Ontology as self-realization

[What strikes me after reading this post (and the one on the Alethetics of Rhetoric) is that what is revealed in an ontology might be more powerful by far than a moral theory, by providing a vista for self-realization rather than a didactic formula. Asher Kay]

[Latour contends that discussions about value are really discussions about matters of concern where the appearance of new actors, human or nonhuman, generate perplexity. Co(m)-plications
from Larval Subjects . Latour emphasizes the manner in which the appearance of new actors co(m)-plicates and per-plicates relations among entities in an existing network. In the former approach, for example, we get Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action, predelineating or pre-sup-posing norms governing discourse that must be there at the outset for discourse to take place. In the latter approach, by contrast, the moment of “matters of concern” or co(m)-plication is the appearance of a new actor such as massive cultivation of bovine livestock that require the clearing of rain forests and that significantly increase contributions to greenhouse gas emissions.]

[Re: On Universalism: In Debate with Alain Badiou by Etienne Balibar
by Debashish on Sat 22 Aug 2009 09:08 AM PDT Profile Permanent Link
There is much in this profound meditation on universalism that applies at all levels of engagement with that term, whether theoretical, political or spiritual. But I would like to draw attention particularly to the last paragraph, where Balibar is laying out the responsibility that comes with the territory... Integrality is a nuance on universalism which pushes its borders into the Transcendental and Absolute.]

[The word integral means for this paradigm recognizing the value of all of the stages... each emergence is absorbed in the next. It doesn’t just go away. So, the real trick for the integral paradigm is to realize, really and substantially, that the powers and potentials and forms of expression of each of the levels are ever-present. They are always there, and all are valuable. There is a way of looking at the developmental paradigm that is hierarchic. Spiral Dynamics - a philosophical perspective Tue, 02/03/2009 — Rod Hemsell]

[It is the search for a substantive rather than procedural democracy that protects citizens from majoritarian arrogance and ensures justice in a subcontinent where people have multiple identities.
Majoritarianism, whether in secular or saffron garb, continues to be a potential threat to Indian democracy. Regional rights were once thought to be a counterpoise to the anti-democratic tendencies of an over-centralised state. Regional parties run by petty and insecure dictators are proving to be as ruthless as the all-India partiepression of internal dissent. In such a scenario freedom of speech and expression remains the best guarantee of the future of Indian democracy.
Why Jinnah matters SUGATA BOSE Tuesday , Aug 25, 2009
The writer is the Gardiner Professor of History at Harvard University express@expressindia.com]

[Hell hath no fury like a Shourie unplugged Economic Times - ‎25 Aug 2009‎
NEW DELHI: BJP on Monday experienced fresh convulsions when another leader, Mr Arun Shourie, threw a barrage of punches at the leadership's face. ... Throwing a virtual challenge to the party leadership to act against him for his utterances, he said: “So, you want to be Humpty Dumpty and make words mean what you say and act, then I presume you already have in your mind to act against me or anybody, so act.” Treading cautiously after the criticism over the summary expulsion of Jaswant Singh, the BJP today sought a "clarification" from senior leader Arun Shourie]

Sri Aurobindo explained that evolution is not linear but spiral. Hence, a moral theory smoldered in the fire of politics cleanses the most and paves the way for the next level. [TNM]