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THE ETHICAL UNIVERSE: INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF ETHICS

THE ETHICAL UNIVERSE: INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF ETHICS

a think tank of Poets, Philosophers, Thinkers, Scientists and Social Scientists

DR BASUDEB CHAKRABORTI, AN IMPORTANT PRESENCE ON THE CONSORTIUM OF DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS WITH THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF ETHICS, is an ace scholar and a world renowned novelist, poet, academician and philosopher. He responds to a few questions which involve the ethical issues of living.

He was interviewed by Dr. Jernail Singh Anand for the Academy.

Dr. Anand: Adam and Eve suffered a fall. Have they ever risen after that or the fall is continual?

Dr. Chakraborti: A careful Study of the creation myth in the Holy Bible (The Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible 2:7) Eve and Adam representing Mankind were first created by the Almighty. For their corruptions they fell into the Earth from the Heaven. God created the Earth for their new settlement. Yes, they regained their former glory and status after their expiation and not committing some deadly Sins. Moreover, they did trust the Almighty. God granted of free Will to Eve and Adam but the weaker sex, Eve was persuaded by Satan to taste the fruit of the infinite Knowledge of the forbidden tree. The attempt to acquire the Knowledge Infinite She inspired Adam and they tasted that fruit. It was a machination of the evil force, Satan. The result was their fall from the Heaven. It was the decree of the Almighty. This mythological event has been presented in the Book 1V by the devoutly religious John Milton in his Paradise Lost. Paradise Regained Messages that steadfast belief in God and in Christian heroism, coupled with whole hearted surrender to Him are the ways to be eternally salvaged.

Dr. Anand: Gods have left the world to its fate. Why can’t men pick up divine signals?

Dr. Chakraborti: It is because God definitely determines our fate according to our work we do as long as we live. To do something good or bad in mundane life is the option of Man. We are incapable to understand those signals. Society and Individual who can receive those signals are paid dividends for their works.

Dr. Anand: The people who push forward throwing ethics to the winds are richly rewarded. While those who take cautious steps, suffer deprivation and loss too. How can you explain this situation? Is ethical connection a losing game only?

Dr. Chakraborti: In this connection I do refer to the name of Niccole Machiavelli “who was a 16th century Florentine philosopher”. I refer to one of his philosophical books, The Prince to the context of this question. Perhaps, Machiavelli is not an amoral pessimist. Bertrand Russell on one occasion said that The Prince is “a handbook for gangsters”. I do not believe that Machiavelli tries to empower tyrants. It is not a satire. For making any political or personal gain one may be in need of resorting to any immoral activity. Even Altruism is self seeking. Political leaders serve the people to be voted to power in the democratic elections. After all, sense of morality and the principle of Ethics are social construct. Ethics is not genetically transmitted. It is culturally transmitted. Ethical values are not unitary, indivisible and single. Ethical values change over times. In the name of Social Service why do most of the World Political Heads try to amass huge wealth? Is it for their personal interest? So, Dr Anand, Man’s animal instincts will naturally lead Man to forgo their sense of Ethics and they naturally follow the clandestine ways to be more and more greedy. Animality and rationally both are present in human beings. Man sacrifices his rationality. Man’s instinct of Animality vetoes Man’s rationality. Naturally those who will follow the so-called classical Principles of Ethics will be thwarted in every ethical move in their lives. Please remember that instinct for self preservation is of utmost importance.

Dr. Anand: A man who lives on Ethics is not on the top agenda of the human society. Why people in general are apathetic towards the idea of mortality?

Dr. Chakraborti: Ethics cannot be permanent. The present world of neck and neck competition is marked by various crises. The most formidable crisis appears to be how to survive physically in our world. And this crisis is due to several reasons. Malthus’s theory primarily refers to Geometrical progression of population and corresponding Arithmetic growth of food. The growth of dynamic population is today is absent. Second, Mankind now has started to control Nature for their comforts in their lives. We can easily notice how we misuse Technology to establish our hegemony over others. As an example, every nation tries to ma build Weapon Industry What nonsense it is!

No nation is lagging behind this mad race for destructive weapons. Is it for deterrence for Third World War? Is the concept of nuclear deterrence valid to the modern World? I have no answer to this question. Can anybody say that the amazing storage of Nuclear Bombs will benefit Mankind? Is any guarantee that there will not be at least one mad ruler in the World? Maybe, we have forgotten the extent of Second World War! Last, why do we make our society mechanical? Why are we becoming robots day by day? Why are we known as numbers day by day owing to the disparaging growth of the mechanization of our societies? Why do we not use Science and Technology for the benefit of Mankind? Can’t we stop ourselves now to attain infinite Knowledge? In this connection, I do refer to an essay, “Technology for Mankind” written by Bronowski.

Dr. Anand: The society is replete with people who are apparently highly religious. Yet, they dabble in politics and amass wealth. Crime too is not a far off dream. Everyone wants high life. Who will bat for Ethics in a perverted world society?

Dr. Chakraborti: One of the phrases in this question is “apparently highly religious”. The answer is embedded to this question. What does” apparently” mean in this context? The day society was formed, hypocrisy got intrinsically connected with Man. Religion was an instrument of a group of people with the help of which that group of people survived and became stronger and came at the helm of all mundane affairs. One should be aware of the difference between religion and spirituality. Institutional religions help groups of people to camouflage their greed-instincts in different manifestations. The medieval Europe Church Heads would profess one thing and would practise different things. Think of “Monks Tale” in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales or the life of St. Joan in France. She was burned alive for her preaching that a man can make direct contacts with the divine without the help of the Church. Later, she was canonized by the Church. Here lies the irony of our man made institutional and ritualistic religions. Institutional religion divides Man into different creeds and society into different groups. This religion which is referred to is not the ‘Religion of Mankind’ in the broad spectrum in human life. Groups of people thus do not thrive in Ethics. They use religion to fulfill their animalistic greed. Honore de Balzac, one of the founder-members of European idea of realism in Europe, has said that ‘behind every successful fortune there is a crime’. A limited number of highly religious people (Not “apparently highly religious”) who are weak and disempowered may bat for Ethics in this perverted or greedy world; they are stupid in the modern civilized world.

Dr. Anand: This society has sorcerers, no prophets, only villains who are heroes too. Its poets run after official awards bartering their discerning voice. Where media stands compromised. Think of Ethics and you die. Where is the rule of ‘dharma’?

Dr. Chakraborti: The prospect of the rule of Dharma is absurd in this “perverted World” to where we all belong. Villains who are now heroes, who are “apparently highly religious”, will dominate over the limited number of religious people (These people are not “apparently highly religious). In spite of all these despicable phenomena, a day will definitely come when a greed-free society will emerge and a New Era will welcome all Ethics-abiding spiritual persons. Man lives on hope. Life of a man without hope will be miserable .

DR. BASUDEB CHAKRABORTI
A BRIEF PROFILE:

M.A. (Cal & Houston, Texas), M.Phil (Nagpur)
Ph.D. (Kalyani), PGDTE (CIEFL), Hyderabad
Professor of English (Retd.) and Faculty Dean,
University of Kalyani, West- Bengal
Founder Professor of English, Sikkim Central
University at Gangtok, World Humanist Scholar at University of Central Arkansas at Conway,
Arkansas, USA (2003)

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