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Studies in India, Philosophy
to have knowledge and power and who dote op authorities. In our academic institutions like colleges and the Universities, we rarely find real scholars who are devoted to their studies, pursuit of knowledge and teaching. They are more interested in their personal benefit and they run afier administrative and political power. They indulge in unacademic and upseemly activities. They are the teacher politicians. Such men should be avoided and be kept away from the young impressive minds. However, it is not to be said that this type of intellecual and social climate is to be found in our time only. Socrates railed against the sophists and the academic and political brigands. He crusaded agaist hypocricy And he had to drink
hemelok. III, We are, here, reminded of similar attempts made by eminent philosophers in the middle ages and in the modern period in the West to clear the cobwebs of thought for the sake of establishings the truth. Socrates aimed at defining terms. Some theologians in the middle ages sought to give the guide lines fo thought. But we should note that till the beginning of the era, philosophy was tied down to the apron strings of Aristotle's philosophy. One who deviated was condemned. There is a story of a serious attempt made by eminent philosophers to find out the number of teeth a horse has. They referred to the Classical texts and the books of Aristotle. But when a young scientist, imbued with the modern spirit of investigation, humbly suggested that a horse be brought to the Conference hall to count the teeth instead of pouring the ancient classical texts, the elderly scholars looked at him with surprise and derision, because "Aristotle never did that”.
It was against this type of stagnation of knowledge and academic slavery that Francis Bacon protested. He said that if we have to pursue truth, we have per force to be free ftom the follies arising out of the fallacies in thought and due to the purely deductive approach towards the seeking of truth.
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