The term philosophy simply means “love of wisdom.” But, in Kashmir, this word usually smacks of unbelief and eccentricity. Here, anyone who is “good” in argumentative skills, s/he is referred to, most often in a pejorative sense, as a “falaasfar.” This kind of attitude is reflected not only in laymen but unfortunately in the academicians as well. Although the latter may not use the same term to show their contempt towards philosophy, it is evident from their attitude towards any new way of thinking.
In our valley, academicians have an ambivalent attitude towards philosophy. While they want a particular kind of philosophy to be taught in educational institutions, they express a considerable disquiet over the teaching of other strands of philosophy. More often than not, they are quite open to introducing courses on the philosophy of religion. This exonerates them from establishing philosophy departments in educational institutions because philosophy of religion can easily be subsumed under religious studies. So, they can easily justify the establishment of departments of religion only. Consequently, no need is felt to establish departments of philosophy, now that “philosophy” is being taught in departments of religion. But they forget that philosophy departments are characterized by a culture of free thinking which is quite difficult to embrace in the departments of religion.
Philosophy as a field of study should be treated as any other discipline like political science, English literature, international studies, religious studies, mathematics, physical sciences like physics, chemistry, etc. Consequently, it should be given free rein as is given to the other disciplines. It is not proper to subsume philosophy under the discipline of religious studies, for every discipline is characterized by unique research methodologies.
Furthermore, the ideas propounded by major philosophers belonging to different traditions also influence other fields of study e.g. literature, anthropology, history, psychology, etc. Let’s take the example of History. As a discipline, history is not simply an exercise of the collection of facts about past events, rather it is an interpretive endeavor on the part of an historian who tries to make sense of the collected facts or data. Now, to interpret is to find deeper connections among facts which needs proper philosophical and methodological tools. That is why, we have different types of historiographies like Marxist, Nationalist, Sub Altern, etc. Therefore, if one considers philosophy to be a threat to one’s religious belief, then the other disciplines influenced by it are, if not equally, considerably dangerous to one’s faith as well.
Being selective regarding academic disciplines to be introduced in educational institutions without realizing what is really at stake shows nothing but a lack of understanding on the part of those making such choices. In the present case, a superficial understanding of philosophy as a field of study that deprives one of one’s religious beliefs again shows a lack of comprehension of the history of this discipline. Not every philosopher is an atheist and not all philosophers grapple with the problems of religion only. Moreover, it is not only philosophers who are atheists or theists or non-theists. Experts from other disciplines also hold such beliefs.
When people holding authoritative positions in academia demand removing of courses in arts and humanities, and slavishly accept everything science has to say, do they forget that modern science is equally responsible for producing doubts in the minds of people regarding religious beliefs? Perhaps, they are not able to comprehend the underlying assumptions of modern science. They are lured by its practical applications at the expense of its philosophical implications. One need only refer to the works of thinkers like Paul Feyerabend, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, etc. in order to understand the foundations of modern science and its assumptions. What is being argued here is not to remove courses in physical sciences or mathematics. Rather, one has to understand that researchers in every field are ever pushing the limits of knowledge. And living in the age of globalization like ours, one cannot turn a blind eye to the new explorations being made in different domains of knowledge.
Moreover, it is quite ironic that most often students/scholars of philosophy are seen with suspicion regarding their religious beliefs as if they deal only with religious issues. The modern phenomena of specialization holds sway in the discipline of philosophy as in any other discipline. Philosophy as taught in departments worldwide includes such diverse fields as philosophy of mind, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of language, philosophy of science, phenomenology, philosophy of religion, logic, ethics, aesthetics, socio-political philosophy, etc.
One can go on and on to enumerate other fields for which the umbrella term philosophy is used. The same trend can be observed in other disciplines whether they come under arts and humanities or sciences. No expert in any particular field is expected to know much about other fields or, sometimes, even be concerned about them. And that’s true even when we consider fields of study belonging to the same discipline. An expert in one field is not required to know much about other fields, although a basic knowledge is quite necessary.
What follows from the above discussion is that all philosophical ideas don’t impinge upon religious beliefs, so all philosophy is not “heresy.” Scholars with varied interests work in different fields of philosophy. And ideas propounded in many such fields do not necessarily influence one’s religious beliefs. Also, there are scholars who are working, say, in philosophy of science or ethics with no or least interest in religion, speaking academically. So, restricting the discipline of philosophy to philosophy of religion only would be akin to perpetrating injustice towards those scholars and students who are interested in other fields of philosophy.
Furthermore, philosophy has important roles to play in any society other than the one related to purely academic pursuits. More often than not, people live with an attitude of denial in that they are quite uncritical towards the values and customs prevailing in their society. They believe everything is fine with their way of living and thinking, making it into a norm which no one should question. In order to identify the problems prevailing in any society or, for that matter, in one’s own person, the development of critical attitude is a much needed requirement. To have such an attitude, one needs to cultivate a critical mind which is possible only when one delves deeper into issues in order to get to their roots. In other words, a philosophical attitude is needed to identify problems in any society or oneself and thereby be able to rectify them. Let’s consider a few examples:
The issue of unemployment is on the rise throughout the world and the trend is no different in Kashmir. Although there are few professions which have gained a cult status among common masses, generally any government employee is entitled to living a respectful life in Kashmir. But what about those well educated youth who could not find a government job given the dearth of jobs in our valley? How are they to live a dignified life when anyone not having a govt job is usually looked down upon even when they earn enough to live a comfortable life?
Similarly, there are numerous ways of earning one’s livelihood which Kashmir has a great potential for. Unfortunately, unemployed youth don’t opt for such ways because these ways of earning one’s livelihood have become social taboos. For example, anyone rearing livestock to earn one’s livelihood is looked down upon by people which is evident by the terms like “pohal” (literal meaning: a shepherd) used to designate them in a pejorative sense.
Again, in our valley, people holding authoritative positions in offices or even only having an authoritative attitude without holding any such positions are looked up to as heroes and saviours. They demand immense respect from people, young and old alike. At the same time, people who are the real makers and shapers of any society e.g. teachers, scholars, intellectuals, etc. are simply ignored although they are the ones who are worthy of more respect. This mindset of people can only be rectified when a proper philosophical attitude is cultivated in them through the introduction of courses on philosophy at different educational levels and general philosophical discussions.
Finally, philosophy as a discipline can only flourish in such a society where people are given liberty to think freely. It is possible only when departments of philosophy are established in different universities and colleges in which diverse courses are offered in as many sub-disciplines of philosophy as possible. By doing so, students and scholars can pursue their interests in a thinking environment which is a prerequisite for producing a high quality scholarship.
(Author is pursuing PhD in philosophy at Centre for Philosophy JNU, New Delhi. Email: [email protected])
