Multiplicity without Tyranny: The Nonviolent Telos of Process and Jainism

T his paper 1 works through a largely intuitive notion of Otherness, an abstract understanding of violence and the moral response of non-violence drawn from the life and work of Mahatma Gandhi, a schematic presentation of approaches to Otherness, and an outline of a fully non-violent mode of engagement with Otherness drawn from a reading of the philosophy of the Indian religion of Jainism. I call this mode of engagement the search for " affinity. " It comes out of a philosophical view that I term " multiplism, " and is motivated by a metaphysics that seeks to find the balance between granting the integrity of the Other and attempting to negotiate beyond Otherness. I use " heterology " as the term for the activity that constitutes the search for affinity, and " heteronomy " to describe the relationship between self and Other that motivates such engagement. The search for affinity is undertaken because of the moral value attached to non-violence. This essay is therefore an attempt to present an actively non-violent way of relating to the Other. the other At once intuitively obvious and conceptually dense, the notion of the " Other " has become the label for many political and cultural ideas around the world over the past half a century. Rather than get drawn into an engagement with the rich literature, I shall try and keep to a largely intuitive understanding of Otherness. The non-intuitive element is given by the stipulation of the term " schema of life. " I will talk abstractly of the Other as recognisable in some " schema of life. " This is meant to capture everything from intellectually precise formulations of the ideal life through to unreflectively lived patterns of behaviour and self-representation. Given this: the Other is the (individual 2 or) collective or other personal principle 3 that, in any primary identification of, by and as oneself, is not intrinsic to the constitutive identity of that self. The Other is also that which exists in a state held to be inaccessible from within one's own schema of life. The aim of this working definition is to leave open the possibility of what precisely the Other is. The ramifying power of the notion of the Other has been, of course, that theological, anthropological and biological (and – who knows? – exospheric) readings of it are possible. I may as well lay my cards on the table and confess that the primary form of Otherness with which this paper is concerned is cultural, and therefore anthropological. At the same time,

in Sudhir Chandra (dir.), Violence and Non-violence across Time. History, Religion and Culture, Routledge / Taylor & Francis, Londres et New York, pp. 247-314 (68 p.), 2018

Taking as a starting point Gandhi’s notion of satyagraha and his understanding of ahimsa, this article argues that the same tenets can be found in the Neoplatonic and mystical traditions of the ‘three monotheisms’, i. e. in forms of religious thought and experience that are less contingent upon dogmatic factors. It thereby aims at outlining the transcultural, metaphysical foundations of an ethics of nonviolence as a universal imperative.

Society & Animals, 2017

This dissertation studies nonviolence in the context of Humanistic Studies, a multi-disciplinary academic field that criticallly explores issues of (existential) meaning and humanization; the personal and social aspects of 'good living'. From this background this study focusses on contemporary nonviolence, using this term not only to point to the absence of violence, but to that which can take its place. Nonviolence is thus understood as a substantive method to create societal and interpersonal change, and even as a paradigm. The aim of the study is twofold. Firstly to descern if it is possible to understand nonviolence a concept independent from specific cultural, religious or practical context. Secondly to see if from such an independent notion it is possible to develop a framework for analysis and practice. The Gandhian understanding of nonviolence is the startingpoint ot this study. However, many developments in nonviolence theory and practice have taken place after Gandhi. This dissertation studies the way Gandhian concepts have caried over, and are changed and expanded by other thinkers and practitioners and what remains the same. From this search it is concluded that five basic elements form the core of contemporary nonviolence: satya (truthseeking), ahimsa (non-harming), tapasya (self-suffering), sarvodaya (the welfare of all) and swadeshi/swaraj (relational autonomy). Together they point to a specific way of wielding power called integrative power, which lies at the heart of nonviolence.

2009

Our world is experiencing an ever growing ecological crisis, which makes it necessary for humanity to reshape the way it is dealing with the planet. Grave challenges for the future of humanity and the earth as a whole have emerged as a result of ecological and economical conduct over the past few centuries. According to some, the environmental crisis is intertwined with other crises (financial, social, political), which has led both scholars and activists to call for a fundamental change in the global paradigm. Where socio-political change is concerned, part of this paradigm change has been attempted through nonviolence. Pioneered as a method in the early 20th century by Mohandas Gandhi for addressing injustice, it has since been taken up by many more individuals and organisations around the world. Nonviolence practices and notions can also be found in certain streams of ecology. One central element in the method of nonviolence is ahimsa, ‘the absence of the intention to do harm’. In this article I will explore both ahimsa and radical ecology, to both explain the role and significance of ahimsa in nonviolence and to see if and how the two notions can clarify and supplement each other.