Meeting link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85312869005?pwd=AFVhUIrIf8vOh505QrAFHw7AogQPf8.1

Date: (16-06-2024), TIME: 6:30 pm (IST)
Philosophy Cafe - 8th Edition – ID: N/A, Passcode: N/A
Live on: YouTube : @KSASTALK

ABSTRACT

Birthing is a natural phenomenon. However, in the era of modernization, it has dramatically changed and transformed into a technical affair. Feminists claim that advances in medicine and reproductive technologies (ARTs) have opened up numerous opportunities and choices for women to free the procreative body from their destined role of maternity by separating sex from reproduction. But, are these technological artifacts always there to emancipate women or just another way to keep them subordinated to serve social needs? Another cohort of feminists argues that technology is a controlling tool. It eliminates a woman's choice and uses her body as a baby manufacturing machine to perpetuate pervasive social roles and responsibilities. Again, if technology is simply a patriarchal trap, then can technological exclusion be the key to all reporductive issues? It seems not! Technology is the inevitable new reality of the world influenced by socio-cultural practices, values, norms and belief systems that strongly impact human existence. The present paper attempts to critically explore and evaluate the ethical challenges posed by the technization of the maternal body from two opposite feminist perspectives. I argue that these ARTs-centered debates are significant but polarised and insufficient to resolve the problem of the body. Thus, we need an egalitarian model of technology that saves women from the threat of technization and be able to provide a dignified use of it. The paper discusses the impact of technization on the maternal self and body in relation to ARTs and proposes suggestions to overcome this problem.

Kuruom School of Advanced Sciences, Lucknow, India & Institute of Advanced Sciences (INADS), Dartmouth, MA, USA

Meeting link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6977021728?pwd=NlZWQ1p5d3BXQTdKWDhHUC95L3UxZz09&omn=81263483113

Date: (16-05-2024), TIME: 6 PM (IST) / 7:30 AM (EST)
Philosophy Cafe - 7th Edition – ID: 697 7021 728, Passcode: 130612
Live on: YouTube : @KSASTALK

ABSTRACT

1st Talk

Consciousness has been a subject matter of discussion across intellectual traditions. While some traditions see it as metaphysically significant, some others emphasise on the metaphysical untenability of the concept. Yet some other traditions emphasise on delineating the nature of the concept as an epistemological tool.

The proposed presentation shall attempt to focus on the philosophical reading of the concept as an approach/tool towards identity formation, and building of narratives through deeper dwelling of the selves in the lifeworld of a community/collective. While a theoretical framework will be drawn through phenomenological reading of consciousness. Rather, an attempt will be made to engage with specific philosophical and cultural traditions in India, where self-awareness and intuitive comprehending of the world from the content of the intellectual discourses. The presentation will be made from the prism of a cross-cultural perspective.

2nd Talk

The aim of this paper is to shed light on how ordinary language users adopt and manage their problems of semantics in the realm of technolingualism and metrolingualism. In XXI century, we are, most of us, technolinguals. Language and technology have advanced in analogous. In technolingualism, there is a commonly convincing connection between language and technology. But, in metrolingualism, language and people of different backgrounds are linguistically intensely involved in an everlasting exchange. According to Heidegger, "language is the house of being" which means we reside in the language and those who think and those who create with words are the guardians of this home. But the present situation is that "technology is the house of language" and "language is the house of being" is parallel. It seems paradoxical in the realm of technolingualism. Because, technology does not bear the essence of a being, life of a being and world-being relationship. While Quine argues that "language is a social art" which means a word that someone uses when they see some object. Words are meaningful to us when we can use them, the ways that other people use them. This use does not mean that the world means the object, it is just a word that person uses when that object is seen. It is a big challenge to deal multilingual and multicultural situations in the realm of metrolingualism due to the high frequency of the migration of people, change of language and culture. Migration of people breeds change of language and culture is based on technolingualism. Technolingualism reproduces semantics depending on translation but Quine's criterion of indeterminacy of translation causes the impossibility of semantic appropriateness. Moreover, from the Fregean perspective of technoutopianism, it avoids semantics problems through context principle. But context principle is not a solution for the problem of semantic inappropriateness. Consequently, from the semantic point of view of Quine and Heidegger, the author tries to relook the boundary of semantics for the ordinary language users whether they are able to attend appropriate semantics of language in the realm of metrolingualism and technolingualism or not.

Kuruom School of Advanced Sciences, Lucknow, India & Institute of Advanced Sciences (INADS), Dartmouth, MA, USA

Meeting link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6977021728?pwd=NlZWQ1p5d3BXQTdKWDhHUC95L3UxZz09&omn=89820075061

Date: (16-04-2024), TIME: 7:30 PM (IST)
Philosophy Cafe - 6th Edition – ID: 697 7021 728, Passcode: 130612
Live on: YouTube : @KSASTALK

ABSTRACT

At the end of "Being and Nothingness,' Sartre faced some unresolved contradictions. He could not give a valid criterion to judge authentic from inauthentic acts. Thus, Sartre faced the dilemma of how to preserve his radical conception of freedom and account for his support for any type of public policy. To accommodate his concept of absolute freedom with the fact of social unfreedom, Sartre, in his "Critique of Dialectical Reason," focused on human beings, not as an isolated individual, but as members of a group with a similar approach to the world. By reassessment of Marxism, he tried to develop a new method of historical analysis and suggested vigorous reconstruction of Marxism. He introduced some new concepts like praxis, scarcity, the ractico-inert, and the revised concept of freedom. Combining these, a new social philosophy comes out, which can be termed as "Existential Marxism of Sartre."

Kuruom School of Advanced Sciences, Lucknow, India & Institute of Advanced Sciences (INADS), Dartmouth, MA, USA

Meeting link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6977021728? pwd=NlZWQ1p5d3BXQTdKWDhHUC95L3UxZz09&omn=823620 50098

Date: (28-03-2024), TIME: 6 PM (IST)
Zoom Link – ID: 899 1824 4013, Passcode: 426258
Live on: Youtube: @KSASTALK

ABSTRACT

The advent of smartphones has ushered in a profound shift in human experience, redefining notions of communication, knowledge, and identity. Philosophically, this phenomenon prompts reflection on the nature of reality, as the boundary between the physical and digital worlds blurs. Questions arise regarding the authenticity of virtual interactions and the impact of constant connectivity on personal autonomy and self-awareness. Moreover, the abundance of information at our fingertips challenges traditional epistemological frameworks, raising concerns about the validity and reliability of knowledge in the digital age. Ethical considerations emerge concerning privacy, surveillance, and the commodification of personal data, prompting re-evaluation of societal values and norms. In this regard, my presentation attempts a philosophical inquiry into the nature of human existence, consciousness, and the evolving relationship between individuals, technology, and the broader social fabric.

Kuruom School of Advanced Sciences, Lucknow, India & Institute of Advanced Sciences (INADS), Dartmouth, MA, USA

Meeting link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89413767358?pwd=NVFvbndKcG5GaGY0WHM2M3hhSHBPQT09

Date: (16-12-2023), TIME: 5 PM (IST) / 6:30 AM (EST)
Philosophy Cafe - 2nd Edition – ID: 894 1376 7358, Passcode: 417354
Live on: YouTube : @KSASTALK

ABSTRACT

My aim in this lecture is to understand the nature of one of the important aspects of consciousness i.e. phenomenal consciousness or we can call it the qualitative and subjective aspects of consciousness. To begin with, one can say that it is the irreducibility of phenomenal consciousness to physical truths which at the heart of all the debates and issues surrounding consciousness. Consciousness is something that makes the relationship between mind and body a difficult philosophical problem to solve because it is such a characteristic or property of the mind without which minds would not be seen as radically opposed to the body the way it is seen by many philosophers. This points to the epistemic and ontological gap between the phenomenal and physical domain pertaining consciousness. The question that has been asked in this context is: Can the knowledge of our phenomenal mind and phenomenal experience be reduced to the knowledge of physical truths about mind and experience? While pursuing this question, I will discuss Frank Jackson's knowledge argument against physicalism in light of some of the criticisms raised by Paul M. Churchland and Michael Tye.

Kuruom School of Advanced Sciences, Lucknow, India & Institute of Advanced Sciences (INADS), Dartmouth, MA, USA

Meeting link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87422475257?pwd=amIIZ01UN1FBRkJjQ00vNIUrbkVBUT09

Date: (16-03-2024), TIME: 6 PM (IST) / 7:30 AM (EST)
Philosophy Cafe - 5th Edition – ID: 874 2247 5257, Passcode: 129387
Live on: YouTube : @KSASTALK

ABSTRACT

Panel discussion on "Philosophy Unbound: Women Philosophers in Ancient and Modern India."

Kuruom School of Advanced Sciences, Lucknow, India & Institute of Advanced Sciences (INADS), Dartmouth, MA, USA

Meeting link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85353868562?pwd=enQxa2QrRlBEcEhqRTVRZ2pWdVlEUT09

Date: (16-02-2024), TIME: 6 PM (IST) / 7:30 AM (EST)
Philosophy Cafe - 4th Edition – ID: 853 5386 8562, Passcode: 576551
Live on: YouTube : @KSASTALK

ABSTRACT

I attempt to make the case that Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, more than any other philosophers, constructed their philosophy out of the very rubrics of their own lives. Their philosophy was characterized by self-reference not in content alone, but in structure too. They wanted to set philosophy aside from all systemic presuppositions and concentrate on the problem of the individual's existence in this world. This they sought to achieve by analyzing the lives of the closest known individuals to them: themselves. Thus, a rewarding way of characterizing their philosophies is looking at them as a kind of back-and-forth between the person and the philosopher.

Kuruom School of Advanced Sciences, Lucknow, India & Institute of Advanced Sciences (INADS), Dartmouth, MA, USA

Meeting link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87409035050?pwd=N29UQ0RlRDcwNXYxRStMd0xBV0F1QT09

Date: (16-01-2024), TIME: 6 PM (IST) / 7:30 AM (EST)
Philosophy Cafe - 3rd Edition – ID: 8740 903 5050, Passcode: 687416
Live on: YouTube : @KSASTALK

ABSTRACT

In this lecture, an attempt is made to analyze Merleau-Ponty and Levina's notions of reciprocity. Merleau-Ponty grounds his notion of reciprocity on his thesis of reversibility which in turn reflects symmetrical reciprocity and substituability of self for the Other. Levinas, on the other hand, grounds his notion of reciprocity on his thesis of irreversibility which in turn reflects non-symmetrical reciprocity and non-substitutability of one for the other. The former believes that the symmetrical notion of reciprocity acts as mutual recognition and justice towards the Other while the latter holds that the asymmetrical notion of reciprocity provides true recognition and justice towards the Other. Levinas and some feminist thinkers - Sally Fischer, Shannon Sullivan, and Judith Butler - see Merleau-Ponty's Symmetrical notion of reciprocity as nothing but violating Other's particularity by assimilation of differences and thus cannot be the guiding principle of intersubjective life. My main objective in this lecture is to see how far their charges are labeled against Merleau-Ponty's Symmetrical notion of reciprocity holds true.

Kuruom School of Advanced Sciences, Lucknow, India & Institute of Advanced Sciences (INADS), Dartmouth, MA, USA

Meeting link: Meeting link

Date: (27-12-2023), TIME: 5 pm (IST)
Zoom Link – ID: 8316 920 0811, Passcode: 807573
Live on: Youtube: @KSASTALK

ABSTRACT

मुग़लों के आक्रमण के समय मध्यकालीन भारत में जब आध्यात्मिक और सामाजिक चेतना सुप्त पड़ी थी तब अनेकानेक मत मतांतरों में उलझे भारतीय समाज को श्रीरामचरित मानस के माध्यम से गोस्वामी तुलसीदास ने पुनर्स्थापित करने का प्रयास किया। लोक की भाषा और सनातन मूल्यों से आप्लावित यह महाकाव्य भारतीय चेतना का मार्गदर्शक है। वैष्णव और शैव संप्रदायों के मध्य समन्वय, पारिवारिक मूल्यों के मध्य समन्वय, आपसी संबन्धों के मध्य समन्वय, कर्म और भाग्य का समन्वय, निर्गुण और सगुण भक्ति के मध्य समन्वय इत्यादि अनेकों पक्ष इस महाकाव्य की अनुपम पूंजी रही है। कर्म सिद्धान्त, मानवतावाद और पारिवारिक मूल्यों की प्रतिष्ठा रामचरित मानस की प्रमुख विशेषताओं में रही है। इन समस्त मूल्यों के मूल में लोक जागरण की चेतना को स्थापित करना लक्षित विषय रहा है जिसको समन्वयवादी दृष्टि से तुलसीदास जी ने जागृत करने का प्रयास किया है।

Kuruom School of Advanced Sciences, Lucknow, India & Institute of Advanced Sciences (INADS), Dartmouth, MA, USA

Date: (16-11-2023), TIME: 5 PM (IST)
Philosophy Cafe - 1st Edition – ID: 851 5986 5960, Passcode: 021721
Live on: YouTube : @KSASTALK

ABSTRACT

First, we need to understand the concept of the world and what it involves. Philosophers have often used the concept of the world in a narrower sense meaning body or matter but the concept of the world used here is quite wider and comprehensive, in a sense, it involves physical reality, social reality, mental reality, and moral reality. To understand the world from a pragmatic perspective, it would be evocatively monumental to reflect on how traditional philosophy has understood the world as mentioned above and what difficulties it has within.

Traditional philosophy tends to be philosophy in a speculative framework, all its rigor has been directed to find historical and priori reasons for the foundation of knowledge and the constitutive underlying principles of reality. It tends to provide a totalizing thought about everything once and for all leaving no scope for change or alteration in thought. Such a universal and absolutist tendency in philosophizing has pushed away all the human contingencies, differences, limitedness, and the idea that we have gradually evolved in history. Once such a philosophical system has come in place, it has subsequently made human reason almost redundant and become hegemonic and opressive against any divergent thought. It is here that a pragmatic lens to understand the world can offer a panacea to many of the problems accrued in traditional philosophical thinking and an edge to deal with everyday problems in our lives.

Kuruom School of Advanced Sciences, Lucknow, India & Institute of Advanced Sciences (INADS), Dartmouth, MA, USA