order is an offence which 15 cognizable and non-bail able.

The government commits substantial funds for the appointment of protection officers and for the implementation of the Act.

Widest possible publicity of the law is given.

The government provide for training of the law enforcement machinery.

The coordination for the prevention of domestic violence is appointed.

Legal aid to victims of domestic violence should be readily available.

The Delhi Commission for Women also discussed the bill extensively and few suggestions have been given by the lawyers and members of the Commission and justified there suggestions which are being sent in regard of proposed Bill for Domestic Violence. It is also being stated that suggestions has been incorporated according to section of proposed by bill which are as follow: -

section 2 (d) of this proposed Bill deals with definition of monetary relief. In this regard, it is being suggested that monetary relief to aggrieved person should be linked with the status of accused.

Otherwise, this will give the scope to accused to hurt the aggrieved person again.

section 4 (1) of this proposed Bill deals with Meaning of Domestic Violence. This section of proposed Bill covers only that act which is done by male members.

In this regard, it is being suggested that this definition does not cover that act which is done by females. There should be mentioned a word which can cover the act which is done by both males and females.

For example, in some cases the violence is caused by sister-in-law/mother-in-law, etc. In this situation this word ‘He’ which is mentioned in definition of proposed Bill will remain in sufficient.

this proposed suggestion in regard of section 4, suggested to amend suitably because the existing provision of proposed Bill provides some scope of safeguard to accused Person therefore it is being suggested to amend this provision suitably.

section 5 of the proposed Bill, deals with the appointment of Protection Officer. In this regard, it is being proposed that the role and the process of appointment of Protection Officer should be transparent and well defined so that appropriate/ qualified person may be appointed.

section 12 of the proposed Bill, deals with the assistance of welfare expert. In this regard, it is being proposed, a coordinator for prevention of domestic violence should be appointed with in society with the help of voluntary organization, which works for family related issues.

This will help to aggrieved person to come out from society and encouraged to file on application from weaker section of society.

this proposed Bill does not cover violence against domestic servants. Thus, this proposed suggestion will entrance the coverance of the Bill and more aggrieved persons of society would be cover by this amendment.

this is in regard of section 11 of proposed Bill, which deals with counselling. In this regard, it is being proposed that mandatory word may be dated and nature of counselling for victim should be Psychological. Therefore, both parties can lead their life smoothly and peacefully.

section 12 of proposed Bill deals with assistance of welfare expert. In this regard, it is being suggested that the guidelines for the welfare expert should be well defined so that he/she can provide his/her service in right direction.

this suggestion also being made that the right of aggrieved person to live in her matrimonial home should be unconditional and clearly brought out.

this is also justified because a aggrieved person who faces violence does not want to go back because of the violence. If a woman restored to her matrimonial home, there is no guarantee for further victimization. Thus, there should be mandatory law directly a woman (victim) to be restored to matrimonial home.

in this proposed Bill, it is not specified that where should an application be made by an aggrieved person. Thus, the jurisdiction of the complainant should be made clear.

Cited from

http://dcw.delhigovt.nic.in/Domestic%20Violance.htm
February 29, 2008 11:39 PM