Accessing knowledge through past theories
You raise the question whether using earlier theories, which are superseded by newer theories, one can (or even could ever) access knowledge? (I am not a physicist, but I do not think…
Read moreSolving vs dissolving problems
In the examples you refer to, you touch on an approach to situations and problems that are Indian (in the sense of culture) contrasted to which stands another culture’s way…
Read moreNarrowing the search space, Ill-formed questions
Assume that you get a Ph.D student who wants to do medical research. He comes to you and tells you that he wants to find out an answer to the…
Read moreKnowledge and Bullshit about Daffodil
To help you think through the problem you “whether Christians can get enlightened”, try using this analogy. Something, let us call it ‘daffodil’, fascinates us. Let us also assume that…
Read moreColonial Consciousness and Enlightenment
This post will use an imagery as its organising thread, which tracks the search for enlightenment in terms of notions known to us from our secondary and higher education. If…
Read moreBullshit: True Sentences and Trivialization of Knowledge
Why understanding bullshit is important? Three reasons: (a) there is a very frequent use of the word ‘bullshit’ (mostly in my posts); (b) bullshit has been tied directly to truth…
Read moreGettier Problem, Doxa, and Episteme
The Ancient (and modern) philosophers make the distinction between beliefs that are merely opinions of individuals and beliefs that are knowledge claims. Today, when modern philosophers speak of ‘doxastic coherence’…
Read morePsychological Traits and Enlightenment: Ignorance and Knowledge
About the relationship between scientific knowledge and enlightenment: If every human being can become enlightened (at any time, place or culture), it logically follows that some or another hypothesis about…
Read moreHow to speak for the Indian traditions: an agenda for the future–SN Balagangadhara
Editor’s note: This article appeared in the Journal of American Academy of Religion Abstract The paper attempts a contrast between the process and the structure of the Christian and the…
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