Dr Jyotsna Bhattacharjee

From time immemorial the sages have preached the idea of the unity of mankind. Since a very long time there have been interactions among different parts and nations of the world — some positive and some negative. Despite all these interactions between different nations, it can be noticed that history in the past had been based on local civilization. The interactions among nations could not stop the devastating wars. Fortunately, in earlier times, these devastations were locally based and did not spread to other parts.
In spite of all these talks about “globalization”, we find that the civilizations around the world continue to be local in spirit. Hence the “clash of civilizations” has always existed. On the other hand, there is the threat of global devastation, which might challenge human survival, and on the other hand, humanity is stubbornly sharply divided even at this hour of global crisis.
If we try to find a cause or explanation for this kind of unfortunate situation, we might be bewildered by a multiplicity of causes. So we have to delve deeper into the problem. This kind of exploration at a deeper level might lead us to a broader perspective to human deadlock. Some special features of human nature have combined with some material factors to produce the sickness in contemporary society. Materialism causes much of the conflicts we see in society. Hence we have to carefully consider the material causes to find out how they are interrelated. In order to understand the crisis of our time, it is best to look at the human nature in an evolutionary perspective. Human nature is always thought of as comparatively stable. But social organizations are not stable and the changing forms of these organizations influence the mentality and the psychological attitude of human beings. These psychological tendencies might lead to unforeseen crisis.
It is necessary to note another thing. Human consciousness is not static — it is dynamic. It has stages of development. The concept of a fixed or static human consciousness is untenable. Human beings are essentially egocentric. As a primary factor of survival, man must protect his own body. The body exclusively belongs to one person and it cannot be shared by two persons. As a consequence, by protecting his own body he becomes self-centred out of physical compulsion.
In hedonistic ethics, happiness is measured for each individual. This hedonistic calculus was introduced by Bentham. He said: “Weigh pleasure and weigh pains, and as the balance stands, will stand the question of right and wrong.” An action is right if it gives pleasure or excess of pleasure over pain. An action is wrong if it gives pain or excess of pain over pleasure. Thus Bentham gave a purely hedonistic criteria of right and wrong: rightness consists in pleasurableness; wrongness consists in painfulness.
Moral philosophers make a distinction between happiness and pleasure. Pleasure has been considered as sensuous while happiness is something spiritual. But for the common people, happiness is indistinguishable from sensuous pleasure. This is the basis for materialistic ethics. It is usually believed that material things bring happiness to a person.
In earlier times, people were in the grip of supernatural powers. But with the advance of science and technology, human beings became free from the fear of supernatural forces. But it created new problems. The pleasure one gets from some particular thing diminishes considerably beyond a certain limit, when the same thing is consumed more and more. But of course one can avert such a situation by consuming a variety of luxury goods. However, as the conspicuous consumption of luxury goods increases, discontent also increases among a large number of economically backward sections, who cannot afford such luxury. An unequal competition for wealth undermines the basis of happy and healthy social relationship, and beyond a certain point luxury cannot compensate for the loss of a happy and genuine companionship. Bondage to luxury cripples the capacity to distinguish excitement from genuine happiness.
Some of the greatest philosophers have often emphasized that the path to genuine happiness lies not in the accumulation of more and more wealth, but in contributing to the welfare of all. At the present period, the message has acquired even greater relevance. To arrive at a satisfactory solution to the environmental crisis, for instance, it is essential to convince the people that they can lead a meaningful and happier life by giving up their materialistic lifestyle.
Man’s purpose in life at present has been largely determined by commerce and market economy. The leaders want economic and political power. They worship power, as common people worship God in religion. Because of this confusion between relative and absolute gain, conflicts and unhappiness arise. Hence to have ultimate happiness, it is imperative for man to go beyond the short-time gains and concentrate on the absolute good, which is attainable in this life itself. Spirituality is the only way to remove all conflicts and achieve eternal peace.

(The writer is a former HoD, Philosophy, Cotton College, Guwahati)