Would you rather be virtuous or happy?

The quest for a happy life engrosses every human being. But every- one tends to define happiness in a distinctly individualistic fashion. Philosophers and thinkers have attempted to define a happy life. The Hedonists have a simple notion that happiness consists in the gratification of physical appetites. There are others who believe that happiness is attainable through the acquisition of material goods. The more intellectually inclined tend to think that happiness lies in the pursuit of literature, arts and philosophical thoughts. Emotional satisfaction which is to be found in human relations - love for one's parents, wife, children, etc., and friendship - also gives one happiness. To R. G. Ingersoll, "Happiness is the only good", but to Shelley it is something elusive; he sings:



Ye seek for happiness - alas, the day!

Ye find it not in luxury, nor in gold,

Nor in fame, nor in the envied sway ...

The definitions are varied, But all of them suggest that happiness is a state of mind and that different people derive happiness in different ways. To some it is physical gratification or emotional satisfaction; to many it is intellectual. There are many who believe in the saying, "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die". But the be-all and end-all of life does not consist in eating and drinking and that happiness cannot be derived from these two elemental activities. There are also people whose mental make-up is such that they derive a lot of happiness if they arouse jealousy in others and 'feed fat' the grudge and hatred they have against their enemies.

One would wish to be happy and at the same time be virtuous. One need not make a choice between being happy and being virtuous. That is to say, one would like to lead a virtuous life that would give happiness too. No one can be perfectly happy. Life is a mixture of joys and sorrows. There is the fact of the existence of suffering too. Unhappiness or pain accompanies the experiences of birth, illness, failure to satisfy desires, separation from friends and loved ones, old age and death. Even the more fortunate are unable to ward off old age and death. This is a basic truth about life which is mentioned in all the religions of the world. The Buddhist philosophy speaks of suffering as a universal problem of life in a world that is finite and changing. A second truth which Buddhism upholds is that suffering is caused by desires or cravings. These desires tend to grow or increase as we attempt to satisfy them. A man wants ten thousand dollars, then he wants a hundred thousand, then a million, and his wants do not cease. This kind of desire is the real cause of unhappiness, but it is encouraging to know that it is within our control, and that something can be done about it. If men rise above desires and ally themselves with values to which these desires are irrelevant, they may find a serenity unaffected by any of the calamities that befall them.
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"No one in his senses would choose to have been born in a previous age. "Do you agree?

What does the statement, "No one in his senses would choose to have been born in a previous age", imply? It implies that the previous age was dull in comparison with the present age and that the thrill and excitement of living in the present age would not have been there in the previous age. By the present age we mean the twentieth century, especially the second half of the century. What has made this period so thrilling and exciting? What did the previous age lack in comparison with the present?

Till the Industrial Revolution the previous age must have been pretty drab and dull. Our forefathers did not have the benefits of fast-moving vehicles like the airplane, the car or train. The benefit of electricity and its uses was also not there. People brave and adventurous as they were - moved from place to place by bullock carts and sailing boats; for light they had to depend on lamps and candles. Their knowledge about the world was limited.

But since the second half of the nineteenth century there has been and explosion of scientific knowledge; there has also been an explosion in technical education, which A. N. Whitehead describes as "the greatest invention of the nineteenth century - invention of the method of invention". Interaction between science and technology has greatly accelerated the pace of technological development. The scientist has furnished the technologist with basic information and experimental proofs and the technologist has come up with new techniques and precision instruments such as the computer.

There has in other words been a technological revolution. Since the Second World War, the progressive miniaturisation of components such as transistors and of electrical circuits has revolutionised communications. It has facilitated the design of compact computers, and the expansion of cybernetics and automation. Miniaturisation has made possible not only intercontinental ballistic missiles, but also the space programmes of the superpowers which provide satellites for the transmission of radio and television signals and for surveying the earth's resources.
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"A civil government, even a weak one, is anytime preferable to a strong military government. "Do you agree?

Governments are necessary; without governments there will only be chaos. This is why Thomas Paine says, "Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil." Paine in his writings pleads for the rights of man; he knows that any government will have restrictions imposed on the citizens' exercise of absolute rights in the interest of order, harmony and peace in society. Even the best of governments will have to do this. Curbing the rights of man, according to Paine, is an evil. But since governments are a necessary evil, they should be tolerable ones. Paine is convinced that "in its worst state" government is "an intolerable one".

Which form of government is the most tolerable? In the modem world monarchies have practically ceased to exist, even in the states where the heads of states are monarchs. Great Britain has a monarch, but the monarch is only a figure-head, and the country is one of the strongest democracies in the world. Nepal, a state ruled by a monarch, has also a form of democratic government. Today people all over the world clamour for democracy; this is most pronounced in states that have been under single-party (mainly Communist) rule. The modem world sees in democracy the most tolerable form of government. This is because it knows that "no man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent."

There are three basic types of government seen in the world today. These are the Western-style democracies, the people's democracies, and military dictatorships. The Western-style democracy may be called 'liberal democracy'; it is found throughout western Europe, in North America, Australia, New Zealand, India, Israel, etc. People's democracies are modelled on the former U.S.S.R. government, and constitute single-party rule. Under the people's democracy, the government is all-powerful and is a form of dictatorship. Military dictatorships - which are the worst form of government - have come into being in some of the Third World countries where the fragility of governments could not resist the might of the military craving for power.
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Arts have an important place in modern society; in fact, these have had a great influence on his existence right from the dawn of civilization. While man generally concerns himself with the bare necessities for survival, he has never considered the mere continuation of existence a sufficient goal. Man is in part a creature who thinks and decides, but he is perhaps primarily a being with feeling, with a wide range of responses. His emotional reactions and feelings need to be cultivated and refined along with his thoughts, if he is to become mature. These reactions and feelings belong to the realm of aesthetic experience. It is man's aesthetic sense that enables him to make judgements, favourable or unfavourable, on artistic works, that is, on what he hears, sees, and reads. Aesthetics holds surprises and insights for the inquiring mind. Beauty in some form is recognised by men everywhere.

How are aesthetic experience, beauty, and the arts related? Aesthetic experiences are basic and fundamental to art, and that which does not have aesthetic value cannot be termed art. That is to say, the arts express beauty which is satisfying to our senses. In much contemporary as well as traditional aesthetic theory, art is what is beautiful, and what is not beautiful is not art.

Definitions of beauty are many and varied. It has been defined as 'truth', 'the expression of an ideal', 'harmony in diversity', and 'an intrinsic quality of things themselves'. The modem trend in the interpretation of art, however, is not in full agreement with the traditional identification of art exclusively with beauty. If an artist is endeavouring to give certain experiential qualities in an artistic form, then he must be free to express the ugly as well as the beautiful.

According to modern interpretation, the artist portrays things as he 'sees' them, and so in many instances he must express the misery and the injustice, the ugliness and brutality, which are part of his vision of life. Some works of art are not beautiful, and some beautiful things like landscapes are not works of art. The possession of beauty, however, may be taken as the criterion of art that is likely to continue to appeal to man.

The purpose of art, all agree, is to bring immediate pleasure and satisfaction by revealing certain experiential elements of reality; it can also fortify us in various ways to meet the practical demands of life. Aesthetic response to music, for example, may be therapeutic. It may stimulate or soothe us; it may change the rate of the heartbeat, ease digestion, or affect other bodily processes. Aesthetic experience may help renew our spirits, exciting us and giving us courage and enthusiasm for some strenuous task. The power of aesthetic experience in its different forms to create various moods, from patience to a spirit of sacrifice, is well known.

Aesthetic experience and response may help create a social bond between diverse individuals and groups by arousing sympathy, developing understanding, and producing a desire for harmonious relationships. The presence of beauty, whether in nature or in art objects, tends to make our lives qualitatively richer
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Discuss the meaning and importance of freedom in the light of this quotation.

Every animal including man is born free. All animals in their natural state, except man who is precluded by civilization to be in his natural state, are free. Some animals lose their freedom only because of man's needs and deeds. The world is 'open' and not 'closed' in its natural state; every animal - man is not exempted - desires novelty, spontaneity and genuine creativity, which are the hallmarks of freedom.

Man, though born free like other animals, is in chain everywhere. This is because of the restrictions and restraints which he imposes on himself and which are imposed on him by others. For example, no one is expected to appear naked in public in the name of freedom. There are social norms to be followed. Different occasions demand different customs. Man, living in a society, has to follow certain customs, conventions and traditions in the interest of harmonious existence; he cannot take the stand that he is absolutely free and that he can do things in his own way.

Man, in the process of his change from primitive tribalism to civilized existence, has chained himself more and more to rules and regulations. Unlike other living creatures, he is capable of thinking and is intelligent to devise ways and means of exploiting his fellowmen. This exploitation leads to his keeping them subdued and enslaved. Imperialism in the past and neo-colonialism and neo-imperialism today have only been instruments of suppressing the aspirations for freedom of the exploited. A classic example of suppression in the modern world is witnessed in the policy of apartheid and racial discrimination practised in South Africa.
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What is healthy eating?

Paradoxically, while people in some parts of the world are over-fed, there are millions in other parts that are under-fed. One group needs to watch their diet while the other has to struggle for one square meal a day. Nutrition is the business of all, whether the over-fed or the under-fed. Healthy eating ensures healthy living. And a healthy man is a happy man, and the reverse may not be true.

Our ancestors ate what was available. Many foods available to them were obtained for short seasonal periods. Today we eat what we like, and eating has become a fashion and a hobby. We suffer from gourmet's diseases, and, generally speaking, we are aware of the consequences of unhealthy eating, i.e., eating what we like to eat and not what we need to eat. The human body may be likened to a machine made up; of many component parts working together to perform different functions. Healthy eating consists in eating food items that contain essential nutrients to ensure the proper functioning of this human machine. Over-eating can disrupt the functions while under-eating can impair them. We have heard of famine-stricken countries where people suffer because of the lack of calories. Their struggle is to have sufficient food.

In affluent countries the problem is one of imbalance - too much in the way of calories and the lack of specific vitamins and minerals. Healthy eating ensures a balanced diet. What the human body requires for its proper functioning are essential nutrients that include protein, fats carbohydrates, water, vitamins and minerals. The shortage of one of these leads to malfunctioning; extreme deficiency of nutrients can result in death. Vitamin C deficiency leads to easy bruising and bleeding from the gums and vitamin D is required for healthy teeth and bones. Vitamin B complex deficiency can impair the production of energy and the break- down or formation of proteins, carbohydrates and fats in the body, often causing anaemia. It is said that without vitamins to add to our mineral framework we would all be like exhibits in museums.

Fats are a source of our energy. Polyunsaturated fats not only provide calories but also help the biochemical reactions in the body. Essential fatty acids are vital for healthy living. Saturated fats with which cholesterol is associated are often the cause of heart disease. Apart from their energy-related roles, fats help in the building of body tissues. The internally stored fat provides extra energy. Subcutaneous layers of fat, those under the skin, insulate the body. Moderate deposits of fats cushion internal organs like the liver and kidneys. But food high in fats can be harmful and high fat diets are linked not only to obesity but also to heart disease. To eat healthily one must control the fat intake, particularly if the life-style is inactive.
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Is space exploration worthwhile?

The explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 26, 1986 and the subsequent disasters spread gloom across the world. There was the need to look into the future and consider if astronauts be sent up in future and what should be the goals. Is space exploration worthwhile? There are compelling reasons why we should continue to go into space and explore it. The possible spin-off is real.

Temporary setbacks should not deter the space program. There cannot be unimpeded advance in any field of human endeavour. The fact that man has achieved outstanding success in space exploration is sufficient reason why the program should be continued, and the nature of the success achieved so far justifies space exploration. In 1957 the Russians launched Sputnik into space, followed a month later by the launching of the first animal, the dog Laika, into space. In January 1959 the Russians successfully flew Luna I past the moon. Two months after, the American Pioneer 4 flew by the moon. Though the Ranger missions missed their target and the first Apollo spacecraft, sitting on the ground, caught fire, the space program had taken off. On July 20, 1969 Americans, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon while Michael Collins orbited around it. The space program achieved spectacular success in July 1975 when the Apollo astronauts linked up in orbit with two Russian cosmonauts. Explorations by nature are hazardous; people have always died. Setbacks are the price we pay for advances.

One of the main considerations for going into space is to take advantage of its resources. There are staggering quantities of minerals for the taking - minerals on the Moon, in the asteroid belt and on other planets. There are the resources of vacuum, solar power and zero gravity. We have now communications satellites and they have linked up the world, and our planet has become talkative. There are asteroids to tap for minerals. Of the more than 2,000 of these flying mountains that revolve round the sun many are made up of pure nickel-iron alloy. There are those asteroids containing carbon compounds. Apart from availing ourselves of these metals, other spin-offs are possible. Asteroids may contain clues to the mystery of the formation of planets. These carbonaceous asteroids are to provide resources for making oil, synthetics and even food.

Space exploration is worthwhile for another reason: to satisfy our instinctive urge to explore. Throughout time man has expanded by exploring unknown regions. Exploration led to the discovery of the New World and the arrival of Europeans in the Indies, and these explorations have had dramatic consequences. Explorations thrill scientists and space buffs; the benefits are shared by the whole world, and the urge to explore is satisfied, only to be aroused again. Contacts yet to be established will be beneficial. Wealth and enlightenment are to follow. Let us hope that the success of future exploration will not lead to exploitation of any kind.
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'The shrinking earth'. What are the main ecological threats responsible for this in the Third World?'

While the world shrinks owing to modem means of communication and transport, the land available for our habitation also shrinks, posing a problem which, if not attended to now, can threaten food production. Agricultural land is disappearing fast and soil is being eroded or exhausted. Deserts are marching and forests are disappearing. The world, particularly the Third World, is being threatened with food shortage and over-population and the ills associated with these.

Many areas are in danger of desertification. The Sahara in about ten years has moved south by 100 kilometres. The Thar desert in Rajasthan in India is marching at the rate of half a mile a year. Deserts have eaten into the Horn of Africa and much of the south-west of the continent, and they are moving without interruption. It is said that an area bigger than Great Britain is disappearing every year. All this means that previous agricultural land is being turned to desert. Soil is being eroded, exhausted or blown away. It is believed that if the present trend continues there would be very little farm land per person by the year 2000.

The chief agent of this depletion is man who is indifferent to the sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems. Land is laid waste by the impact of his activities. As population increases, cultivation is pushed to new areas, thereby accelerating the process of depletion of arable land. Pastoral nomads and their cattle are other agents of this destruction. The land system cannot maintain these animals and it breaks down under severe strain. This means that the animals of the pastoral nomads eat vegetation far more quickly than the earth can regenerate it.

Another factor responsible for this shrinking is deforestation. It has . been estimated that half the forest area in developing countries has been denuded between 1900 and 1965 for cultivation purposes. It is feared that, if Brazil's forests are cleared at the prevailing rate of 62,500 square miles a year, the Amazon forest will be soon destroyed, thereby depriving us of a quarter of the world's oxygen supplies. A report of the Food and Agriculture Organization says that 86% of wood cut in developing countries is burnt as fuel. Deforestation decays the soil and reduces its capacity to feed and employ people. It also reduces rain, thereby causing droughts. The rain that falls in the area runs off to rivers, taking with it the top soil suitable for cultivation. This process can result in the silting of rivers which in turn can affect the irrigation system. The long-term effect of deforestation is desertification. It is said that in Java only 12% of the island has now tree cover. The Indonesian government has reacted to the problem by reforesting and outlawing shifting cultivation. I'll fares the land where denudation is indiscriminately practised.
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What is the relationship between freedom, rights and duties?

Freedom is a nebulous, abstract concept It admits of different and conflicting interpretations. The concept is nevertheless the very essence of human existence; for the exercise of an individual's freedom may result in the subjugation of another. Freedom or the exercise of it can degenerate into licence or tyranny.

Freedom, according to some, is the absence of social control. Thoreu, for instance, believes that the best government is the least government'. He nevertheless admits the necessity of some government. There are, however, others who denounce all forms of social control; they may be described as anarchists. According to them `freedom' is unlimited. They little realise that anarchic freedom will lead to chaos and that the law of the survival of the fittest will prevail. This will result in a primitive situation where the strong are free and the weak are enslaved.

There are, on the other hand, many who view unlimited individual freedom with suspicion. They believe that any deviation from the restrictions imposed on the individual will shake the foundations of a stable society. But they little realise the fact that lack of individual freedom will take away all initiative from the individual resulting in the society remaining static instead of being dynamic.

Neither anarchic freedom nor total denial of freedom is good to society; the first leads to chaos and disorder; the second results in a static society which will ultimately collapse under the deadweight of its own rigidity. In either case it is evident that freedom is a social concept; even though it is the individual that exercises freedom or that is denied freedom, the consequences are inevitably social in nature.

C.E.M. Joad compares man's situation to that of a pack of porcupines huddling together with a felt wrapping around each one of them so that their quills will not hurt one another. That is to say, freedom is to be exercised by individuals within the limits of the law; the law brings into effect social control. Lack of social control and unlimited exercise of freedom result in the actions of one proving uncomfortable for another. On the other hand, if there is too much of social control, individual freedom is denied, and there is stagnation all around. Individual freedom, therefore, has to be exercised in such a way that the rights of others are not trampled upon.

Man requires a high degree of integrity and social consciousness for the proper and legitimate exercise of his freedom. In The Fear of Freedom Erich Fromm argues that a low level of social consciousness makes man misuse his freedom by either oppressing his fellowmen or by running away from the exercise of freedom.
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"Man's economic and social activities have always. been conditioned by his physical geographical environment. " Discuss this statement.

It is very difficult to say exactly what is covered by the term 'economic and social activities'. The term has to be understood in the context of man's economic activities and of his social activities. That is to say, though economic activities and social activities impinge on each other and are interconnected, those two types of activities have to be considered separately for the purpose of discussing whether they have always been conditioned by the physical geographical environment.

The term 'economics' is derived from the Greek oikwnene - 'household' - and every housewife performs an economic act when she decides how to spend her family budget. Even Robinson Crusoe on his desert island had to allocate his time between fishing, planting crops, or building his house and how to ration the limited supplies he had salvaged from his ship. Robinson Crusoe, however, lived in a very simple economy. Until Man Friday appeared, he had to do everything himself. Today economic activity is specialised and co-ordinated through markets in all but the subsistence economies in the least developed parts of the Third World where families grow their food and make what else they need.

In economic terms a market is not only a particular place where people buy and sell, such as a fish or fruit market, but also includes all those who are in contact with sellers and buyers of particular goods and services and can bring them together.

What is important to note is that any economic activity aims at production of wealth to meet man's needs. In his primitive days man hunted and found food for himself; food to him was wealth, and that was what he needed. He depended on his environment for the kind of animals he could hunt for food. Later, when man began to till the soil, he cultivated only those plants that the soil of the region in which he lived was suitable for. So, he grew rice, wheat or other cereals, depending on the nature of the soil where he pursued his agricultural activity.

As years passed by he found that certain items which he did not have he would be able to get from other places through a system of barter. That is to say, his economic activity got linked with the economic activity of people from other regions because of the scarcity of certain items he was in need of. The barter system gave way to selling and buying for money.
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How could a scientist defend the view that science has failed mankind in view of the large number of problems created?

Science has created problems for mankind. Science is a blessing all right, but it is not an unmixed blessing. Science has made life easier and more comfortable. Science has made it possible for us to communicate with each other readily and quickly and it has made travel easy and fast. Machines have enabled man to save hours of manual labour. But science is responsible for the present-day arms race and the threat of nuclear war under which mankind exists today. In view of the threat of total annihilation of mankind posed by nuclear advancement, there is the fear that science has failed mankind. How can a scientist defend this view?

It is a fact that science has given us the spirit of objectivity and positivism that is necessary for the development of human knowledge. But it is also a fact that this spirit, when carried to unreasonable lengths in an unimaginative manner, militates against the original intentions. The scientific method thus becomes misused. The spirit of positivism is exaggerated to such lengths that anything that is not proved by crude laboratory experiments is dismissed as superstition. A complacent world believing in the creation of man by God was shaken when Darwin came out with his theory of evolution and the origin of the species. Science makes us forgot that there is "much in philosophy than dreamt of in heaven and on earth."

The scientist would say that the most diabolical use of science has been in the cause of promoting the baser human instincts and that it is politicians and statesmen who are to blame for this. Man uses science and technology for purposes of aggression; he uses the discoveries of science to win wars. In the past men used only bows and arrows and swords to fight with one another. But today thanks to science, he ha. at his disposal guns, planes, ships, submarines, missiles, etc. The race for weapons has led him to the discovery of nuclear weaponry. He can even carry on biological and chemical warfare. In the Vietnam War harmful bacteria were used among peasants to spread diseases. Chemicals were used to destroy acres of food crops. This is an instance of how scientific knowledge can be abused.

The monopolisation of knowledge and machines has led to the subjugation of one class by another and of a poorer nation by a richer nation. The mass-produced consumer items have captured the market, thanks to machines. This has resulted in the craftsmen and weavers going out of job.
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"Material progress is meaningless if it does not go hand in hand with moral and spiritual progress." Comment.

The word 'progress' generally unfolds before our mind's eye worldly achievements in terms of money, prosperity, physical comforts and amenities. Worldly achievements constitute our material progress. Usually every one of us aims at material progress - economic prosperity, professional success and more money accruing from it, etc. But is it enough that we achieve only material progress? Has material progress any meaning if it is not accompanied by our moral and spiritual progress?

Most of us crave for progress and work for it. But the kind of progress that we work for is only material progress and worldly success. We are over-enthusiastic about repeating spiritual slogans and doctrines, but are not keen on practising them. We pray to God, not for spiritual regeneration, but for worldly success. We are like Claudius in Hamlet; our souls remain below; our words go up. Our feet are on the rungs of the ladder of worldly success with our eyes turned upwards and with our mouths watering for the bunches of ripe grapes. Actually, our religious protestations, prayers and practices are only a means to an end; we seek God's intervention to help us in our worldly success - in our material progress. We do not pray for the betterment of our souls. We are down- right hypocrites even when we pray. We do not pause even for a moment and ask ourselves: "What does it matter if we gain the whole world but lose our souls?"

Material progress alone is not enough; it should go hand in hand with spiritual progress. Then only can we become developed, well-integrated individuals. As Carl Jung says: "Out of the fullness of life shall you bring forth your religion: only then will you be blessed."

It is not that material progress is not at all necessary; it is not that we should take to asceticism, austerity and poverty, and live like sages. We should achieve material progress; we should enjoy the fruits of science; affluence and prosperity should be achieved, and we should work for prosperity. But prosperity should not blind us to 'the fruit of the spirit'. Our prosperity should help us evolve ourselves into spiritually mature persons.
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