Whose view is better?—S.N.Balagangadhara
“Every one of us believes our own viewpoint to be the best one: such is human nature.” This is not quite how I would put it. Let me, therefore say…
Read moreSimulation of social and cultural changes?—S.N. Balagangadhara
A question: Is it desirable to have a model that can simulate social and cultural changes? I cannot see what good reason there is not to find it desirable. It…
Read moreCritisim: are you a genius?
It appears that Sir Isaac Newton was frequently complimented for being the greatest genius the world had ever known. One of his replies is alleged to have been the following:…
Read moreHow to produce knowledge about people and their cultures?—S.N. Balagangadhara
1. Let us begin in a very intuitive way and ask ourselves this question: where do we encounter ‘cultural differences’? In human contacts, of course. What kind of human contacts?…
Read moreOn explanations that make people stupid—S.N.Balagangadhara
I do not believe that any cultural practice (i.e. a practice that has survived and been transmitted through successive generations) should be explained by attributing beliefs to its practitioners in…
Read moreWhy Insider/Outsider game is sterile?—S.N.Balagangadhara
1. The first point is the difficulty involved in specifying what the “real meaning of an experience” consists of. Asking an insider would not help us here: the insider may…
Read moreWhy Social sciences are not providing knowledge, including the likes of Wendy Doniger and her children?
1. The general pattern that has come to the fore is that Wendy and her children (including Jeffrey Kripal) systematically portray the Indian traditions in an unfavorable light, even when…
Read moreReductive explanations in social sciences – S.N. Balagangadhara
1. To begin with, there is the feeling that scientific explanations, with their emphasis on rationality and objectivity, are reductive in nature. Wherein lies the root of this feeling? Let…
Read moreDenying Experience: Do Hindus ‘worship’? Do they do Pooja to phallus (linga)?
Someone, let’s say her name is Wendy Doniger, comes along and sniggers ‘when you worship the lingam, you worship a phallus’. I do not identify Wendy’s statement as an ‘ad…
Read moreIndia and Her traditions: A Reply to Jeffrey Kripal – S.N. Balagangadhara
Before addressing this writing to Jeffrey Kripal, I would like to very clearly stipulate some of my basic stances so that the discussion does not get derailed into these issues.…
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