In Praise of Heresy

Description

In today's global climate of pre-packaged opinions, every effort of original thinking is an act of dissent. To think radically today is to be a heretic: committing 'heresy' not in its theological sense, but in relation to its ancient Greek roots, which means 'choice'. With the rise of the post-industrial global village dominated by media networks and technology-led communication, the 'epidemic of conformism' has completely paralysed intellectuals' ability to question. It has now become critical to examine the central role of heresy in the formation of critical thinking and anti-dogmatism.
Since the time of Socrates to the present, public intellectuals have aligned themselves with the heretical imperative by questioning organized power, thus opening up social, political, economic, and cultural life to public scrutiny and accountability. This effort is described in this volume through the self-examined lives of philosophers such as Socrates and José Ortega Y Gasset, Albert Camus, and Yukio Mishima. They serve to elaborate the context of the author's bold claim that B.R. Ambedkar, the central character of the author's research, is the boldest heretic in Indian political history.

About the author

Ramin Jahanbegloo is a political philosopher, and presently the executive director of the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Peace Studies and the vice dean of the Jindal Global Law School at O.P. Jindal Global University, India.

Table of contents

Introduction: In Praise of Heresy
Part One: Against the Tide
Chapter I: Thinking as Heretics: A Self-Examined Life
Chapter II: Heresy and Rebellion: Confronting Tyranny and Mediocrity
Chapter III: Aestheticizing Heresy: Death and Beauty
Part Two: The Heretical Indian
Chapter IV: Ambedkar and the Heretical Imperative
Chapter V: The Art of Anti-Conformism
Chapter VI: Ambedkar's Philosophy of Heresy
Conclusion: Being Heretic Today
Bibliography