Critical Thinking: Considering Different Perspectives

Critical Thinking: Considering different perspectives

Consider the following quote from Professor Amartya Sen:

"One of the things Mr Modi did do is to give people a sense of faith that things can happen.  It may not have been exactly the things that I would have liked but I think this is an achievement. This wouldn't make my differences with Mr Modi on issues like secularism go away but, on the other hand, if we don't recognise it, we're missing out on something very important." (http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/the-biggest-issue-with-this-government-is-social-cohesion/3/)

One could arrive at Professor de Souza's aggrieved interpretation that Professor Sen failed to utilise a golden opportunity he had to stand up against the current Indian government's policies that undermine the heterogeneous and secular nature of the Indian society, thus leading to increased alienation among the minorities.  So he is not wrong in lamenting:

There are times in the life of a society when moral philosophers are called upon to speak, not in brief, not by ignoring crucial issues, but forthrightly by identifying the issues that define our times. They help the critical voices within society to speak because they carry so much moral and philosophical authority.

Here, Prof. de Souza wants an assertive and authoritative critique from an eminent thinker like Prof. Sen to lead critical discourse in the country in relation to the current political malaise that the country faces. He feels let-down that attention instead went to Prof. Sen's endorsement that the Modi government has something positive to offer. However, I would argue, that Prof. de Souza in stating:

When a moral philosopher of high standing awards a certificate of achievement to a government, opposing voices lose courage."

has either ignored or missed the point that Prof. Sen is making. It's a philosophical observation that Prof. Sen makes about human nature. He sees the giving of `a sense of faith that things can happen' to the people as an achievement. In making that statement, Prof. Sen is also alluding to the previous governments' inaction (and this, as he later goes on to elaborate, includes the failure to publicise one's achievements) that led to these governments losing the mandate to lead the country. In a democracy this is important because once you are able to get people to believe that you can make things happen, you get people, and their votes, on your side. Whether it is for good or bad, the reality is for the masses faith is an important aspect, and to achieve anything, politically or socially, it is imperative to instil that faith in people - and that is something which politicians and social workers need to recognise if they aim to gain in any way.

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If you notice, there is a combination of present and past tenses used in the above article. Attend our course on grammar to find out more about tenses and how to use them appropriately.

Thinking Critically for a Balanced Intellectual Reasoning

Thinking Critically for a Balanced Intellectual Reasoning

My short sojourn in India has been interesting in many ways, not least in the very intellectual articles I have come across in the English daily newspaper, The Hindu. I have had the privilege of being thrown into the controversies of the moment, both global as well as Indian. Hence, for the next two or three weeks, I am going to dwell on these interesting intellectual stimulants I found during my daily newspaper readings.

The first article is going to centre on the possibility of misinterpreting statements, either through a quick read without a deeper reflection of the ideas contained therein or because one's interpretation becomes clouded by one's own inner perceptions, that may be the outcomes of festering grieves, sense of social ills and injustices and/or intellectual biases. The next two will be related to the varied interpretations of freedom of expression; yes, contrary to what some may believe, there can be different interpretations and there need not be a one size fits all scenario.

In an opinion piece in The Hindu on January 3, 2015, Professor Peter Ronald de Souza from the Centre for The Study of Developing Societies commented on selected statements made by Professor Amartya Sen, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, in an interview conducted by Express Adda and posted, as reported in the article, on the web on December 22, 2014. The statements that Professor de Souza took exception to, and which he says he is quoting, are as follows:

"One of the things Mr Modi did do is to give people a sense of faith that things can happen.  It may not have been exactly the things that I would have liked but I think this is an achievement. This wouldn't make my differences with Mr Modi on issues like secularism go away but, on the other hand, if we don't recognise it, we're missing out on something very important." (http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/the-biggest-issue-with-this-government-is-social-cohesion/3/)

Professor de Souza then goes on to lament that

"There was no mention of the controversies, on "Ghar Vapsi" (reconversion movement of Muslims and Christians to Hinduism) that have drawn headlines over the last few weeks, or of the ordinance on "land acquisition" and its implications for tribal communities, or on communal violence as an electoral strategy such as in Trilokpuri, or on declaring December 25 as `Good Governance' day."

He goes on to mention that

"One feels let down by this brevity since a public intellectual, of global standing such as Prof. Sen, must use the occasion to speak truth to power. The dissenting tradition in India needs such leadership... When an eminent public intellectual speaks, the legitimacy of the government stands either diminished or enhanced. When he criticises policies, he initiates a new public discussion which lesser commentators, such as us, can draw upon and develop. When a moral philosopher of high standing awards a certificate of achievement to a government, opposing voices lose courage."

He concludes thus:

There are times in the life of a society when moral philosophers are called upon to speak, not in brief, not by ignoring crucial issues, but forthrightly by identifying the issues that define our times. They help the critical voices within society to speak because they carry so much moral and philosophical authority.

(http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/speaking-truth-to-power/article6750265.ece)

Is Professor de Souza correct in assuming that in not mentioning the abovementioned issues, but in complimenting the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on one aspect, Professor Sen has gone soft on his opposition to Mr Modi's social policies, that he has failed to lead, to become a guiding force for a society's intellectual and moral compass? Are there, however, other possible interpretations?

Read through both articles in The Indian Express and The Hindu. Look out for my blog on Wednesday, 28/1/2015, where I will present another possible way of interpreting Prof. Sen's observation and I will go on to argue that, perhaps, Prof. Sen has not reneged on his position that the Indian Prime Minister and his party are seriously harming social cohesion in India.

Another important aspect is that there are two versions of the quote ascribed to Professor Sen in The Indian Express. Consider the implications of having two different versions. The quote in the article above is actually from a later, December 26th, updated version. The second, which was posted on December 22nd, is given below:

“I am critical of Mr Modi but I have to say he has given a sense of faith to people that things can happen. It may not be in exactly the same way that I would have liked to have happened… I think it is quite an achievement. It is a compliment, but our differences on secularism and other things don’t go away,” Sen said.

(See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/modi-has-brought-hope-that-things-can-happen/#sthash.FHvRlRAy.dpuf)

Why are there two different quotes from the same person taken from the same Q&A session? What are the implications of this? How does this hamper the facilitation of critical thinking in the readers? Visit this blog site on 29/1/2015 for my take on the challenges faced in such a case and simple rules that MUST be followed in reporting so as to be accurate, trust-worthy and useful.

When Money Wears the Crown

When Money Wears the

Crown

Imagine an idyllic holiday by the beach with crashing waves breaking into foamy suds that crawl up in measured paces on the packed sand.  A joy to behold, indeed!  Then, along comes Money, the corrupter of souls, the temptress of conscience and the bane of the common folks.  Recently, I found myself in such a setting, in a village called Puthenthope in Trivandrum, Kerala, India. 

All was good until the construction works on the land adjoining my temporary residence started.  A logical consequence of that would be the noise and dust pollution, but an additional gift I received was a lesson on what happens when money wears the crown.  When the mighty Mammon rears its head, there is a blatant disregard for laws, because there is a perception that nobody and nothing can touch those in the big league; the workers' welfare becomes inconsequential as they are made to work long hours and housed in one long makeshift tent with a metallic roof, gauze-like green `walls' on three sides and a sheet for flooring; and residents in nearby houses are merely viewed, at best, as irritants that deserve little or no consideration.

As mentioned earlier, it is normal for one to expect some noise and dust pollution from the ongoing construction works.  I am a Singaporean, and so, know full well what that would mean since the ever-changing landscape of Singapore stands testimony to the constant and never-ceasing building, rebuilding and renovation works.  However, in Singapore, the contractors abide by the laws and the authorities make sure these laws are followed to the letter.  To my dismay, I found that here in this beguiling part of India, things are not so cut and dry.

Matters got to a head on Christmas Day which, I am told, is a holiday in India.  My parents and I had gone for the customary midnight mass in the local church in this mainly Catholic community and retired to bed only after 2 in the wee hours of the morning.  My father, having to follow a strict regime regulated by the Ayurvedic treatment protocols that were prescribed to him, took to bed soon after his breakfast at 7.  Unfortunately, sleep eluded him as the grunt and whirring of the cement-mixer, positioned parallel to his bedroom, chose to go into action just at that time.  He appealed to the foreman, to no avail, and then, as a last resort, with patience reaching its breaking point, he contacted the police.  The police came alright, albeit after a few hours, and promptly made their first visit to the foreman in the adjoining land before sauntering over to brief my father.  Yes, it was a briefing because they merely stated that the cement-mixer will be moved to a position farther away in a couple of days.  Hmmm, one wonders if this is a natural outcome in a world where money wears the crown!

As an aside, I must include that for a few days prior to Christmas Day, I had been reading of two main controversies in The Hindu, related to:

(1)   the so-called `reconversion' of Muslims and Christians to Hinduism; and

(2)   government officials and schools being instructed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Indian Government, to hold activities to commemorate Good Governance Day on Christmas Day.

Technically, December 25 is a holiday but, well, this must be what one might call, a BJP Christmas Day!  Unfortunately, this concept seemed to have filtered to those overseeing the construction of a holiday home for a bigwig from Infosys, one of the top IT companies in India.  It is an interesting lesson, as late in my life I am being schooled on the advantages of having big bucks; it is a pretty rosy world for the moneyed folks because you have the capacity to make existing laws bow to you and if you so choose, you can live the life of the proverbial frog in the pond. 

All this is happening in a State (Kerala) that used to pride itself as a champion of workers' rights and socialist ideals that placed the common man first.  As George Orwell has so aptly described in Animal Farm, human nature will rear its ugly, selfish head once the fervour to bring about humanitarian reforms for the common good dies down.  Indeed, in a world where Money wears the crown, the poor migrant workers from rural parts of North India can be made to slog mercilessly for long hours much beyond the permitted hours, the local Catholic security guard can be prodded to work instead of celebrating Christmas with his family and the neighbouring residents can be ignored as they are rendered powerless to exercise their rights.

The above is an example of an opinion piece based on a real-life event.  There are references here that require relevant prior knowledge, understanding of idioms and/or proverbs and use of literary devices to get across the author's points.  If you are interested in learning how to read for understanding or in writing expository and persuasive pieces, try the courses offered by The Pear Tree Centre for Education