• ISBN13: 9780190130541
• Binding: Hardcover
• Subject: History
• Publisher: Oxford UP
• Publisher Imprint: Oxford UP
• Publication Date: March 16, 2021
• Pages: 136
• Original Price: INR 995.0
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 288 grams

About the Book In today's global climate of pre-packaged opinions, every effort of original thinking is an act of dissent. To think radically today is to be a heretic: committing 'heresy' not in its theological sense, but in relation to its ancient Greek roots, which means 'choice'. With the rise of the post-industrial global village dominated by media networks and technology-led communication, the 'epidemic of conformism' has completely paralysed intellectuals' ability to question. It has now become critical to examine the central role of heresy in the formation of critical thinking and anti-dogmatism. Since the time of Socrates to the present, public intellectuals have aligned themselves with the heretical imperative by questioning organized power and opened up social, political, economic, and cultural life to public scrutiny and accountability. This effort is described in this volume through the self-examined lives of philosophers such as Socrates and José Ortega y Gasset, Albert Camus, and Yukio Mishima. They serve to elaborate the context of the author's bold claim that B.R. Ambedkar, the central character of the author's research, is the boldest heretic in Indian political history. About the Author Ramin Jahanbegloo</b> is a political philosopher, and presently the executive director of the Mahatma Gandhi Center for Peace Studies and the vice dean of the Jindal Global Law School at O.P. Jindal Global University, India.