The field of bioethics continues to struggle with the problem of cultural diversity: can universal principles guide ethical decision making, regardless of the culture in which those decisions take place? Or should bioethical principles be derived from the moral traditions of local cultures? Ten Have and Gordijn and Bracanovic defend the universalist position, arguing that respect for cultural diversity in matters ethical will lead to a dangerous cultural relativity where vulnerable patients and research subjects will be harmed. We challenge the (...) premises of moral universalism, showing how this approach imports and imposes moral notions of Western society and leads to harm in non-western cultures. (shrink)

In this paper I discuss some consequences and manifestations of a mereology of structured wholes in chemistry, with particular reference to the concept of atoms in molecules.

This letter/article draws on Hosea to show us the need for studying the sacred scriptures of Hindus and Roman Catholics. There are many typos in the printed version which were not there in the typed Word file. For instance it is, Vijñāna-Bhairava-Tantra and not what is found in the uploaded print version. 'From Judgment to Hope' by Walter Brueggemann should have been italicised. The letter touches upon Saint Elias Chavara and the Servant of God, Fr. Canisius Thekkekara CMI. 'The Spandakarika' (...) too should have been italicised. (shrink)

This letter to the editor deals with the challenges of interreligious dialogue and the liminal position of those who engage in dialogue within their own religious communities and of course, by the perceived 'Other'. Further, this letter looks forward to building a new community of men in decades to come through the author's study of the (Irish) Christian Brothers. It remains a misfortune that typos have been introduced in this letter and 'Lamentations and the Tears of the World' by Kathleen (...) O'Connor, had not been italicised. Even 'Lamentations' should have been italicised. Further the last two points of this letter refer to the Christian Brothers in the early 1990s at Calcutta/Kolkata. It is a pity that we do not have any fuller chronicle of the Brothers mentioned in this letter and their contributions to the making of Calcutta's intellectual woof, thus risks being erased from our collective memory. The letter quotes the senior-most Christian Brother in India today, Br. Maurice Baptists Finn cfc. "Agamben's book Karman?' should have had "Karman" italicised as also the names of other books given in the letter. Sadly, nobody bothered to proof-read this Archdiocesan mouthpiece. (shrink)

Modern bioethics was born in the West and thus reflects, not surprisingly, the traditions of Western moral philosophy and political and social theory. When the work of bioethics was confined to the West, this background of socio-political theory and moral tradition posed few problems, but as bioethics has moved into other cultures – inside and outside of the Western world – it has become an agent of moral imperialism. We describe the moral imperialism of bioethics, discuss its dangers, and suggest (...) that global bioethics will succeed only to the extent that it is local. (shrink)

This is made open access for students worldwide. The bulleted points deal with Fowles' engagement with Victorian morals. This draft which will not be published shows how this novel is not a historical novel, though it portrays historical facts. This is for self-study during this ongoing COVID 19 pandemic. Students are advised to follow the hyperlinks embedded within the body of the text. This is a non-plagiarised paper to serve the needs of intermediate students.

The author finds contemporary historiography to be quite stifling and frankly, insuffient.

This is a very important document in the form of a letter/epistle and it marks several paradigm shifts within theodicy. The letter makes a case for a synoptic reading of Sts. Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas and Tantric texts. This is not the norm. Generally, these Saints are read along with Advaita texts. The letter hints at the futility of the latter approach. Then in the next part of the letter, the author requests a re-evaluation of the concept of the (...) Church in Bengal and, by implication, of the universal Roman Church. All this while the author plays with Karl Rahner's concept of the anonymous Christian and thus, mentions, the anonymous Hindu. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta acknowledges which most woke Hindus do not --- the existence of evil, which is part of Catholic dogma and the reality of the Shakti worship. In this sense, the letter serves the interreligious dialogue project which is burdened by the reiteration of Catholicism trying to understand Advaita Vedanta. (shrink)

Recently the dour L&T Chariman who is a plutocrat demanded of his employess the giving up of Sundays as days of rest and like the nameless of Pharaoh whom we encounter in the Hebrew Scriptures, advises his employees who earn peanuts to work 90 hours every week. This letter to the editor reinstates the day of rest as crucial to both Hindus and Christians. It refers cursorily to Heidegger and then also attacks cram schools in India where kids are taught (...) to rote learn to pass often meaningless competitive exams. There are typos in the letter. One often forgets that religions were meant to be countercultural forces of resistance and not of slavery to the letter of the law, ignoring the spirit of the law. (shrink)

Study done under the aegis of Department of Philosophy, Jadavpur University.

The concept of molecular structure is fundamental to the practice and understanding of chemistry, but the meaning of this term has evolved and is still evolving. The Born–Oppenheimer separation of electronic and nuclear motions lies at the heart of most modern quantum chemical models of molecular structure. While this separation introduces a great computational and practical simplification, it is neither essential to the conceptual formulation of molecular structure nor universally valid. Going beyond the Born–Oppenheimer approximation introduces new paradigms, bringing fresh (...) insight into the chemistry of fluxional molecules, proteins, superconductors and macroscopic dielectrics, thus opening up new avenues for exploration. But it requires that our ideas of molecular structure need to evolve beyond simple ball-and-stick-type models. (shrink)

This has been published by the Archdiocese of Calcutta in the Roman Catholic The Herald which has been in continuous circulation from 1839. This weekly paper is the mouthpiece of this Roman Catholic Archdiocese and is indexed by the Vatican. The importance of this short piece is that it clears the misconception about the so-called fire-sacrifice which is found in all text books and scholarly papers globally. There is no such thing as a fire-sacrifice. The author draws a parallel with (...) the 'havan' or 'homa' with the Holy Eucharist. For the author the fire is God, as for Roman Catholics, the bread and wine is the Body and Blood of Christ during the Paschal Mystery. Further, the author clearly states the similarities between Ignatius's Spiritual Exercises and Tantric 'nyasas'. These are unique observations within comparative religious studies. The Truth is One and sages call it by various names and so while the paths to this Truth are different, the destination is the same. (shrink)

This is a very brief working abstract for students interested in Dracula as being a rebuttal to Immanuel Kant's works and also this abstract comments on the skepticism that we find in this novel. This is put out in the public doamain and if this is used, it should be with proper citation.

This article emphasizes the need for silence to become transformed from the death oriented Dasein of Heidegger to the life oriented Dasein of Karl Rahner. In between this article makes a case for Shakta worship to be taken as the loci for Hindu-Christian interreligious dialogue.

This article develops an analysis of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex in relation to the mythological and literary-theatrical place the play holds in the history of psychoanalysis from Freud to Lacan, not to mention Foucault’s counter-psychoanalytic reading. How do we see the constitutive relation between this play and the Freudian complex? Does Lacanian psychoanalysis help illuminate the play as a tragedy of desire in alienation? The paper argues for a tragedy of desire’s Otherness in Sophocles’ play, showing how the parental alterity is (...) configured in the shifting dynamics of paternal and maternal signifiers. Be it in the divine oracle or the chorus, the play accentuates the field of Other to activate the tragedy of desire and chanellizes it through affects like guilt, shame and self-reproach, inscribed on the subject’s body in the form of scopic and invocatory drives. The paper concludes by reflecting on the status of the unconscious as knowledge, complicating Foucault’s interpretation and presenting a tragedy of the desire-to-know that produces existence without desire as an experience of suffering. (shrink)

This paper aims to provide an updated synthesis on the works of Archimedes and the fundamental impact these have had on subsequent mathematical practice. The influence his mathematical processes have had on modern mathematics and how these have helped develop the field is discussed in historical perspective. Some of the recent investigations into the Archimedes Palimpsest are discussed and synthesized, namely, how they alter our understanding of some of his earlier works, and how Archimedean principles are seen to have laid (...) the foundations of possible new branches of mathematics. (shrink)

Biography of Swami Vivekananda, 1863-1902, Hindu religious leader and philosopher, and member, Ramakrishna Mission.

This book delves deep into the Social Construction of Theory, comparative epistemology and intellectual history to stress the interrelationship between diverse cultures during the colonial period and bring forth convincing evidence of how the 19th century was shaped. It approaches an interesting relation between the linguistic studies of 19th century’s scientific world and subsequent widespread acceptance of the empirically weak theory of the Aryan invasion. To show entangled history in a globalized world, the book draws on the Aryan Invasion Theory (...) to highlight how different socio-religious parties commonly shape a new theory. It also explores how research is affected by the so-called social construction of theory and comparative epistemology, and deals with scholarly advancement and its relation with contemporary socio-political demands. The most significant conclusion of the book is that academic studies are prone to comparative epistemology, even under the strict scrutiny of the so-called scientific methods. (shrink)

While temporal considerations are of prime importance for chemical reactions, as well as for molecular stability, most chemical concepts are not explicitly formulated on a diachronic basis. It will be argued here that a formulation explicitly incorporating temporal and epistemological considerations enables us to treat chemical reactions and chemical substances on ontologically equivalent terms, instead of assigning a more fundamental status to the latter. After all, in collision theory, a chemical substance is just a collision complex that takes too long. (...) How long qualifies as “too long”, and “too long” in relation to what, are crucial questions that distinguish chemical substances from chemical reactions, and reversible reactions from irreversible ones, thereby introducing anthropocentric considerations into these distinctions. Too long for a lab chemist is very different from too long for an astrochemist studying chemical reactions between chemical substances in inter-stellar space on cosmological timescales. Examining several physical and chemical properties on the basis of which chemical substances are distinguished from one another, the role of temporal and anthropocentric considerations in defining molecular properties is emphasized. I conclude with some observations on the much-debated reduction of chemistry to other disciplines, arguing that such reduction depends on our aesthetic choices as to what kinds of observations demand explanation, and what kinds of explanation are acceptable. (shrink)

The idea of this paper came to me from my junior colleague and friend Saikat Sarkar who mentioned in a different context this paper's title. Existing work in this field registers two themes: those scholars who are abroad perforce critique whites since their unwritten code for getting tenure etc. is to lessen the guilt of their masters in First World social sciences' and humanities departments. And then there is the instance of First world scholars using these (mostly) subaltern-studies' scholars to (...) invade developing world academic systems with agenda of their own. This essay mentions the first sort and then deviates from contemporary scholarship in proving that multiculturalism may not be the right solution to ethnic plurality. It goes on to show how these Third World scholars attempted and attempt to erase individuality in the name of Cosmopolitanism. This last is the latest fad in humanities' departments in South East Asia, especially, India. (shrink)

Buddhist account of consciousness provides a new way of looking into contemplation, where absorption into meditation does not only bring in changes in the neural level but in the very personality of the individual, turning him into a good human being. The Buddhists recommend the practice of vipassanā, literally meaning insight but actually standing for the realization of the supreme enlightenment breaking off all the internal fetters through the practice of seven different types of purity, such as purity of morals, (...) mind, views, and insight, etc. In early and later Buddhist literature, it has been categorically emphasized that one should not practice solitary mindfulness but should practice enriching the higher qualities of the mind such as compassion, friendliness, etc. The point is that the contemplated individual, the Bodhisattva, should possess the perfection of wisdom and be equipped with the skill of upāyas. The practice of these upāyas, however, will not create any new bondage for the contemplative mind. When the individual is able to attain this broad outlook, he will be said to achieve the highest contemplation – this is the ultimate objective of Buddhist meditation. Meditation is needed for this change of outlook – transition from “I” to “we”. This is the only way to bring peace of mind and peace to the whole world. (shrink)

This is a Hindu reading of St. Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises for passing an examination. This is not the final dissertation but only a draft which underwent many changes. It is unpublished.

Papers presented at a seminar held at Department of Philosophy, University of Calcutta from March 15-16, 2011.

Ashapurna Devi, a prominent Bengali woman novelist (1909–1995) focused on women’s creativity and enlightenment during the colonial and postcolonial period in Bengal, India. She herself displayed immense will power, tenacity and an indomitable spirit which enabled her to eke out a prominent place for herself in the world of creative writing. Her life spanned both colonial India and independent India and these diverse experiences shaped her mind and persona and helped her to portray the emerging face of the enlightened Bengali (...) middle-class woman. Her writings trace the evolution of the Bengali woman as an enlightened and empowered individual struggling against the shackles of discriminatory norms imposed upon her by society. She traces the extremely conservative upbringing that the female members of her generation were subjected to and goes on to show how different individuals responded to these structures in different ways. Some would comply unquestioningly, some would comply simply because they did not dare to protest, while others would break free and find their own niche in the outside world. These issues are addressed by Ashapurna Devi in many short stories as well, but a critical analysis of her trilogy Pratham Pratisruti (1964), Subarnalata (1967) and Bokulkatha (1974) enables us to experience this struggle against a gradually unfolding backdrop where India moves on from being a British colony to an independent country. The trilogy traces the life of three generations of a family — Satyabati, Subarna and finally Bokul and establishes Ashapurna Devi as a path-breaking champion of women’s emancipation in an era when such endeavours were few and far between. (shrink)

Culture creates the context within which individuals experience life and comprehend moral meaning of illness, suffering and death. The ways the patient, family and the physician communicate and make decisions in the end-of-life care are profoundly influenced by culture. What is considered as right or wrong in the healthcare setting may depend on the socio-cultural context. The present article is intended to delve into the cross-cultural perspectives in ethical decision making in the end-of-life scenario. We attempt to address the dynamics (...) of the roles of patient, family and physician therein across two countries from East and West, namely, India and Germany. In India, where illness is more a shared family affair than an individual incident, a physician is likely to respect the family’s wishes and may withhold the ‹naked truth’ about the diagnosis of a fatal disease to the patient. In Germany, a physician is legally required to inform the patient about the disease. In India, advance directive being virtually non-existent, the family acts as the locus of the decision-making process, taking into account the economic cost of available medical care. In Germany, advance directive is regarded as mandatory and healthcare is covered by insurance. Family and the physician appear to play larger roles in ethical decision making for patients in India than for those in Germany, who place greater emphasis on autonomy of the individual patient. Our study explicates how culture matters in ethical decision-making and why the bioethical discourse is necessary in the concrete realities of the socio-cultural context. To explore the possibility of finding a common ground of morality across different cultures while acknowledging and respecting cultural diversity, thus remains a formidable challenge for the bioethicists. (shrink)

The author shows how phenomenologists from Edmund Husserl to Edith Stein are indebted to Samkhya. He reiterates the case for Bhagavan Buddha, the Sakya Muni, for being a Samkhya Yogi. The editor specially commissioned this essay from the author.

This post is one in a series of posts about the ground-realities of interreligious dialogue. Interreligious dialogue is not the same as ecumenism. And this blog-post shows how Christian and Hindu celibates have veered to discussing categories which are inapplicable to one or the other religion. To quote part of the post: "So the first critique of interreligious dialogue that needs clarification is this problem of religious relativism. The Sanatana Dharma does not admit of relativism, moral or religious because there (...) is no scope for duality within the Dharma. So we respect and not tolerate all major religious traditions in the world for in our Upanishads is explicated the truth of Creation: the One has become the many. Relativity implies duality. Such is not found within any of the branches of the Sanatana Dharma.". (shrink)

This is a review of liberation theology and Papal encyclicals. This blog-entry shows how the Roman Catholic Church reacted through its Magisterium to the liberation theology. Discussed are materialist dialectics and the ontologies of liberation theology. It is left to the reader to conclude whether they agree or disagree with the main contentions of liberation theology.

This was presented as part of an assignment, and like all assignments, this is a work in a hurry. Nonetheless, it has interesting points on the three Gunas. This was written in 2018.