Studies have found that interest in Philosophy has declined substantially all over the globe including India. In so many universities and academia the departments of Philosophy have been either closed or merged with other faculties like Religious Studies or Political Science. This decline is attributed to the dominance of science and related subjects which are more experiment oriented and seem to be instantly useful to day to day life. Both the east and west have got very ancient and robust philosophical systems. The different branches of Philosophy have been clubbed as metaphysics, epistemology, axiology, ethics, aesthetics , logic , comparative religion, etc.

 

Right from pondering over the nature of reality philosophers have touched upon the end number of fundamental topics. It is said that Philosophy is the first subject of human beings. Hence it is the mother of all other subjects. All other intellectual faculties have been born out of Philosophy. Experts are of the view that a philosophical mind is always problem solving. Core and deep concepts are analysed and evaluated. Reasoning and logic is the heart of Philosophy. Organisation of ideas and their interconnectedness are the essence of philosophical studies. Criticality and overall evaluation are the commanding principles of a philosophical system. Study of Philosophy is essential to understand the evolution of science and other subjects. Philosophy is the study of value systems also. So Philosophy is indispensable to the understanding of interdisciplinary dimensions of other intellectual branches of knowledge. Hypothesis and new options keep on emerging in philosophical thinking.

 

A critical study of the evolution of science clearly indicates that all the great scientists were basically philosophers. Similarly, we find all great personalities of literature with deep philosophical insights. Most of the modern days political ideologies have evolved out of philosophical thinking. Philosophical ideas of Locke about natural rights to life , liberty and property have been accepted as civil and constitutional rights by many countries of the world. The Social Contract theory of Rousseau deeply influenced the French Revolution. The philosophy of John Stuart Mill impacted the education and political systems of England in a very crucial manner. Marxist philosophy has made deep inroads into the entire gamut of the world. Similarly, the Indian philosophical systems have left an indelible impact upon the society of India and the world. Yoga and Vedanta have moulded the thinking and practical life style of billions of people across the world.

 

Bhakti philosophy has touched the inner realm of innumerable persons. Thus, decline in the interest of the study of Philosophy has all the propensities of narrowing down the emergence of new core ideas about life and reality. Science can give the objects, but not the methodology how to use it. Good and bad, right and wrong , moral and immoral, etc, are the subject matters of Philosophy. Science is evidence based, but Philosophy is the limitless flight into the unbounded horizons of knowledge. Hence, the studies of Philosophy need to be revived and incentivised. Everyone may not be a scientist, but certainly has a philosophy of one’s own life and that needs to be nurtured.

 

(The writer is Former DG Police & CG, Homeguards, Maharashtra)