Applied Religion

This article in “The Times of India” reports
“…The Mumbai police on Monday suspended the licences of 34 errant cinema halls across the city for a period ranging between four and eight days…”
“A month ago, when a section of Marathi film producers called on Patil to protest against the failure of theatre owners to exhibit Marathi [...]

Exposing Moderate Islam

In a recent article in the Indian Express, columnist Tavleen Singh writes how the film “Khuda Kay Liye” (For God’s sake) inadvertently exposes the myth of moderate Islam. She writes
“…The message of the film, in its essence, is that Islam is a great religion that has been misunderstood and that the United States is a [...]

Equality

The doctrine of equality is a key one in modern politics. Yet it is fairly ambiguous. Does it mean equality of wealth or equality of opportunity or equality under law or something else? The doctrine is widely held as a given, a primary, as something that needs no justification. Is it really a primary or can it be derived from more fundamental principles?
Men [...]

Social Justice

In another instance of “social justice”, the Indian Supreme Court upheld the 27% quota for OBCs (Other Backward Castes) in seats in central educational institutions. The article linked to mentions that two aspects of the case received attention from the court.
“Two aspects received a fair bit of attention from the apex court. First, the mode of [...]

Altruism, Pragmatism and Moral Relativism

Man is faced with choices in every conscious moment. To make these choices, he needs a code of ethics – a morality. For his choices to be successful, his moral code must be based on the facts of reality (including his own nature). Properly, a code of ethics must be derived from the nature of existence and [...]

Knowledge and Reason

Knowledge, in the sense applicable to a human mind, is more than just an awareness of reality. It is an understanding of reality. Implicit in the concept of knowledge are the axioms of existence, identity and consciousness. Knowledge must have a subject (something must exist), content (things must have a specific identity for anything to [...]

Unquestioned Moral Premises

In a blog entry on Desicritics.org, Shantanu Dutta comments about the manifestation of power in society in response to this incident. He writes
“It looks graceless when people with the power which only their position gives them use it so coarsely – whether it be by slapping a liftman or using the hapless, over worked people under [...]

Extremism

What is extremism? The word means advocacy of extreme measures or views. Consider a few examples of extreme measures or views.
A commitment to never lie is an extreme view of honesty. (Extreme consistency in a virtue)
Taking a larger than normal dose of a medicine is an extreme measure. (Extreme with respect to a norm)
There is nothing in [...]