The Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi for the Twenty-First Century

Douglas Allen

• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Year: 2008
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781461634447
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Eastern Philosophy

Often considered the most admired human being of the twentieth century, Mahatma Gandhi was and remains controversial. Among the leading Gandhi scholars in the world, the authors of the timely studies in this volume present numerous ways in which Gandhi's thought and action-oriented approach are significant, relevant, and urgently needed for addressing the major problems and concerns of the twenty-first century. Such problems and concerns include issues of violence and nonviolence, war and peace, religion and religious conflict and dialogue, terrorism, ethics, civil disobedience, injustice, modernism and postmodernism, forms of oppression and exploitation, and environmental destruction.

These creative, diverse studies offer a radical critique of the dominant characteristics and priorities of modern Western civilization and the contemporary world. They offer positive alternatives by using Gandhi, in creative and innovative ways, to focus on nonviolence, peace with justice, tolerance and mutual respect, compassion and loving kindness, cooperative relations and the realization of our interconnectedness and unity, meaningful action-oriented engagement of dialogue, resistance, and working for new sustainable ways of being human and creating new societies. This volume is appropriate for the general reader and the Gandhi specialist. It will be of interest for readers in philosophy, religion, political science, history, cultural studies, peace studies, and many other fields. Throughout this book, readers will experience a strong sense of the philosophical and practical urgency and significance of Gandhi's thought and action for the contemporary world.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction: Key Issues and Overview of Gandhi’s Philosophy for the Twenty-First Century
• 1 - Gandhi and Interreligious Dialogue
• 2 - Bridging the Secular and the Spiritual
• 3 - Mahatma Gandhi’s Philosophy of Violence, Nonviolence, and Education
• 4 - Satyagraha and the Right to Civil Disobedience
• 5 - Three 9/11s: Satyagraha or Terrorism
• 6 - Nonviolence as a Civic Virtue: Gandhi and Reformed Liberalism*
• 7 - Gandhi and Islam: A Heart-and-Mind Unity?
• 8 - Gandhi’s Religious Ethics
• 9 - The Postmodern Discourse on Gandhi: Modernity and Truth
• 10 - The “Sanatani” Mahatma? Re-reading Gandhi Post-Hindutva
• 11 - Gandhi’s Conception of a New Society
• 12 - The Anatomy of Nonviolent Revolution: A Comparative Analysis
• Index
• About the Editor and Contributors