Cultural Understanding Everywhere (CUE) – a new perspective

Today’s world is evidently under a severe strain, not only financially and politically – aspects that tend to draw the utmost attention – but also ethically, as ethics relates to the deep level on-goings of the human mind, on the journey to peace and harmony underpinning a true satisfaction and well-being of the individual in society. Here is the need to have a fresh look at the prevailing ways of addressing the existing problems; ways, which have, paradoxically enough, been instrumental in their turn to giving rise to the problems to start with.

To be sure, we are not pleading for one of the existing ‘isms’ as opposed to the other, or one prevailing political theory to the exclusion of another. Here we are aiming at a thorough overhaul of the human thinking process, in tune with the inspirational call from Bernard Williams to go back to ‘very old philosophies’ that ‘may have more to offer than moderately new ones’. Unlike Williams, however, CUE will prefer not to limit the search for clues from the past to resources in the old Greek system. We will go further back in history to the Indic system for the ideas and support needed for building a proper ethical structure suitable for the day.

The world today is in profound unrest, rife with geo-political, economic and religious conflict at several fronts. Corruption at various levels of government and society –  in the West as well as the East –, violence, psychological instability and environmental calamity loom large around us. Frequent repeats of  unprovoked massacres in public places aimed at innocent people is common news all over the world. The financial crisis of 2008, following on the heels of the Enron debacle in 2001, have thrust the global economy into turmoil. These events and their aftermath have been triggered by unchecked greed that defied legal measures. Continued world-wide violence, too, fails to be managed by security strategies, as we can see.

The ruling systems of psychology by and large question the traditionally accepted nature of the human being, and base it on a mechanistic model where freedom is reduced to the freedom of choice, as choice is shaped by the provocations and demands of the senses. Here the concept of human rights takes centre-stage while well-being is understood in terms of satisfying greed, selfishness and related states. No wonder, the situation is exploited by the business world through advertising techniques underpinned by an enthusiasm to safeguard the freedom of choice of people relating to the areas of sensual pleasure and material accumulation.

Ethical issues that attract considerable attention today include those based around sexuality and gender. Although these do have ethical importance in their own right, what is typically found missing is any discussion on the ethics of the state of human freedom in peace and joy – relating to an inner harmony that flows out onto building a harmony outside – away from our exclusive mooring in the demands of the senses. Perhaps the issues, influenced as they are by the politics of identity, could be addressed in a more sustainable and satisfying perspective in the deeper view of human freedom, which the modern civilization neglects.

The perspective is present in history in the traditional, secular thinking in India where ethics is not based on divine dictates, and is compatible with science, even though not reducible to it.

On this site CUE will explore practical solutions to problems connected to the ills of the modern civilization to which we all have fallen prey. Ours is not a religious attempt, as religion is understood in the western world. The academic angle indeed is the guiding mark of our approach.

We look forward to sharing thoughts with you.

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