Stir the appetite for thinking
As a society, do we as Indians think critically, collectively and creatively? Philosophy Talk, a weekly one-hour programme, that prides itself as a show that “questions everything except your intelligence,” originates in San Francisco and its 200 episodes illustrate the appetite of the public for thinking.
The general population, who have “questions — lots of questions,” are those who listen to the nationally syndicated public radio show. They call in to comment on all sorts of subjects such as violence, politics, ethics and race, wanting to share their thoughts with Ken Taylor and John Perry, both Stanford philosophy professors, and co-hosts of the talk.
Professor Taylor attributes the show’s appeal to the fact that listeners find the questioning spirit of philosophy a refreshing alternative to traditional media content. Echoing that sentiment, Professor Perry adds, "Even the most thoughtful programmes on radio and television typically reach a point where they say, ‘We'll have to leave that to the philosophers’. It's as if when one gets to the philosophical issues one has hit bedrock. But it's not bedrock, it's the level where you get past the mud and muck and find real gems."
Every Sunday for the past six years, the hosts have approached all manner of topics from a critical and philosophical perspective. Some topics are lofty (truth, beauty, justice), arresting (terrorism, intelligent design, suicide), and engaging (baseball, love, happiness). The hosts chat with guests and take calls from listeners, giving every broadcast a lively and conversational tone. The loyal and growing audience often carries on the discussion on internet.
Recently, scholars have noticed an increasing interest in philosophy, as evidenced by a recent New York Times article that shows an increasing enrollment in the philosophy departments of a number of colleges and universities.
Professor Perry feels that the show taps into the large, analytical segment of the population. "These are the same people who, when they hear the word 'should' they naturally ask, 'Where does that 'should' come from?' When they hear the word 'obviously', their natural reaction is 'It's not obvious to me!' Ken and I are such people, and we cater to such people."
One of the shows will feature a top 10 list of issues or philosophical conundrums that listeners thought philosophers should tackle in the coming years. Taylor expects that the environment will rightly make one of the top lists. It is a topic that he says poses many philosophical conundrums. A recent episode about environment raised a number of compelling questions, like "What, if anything, we owe, morally speaking, to future generations?" Further, "Do we owe it to these not yet existing people to leave them an earth as rich and as bountiful as the one we now inhabit and, if so, why?"
Why is philosophy not that well received among the Indian intelligentsia? Isn’t it time India, which prides itself rightly of its profundity of thought and rigour of analytical skills, made philosophy relevant to engage with the current issues confronting us: Violence, corruption and poverty? Should not critical and collective thinking play a more crucial role in determining the policies that we make? Perhaps, despite Nobel laureate Amartya Sen’s book, The Argumentative Indian, we have become more of a “praying community” than a thinking one. Our collective reflective, argumentative, thinking and dialogue skills need to be deepened.
The writer is professor of science and religion and author of Tamas: There Are Many Alternative Stories
