scholarly journals A Commentary on Ambedkar's Posthumously Published "Philosophy of Hinduism" - Part II

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 01-16
Author(s):  
Rajesh Sampath
Keyword(s):  
Social System ◽  
Caste System ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
Human Consciousness ◽  
World Religion ◽  
Modern Conception ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Social ◽  
Philosophy And Religion ◽  
The Status

This paper continues the commentary on Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s posthumously published Philosophy of Hinduism. Utilizing resources from various modern continental European philosophers and social theorists, particularly of religion, we elaborate on several key passages within Ambedkar’s overall framework of analysis. The paper continues to explore how Ambedkar conceives relations between philosophy and religion, and how historical shifts in general human consciousness have occurred whereby altering both fields. At the core of his being, Ambedkar is concerned with a methodological justification that will enable him to venture into a penetrating critique of the immoral and amoral nature of Hinduism’s social system of caste. In Part I of the commentary, we followed Ambedkar until he arrived at the criteria of ‘justice’ and ‘utility’ to judge the status of Hinduism. He wanted to test whether this Eastern world religion, which descends from antiquity, meets those criteria, which shape the modern conception of religion. In Part II of this commentary, we expand further on Ambedkar’s thesis as to why Hinduism fails to meet the modern conception when those twin criteria are not met. This thought presupposes various underlying philosophical transformations of the relations of ‘God to man’, ‘Society to man’, and ‘man to man’ within which the Hindu-dominated Indian society forecloses the possibility of individual equality, freedom, and dignity. In making contributions to Ambedkar studies, the philosophy of religion, and political philosophies of justice, this paper sets up Part III of the commentary, which will examine Ambedkar’s actual engagement with the classics of Hinduism’s philosophy and thought in general. Ultimately, Ambedkar is undeterred in his original critique of the social and moral failures of the caste system, thereby intimating ambitious possibilities for its eventual eradication.

scholarly journals DR. B.R.AMBEDKAR’S PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE ON INDIAN SOCIETY

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (37) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Jammanna
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Social System ◽  
Caste System ◽  
Human Values ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
Hindu Religion ◽  
Scientific Analysis ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Social Order

The process of democratization from below has threatened the very existence of the caste system and the dominance of the traditionally powerful groups. We are now witnessing such momentous historic developments in the social system in India. It is in this historic perspectives, more and more sections of people are discovering the relevance and importance of the ideology of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, who put forward scientific analysis of the caste system, the Hindu religion had evolved ways and means to fight out of the evils and degenerations, resulting into the very negation of human values and dignity. We often use the most elusive tern social justice but rarely define it as it is covered by conflicting claims of divergent approaches of divergent segments of society. Further it is a multi-contextual term having interpretations and implications in national and international spheres. The modern idea of social justice is concerned with ushering in a new social order without any border which could secure rights and advantages for the different sections of society in general and for the vulnerable and underprivileged sections of society in particular. As whole, it is correctly that any genuine democratization process can be started in India only through social justice. For that the emancipation of the Dalits, by a restoration of self-respect, is very much needed. The vision of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar has given us a comprehensive programme for achieving social justice in India. So, it is the duty of all progressive and democratic forces to assimilate the ideology and vision of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar for the establishment of genuine social justice.

scholarly journals In the midst of theory and practice: a foreword

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Hannes Peltonen ◽  
Knut Traisbach
Keyword(s):  
Social World ◽  
World Society ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Pragmatic Approach ◽  
The Core ◽  
Critical Engagement ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status

Abstract This foreword frames the Symposium in two ways. It summarises the core themes running through the nine ‘meditations’ in The Status of Law in World Society. Moreover, it places these themes in the wider context of Kratochwil's critical engagement with how we pursue knowledge of and in the social world and translate this knowledge into action. Ultimately, also his pragmatic approach cannot escape the tensions between theory and practice. Instead, we are in the midst of both.

Bhabani Bhattacharya Vs ‘He Who Rides A Tiger’

2021 ◽  
Vol 05 (01) ◽  
pp. 16-19
Author(s):  
Ajay Kr. Singh ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social System ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Spiritual Growth ◽  
Small Town ◽  
Caste System ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
Freedom Movement

Bhabani Bhattacharya’s ‘He Who Rides a Tiger’ is yet another novel of man’s epic struggle against the unjust social equations which are as old as the ancient vedic civilization. It is the story of a blacksmith, Kalo, living in a small town, Jharana, in Bengal, and his daughter, Chandra Lekha. It is set against the backdrop of a widespread famine of Bengal of 1943. Though ‘He Who Rides a Tiger’ and ‘So Many Hungers’ treat the theme of hunger, exploitation and debasement of man, ‘He Who Rides a Tiger’ is no rehash of the latter novel. It launches a scathing critisism on the evil of caste system which has been the bane of Indian society. Arguably the writer’s best novel, it touches the pulse of the irony of Indian social life. The Indian social realities are presented with increasing bitterness within the perspective of the freedom movement. Its greatness as a piece of literature lies in its assertion of tremendous potentialities of the spiritual growth of man, and a thorough exposure of an imperfect social system.

16. Still a Discipline After All These Debates?

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ole Wæver
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Social Structure ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Social System ◽  
Sociology Of Science ◽  
Intellectual Structure ◽  
Social Patterns ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Social ◽  
Relations Of Power

This chapter considers how the arguments associated with the thirteen different theories of International Relations discussed in the book sum up. More specifically, it asks whether IR is (still?) a discipline, and whether it is likely to remain one. The chapter examines the intellectual and social patterns of IR and the discipline as a social system, along with its relations of power, privilege, and careers. It also reflects on where, what, and how IR is today by drawing on theories from the sociology of science, whether IR can be regarded as a subdiscipline within political science, and the social structure of IR. It argues that the discipline of international relations is likely to continue whether or not ‘international relations’ remains a distinct or delineable object. It also contends that the core of the intellectual structure in the discipline of IR has been recurring ‘great debates’.

The “Actors” of Modern Society: The Cultural Construction of Social Agency

2000 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Meyer ◽  
Ronald L. Jepperson
Keyword(s):  
Social Theory ◽  
Social System ◽  
Essential Feature ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Cultural Construction ◽  
Modern Theory ◽  
Modern Culture ◽  
The Core ◽  
Nation States ◽  
The Social

Much social theory takes for granted the core conceit of modern culture, that modern actors—individuals, organizations, nation states—are autochthonous and natural entities, no longer really embedded in culture. Accordingly, while there is much abstract metatheory about “actors” and their “agency,” there is arguably little theory about the topic. This article offers direct arguments about how the modern (European, now global) cultural system constructs the modern actor as an authorized agent for various interests via an ongoing relocation into society of agency originally located in transcendental authority or in natural forces environing the social system. We see this authorized agentic capability as an essential feature of what modern theory and culture call an “actor,” and one that, when analyzed, helps greatly in explaining a number of otherwise anomalous or little analyzed features of modern individuals, organizations, and states. These features include their isomorphism and standardization, their internal decoupling, their extraordinarily complex structuration, and their capacity for prolific collective action.

scholarly journals „Winning is strictly prohibited”. O strategiach twórczych Banksy’ego i Jana Klaty

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michalina Lubaszewska
Keyword(s):  
Social System ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Amusement Parks ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status

The paper analyzes the activities of two socially committed artists: Banksy and Jan Klata, who both use the funfair motif. Banksy employs it in a literal though subversive way in his project Dismaland, which is a quizzical reversal of Disneyland. Klata employs it in his performances (which often take the form of the director’s comments on the reality that surrounds us), showing a set of “amusements” resembling those from a funfair and leading the viewer to a perceptive dissonance (similarly to the collection of Eisenstein’s amusements). It seems that the space created by the committed art that uses the concept of a funfair allows for the implementation of a real rebellion against the status quo. Actual amusement parks, however, create only an illusion of the possibility to break with the norms of the social system.

scholarly journals Declining Social Control and the Rising Deviant Behaviour in India

2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-33
Author(s):  
Pravin J. Patel
Keyword(s):  
Social Control ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Crime Rates ◽  
Caste System ◽  
Informal Social Control ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
Social Control Theory ◽  
Law And Order ◽  
Deviant Behaviour ◽  
The Social

Crime rates are increasing across the Indian society. Normally, such crimes are attributed to two broad categories of factors: (a) psychological factors like individual or mob fury and (b) administrative factors like the failure of law and order machinery. These explanations, however, do not account for the increasing rates of such demeaning instances. This article, attempting to explain the increasing crime rates, focuses on the social control theory. The main argument of the article is that the rapidly declining informal social control causes the phenomenal rise of decadent behaviour in the contemporary Indian society. Due to modernising forces, traditional social institutions and structures such as family, kinship, caste system and village community have become weak. As a result, the traditional informal social control based on shame has gradually diminished. And the sense of guilt, the functional alternative to shame, as an informal mechanism of social control, has not yet been fully institutionalised. This seems to be the major factor giving rise to widespread deviant behaviour in India. Although formal mechanisms of social control like police and judiciary do exist, they cannot be very effective without being reinforced with the informal social control.

scholarly journals The Status of the Social in Creativity Studies and the Pitfalls of Dichotomic Thinking

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vlad Petre Glăveanu
Keyword(s):  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Creative Potential ◽  
Social Perspective ◽  
External View ◽  
The Core ◽  
Psychological Theories ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
Creativity Studies ◽  
Creative Production

AbstractCreativity studies seem to be a stronghold for individual-based psychological theories. The reasons for this are numerous and complex and, among them, we can identify certain limited or counter-productive ways of conceptualising the social. In this reply to comments I address both the status of the social in creativity studies and the dichotomies that follow from adopting an external view of society and culture. Among them, the separation between creative potential and achievement is particularly problematic, as it constructs a reified, static, and individual notion of potential, reflected in the measurement of divergent thinking. I propose, towards the end, a perspectival model of creativity that radically socialises divergent thinking by placing the social at the core rather than the periphery of creative production. Finally, I suggest that including time into our theory and research holds the key to overcoming many of the false dichotomies that underline creativity studies, at least in psychology. A thoroughly social perspective on creativity might seem like a daring or foolish endeavour but it is, in my view, also the most promising.

scholarly journals Is the Body Secular? Circumcision, Religious Freedom, and Bodily Integrity

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Richard Amesbury
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Point ◽  
Social System ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
The Body ◽  
Additional Consideration ◽  
Bodily Integrity ◽  
Modern Conception ◽  
The Social ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
Free Religion

Recent legal and public debates over circumcision in Germany have tended to pit religious freedom against bodily integrity. This paper examines the background assumptions about religion and the body on which this framing depends. Insofar as the body is assumed to represent a fixed point determinable independently of ‘religion’, to frame the debate over circumcision in terms of a clash between rights pertaining respectively to religion and the body is, I argue, to circumscribe and contain religion within boundaries marked by the non-religious and non-negotiable. The secular body is thus not simply an additional consideration to be weighed against religious freedom but a condition of and limit to the modern conception of (free) religion itself. If the physical body is a synecdoche for the social system, the normative, uncircumcised body can be interpreted as standing in for the universalist order of secular law.

scholarly journals Uma revisão crítica da antropologia de Carmen Junqueira

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindinalva Laurindo Teodorescu
Keyword(s):  
Social System ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Group Interaction ◽  
The Core ◽  
Nature And Culture ◽  
The Social ◽  
System 2 ◽  
Human World ◽  
The Village ◽  
Animal World

O artigo faz uma revisão crítica da antropologia produzida pela antropóloga Carmen Junqueira, junto ao povo Kamaiurá, do alto Xingu, ao longo de cinquenta anos de pesquisa. Entre as publicações selecionadas para análise, foram retidos quatro temas que são recorrentes em suas pesquisas e que constituem o cerne de sua antropologia. São eles: 1) a composição do universo Kamaiurá (as formas de produção, parentesco e relações de poder, a generosidade ostentada e o sacrifício do líder, mudanças e interação grupal entre os povos do alto Xingu, política protecionista e deslocamento de poder na aldeia de Ipavu e os ritos como fundamento do sistema social); 2) o espaço das mulheres nas sociedades indígenas (as narrativas míticas e a situação das mulheres); 3) o imaginário e o simbólico na configuração do tempo Kamaiurá; 4) o mundo animal e o mundo humano ou a relação natureza e cultura. Neste último item, foi feita uma tentativa de comparação entre a antropologia de Carmen Junqueira e a perspectiva que dá conta da composição do universo indígena, em termos de pluralidade de mundos, como o modelo desenvolvido por Philippe Descola e Eduardo Viveiros de Castro.  Abstract: This article reviews the anthropology produced by the anthropologist Carmen Junqueira, around the Kamaiurá people of the upper Xingu, over fifty years of research. Among the publications selected for analysis four themes were retained that are recurrent in her research and which constitute the core of her anthropology. They are: 1) the composition of the Kamaiurá universe (the forms of production, kinship and power relations, the leader´s bounty and sacrifice, changes and group interaction among the upper Xingu peoples, protectionist politics and power displacement in the village of Ipavu and rites as the foundation of the social system); 2) the space of women in indigenous societies (the mythical narratives and the situation of women); 3) the imaginary and the symbolic in the configuration of Kamaiurá time; 4) the animal world and the human world or the relation between nature and culture. In this last item, an attempt was made to compare the anthropology of Carmen Junqueira with the perspective that accounts for the composition of the indigenous universe in terms of a plurality of worlds, such as the model developed by Philippe Descola and Eduardo Viveiros de Castro.  

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