samiksha goyal | Monash University (original) (raw)
Papers by samiksha goyal
A study of metaethical aspects of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s moral ideas faces a methodological... more A study of metaethical aspects of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s moral ideas faces a methodological challenge. Samiksha Goyal’s chapter examines this challenge which is posed by a limited availability of primary and secondary philosophical texts on Gandhi’s moral ideas. The primary texts are such that even though Gandhi’s scattered writings indicate an intuitive moral framework, his concepts are insufficiently elucidated for undertaking a metaethical inquiry. In the absence of proper texts from Gandhi, most secondary literature takes Gandhi’s life and his historical context as ‘text’. The chapter illustrates how due to the specific methodology of using historical context as text some of the secondary literature misinterprets and misrepresents Gandhi’s moral ideas. In the end, the chapter discusses some recent secondary literature to show how a metaethical study may extract some theoretical lessons from this literature based on the methodology they use.
Keywords: Gandhi, metaethics, methodology, ahiṃsā, satya.
Journal of Dharma studies, Nov 12, 2019
APA Studies on Asian and Asian American Philosophers and Philosophies, 2022
Despite decades of writings on Gandhi's moral and political thought, some of Gandhi's philosophic... more Despite decades of writings on Gandhi's moral and political thought, some of Gandhi's philosophical moral concepts are still not theoretically articulated. One such concept is Gandhi's idea of moral agency. I critically engage with some recent political-historical literature on Gandhi to extract philosophical discussions in the vicinity of moral agency. For this, I take two related steps. First, I argue that even though this literature presents considerable theoretical discussion of Gandhi's ideas, when considered individually, this literature produces only an incomplete picture of Gandhi's philosophical concepts. Second, I show that a comprehensive view of Gandhi's concepts emerges when grounded in the concept of moral agency. To this second end, I tie together various individual discussions on satya (truth), ahiṃsā (nonviolence), and disinterest to reveal the subliminal presence of detached moral agency in Gandhi's thought.
An integrated reading of Gandhi’s ideas, images, personal life, and political activities, at time... more An integrated reading of Gandhi’s ideas, images, personal life, and political activities, at times inflicts considerable damage to the understanding of his thoughts. George Orwell’s (1949–2000) view of Gandhi as a moral saint and his ideas as “anti-humanistic” is a striking example. Adopting Orwell’s image, the philosopher Susan Wolf (1982), in an influential paper, questioned the very idea of moral saints. His saintly image is an important reason why there is little mention of Gandhi in academic moral philosophy. By showing that the image does not apply to his thoughts, we rescue Gandhi’s moral concepts from the perceived image of a saint. The complex phenomenon of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869–1948) comprised a variety of elements: Gandhi’s personal image that led to ascriptions of Mahatma, Bapu, father of the nation, half-naked fakir, and the like; his political life and leadership that played a major role in India’s independence from British rule; his original moral and polit...
Journal of Dharma Studies
Journal of Dharma Studies
The book under discussion is a study of Gandhi's opposition to the caste system in India. While s... more The book under discussion is a study of Gandhi's opposition to the caste system in India. While stating the need for this study, the author, Nishikant Kolge, observes that Gandhi's writings and speeches on the issue of caste may suggest that Gandhi held contradictory views on this issue. For instance, Gandhi sometimes referred to caste as a "useful and natural institution" (4), while on some other occasions Gandhi held views like "caste kills (life)" and "untouchability is the most hateful expression of caste" (4). In this work, Kolge sets out to devise ways to understand and resolve this contradiction to bring out Gandhi's stable views on the caste system. The suggested contradiction, if true, may have serious implications for understanding the historical, political, and philosophical meaning of Gandhi's thoughts. Gandhi's use of the idea of non-violence in mass political action has influenced several political movements around the world, such as the liberation movement led by Martin Luther King Jr. in America, the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, and the Chipko movement in India. Gandhi's commitment to non-violence lies at the heart of Gandhi's practices in personal and political domains. However, his apparent support to caste oppression, as suggested by the alleged contradiction, undermines Gandhi's sincerity towards non-violence. Since the caste system is laced with violence, any approval of it raises questions about genuine non-hypocritical practice of non-violence on Gandhi's part. In turn, the suggested contradiction is a matter of great worry for philosophers who uphold the significance of Gandhi's views in the moral domain on the basis of his emphasis on truth and non-violence. Kolge aims to explicate Gandhi's actual stand on caste in such a way as to resolve the said contradiction. He accomplishes this task from two related directions. First, Kolge provides a sustained historical account of Gandhi's life to show Gandhi's resolute commitment to eradicate caste in his own thoughts and actions ever since
Special Article, 2020
An integrated reading of Gandhi’s ideas, images, personal life, and political activities, at tim... more An integrated reading of Gandhi’s ideas, images, personal life, and political activities, at times inflicts considerable damage to the understanding of his thoughts. George Orwell’s (1949–2000) view of Gandhi as a moral saint and his ideas as “anti-humanistic” is a striking example. Adopting Orwell’s image, the philosopher Susan Wolf (1982), in an influential paper, questioned the very idea of moral saints. His saintly image is an important reason why there is little mention of Gandhi in academic moral philosophy. By showing that the image does not apply to his thoughts, we rescue Gandhi’s moral concepts from the perceived image
of a saint.
A study of metaethical aspects of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s moral ideas faces a methodological... more A study of metaethical aspects of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s moral ideas faces a methodological challenge. Samiksha Goyal’s chapter examines this challenge which is posed by a limited availability of primary and secondary philosophical texts on Gandhi’s moral ideas. The primary texts are such that even though Gandhi’s scattered writings indicate an intuitive moral framework, his concepts are insufficiently elucidated for undertaking a metaethical inquiry. In the absence of proper texts from Gandhi, most secondary literature takes Gandhi’s life and his historical context as ‘text’. The chapter illustrates how due to the specific methodology of using historical context as text some of the secondary literature misinterprets and misrepresents Gandhi’s moral ideas. In the end, the chapter discusses some recent secondary literature to show how a metaethical study may extract some theoretical lessons from this literature based on the methodology they use.
Keywords: Gandhi, metaethics, methodology, ahiṃsā, satya.
Journal of Dharma studies, Nov 12, 2019
APA Studies on Asian and Asian American Philosophers and Philosophies, 2022
Despite decades of writings on Gandhi's moral and political thought, some of Gandhi's philosophic... more Despite decades of writings on Gandhi's moral and political thought, some of Gandhi's philosophical moral concepts are still not theoretically articulated. One such concept is Gandhi's idea of moral agency. I critically engage with some recent political-historical literature on Gandhi to extract philosophical discussions in the vicinity of moral agency. For this, I take two related steps. First, I argue that even though this literature presents considerable theoretical discussion of Gandhi's ideas, when considered individually, this literature produces only an incomplete picture of Gandhi's philosophical concepts. Second, I show that a comprehensive view of Gandhi's concepts emerges when grounded in the concept of moral agency. To this second end, I tie together various individual discussions on satya (truth), ahiṃsā (nonviolence), and disinterest to reveal the subliminal presence of detached moral agency in Gandhi's thought.
An integrated reading of Gandhi’s ideas, images, personal life, and political activities, at time... more An integrated reading of Gandhi’s ideas, images, personal life, and political activities, at times inflicts considerable damage to the understanding of his thoughts. George Orwell’s (1949–2000) view of Gandhi as a moral saint and his ideas as “anti-humanistic” is a striking example. Adopting Orwell’s image, the philosopher Susan Wolf (1982), in an influential paper, questioned the very idea of moral saints. His saintly image is an important reason why there is little mention of Gandhi in academic moral philosophy. By showing that the image does not apply to his thoughts, we rescue Gandhi’s moral concepts from the perceived image of a saint. The complex phenomenon of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869–1948) comprised a variety of elements: Gandhi’s personal image that led to ascriptions of Mahatma, Bapu, father of the nation, half-naked fakir, and the like; his political life and leadership that played a major role in India’s independence from British rule; his original moral and polit...
Journal of Dharma Studies
Journal of Dharma Studies
The book under discussion is a study of Gandhi's opposition to the caste system in India. While s... more The book under discussion is a study of Gandhi's opposition to the caste system in India. While stating the need for this study, the author, Nishikant Kolge, observes that Gandhi's writings and speeches on the issue of caste may suggest that Gandhi held contradictory views on this issue. For instance, Gandhi sometimes referred to caste as a "useful and natural institution" (4), while on some other occasions Gandhi held views like "caste kills (life)" and "untouchability is the most hateful expression of caste" (4). In this work, Kolge sets out to devise ways to understand and resolve this contradiction to bring out Gandhi's stable views on the caste system. The suggested contradiction, if true, may have serious implications for understanding the historical, political, and philosophical meaning of Gandhi's thoughts. Gandhi's use of the idea of non-violence in mass political action has influenced several political movements around the world, such as the liberation movement led by Martin Luther King Jr. in America, the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, and the Chipko movement in India. Gandhi's commitment to non-violence lies at the heart of Gandhi's practices in personal and political domains. However, his apparent support to caste oppression, as suggested by the alleged contradiction, undermines Gandhi's sincerity towards non-violence. Since the caste system is laced with violence, any approval of it raises questions about genuine non-hypocritical practice of non-violence on Gandhi's part. In turn, the suggested contradiction is a matter of great worry for philosophers who uphold the significance of Gandhi's views in the moral domain on the basis of his emphasis on truth and non-violence. Kolge aims to explicate Gandhi's actual stand on caste in such a way as to resolve the said contradiction. He accomplishes this task from two related directions. First, Kolge provides a sustained historical account of Gandhi's life to show Gandhi's resolute commitment to eradicate caste in his own thoughts and actions ever since
Special Article, 2020
An integrated reading of Gandhi’s ideas, images, personal life, and political activities, at tim... more An integrated reading of Gandhi’s ideas, images, personal life, and political activities, at times inflicts considerable damage to the understanding of his thoughts. George Orwell’s (1949–2000) view of Gandhi as a moral saint and his ideas as “anti-humanistic” is a striking example. Adopting Orwell’s image, the philosopher Susan Wolf (1982), in an influential paper, questioned the very idea of moral saints. His saintly image is an important reason why there is little mention of Gandhi in academic moral philosophy. By showing that the image does not apply to his thoughts, we rescue Gandhi’s moral concepts from the perceived image
of a saint.