PHILOSOPHY PATHWAYS Issue 202

I. 'Yogananda: A great Educator and his philosophy' by Dr. Bibhas Kanti Mandal and Dr. Monoranjan Bhowmik

II. 'Industrial transitioning as literary poltergeists: Henry James and the Ghosts of Modernity' by Carolyn Lawrence, Ed.D

V. Sanja Ivic European Identity and Citizenship published by Palgrave Macmillan

This issue of Pathways is edited by Hubertus Fremerey from Bonn Germany. For a short bio look up http:---

My lifelong interest (I am now 76) was/ is in understanding our time in all its aspects -- not only philosophically, but not only technically either. I am currently working on a book that will show the outcome of these efforts.

The title of my essay is a hint at Hegels "Philosophy is its time apprehended in thoughts." The citation is from "Preface to the Philosophy of Right" (see http:---). It reads in full : "To apprehend what is is the task of philosophy, because what is is reason. As for the individual, every one is a son of his time; so philosophy also is its time apprehended in thoughts. It is just as foolish to fancy that any philosophy can transcend its present world, as that an individual could leap out of his time... If a theory transgresses its time, and builds up a world as it ought to be, it has an existence merely in the unstable element of opinion, which gives room to every wandering fancy." Well, this is "objective idealism" which is Hegel but not me.

Presented here ahead of my own essay and contrasting it are two pieces that too refer to the modern world, but from totally different perspectives [...]

I. 'YOGANANDA: A GREAT EDUCATOR AND HIS PHILOSOPHY' BY DR. BIBHAS KANTI MANDAL AND DR. MONORANJAN BHOWMIK

On one afternoon of showering Shravana, the two young monks set their foot on the soil of Bolpur Railway Station, West-Bengal, India. They were welcomed to the Ashram of Santiniketan. The poet of our great poets, the creator of art, the Noble Laureate, Rabindranath was sitting at his newly planted grove, at Santiniketan. The young monks, Yogananda and Saytananda appeared before him. Recollecting that remote past of 1917, Satyananda wrote: The epoch-making Teacher of character-building education Rabindranath, remarked firmly with smiling face, ''What ever system of education might be adopted, it does not matter. I have nothing to say. But I have one humble request that you will give a little freedom to the children. Our children were snubbed from childhood onwards, so their inner beauty slowly faded. In child hood they had to face the chastisement of most of the parents and teachers. In their young age, they were reprimanded and censured by the boss. How much can one tolerate? Let the flower of joy blossom in their face."1 The words of 'liberty of joy' that dropped from the lips of our great Acharya, have been manifested in the education of Yogananda. In the educational institution set up at Dihika, they have wanted the same system to education. The tune of harmonious note of the two great men delighted Sytananda immensely; this is because, in the education system of both of them, the naturalism and the pragmatism have been assimilated in one. It is through the communion of life with activity, activity with religion, religion with science, and science with the welfare of mankind that education will be an integral part of life and through this, the all round development of humanity is possible. Swami Yogananda framed that system of education in collaboration with his associates [...]

II. 'INDUSTRIAL TRANSITIONING AS LITERARY POLTERGEISTS: HENRY JAMES AND THE GHOSTS OF MODERNITY' BY CAROLYN LAWRENCE, ED.D

With the arrival of the Industrial Revolution, England transitioned from a mainly agricultural setting to one of urban sprawl and impoverished, voiceless entities, who rose with the sun to work and mourned the lack of individual freedoms as the sun slowly set at twilight. With the growing darkness of soot filled skies, the classicism within England grew farther apart and the crevasse between the employers and the employed did not go unnoticed by creatives. Authors such Charles Dickens and painters like William Hogarth noted the disparity occurring within the streets of England, how this Age of Enlightenment, this time of industry was eroding the moral and emotional fabric of the people it was allegedly trying to inspire. Dickens essentially exposed the darker pitfalls of orphaned children working for their keep in David Copperfield (Stearns & Burns 2011). Hogarth championed for taxation on gin production to reduce gin sales, in an effort to reduce the alcoholism within London (Royal College of Physicians 2015). It was also Hogarth who believed that Enlightenment was the focal point for poverty, misery and ruin, causing a moral bankruptcy throughout (Sayre 2013). For Henry James, a product of the declination of society through industry and a witness to the rise of the psychoanalysis, the relationship between work and worker had become strained. What once was a nurturing of ethics and moral aptitude had broken the spirit of Londoners, leaving an indelible mark about the psyche of the country. Trying to pick up from such grievous poverty, rampant alcoholism and cruel work environments, cities around the world attempted to reconcile the relationship they had with industry, but however broken it was, one thing was for certain: it still haunted them every day [...]

When he wrote "It is just as foolish to fancy that any philosophy can transcend its present world, as that an individual could leap out of his time", Hegel was right : Picasso could copy Raphael, but Raphael could not see the world as Picasso could, since the time has not yet come to see the world this way. One always may copy what has been, but one never could jump ahead of ones time. So what does it mean to "apprehend" the world ? What does it mean to "see" things that are not there and to miss other things that are before our eyes ? To apply this question to our time is what I am trying to do -- not as a painter but as a philosopher.

The period from the French Revolution in 1789 through the Great War until its end in 1918 has been called "the long 19th century" (of the Occident). One may add a preparatory phase of "Rousseauism" from 1750 and the event of the "Declaration of Independence" of the newly forming "United States of America" in 1776.

During these some 170 years the "old order" of the Occident, dominated by the churches and by kingdoms and the landed gentry transformed into the "new order" of citizens and the industrial mass society. Rousseauism and Romanticism were essentially "bourgeois" movements, addressing -- like the novel -- the individual [...]

From this issue of Philosophy Pathways onwards we will be publishing articles in PDF, following the trend towards PDF as the standard format for e-publishing. While retaining the same 'look' as before, issues of Philosophy Pathways that arrive in your email Inbox will be a lot shorter. By clicking, or if necessary cut-and-pasting the article links, you will be able to access the original article in full and in the format devised by the author(s).

This approach has a number of benefits, apart from brevity. Articles in PDF will be much easier to print off, compared to the web formatting of previous issues about which a number of readers have complained. (Unfortunately, applying this scheme to all 201 of the past issues would be a mammorth task and is unlikely to be undertaken in the near future!)

A benefit for authors will be the possibility of substituting a corrected version of the article should any errors escape the editing process.

Pathways Editors will find that their task is made easier, as all they have to do is indicate which articles from the submissions folder that they would like to select. In addition, the freeing up of space will allow Editors to write longer introductions, or, if they wish, extended essays commenting on the articles they have selected.

All article links point to a directory on the Pathways to Philosophy web site at https:---.

V. SANJA IVIC EUROPEAN IDENTITY AND CITIZENSHIP PUBLISHED BY PALGRAVE MACMILLAN

Sanja Ivic is a member of the Board of the International Society for Philosophers https:--- and the Editor of ISFP publishing https:---. Her new book European Identity and Citizenship: Between Modernity and Postmodernity published by Palgrave Macmillan could not have come at a more opportune time, with the UK Referendum vote to leave the European Union just days away.

The ISFP has no political affiliations and no view -- official or otherwise -- on rights or wrongs of European Union membership. However, an excellent answer by Ask a Philosopher panel member Graham Hackett http:--- discussing the moral obligation to go out and vote, cites the example of the majority voting decision to call the NERC polar vessel 'Boaty McBoatface'. 'The director of NERC felt that this compromised the reputation and integrity of his organisation so much, that he felt he had no option but to ignore the democratic choice in favour of the name 'RRS David Attenborough' -- which had only been the fifth most popular choice in the electors list. What does this tell us about democracy, and its ability to deliver correct decisions?'

It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that a similar decision in respect of the Brexit vote could conceivably be taken by the party in power, if it thought that it was strong enough to withstand the predictable backlash. Many would be pleased. Others would rally to defend the Revolution.

Regardless of the Brexit vote, the UK remains part of Europe, and UK citizens are, first and foremost, Europeans. What that means, however, is not a straightforward matter -- hence the motivation for Sanja Ivic's book which anyone interested in this issue will want to read.

Would you be so kind and announce the conference 'Modes of the Unconscious' of German Society of Phenomenological Anthropology, Psychiatry and Psychotherapy' (DGAP):

Philosophers, phenomenologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, cultural scientists and researchers on related fields

New University of Heidelberg, University Square, Lecture Hall 14, 2nd floor
Date: October 13th - 14th 2016

Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Fuchs, Section of Phenomenology of the Department of General Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg

Prof. Thomas Fuchs, MD, PhD Karl Jaspers-Professor of Philosophy and Psychiatry Head of the Section Phenomenological Psychopathology Psychiatric Department, University of Heidelberg Voss-Str.4 D-69115 Heidelberg / Germany Phone: +49(0)6221 56 4755 e-mail: thomas.fuchs@med.uni-heidelberg.de homepage:
http:--- Prof-Dr-med-Dr-phil-Thomas-Fuchs.6031.0.html e-mail: Rixta.Fambach@med.uni-heidelberg.de

www.geoffreyklempner.net

klempner@fastmail.net

International Society for Philosophers

Wisdom begins with wonder