Many of Gandhi’s critics accuse him for being a hypocrite. Gandhi is known for being an active user of the railroad but also its biggest critic. Others would argue that Gandhi is a hypocrite for criticizing the West when he himself received education and drew inspiration from influences in the West. These critics misunderstand that what Gandhi is truly critiquing is modernity. Gandhi was not criticizing the West per se, he was criticizing how the West traditionalized modernity. The characteristics of modernity he disapproved of is its secular scientific worldview, technocracy, and over-organization. But, the overarching message he wanted to convey is how modernity goes hand in hand with rationality which results in the dehumanization of society. …show more content…
Gandhi was not anti-technology. He only disapproves of technology that “replaces the unique qualities of men.” In Hind Swaraj, Gandhi discusses how technology would lead to people’s loss of their need for their hands and feet: “They will press a button, and they will have their clothing by their side...Everything will be done by machinery” (Ch.6). What he was against was ‘technicism,’ the idea that all technological crises are solved by technology itself (136). It allows no escape in thought beyond that of technology. The ideologue Peter Medawar explains this modern phenomenon as such: ‘The deterioration of the environment produced by technology is a technological problem of which technology has found, is finding and will continue to find solutions” (136). Another one of Gandhi’s concern with modern technology is technocracy. It is how experts, specialists, professionals or people with the technology over the public. People seek self-realization through the eyes of other people, or in anything outside of themselves. People learn skills under the guidance of specialists and seek social relief from psychologists (139). Even standards of what people think as the ideal person or what an ideal community are like are models determined by developmentalists.
The problem with modern technology in Gandhi’s opinion is that people lose control of their own selves, physically. Gandhi critiques to bring back the body to the owner. In Hind
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Winston Churchill, one of Gandhi’s harshest considers Gandhi extremely eccentric; for one, he only wears a loin-cloth (144). The concept of over-organization ties into how modernization leads to the normalization and objectification of certain views. In chapter 6 of Hind Swaraj Gandhi’s criticism on civilization discusses how people who become known as “savages” are people who did not get into the habit of wearing boots or European kind of clothing. When encountering people with different habits, immediately they are labeled as some sort of “other.” Organization of society makes an objectified view of “right” from
Society’s norms change generation by generation. Every once and a while, someone will break the rules of society. Sifting through history, there are outcasts and rebels that went against what society thought was the right thing to do. Jesus Christ is among the most famous rebels in society. His rebellion against the religious establishment at Jerusalem created a large following of Christians after his resurrection that threatened Judaism. Christianity spread throughout all countries of the world. Jesus Christ was not the only non-conformist in history. On October 2, 1869 another great rebel was born. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, more commonly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was raised in Porbandar, India. Gandhi studied law in London, England but traveled to South Africa in 1893. Here, he spent twenty years opposing discriminatory legislation against Indians. Returning to India in 1914, Gandhi remained to follow his civil disobedience campaign. Even after his death, Gandhi’s commitment to nonviolence is living. The next famous rebel in history, became one of the world’s most influential men to ever live. Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American non-conformist during the civil rights era. King led one of the most suc...
This conflict can be observed in the film Chappie. The idea that technology could reach a point where police officers could be replaced by machines is indicative of the idea of how humans’ behavior and actions can be affected by the technology accessible to them. In this case, the technology is changing human action by removing humans from harm’s way and replacing them with machines. The change in human action as a result of technology brings up the question of whether the new human action is necessarily an improvement. As was seen in the film, the new technologies brought forth the debate of the morality of using such advanced robots. The uncertainty of the merit or value of technology is present in many of the interactions with technology seen in the course. With the changes brought about by technology, there also exists a conservative sentiment that does not see such changes as necessary. This resistance to technology can be seen in Marx, with the push for a return to a pastoral life. One other instance of the way that technology has shaped human behavior is one of the examples presented in lecture. An article spoke of how a statue was being moved as a result of too many people bumping into it because they were texting while walking and thus distracted. This provides an example of
...Because of Gandhi’s power, his flaw, and his catastrophe, one would say that Gandhi fits the model of a Greek tragic hero. Gandhi’s power was his heightened goodness, proven by his innumerable civil disobedience acts, where he continued to fight even while he was regularly jailed. His flaw was his tolerance and acceptance of everyone which led to his catastrophic assassination by Nathuram Godse. Gandhi’s teachings of nonviolence and peace still live on today, as they have inspired many other human rights leaders, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. Gandhi’s teachings are responsible for the successes of civil rights movements in other countries. He not only helped free India from British rule, but also gave people new thoughts about violence and imperialism around the world. Even today, India continues to live and remember the tutelage of Gandhi.
Rudolf, Lloyd L., and Susanne Hoeber Rudolf. Post Modern Gandhi and other essays. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2006. 92-120. Print.
Gandhi advocated for a non-violent protest. He did this by gaining followers and making assemblies to tell them how to protest without violence. Gandhi's method of protest was disobedience, for example “they will take me to jail, then they will beat me, maybe even kill me, but then they will have my dead body not my obedience.” I like how Gandhi used these words I feel like he gained a lot of followers with that quote.
Friedrich Nietzsche and Mahatma Gandhi, two mammoth political figures of their time, attack the current trend of society. Their individual philosophies and concepts suggest a fundamental problem: if civilization is so diseased, can we overcome this state of society and the sickness that plagues the minds of the masses in order to advance? Gandhi and Nietzsche attain to answer the same proposition of sickness within civilization, and although the topic of unrest among both may be dissimilar, they have parallel means of finding a cure to such an illness as the one that plagues society. Nietzsche’s vision of spiritual health correlates directly with Gandhi’s image of industrialism and the self-sufficiency. This correlation prevails by highlighting the apparent sickness that is ubiquitous in both of the novels.
Gandhi, Rajmohan. Gandhi: The Man, His People, and the Empire. Berkeley: U of California, 2008. Print.
... has the potential to destroy a civilization at the peak of its success or create a new one from the ground up. Without proper direction given by the controllers of technology, things can quickly spiral down in a direction that does not benefit anyone. In Brave New World, technology was used to create a utopia where people prospered but in 2001 A Space Odyssey, technology nearly brought on a nuclear holocaust. Technology does not take sides in a fight, it is merely a tool used by man to better himself and those around him. Technology is not corrupt or immaculate; its role is determined by its user, the human race.
Gandhi was a well knowledgeable and unique person who found hope in struggles that he never thought would shape who he was. Gandhi was born in a Hindu family, and even though he was the youngest he made a huge impact on others (“Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi” pg 3). He had his older brother who helped him with his education when his father passed away (“Mohandas Gandhi”). Gandhi was very religious even when he was little his brothers tried to make him eat meat (it wasn’t bad to eat meat in Hinduism when you are little), but he refused (“Mohandas Gandhi”). Gandhi respected his religion and was a respectful towards others.
In today’s world, technology has become a way of life, where survival is difficult without it. According to Jerry Mander, author of In the Absence of the Sacred, he mentions that technology is stressed; the effects it has on society and the living are not fully understood. The cause or diagnosis as to why Westerners are so attached to technology is because they believe life could not go on without it. They are steering away from the old practices of spirituality and religion, and are focusing on creating simpler
In the beginning, Gandhi states, ”You must be the change the world wishes to see” (Gandhi article). This reveals that often if there is a change in the world that needs to be made, heroes are the ones who initiate the change. Gandhi fought for India’s rights peacefully. For example, he made an agreement with Lord Irwin to end the Salt Satyagraha in exchange for concessions that included the release of thousands of political prisoners. Secondly, when other countries declared war on India, Gandhi pleaded other countries representatives discuss their perspective till a solution was formed. Finally, in the end of his book,Gandhi, An Autobiography Mahatma Gandhi reveals, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” This shows that Mahatma Gandhi only cared for the people and the independence of his country, yet not himself. Gandhi did not take these actions for wealth, and fame, he did it out of the kindness of his
...es of past leaders Gandhi gained new perspective and subsequently avoided repeating the past; this lead him to attempt to embark upon a new path--one perceived as better for India. None of this would have been possible without the perspective gained through studying India’s brutal past. Subsequently his efforts and strategies were later emulated by other civil rights activists, effectively impacting the general society. Clearly, the perspective gained through looking back on one’s mistake would be impossible without adversity, which serves as the origin for remediation; society would not be able to progress without certain duress.
Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi (October 2, 1869 - January 30, 1948) was an Indian political leader. Since Before Gandhi was born India had been colonized by the British. During his childhood, he had witnessed the cruelty that the British had imposed on his people. However he could not do anything, then because as a member of the ruling class of India he was required to attend university in Britain where he was taught law. Once he had returned in 1914 Gandhi made it his goal to end British rule in India. There had been many attempts for self-rule in India before, however Gandhi had a...
Technology has the potential to take ahold of the whole world. Does technology improve the quality of life a society? Will technology corrupt the future generations to come? In the essay I will discuss the technology used in the Brave New World, how technology benefits our lives but also how it can have an opposite effect.
While Western Europe had echoed with the rants of dictators Gandhi had stirred the crowded multitudes of India, the most populous area in the world, without raising his voice. It was not with the luring of power of fortune that he had called his followers to his cause but by giving a warning of having to handle the most difficult adversities of their life, yet people followed him with utmost reverence. In this investigation, we will try to find out what were the reasons for the s...