Since I have been reading all my life, diverse influences shape my thinking. Or, rather, they have not been able to hammer any concrete shape. This, during the last seventy years, a period which has witnessed gigantic changes in all spheres of life, culminating in AI. Nevertheless, general discourse, as articulated in social media, seem to be naive and juvenile. Obviously, people, in general, lack the rigorous grounding that I have. Professional competence and reading some bestsellers convince many of their own expertise on all aspects of life. Ecosystems and echo chambers make matters worse.
Looking at knowledge through political lens is generally taken for granted. Validity or utility of a proposition is decided instantly by the number of likes and shares on online platforms. Being a part of a herd is flaunted as a badge of honour. Independent thinking or critical approach have ceased to be of any distinct value. Intellectuals becoming Ministers is treated as their highest achievement. In addition, being a picture of a complete certainty has become the order of the day. Rise in general prosperity and technology-enabled modern facilities of life accentuate such a scenario.
To be fair, this is not something new. Distortion of history and pushing motivated narratives is continuing from the British times. Marxist scholars too followed the same practice, to the hilt. Congress party popularised many secular mythologies. Dalit literature and Subaltern analysis produced a vastly different worldview. To add to the woe, existentialist and psychoanalytic prisms imparted devastating effects. Yet, through all these movements, Hindutva was making a tortoise-like steady march to reach where it is today.
Claiming that Ram was born at that particular site was an insult to intelligence, but it served the purpose of mobilising people for political purpose. Thereafter, facts, fiction, and mythology knew no differentiation. Even hard-nosed economic data were manipulated. But instead of ethical foundations, their success stems from personal charisma, theatrical performance, and crony capitalism. Lack of transparency and accountability is the most glaring lacuna. But to give Devil his due, erecting a viable alternative within a broad democratic framework is certainly commendable.
With this background, it would be easy to judge the situation for ascertaining the reasons. In fact, Feuerbach imparted a body blow to the human understanding from which it has not been easy to recover. Comte aggravated the situation, greatly. There is no dependable way out, even after two hundred years. There is no reliable ontological formulation for explaining our existence, or its justification. In such a circumstance, any one can present his own theory as the complete truth. Religions have a vested interest in publicising their own versions, too.
Decoupling the quest for knowledge from religion or politics, therefore, is the need of the hour. Ignoring important knowledge sources, deliberately, should be discouraged. Instead of setting up icons as purveyors of self-evident truths, dispassionate examination of their theories should be undertaken in right earnest. Multi-disciplinary approach is also essential for hammering out the right inferences. Ancient texts, on their own, don't constitute any authority. Approaching them as creative literature, instead, is the best policy. AI is not involved in writing this, upto this extent.
