The Argumentative Indian Summary

The Argumentative Indian

Summary of Amartya Sen's The Argumentative Indian

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The epic Mahābhārata presents each of the two arguments for doing your duty with much care and sympathy. However, the tragic desolation that the post-combat and post-carnage land seems to face towards the end of the book can even be seen as a vindication of Arjuna’s profound doubts. #2 The Gita’s univocal message requires supplementation by the broader argumentative wisdom of the Mahabharata, which includes the perspectives of those who were defeated in the debates. #3 The tradition of arguments and disputations has been exclusive to the Indian population, but it has not been limited to the male elite. Women have participated in both political leadership and intellectual pursuits in India, though they have not been as dominant in those roles as men. #4 The arguments presented by women speakers in epics and classical tales, or in recorded history, do not always conform to the tender and peace-loving image that is often assigned to women.

Identity and Violence

The world may be more riven by murderous violence than ever before, yet Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen argues in this sweeping philosophical work that its brutalities are driven as much by confusion as by inescapable hatred. Sen argues in his new book that conflict and violence are sustained today, no less than the past, by the illusion of a unique identity. Indeed, the world is increasingly taken to be divided between religions (or 'cultures' or 'civilizations'), ignoring the relevance of other ways in which people see themselves through class, gender, profession, language, literature, science, music, morals or politics, and denying the real possibilities of reasoned choices. In Identity and Violence he overturns such stereotypes as the 'the monolithic Middle East' or 'the Western Mind'. Through his penetrating investigation of such subjects as multiculturalism, fundamentalism, terrorism and globalization, he brings out the need for a clear-headed understanding of human freedom and a constructive public voice in Global civil society. The world, Sen shows, can be made to move towards peace as firmly as it has recently spiralled towards war.