Humans have the privilege of walking on earth under the sky. The three instruments of their knowing, that is, body, mind and heart indeed correspond to the three dimensions of their being - cosmic, human and divine. This three-dimensional knowing and being, long cherished in most traditions, has either been forgotten or ignored in our contemporary times, resulting in a kind of monomorphic reductionism of life and reality, where the entire reality is reduced to human beings, human beings to male, male to his thinking, thinking to his reason, and reason to calculation. Isn't life more than calculus? Perhaps what has become imperative for our global times, is a re-learning to be human not only through “love of wisdom,” but also through the “wisdom of love.” It is this “wisdom of love” that will enable humans to walk on earth under the sky gently, integrally and in a feminine way, that is, with a spirit of receptivity to, and mutual learning from, all disciplines, traditions and peoples.

 

A proper understanding of culture becomes crucial here.  Culture is not just one more dimension of society, alongside the economy, politics, science, technology, philosophy, religion, law, aesthetics, and so on. Culture is the very ground on which the humans walk and conduct their life journey.  It is the existential reality of peoples and communities in a society in which economics, politics, religion, etc. are different “cultural areas.” Therefore, if an innovation (the ability to learn not only from within, but also without) is suggested or brought about in any of these cultural areas in a cross-cultural way, it would really and naturally contribute to the re-learning to be human.

 

The re-learning, therefore, is an intercultural task.  In our contemporary cross-cultural human situation, the mutual fecundation of cultures has become the cultural imperative and in this new situation, cultures do influence each other. Hence, a positive symbiosis is possible, through a mutual dialogue and criticism. The cross-cultural way, therefore, seems to be the way forward.

 

Invitation is extended to scholars to address the theme in the backdrop of their own disciplines and the cultural concerns of their people with an interdisciplinary and intercultural orientation. The Conference will be held at  Manipal University Jaipur from 26 -27 December 2016, Village & Post - Dehmi Kalan, Jaipur-Ajmer Express Way, Jaipur - 303007, Rajasthan, India.

 

Abstract

Please send the abstract and a brief C.V. to Anthony Savari Raj (ansraj65@gmail.com) and (cua-rvp@cua.edu)  until November 30, 2016. Presentation of accepted papers will be 20 minutes in length followed by 20 minutes discussion. Full papers (for which in order to promote in-depth investigation there is no upper page limit) will be published by the RVP.

 

Logistics

There is no registration fee. Travel expense and accommodation will be covered by the participants (or their institutions).

 

Contact

Anthony Savari Raj

Associate Professor of Philosophy and Head, Department of Arts

Manipal University Jaipur

Village & Post - Dehmi Kalan, Jaipur-Ajmer Express Way

Jaipur - 303007, Rajasthan, India.

Email: ansraj65@gmail.com; anthony.savariraj@jaipur.manipal.edu

Phone: 91 982836285, 9940572685