KOCHI: Philosophy, the ancient discipline that took birth with civilisation, is considered as the mother of the human and natural sciences. Every year, the third Thursday of November is observed as the World Philosophy Day.
And this year, Unesco turns the spotlight on “the enduring value of philosophy for the development of human thought, for each culture and for each individual”. The word philosophy has its roots in Greek philosophia philo (love of) + sophia (wisdom). Thereon, the intellectual discipline has laid the foundations of reality, values, ethics and knowledge.
Greek philosophy was the foundation of western philosophical thought. Philosophers belonging to the pre-Socratic era such as Pythagoras believed that humans originated from a single substance, which could be water or air.
Then came Socrates, who was known for his unconventional teaching methods and provoking questions. His disciple Plato explored concepts such as justice, virtue, ethics, and human behaviour. And his student Aristotle who mentored Alexander the Great -- was credited for developing the study of logic.
The Greek philosophers contemplated and theorised about human nature, ethics, and moral dilemmas. With time, philosophy branched out into streams such as metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, logic, and political philosophy. All of these harmonised sciences to fathom the human mind, and the world.
Today, at a time when literature and the media govern human thinking, a deeper delve into philosophy is the need of the hour, believe experts. “In-depth philosophical wisdom is required,” says ProfAbey Koshy, department of philosophy, Sree Shankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady.“I believe philosophy, as a discipline, is not getting enough attention. This could be due to its abstract nature and complexities.”
Abey says the study of philosophy “opens minds” and helps people become more aware of and alert on flawed reasoning, illusions, false claims, etc.
Philosophical wisdom’s ultimate aim is to achieve truth, beauty, and goodness, he adds. “More than physical well-being and riches, the idea of how to think rightly is what philosophy stresses more on,” explains Abey. “Ignorance in philosophy leaves space for superstition, and blind belief in circulated opinions.”
In ancient times, philosophy paved the way for disciplines such as physics, biology, chemistry, natural sciences. With the advent of technology, ideally there should have been enhanced study of philosophy, and formation of new disciplines out of it.
On the relevance of ancient philosophy, Abey highlights the ‘aesthetics’ stream, citing Friedrich Schiller’s book ‘Letters Upon the Aesthetic Education of Man’. “Aesthetic education or the theory of beauty is essential for humans,” he adds. “In many cases, a lack of it has been the root cause of several societal problems. Aesthetics emphasises being satisfied with oneself from within. In such a mentality, there is little room for dissatisfaction. That can make human life so much better.”
Abey recalls pearls of wisdom from philosopher Immanuel Kant, too. “Kant wrote beauty could be experienced through any matter, and we would be joyful only if we are able to immerse in the experience of things, without any personal interest in them,” he notes.
In the contemporary world, Abey rues, philosophy has lost some relevance. “However, several new philosophical engagements have been formed to deal with current realities,” he says.
Biopower here to stay
Bio-politics is said to be one such topic that has been gaining prominence over the past 10 years. “It refers to political relations, and the intersection and mutual incorporation of life and politics,” says Prof T V Madhu, department of philosophy, Calicut University.
He refers to French historian and philosopher Michel Foucault (1926-1984), who had written about the power dynamics, its relationship with knowledge. “Foucault states the notion of sovereign power, or the forceful imposition of power, has become outdated. He believed power cannot be attained through subjugation, but via a sense of discipline that can regulate a population,” says Madhu.
“Disciplinary power can produce docile units of mankind, akin to a prison. Biopower allows the formation of a community that subscribes to an ideology that maintains and legitimates the state. In short, a population that has been shaped to the state’s desired form.”
Gender and sexuality
Feminist philosophical thinking has been mainstreamed, notes Madhu. “American philosopher Judith Butler’s reflections on gender and sexuality are remarkable,” he says. “She argues society has imposed specific characteristics for each of the genders based on bodily differences. She states each human being is a mixture of all dispositions masculine and feminine and we can’t say who is an exclusive male and female.”
Dispelling notions that study of philosophy has lost relevance in modern times, Madhu says it has rather become interdisciplinary. “It has extended to cognitive science, for instance. This includes artificial intelligence, linguistics, psychology, etc,” he explains.
“Earlier, philosophy’s core areas included knowledge, philosophy of the mind, but now cognitive science, too, has been added. The discipline has now become a frontier area of research globally.”
Madhu adds philosophy used to be predominantly theoretical and abstract in nature. But, nowadays, it is getting “applied”, and is linked to various other disciplines.
“For instance, applied ethics is practical ethics; it is the application of ethics to real-world problems,” says Madhu. “Practical ethics attempts to answer the question of how people should act in specific situations. That’s how we have medical, business, legal ethics, etc.”
Revisiting Indian philosophy
Indian philosophy or Bharat’s exploration of truth is represented by six systems of philosophy, including Vaisheshika, Nyaya, Yoga, , Samkhya, Purva Mimansa,and Vedanta. Unfortunately, however, its study and diversification lost steam after the 15th century. Majority of research and re-interpretations happened, ironically, in the West.
“Generally, Indian philosophy has an orthodox element,” says Madhu. “Indian philosophy contains old intellectual concepts. However, there was a revival in interest, primarily led by studies in the West. For instance, the Nyaya tradition is important for the analysis of logic, epistemology, justice, and language.
“Philosophers such as Jitendra Nath Mohanty and Arindham Chakraborty, who have expertise in western philosophy as well, have been making efforts to integrate certain concepts of Nyaya with the western philosophy. Such integrations and further studies are happening only in the western world.”
Also, he adds, there is a “dogmatic attitude” among Indian philosophy scholars. Western philosophy is more open, and relatable. “Whoever proposes any study can make changes,” notes Madhu. “Indian philosophy still looks more at the past, while western philosophy has evolved as a living tradition.”
Abey agrees, adding that Indian philosophy may have suffered due to colonisation. “Since we are colonised people, our colonial experience influenced our entire education system, thinking, and our approach to the world,” he says. “Viewing the world through the western prism became frequent. Hence, a rupture could have been formed in our long traditions.”
‘Everything is momentary’
Buddhism offers deep reflections on concepts such as logic and reality. Over the past few years, there has been an increasing interest in Buddhist philosophy, says Abey. “However, it is popularly known as a religious tradition, and its philosophical domain is still quite unknown to the public,” he adds.
“Besides strong ethical tradition, language and its functions and nature of reality, too, have prominence. Buddhist principle is such that everything is momentary -- everything lasts only for a moment. Things are disappearing in front of us, but we aren’t seeing the change. It is like a flame. Though the fire is burning, we are not realising that it is gradually running out.”
Philosophical approach to epidemiology
Epidemiology has now emerged as a subject of philosophical study. According to Kothamangalam-based Shinod N K, a professor of philosophy of science at University of Hyderabad, there has been a lot of research under epidemiology. “If we take the issue of the Endosulfan tragedy, an argument exists that its exact cause has not been scientifically established,” he notes. “It is tough and time-consuming to establish scientific results. So, through philosophy, we raise the questions of how to ascertain the cause-effect relationship, what all can be considered as proof, and evidence relying on data. This is a new sort of research.”
World philosophy day November 17
Flavours of the season Sadhguru, Osho, Jiddu Krishnamurthi, Sri M, Dalai Lama, and Friedrich Nietzche
Source: Crossword