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(G (what is its relation to politics?, what is the source of '…
G
what is its relation to politics?
For G, the question becomes what are the forms of political action that we can justify even if we cannot claim ultimate moral authority? His answer: if we take the relationship between truth and politics seriously, politics must be non-violent
Modern reason and abstract hyper-rationality undermine virtues of x such that the progress of modernity results in a decline of freedom, as modern values become destructive to all other values that have their foundation outside of rational truth
This understanding of political action overcomes the dangers of conscience, that by acting on the authority of conscience one sets oneself up as the authority of the content of universal laws, and so instead Gs idea of action is resonant w/ Hs critique of K, but adds something to it. His view is that I must act on my convictions, but I must also recognize that I might be wrong. This is the key to non-violence. It is self-limiting, as it refuses to do harm unto others
p225
swaraj means little if people remain fettered by economic circumstance
what is the source of 'truth'
Gs metaphysical conception of truth doesn’t lead to an abandonment of this world, but rather a reenchantment, and resacralization of our relationship to our own practices, each other, and nature
this is likely the reason why Gandhi wrote Hind Swaraj in dialogue form, as he sought to convince the reader and move opposition with moral arguments
Truth is God
The test of the truth claim in which we base our action is whether our actions resonate w/ a sense of truth that others apprehend from w/ in their moral experience
satyagaraha, devotion to the truth
Unlike N, G believed in the existence of metaphysical truths. But he believed that we only have partial, imperfect access to such truth.
Even though his view of truth is metaphysical, unlike N, he shares w/ N a sort of radical perspectivalism in which we must approach the object of our truth seeing from many angles
perhaps best exemplified in his view of religion
Different religions are all imperfect human efforts to grasp the truth of our existence and orienting that existence towards something higher than ourselves
This higher truth is indistinguishable from God
N
where is the source of 'truth'?
every attempt to locate truth is contingent upon different motivations and wills to power
perspectivalism
The view we take of an object of understanding is always a view from somewhere
He isn’t saying there’s no such thing as truth. Rather, there’s no such thing as a single authoritative perspective from which we can access it
example of the ascetic ideal
This quest for otherworldly orders of truth is what defines first religion, then philosophy and science. It is a will to knowledge directed towards god, but it contains the seeds of its own direction in this process. For what if our quest for truth leads us exactly to the truth: the truth that God, the ideal, the transcendent, are all human inventions. What if God himself turned out to be our oldest lie? P115
the victory of the ascetic ideal begins to undermine itself, as it is parasitic on a will to truth
understood as the valorization of the practices of self-denial such as chastity, poverty, humility
the truth of the ascetic ideal is not contained in the ideal itself, there is no inner meaning to this ideal. Rather, the truth of the ascetic ideal is different according to whose perspective you’re viewing it from
what is its relation to politics?
metaphysics hitherto provided horizons for meaningful human life, but modern morality has torn such horizons asunder, reducing human pursuits to mere comfort, stability, and happiness instead of fulfilling a higher meaning.
Our quest for scientific truth has undermined our belief in God, but it was only our belief in God that gave meaning to our interest in the value of truth
For N, modern scientific truth is truth, but it is not an ultimate value. At most it can serve other values