Introduction to Philosophy
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-Shivprajval Divakar We can now say that we have carried out (in however rudimentary a form) an experiment. At this point, it may prove fruitful to keep in mind what we did while carrying out the experiment and ask why we did it. The most obvious question first- Why do Read more…
-Shivprajval Divakar Activity 2 in Chapter 7 of the NCERT textbook for Science (Class 6) is an experiment which the textbook claims to establish that the stem transports water and minerals to different parts of the plant. It involves adding a few drops of red or blue ink to a Read more…
Loneliness is not a matter of being physically alone but feeling an absence of connectedness with other close relations or friends, anything other than oneself.. Forging a link outside oneself is what gives us a feeling of being a part of what is outside us .There are examples of how Read more…
-Shivprajval Divakar I begin with Chapter 7 from the 6th standard NCERT textbook for Science titled, ‘Getting to Know Plants’. It is in the 6th standard that science is first introduced as a separate subject, although the subject of Environmental Science is taught from 3rd to 5th standard. Chapter 7 Read more…
-Shivprajval Divakar This series began as an attempt to understand the scientific method and the nature of scientific knowledge. Scientific knowledge is associated with terms such as ‘evidence-based’ and ‘objective’. The scientific method is associated with terms such as ‘experiment design’, ‘data collection’, ‘hypothesis testing’, and ‘falsifiability’. There are multiple Read more…
We are born alone, but is loneliness born with us? When was the first time I felt lonely? Was it when my mother did not pick me up from the cradle when I was crying, craving for some human touch,assurance and warmth? Was it when I felt like an ‘other’ Read more…
Is loneliness something brought about by others, or something one inflicts upon themselves? Its interesting to see the complexity of the relationship between the Self and the Others in the development of loneliness. Each one of us is a separate person, who come into this world and will leave this Read more…
Loneliness could quite easily be considered one of the most harrowing aspects of modern life. It presents us with the agonising experience of confronting our own thoughts, particularly those which are critical of our worth and value. Perhaps an even more troubling aspect of it is the feeling that ‘nobody Read more…
Part of a Series of Excerpts from Prof. Sundar Sarukkai’s Book, ‘What is Science?’ ” Indian theories of doubt range from the sceptical mode in some Buddhist schools to a pragmatic approach by philosophies such as Nyaya. Descartes’ methodology of doubt has been extremely influential in philosophy of science. The Read more…
Part of a Series of Excerpts from Prof. Sundar Sarukkai’s Book, ‘What is Science?’ Dr. Sarukkai characterizes the role Indian Logic can play in understanding the nature of Science- ” In recent times, there have been many claims about the relationship of modern science with ancient Indian traditions. In this Read more…
Part of a Series of Excerpts from Prof. Sundar Sarukkai’s Book, ‘What is Science?’ Dr. Sarukkai offers an introduction to Indian Logic- ” It is commonly believed that logic is unique to the Greeks and, through this, to the Western civilization. At the same time, many philosophers in the West Read more…
Part of a Series of Excerpts from Prof. Sundar Sarukkai’s Book, ‘What is Science?’ Dr. Sarukkai now considers whether other activities also rely on the use of logic- ” Given what we understand by logic, it is indeed difficult to see how only science is concerned with logic. Even theology Read more…
Part of a Series of Excerpts from Prof. Sundar Sarukkai’s Book, ‘What is Science?’ Dr. Sarukkai addresses the question of where logic is to be found in Science- “From the ancient Greek tradition to modern logic, logic is presumed to have certain characteristics: it is universal, is not related to Read more…
Part of a Series of Excerpts from Prof. Sundar Sarukkai’s Book, ‘What is Science?’ Dr. Sarukkai introduces logic to the reader in the following manner- ” We are endowed with sensory organs that allow us to experience the world. Our knowledge of the objects in the world is derived from Read more…
Part of a Series of Excerpts from Prof. Sundar Sarukkai’s Book, ‘What is Science?’ “One of the most enduring images of science is its special relationship with logic and rationality. In fact, the logic associated with science is often seen to rub off on the scientists so much so that Read more…
Part of a Series of Excerpts from Prof. Sundar Sarukkai’s Book, ‘What is Science?’ ” What does a scientist do when she has solved a problem, derived a new result or made some new observations? Typically, if she is in an academic institution, she will write her result in the Read more…
Part of a Series of Excerpts from Prof. Sundar Sarukkai’s Book, ‘What is Science?’ Dr. Sarukkai addresses what the work of an experimental scientist entails- “What do experimenters do in their everyday work? The paradigm of experiments must be the test tube experiments in schools, where students mix chemicals and Read more…
Part of a Series of Excerpts from Prof. Sundar Sarukkai’s Book, ‘What is Science?’ Dr. Sarukkai comments on another aspect of what scientists do- “Arguably the most important marker of science is this capacity to build institutions at all levels of the society. Science is primarily an activity of establishing Read more…
Part of a Series of Excerpts from Prof. Sundar Sarukkai’s Book, ‘What is Science?’ Dr. Sarukkai elaborates on the role of scientific models in theoretical work- ” Scientists spend an inordinate amount of time playing around with models and not with the phenomena of the world.” (Page 38) ” Newton Read more…
Part of a Series of Excerpts from Prof. Sundar Sarukkai’s book, ‘What is Science?’ Dr. Sarukkai elucidates on the many things scientists do since it is often said that science is what scientists do. “Scientists go to office just like countless others. They have various tasks in their offices. They Read more…
-Shivprajval Divakar Karl Popper was an influential philosopher of science of the 20th century. He addressed issues related to how theories gain acceptance in science as opposed to how this happens in other fields of study. He argued that theories in science can not only be verified, but also make Read more…
Part of a Series of Excerpts from Prof. Sundar Sarukkai’s book, ‘What is Science?’ Dr. Sarukkai explores the idea of science as a worldview- ” In an earlier section, I had mentioned Feynman’s description of science as a capacity to think critically. In the same talk, he also talks about Read more…
Part of a Series of Excerpts from Prof. Sundar Sarukkai’s book, ‘What is Science?’ Dr. Sarukkai addresses the relationship between Science and Truth- “Science has an intrinsic engagement with truth. It is based on the belief that what is says about the world are the truths about the world. Scientists Read more…
Part of a Series of Excerpts from Prof. Sundar Sarukkai’s Book, ‘What is Science?’ We now continue from the last post, and summarize further points from the book. Dr Sarukkai elaborates on the idea of science that Karl Popper, a famous philosopher used in his attempts to demarcate scientific hypotheses Read more…
Part of a Series of Excerpts from Prof. Sundar Sarukkai’s book,’What is Science?’ Dr Sarukkai offers some perspectives prevalent in the 19th century, relevant to science – “…the ‘scientist’ of those times moved between science, theology, political economy and even literature.” “Before the use of the word ‘science’ to refer Read more…
Check out some Reviews of the Book: In English-Click here to read a review published in the Deccan Herald. In Kannada-Click here to read a review published in the Prajavani.Click here to view a video review which was aired on Kannada One News. In Tamil-Click here to read a review Read more…
by Azeem Khan In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, it is said that people belonging to the cave have accepted the cave as their world while the one who has seen the real world and knows how beautiful, open and real the world is, still wants to be in the Read more…
by Vijay Govind Nath. Walter Lord’s ‘A Night to Remember’ is the definitive non-fiction account of the sinking of the Titanic. The book recounts how in the early hours of April 15, 1912, the largest ship to ever set sail, sank into the depths of the Atlantic along with 1,500 Read more…
Dr Tanu Biswas Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Philosophy, University of Bayreuth The word childism can well provoke ideas that I do not wish to suggest. Therefore, it seems appropriate to me to introduce the philosophical approach “childism” with some preliminary clarifications as to what I will not propose: Childism is Read more…
Editorial Team (Mansi Rathour) Most of us are rather quick to show our support in favor of free speech or the right to speak freely since it is one of the fundamental rights in most countries around the world. A closer look at it will reveal that however revered free Read more…
by Balaganpathi Devarakonda. Is there a Philosophical Community in India? Is there a curious skeptical question that needs further probing considering the attribution of crisis to the modern/contemporary Indian Philosophy in the present times?[1] There is a skeptic tone about the existence of a philosophical community and there is a Read more…
From the Editorial Team (Dr. Meera Baindur). While ruminating on the phenomenon of walking barefoot, my thoughts turned to footwear. I was wondering while we did throw away the excess baggage of the metaphorical footwear, we do have close connections between footwear and philosophy. Let me recount for you two Read more…
THE WHAT: The aim is to make Philosophy as a discourse easily accessible to everyone thereby inculcating a philosophical temper among the society. One of the core activities of the Barefoot Philosophers is the intervention at an educational level. Introducing philosophical ideas at school levels is key for a sustainable Read more…
Email us at editorbarefootphilosophy@gmail.com for submission and other website queries. If you choose to submit content for us, Do! Walk with us… Submit original articles, essays, poems, images, podcasts, or any form of audio visual content. Check with our team (scroll up for the email) before submission for the parameters Read more…
Dr. Sundar Sarukkai is the founder of the Barefoot Philosophers initiative. His work is primarily in the philosophy of natural and social sciences. He is the author of Translating the World: Science and Language (2002), Philosophy of Symmetry (2004) , Indian Philosophy and Philosophy of Science (2005), What is Read more…
Science and Society : The Indian Context Tarabai Modak Lecture Series on Science and Society was held by Prof. Sundar Sarukkai in June-July 2020. Organised by APSoE TISS – Hyderabad. Jointly hosted by APSoE, Barefoot Philosophers, and Cadence Education, Kerala.
PHILOSOPHY FOR CHILDREN Is Philosophy a discourse only for the wise and old? Could children engage with matters of philosophical concern? The Philosophy Summer Camp for Kids works with the understanding that yes, of course children can have philosophical discussions. Children by nature are inquisitive, curios and ask questions. That makes them the Read more…
An exhibition curated by Dr. Srajana Kaikini to take place in The Guild, in Alibaug. Meera Baindur speaks at the UN Food Systems Summit on Farm and Food Workers Rights. May 27th 2021 11am – 12.30 pm ET. Register here Sundar Sarukkai Speaks as part of the Oxford South Asian Read more…
The idea for Barefoot Philosophers started a long time ago in the many workshops and summer schools which Sundar Sarukkai used to organize. He felt a great interest and need by students from different disciplines to learn philosophy – sometimes about what philosophers had said but most times about the Read more…
by Sundar Sarukkai …. Bare is in. All the enlightened souls I meet – mostly those in Delhi academic circles – keep talking about somebody called Agamben and his idea of ‘bare life’. I must confess that I don’t understand what the fuss about this ‘bare life’ is about. Much Read more…