Journals
Philosophy and Contemporary Living
Vol. I, No.2 | December 2010
Contents
Salesian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol. I, No. 2 (December 2010)
Philosophy and Contemporary Living
ISSN: 0976-1861
Section: Contents
CONTENTS
Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, Vol. I, No. 2 (December 2010)
ISSN: 0976-1861 | Page No: iii | Section: Contents
PHILOSOPHY AND CONTEMPORARY LIVING
| ISSN 0976-1861 | December 2010 | Vol. I, No. 2 |
CONTENTS
Editorial Philosophy and Contemporary Living | v |
| Ancient Philosophy as a Model for Intercultural 'Ecumenism' Christian Gobel | 1 |
| Aristippus and Ethical Relevance of Megarian Thought Christian Gobel | 28 |
| Why Images? Visualized Deities and Glorified Saints in Vajrayana Buddhism and Patristic Theology Thomas Cattoi | 41 |
| Business, Ethics and Spirituality Julien Jackers | 60 |
| Between Uniqueness and Otherness: Living in a Telematic Society Pius V. Thomas | 76 |
| The Problem of Induction in Indian Logic: An Empirical Issue in Indian Philosophy Raghunath Ghosh | 85 |
| Buddhist Tantrism and Contemporary Concerns Tomy Augustine | 94 |
Book Reviews Maggie Wykes and Barrie Gunter: The Media and Body Image (2005) | 105 |
| Michael Dusche: Identity Politics in India and Europe (2010) By Pius V. Thomas | 108 |
| K Nauriyal, Michael S Drummond and YB Lal: Buddhist Thought and Applied Psychological Research: Transcending the Boundaries (2006) By George Thadathil | 111 |
Editorial
Editorial
Philosophy and Contemporary Living
DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.iv-vi
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Section: Editorial
Editorial
Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, Vol. I, No. 2 (December 2010)
ISSN: 0976-1861 | DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.iv-vi | Page No: iv-vi | Section: Editorial
Editorial: Philosophy and Contemporary Living | iv
Editorial:
Philosophy and Contemporary Living
George Thadathil is presently the Principal of Salesian College Sonada and Siliguri Campus, affiliated to the University of North Bengal. He completed his doctorate from the School of Religion and Philosophy, University of Madras & Indian Council of Philosophical Research, New Delhi, making a study on Sri Narayana Guru Movement in Kerala. He has co-edited several books and written many scholarly articles besides Vision From the Margin: Study of Sri Narayana Guru Movement, Salesian College & Asian Trading Corporation Publications (2007).
Tomy Augustine is a lecturer of Philosophy and English Literature at Salesian College, Sonada, Darjeeling. He holds his M.A both in Philosphy and English, and Ph.D in Philosophy and Religion from Banaras Hindu Unversity. He is interested in Buddhist Philosophy and has presented papers and published articles on varous aspects of Buddhism, especially Varjayana.
The ancient is often seen as distant. It takes scholarly work and painstaking research into the past to highlight the contemporaneity of the concerns that triggered the imagination and provided meaning to our fore fathers and mothers. This issue of the Journal on Philosophy and its Contemporaneity is approached from three angles: first from the perspective of the past as offering a vision for the present; second, the past as not unitary, seen especially from the diverse cultural perspectives and therefore calling for an intercultural approach to the question of contemporary relevance of any philosophy; and third, the present as constantly requiring a reworking based on the critical revaluation of the past, whether immediate or remote. The works of Christian Göbel and Thomas Cattoi return to the ancient and medieval past to highlight the issue in the former mould and that of Tomy and Raghunath from the latter. Julien Jackers and Pius Thomas attempt reworking of the present day concerns relying on the impetus given by contemporary philosophers. Therefore this issue of the journal delving into the philosophical past of western tradition on the one hand and that of the Indian on the other offers insights to revisit the notion of perenniality of wisdom and its contemporaneity with the thoughts that probably criss-crossed the ancient worlds of Greece and India as it does even today.
Articles
Ancient Philosophy as a Model for Intercultural 'Ecumenism'
Christian Gobel
DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.1-27
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Section: Article
Articles
Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, Vol. I, No. 2 (December 2010)
ISSN: 0976-1861 | DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.1-27 | Page No: 01-27 | Section: Article
Ancient Philosophy as a Model for Intercultural 'Ecumenism' | 1
Ancient Philosophy as a Model for Intercultural 'Ecumenism'
Christian Gobel, B.A., M.Phil., Ph.L., drs. theol., Ph.D., a native of Brilon (Germany), teaches philosophy at Assumption College, Worcester, MA (USA); in addition, he is a visiting professor at the Catholic University of Eichstaett (Germany); he also taught at different Pontifical universities in Rome and spent a term at Salesian College Sonada (2007). He has authored or edited five books and numerous articles.
Abstract
Christian Göbel looks into the ‘origins of ecumenical thought in Greek philosophy,’ in the first part, as to supplement and energize the tradition of the ‘ecumenical logic of Christian Faith’ with an ecumenical philosophy as more compatible for promoting the authentic and original vision of the Gospels in the second part of this article. He argues very cogently and elaborately that there was an ‘original stance of openness toward all humanity’ among the stoic philosophers which could be similar to the premise of intrinsic ecumenical openness of Christian faith based also on the common nature of a human person grounded in reason.
Keywords: Ecumenism, Inter-culturality, Christian faith, Stoic philosophy
License : Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
Aristippus and Ethical Relevance of Megarian Thought
Christian Gobel
DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.28-40
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Section: Article
Articles
Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, Vol. I, No. 2 (December 2010)
ISSN: 0976-1861 | DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.28-40 | Page No: 28-40 | Section: Article
Arstippus and Ethical Relevance of Megarian Thought | 28
Arstippus and Ethical Relevance of Megarian Thought
Christian Gobel, B.A., M.Phil., Ph.L., drs. theol., Ph.D., a native of Brilon (Germany), teaches philosophy at Assumption College, Worcester, MA (USA); in addition, he is a visiting professor at the Catholic University of Eichstaett (Germany); he also taught at different Pontifical universities in Rome and spent a term at Salesian College Sonada (2007). He has authored or edited five books and numerous articles.
Abstract
This essay by Göbel on the ethical relevance of Megarian thought is one more return to the ancient Greek Philosophers in search of contemporary relevance for a pragmatic and wholesome approach to life with its perennial and cross cultural attraction by bringing back to focus the philosophy of Aristuppus of Cyrene a Post Socratic Megarian.
Keywords: Hedone, Modalities, Authenticity, Megarian
License : Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
Why Images? Visualized Deities and Glorified Saints in Vajrayana Buddhism and Patristic Theology
Thomas Cattoi
DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.41-59
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Section: Article
Articles
Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, Vol. I, No. 2 (December 2010)
ISSN: 0976-1861 | DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.41-59 | Page No: 41-59 | Section: Article
Why Images? Visualized Deities and Glorified Saints in Vajrayana Buddhism and Patristic Theology | 41
Why Images? Visualized Deities and Glorified Saints in Vajrayana Buddhism and Patristic Theology
Thomas Cattoi is presently pursuing research and lecturing at the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University Berkeley, California. He was selected to be an IASACT scholar at Chung Chi College Hong Kong for the year 2008.
Abstract
Cattoi makes a comparative study of the role of imagination in the attainment of a spiritual/realized state through his entry into the world of images and iconography as approached by Patristic Theology and Tibettan Vajrayana Buddhism.
Keywords: Christianity, Buddhism, Tantrism, Icons, Imagination
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Business, Ethics and Spirituality
Julien Jackers
DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.60-75
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Section: Article
Articles
Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, Vol. I, No. 2 (December 2010)
ISSN: 0976-1861 | DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.60-75 | Page No: 60-75 | Section: Article
Business, Ethics and Spirituality | 60
Business, Ethics and Spirituality
Julien Jackers, is a Professor at Centrum Voor Kerkelijke Studies Leuven Katholieke Universitiet Leuven. Prof. Julien Jackers thaught in several philosophical institutes and at various universities in different parts of the World. His main interest is metaphysics and related issues. As a Salesian he is devoted to teach his students in an academic manner, the way to reasoning and conviction.
Abstract
Jackers in the lecture-presentation reworked here addresses the question of spirituality and Business Ethics taking off from contemporary world situation analysis to a deeper reflection on the foundations of spirituality and ethics as depending on the understanding of the ‘other’ following the Levinasian lead.
Keywords: Interiority, Exteriority, Other, Freedom, Responsibility
License : Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
Between Uniqueness and Otherness: Living in a Telematic Society
Pius V. Thomas
DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.76-84
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Section: Article
Articles
Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, Vol. I, No. 2 (December 2010)
ISSN: 0976-1861 | DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.76-84 | Page No: 76-84 | Section: Article
Between Uniqueness and Otherness: Living in a Telematic Society | 76
Between Uniqueness and Otherness: Living in a Telematic Society
Pius V. Thomas is an assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy at the Assam University, Silchar, Assam. His field of interest is contemporary philosophy and has presented papers in many national seminars. He is also a post doctoral fellow in the University where he works.
Abstract
The paper discusses the ambiguous nature of the experience of authentic self and its relation with the other in contemporary philosophical discourses. The source of the ambiguity rests on two approaches to the concept of being ‘authentic’: the deconstructive and the dialogical. The discussion carried out in the paper aligns itself with Juergen Habermas’s concepts of intersubjectivity, lifeworld, public sphere and critique to contrast them with the idea of authenticity.
Keywords: Authenticity, Otherness, Intersubjectivity, Lifeworld, Public Sphere, Critique
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The Problem of Induction in Indian Logic: An Empirical Issue in Indian Philosophy
Raghunath Ghosh
DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.85-93
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Section: Article
Articles
Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, Vol. I, No. 2 (December 2010)
ISSN: 0976-1861 | DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.85-93 | Page No: 85-93 | Section: Article
The Problem of Induction in Indian Logic: An Empirical Issue in Indian Philosophy | 85
The Problem of Induction in Indian Logic: An Empirical Issue in Indian Philosophy
Raghunath Ghosh, Professor of Philosophy, University of North Bengal, Siliguri, W.B. is specialized in Indian Philosophy (classical and modern). He has published twelve books, one hundred forty papers in different professional journals and edited volumes. Ghosh has widely travelled and lectured in different Universities in the Netherlands, France, England, Japan, Germany, U.S.A., Poland, Finland, Singapore, China and Malaysia apart from Bangladesh and researched with Professor Kuno Lorenz, University of Saarland, Germany under the auspices of DAAD. He was a Visiting Fellow in the Universities of Puna, Jadavpur, Rabindra Bharati, Midnapur and Utkal and a recipient of Best Book Award by Indian Council of Philosophical Research, New Delhi. He was Dean, Faculty of Arts, Commerce & Law, University of North Bengal , Director, Buddhist Study Centre, NBU, Director, Ambedkar Study Centre and Course Coordinator, SAP (DRS-II).
Abstract
Ghosh approaches the problem of Induction in Indian Logic as an issue that has had a perennial import in the very development of argumentation (discourse on the process of derivations) in the altercation between the Carvakas, Nyayayikas and Buddhists. He emphasizes that it still characterize the nuanced readings into the classical texts as well as interpretations of contemporary events.
Keywords: vyapti, pramana, causation, inference
License : Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
Buddhist Tantrism and Contemporary Concerns
Tomy Augustine
DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.94-104
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Section: Article
Articles
Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, Vol. I, No. 2 (December 2010)
ISSN: 0976-1861 | DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.94-104 | Page No: 94-104 | Section: Article
Buddhist Tantrism and Contemporary Concerns | 94
Buddhist Tantrism and Contemporary Concerns
Tomy Augustine, is a lecturer of Philosophy and English Literature at Salesian College, Sonada, Darjeeling. He holds his M.A both in Philosphy and English, and Ph.D in Philosophy and Religion from Banaras Hindu Unversity. He is interested in Buddhist Philosophy and has presented papers and published articles on varous aspects of Buddhism, especially Varjayana.
Abstract
Augustine brings back into contemporary focus the ancient Buddhist Tantric texts and their metaphysical as well as pragmatic concerns in attaining integration as having continued relevance. He does so through a clear and gradual exposition of the school and its main contentions.
Keywords: Tantrism, Vajrayana, Consciousness, Integration
License : Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
Book Reviews
Maggie Wykes & Barrie Gunter, The Media and Body Image
By Pius V. Thomas
DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.105-107
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Section: Book Review
Book Reviews
Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, Vol. I, No. 2 (December 2010)
ISSN: 0976-1861 | DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.105-107 | Page No: 105-107 | Section: Book Reviews
Book Review: The Media and Body Image by Maggie Wykes and Barrie Gunter | 105
BOOK REVIEW
Maggie Wykes and Barrie Gunter, The Media and Body Image, (London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: Sage Publications, 2005) (Reprinted 2006), 252, ISBN - 1076194248 3.
Pius V. Thomas is assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy at the Assam University, Silchar, Assam. His field of interest is contemporary philosophy and has presented papers in many national seminars. He is also a post doctoral fellow in the University where he works.
The media is undoubtedly the major formative source of contemporary life. Historically, the justification for the need and necessity of the media was centred on the possibility of radical realization of democracy. But the postmodern scenario adds more to the ontology of the media, which makes some thinkers to diagnose it as merely simulating, simulating to the extent of limiting ‘reality’ to ‘media made reality’. Such a metamorphosis of the media cautions Jean Baudrillard to observe that a major share of the formative force that determines the postmodern condition is the model of the media made reality, ‘which becomes determinant of the real’ and erases the boundary between hyper/constructed/media-made reality and every-day life. In effect, the media not only turn away from their critical function but also act as a system of playful self-reference, which create reality as the supportive system of their extension or marketing strategy.
License : Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
Michael Dusche, Identity Politics in India and Europe
By Pius V. Thomas
DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.109-110
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Section: Book Review
Book Reviews
Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, Vol. I, No. 2 (December 2010)
ISSN: 0976-1861 | DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.109-110 | Page No: 109-110 | Section: Book Reviews
Book Reviews: Identity Politics in India and Europe | 109
BOOK REVIEW
Michael Dusche, Identity Politics in India and Europe, (New Delhi, Thousand Oaks, London: Sage Publications, 2010), 375, ISBN 978-81- 321-0304.
Pius V. Thomas is assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy at the Assam University, Silchar, Assam. His field of interest is contemporary philosophy and has presented papers in many national seminars. He is also a post doctoral fellow in the University where he works.
The question of identity/difference, which was the route to the discourses about identity politics, poses a series of challenges to almost all our contemporary debates on social and democratic theory. Primarily it questions the conceptual network of liberal democracy, its politics of universalizable enlightenment values and modernity along with the ideas of the nation state and citizenship. It also problematizes the process of identification and how political identities are worked out from the search for identities. Religion as world views and social identity are undoubtedly the prime locales of identity politics. Therefore, they always tend to overstretch the zone of the frameworks of democracy and democratic governance. Naturally the dynamics that determines identity politics is painted in a complex mesh involving three planes of conceptual discussions, such as, the ‘religion- the secular and the post secular’, ‘modernity-cultutral/acultural and postmodern’, and ‘the communitarian and the liberal ideas of rights’.
License : Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
DK Nauriyal, Michael S Drummond & YB Lal, Buddhist Thought and Applied Psychological Research: Transcending the Boundaries
By George Thadathil
DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.111-115
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Section: Book Review
Book Reviews
Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, Vol. I, No. 2 (December 2010)
ISSN: 0976-1861 | DOI: 10.51818/SJHSS.01.2010.111-115 | Page No: 111-115 | Section: Book Reviews
Book Review: Buddhist Thought and Applied Psychological Research: Transcending the Boundaries, Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism | 111
BOOK REVIEW
DK Nauriyal, Michael S Drummond & YB Lal, Buddhist Thought and Applied Psychological Research: Transcending the Boundaries, Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism, (2006), 520+xxxv, price $265.
George Thadathil, is presently the Principal of Salesian College Sonada and Siliguri Campus, affiliated to the University of North Bengal. He completed his doctorate from the School of Religion and Philosophy, University of Madras & Indian Council of Philosophical Research, New Delhi, making a study on Sri Narayana Guru Movement in Kerala. He has co-edited several books and written many scholarly articles besides Vision From the Margin: Study of Sri Narayana Guru Movement, Salesian College & Asian Trading Corporation Publications (2007).
It is a welcome addition to the current literature, ably demonstrating how Buddhist principles can be used to develop a deeper understanding of the human condition and help rebuild a balanced and fulfilling life. The spiritualist’s version of the need for the current study is emphasized by his holiness the Dalai Lama in drawing the distinction between the ‘understanding of the external world’ and the ‘understanding of the internal experiences’. As he opines, in his foreword, while material development is necessary for the happy life; a focus only on the material at the neglect of the inner development can be dangerous. In order to avert such a danger the enterprise of bringing together scientists and psychotherapists to critically analyze the process of meditative praxis and its impact on human wellbeing is what gets featured in the volume under review.
License : Salesian Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
