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Dialectical Sociology of Religion in the Context of Jainism
As the chairperson of the session of the World Congress of Sociology devoted to the topic "Dialectical Sociology of Religion", Professor Hans Mol prepared and distributed a short paper on Dialectical Sociology to the participants. In this paper, I would first of all like to summarize the basic points made by Professor Mol. Once these points have been indicated, I would like to review them in the light of Jain philosophy and history.
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ARVIND SHARMA
The main points made by Professor Hans Mol are as follows:
He begins by pointing out that dialectical sociology "embraces the view that the most fundamental and logically purest distinction is between sameness and difference or identity and change".1
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He proceeds to point out that "as reality has both unitary (identity promoting) as well as differentiating (change promoting) characteristics, a dialectical sociology assumes that the two are symbiotically, or dialectically related".2
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This produces an interesting consequence. Although it was stated that the most logically pure distinction is between sameness and difference or identity and change, "perfect identity/ stability is as maladaptive as perfect change/instability and that in a viable society each prevents the other from achieving purity" s
1 Hans Mol, 'Dialectical Sociology', unpublished paper, p. 1.
• Ibid.
• Ibid.
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