Papers by Ancy Eapen
God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murder... more God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood of us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement? What sacred games shall we have to invent?..Must we ourselves not become Gods simply to appear worthy of it ?-Friedrich Nietzsche These words appear in Book V of Friedrich Nietzsche's work The Gay Science that was published in 1882. However, the concept had appeared earlier in a novel written by Jean Paul Siebenkas in 1797, where he titled a chapter as: 'The Dead Christ Proclaims That There is No God.' Literary scholar George Steiner speaking at the American Academy of Arts and Science, in 1987, claimed that Nietzsche's formulation 'God is Dead' was indebted to the 'Dead Christ' dream-vision of Jean Paul. The phrase is also found in Victor Hugo's 1862 novel Les Misérables. Another German philosopher named Philipp Mainlander popularised the concept before Nietzsche. Famously known as a philosopher of pessimism, he believed life as a process of aging, sickness, and death. He gave to the world the terrifying idea that the world is simply the rotting corpse of God. God had decided to carry out a self-fragmentation by taking his own life, so that he could continually divide himself, that being the universe, into further fragments, until he was no more. Nietzsche's statement 'God is Dead' has been one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted quotes of the nineteenth-twentieth century. This German philosopher was himself brought up in a pious, orthodox, Christian home in Germany. Unlike what many thought, Nietzsche was not an atheist. During his childhood, he followed all the church traditions without questioning any. However, he suffered greatly from the strict morality of Christian upbringing, often validated through severe punishments. As a result, from a young age he was inclined towards the freedom of the spirit, rather than an enforced piety. Nietzsche's theory of the death of God was not a celebratory statement; on the other hand, what it implied was the absence of God in a world which was shifting towards science and materialism. Friedrich Nietzsche lived in Germany (1844-1900) in the nineteenth century a philosopher, classical scholar, critic, of the Enlightenment era who became one of the most influential of all modern thinkers. It was an age that was dominated by scientific discoveries, evolutionary theories, and rational thinking. This shift in thought process from traditional beliefs introduced a new way of thinking, beliefs and values. The European world became increasingly wealthier with its imperialist policies, and the people, increasingly materialistic and morally liberal. Nietzsche saw all around him the decadence of Christian values. Nietzsche's statement 'God id dead' apart from its literal meaning has also a metaphysical connotation. Nietzsche was making a metaphysical statement of a tragic historical event. Science, and rationality ruled the minds of modern Europe; it presented a serious crisis of existing moral values. In the new world of consumerism, wealth, comforts and pleasures no one thought about God or believed God existed in the midst of it all. As traditional value systems gave way like a crater, Nietzsche feared
The philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) influenced the ethos of the modern thinkers in ... more The philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) influenced the ethos of the modern thinkers in the world. The statement is often misunderstood as being an atheist dogma of the rational, scientific world. In this post modern era, it has gained more popularity; more so by rationalists and skeptics. This essay sets out to explain what the German philosopher meant when he made such a revolutionary statement. The article goes to prove with scientific researches conducted in recent years that 'God is not Dead'. The Creator has left his imprint in the DNA of every human being he creates.
Impact Journals, 2022
Literature emerges from within society. Edward Said has stated in his famous work, Culture and Im... more Literature emerges from within society. Edward Said has stated in his famous work, Culture and Imperialism, that literature is a cultural artefact of a particular region in a specific point of time and hence literary works cannot be 'antiseptically quarantined' from its context. Fiction as a genre, developed in mid-nineteenth century England. Although the genre has various sub-categories such as psychological, religious, industrial, proletariat and social, it is the social novels that becomes the matrix of where demography, culture, social institutions, and ideologies intersect. In the genre of fiction, culture, history, politics converge to create a work that becomes the 'cultural artefact' as mentioned by Said. This paper attempts to draw insights from select English novels to arrive at this conclusion.
Women, Nurturing Outlook and Ecology: Scholarly Essays by Prominent Critics: Theory and Practice , 1921
Abstract:
The view of biodiversity produced by dominant institutions such as the World Bank... more Abstract:
The view of biodiversity produced by dominant institutions such as the World Bank, World Conservation Union, World Resources Institute and World Wildlife Fund, and supported by G-7 countries is based on a particular representation of the “threats to biodiversity” which emphasize the loss of habitats, species introduction in alien habitats, and fragmentation due to habitat reduction. It fails to address the underlying causes, rather, it offers a set of prescriptions for the conservation and sustainable use of resources at the international, national and local levels; it suggests appropriate mechanisms for biodiversity management, including scientific research in methods of conservation. It also suggests the economic use of biodiversity resources, chiefly through intellectual property rights. This dominant discourse is being actively promoted from a variety of sites and through manifold academic, institutional, managerial, and political practices.
The discourse of biodiversity as resource management is linked to three discourses: conservation science, sustainable development, and benefits sharing, either through intellectual property rights or through other mechanisms. Although there is great variation in the positions taken by national governments in the Third World, it can be said that there is a Third World national perspective that, without questioning the global-centric discourse, seeks to negotiate the terms of biodiversity treaties and strategies. This article looks into the strategy adopted by the Third World countries in acknowledging the logic of diversity as a holistic ecology and a more enlightened science than the bio-imperialism of the global-centric perspective that advocates the logic of uniformity. The proposal for bio-democracy that ensues is articulated around a series of requirements that include: local control of natural resources, suspension of mega development projects and of subsidies to diversity-destroying- activities, support for practices based on the logic of diversity; redefinition of productivity and efficiency to reflect this logic; and recognition of the cultural basis of biological diversity. The research throws light on the contribution of women in ecological and biodiversity conservation. It gives insight into the close interaction of women with nature that has been prevalent from olden times and which remained unacknowledged, sometimes ignored by patriarchy.
Keywords: biodiversity, politics of ecology, women, and environment.
www.capecomorinjournal.org, 2021
Abstract
The term ‘historiography’ first us... more Abstract
The term ‘historiography’ first used by the historian Hayden White is a popular term today to refer to a novel way of reading history through ahistorical documents such as literature, art, oral tradition, folksongs, etc. Rushdie’s novel The Moor’s Last Sigh is woven around two families, two countries and two regions. Although the Gama and Zogoiby families are settled in Cochin, their ancestry is elsewhere. Through the story of Gama-Zogoiby families, the novelists depicts the history of the earliest diaspora- Jews, from Spain who landed in India somewhere around 600 CE. The protagonist is Moraes Zogoiby, who is also called the ‘Moor’. The title of the novel is a famous painting that was the creation of his mother. Through this strand of the plot, Rushdie gives ample material on the history and politics in India from the early times down to the 1980s.Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea, is a prequel to Charlotte Bronte’s novel of the Victorian era: Jane Eyre. The story of Bertha, Rochester’s wife who is seen as being mentally challenged in Bronte’s novel, is brought alive in the Caribbean island in Rhys’ novel, as Antionette, a child of English parents settled in Jamaica. Hence the latter is a meta-fiction of the former. Rhys’ intention is to expose the imperialist ideology of the Victorians and to depict the history of reverse colonialism that happened in the islands after the Proclamation Bill gave freedom to the Black slaves who worked for the white plantation owners.
An International Multidisciplinary Double Bind Peer- Reviewed Research Journal, 2022
Literature emerges from within society and is a product of time and region. Edward Said has state... more Literature emerges from within society and is a product of time and region. Edward Said has stated in his famous work, Culture and Imperialism, that literature is a cultural artefact of a particular region in a specific point of time and hence literary works cannot be 'antiseptically quarantined' from its context. Fiction as a genre, developed in mid-nineteenth century England. Although the genre has various sub-categories such as psychological, religious, industrial, proletariat and social, it is the social novels that becomes the matrix of social institutions and its ideologies. In this category of fiction, culture, history, politics converge to create a work of fiction that becomes the 'cultural artefact' mentioned by Said. The paper will draw insights from select English novels to arrive at this conclusion.
Transstellar Journal Publications and Research Consultancy Private Limited (TJPRC)
The term 'diaspora' was first used for the dispersal of Jews from their homeland through the Assy... more The term 'diaspora' was first used for the dispersal of Jews from their homeland through the Assyrian exile in 733 BCE and again with the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah by Sargon II. The Babylonian captivity of the Jews from Judah in 597 BCE, followed by the Neo-Babylonian Empire, under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar II, in 586 BCE further scattered the Jewish population. Though the Babylonian exile ended and some of the population returned to their native land, by the middle of the first century CE, the Judean population revolted against the Roman Empire in 66 CE, in the First Jewish-Roman War, resulting in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. During the siege, the Romans destroyed the Second temple and most of Jerusalem. This had a major impact on the Semitic race. The Temple at Jerusalem was the center of their religion and identity. After the destruction of the Second Temple, many of them decided to formulate a new self-definition. The prospect of an indefinite period of displacement from their homeland resulted in the Jewish diaspora. The term has a Greek etymology meaning 'dispersal' and this was used to describe the new status of the Jews, who left their land, to settle in other countries.
Teaching Documents by Ancy Eapen
Stoppard's play is a fine specimen of meta-theatre, as it is baseon the two characters created by... more Stoppard's play is a fine specimen of meta-theatre, as it is baseon the two characters created by Shakespeare in his tragedy Hamlet .Meta-theatre refers to a drama within a drama. For instance
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Papers by Ancy Eapen
The view of biodiversity produced by dominant institutions such as the World Bank, World Conservation Union, World Resources Institute and World Wildlife Fund, and supported by G-7 countries is based on a particular representation of the “threats to biodiversity” which emphasize the loss of habitats, species introduction in alien habitats, and fragmentation due to habitat reduction. It fails to address the underlying causes, rather, it offers a set of prescriptions for the conservation and sustainable use of resources at the international, national and local levels; it suggests appropriate mechanisms for biodiversity management, including scientific research in methods of conservation. It also suggests the economic use of biodiversity resources, chiefly through intellectual property rights. This dominant discourse is being actively promoted from a variety of sites and through manifold academic, institutional, managerial, and political practices.
The discourse of biodiversity as resource management is linked to three discourses: conservation science, sustainable development, and benefits sharing, either through intellectual property rights or through other mechanisms. Although there is great variation in the positions taken by national governments in the Third World, it can be said that there is a Third World national perspective that, without questioning the global-centric discourse, seeks to negotiate the terms of biodiversity treaties and strategies. This article looks into the strategy adopted by the Third World countries in acknowledging the logic of diversity as a holistic ecology and a more enlightened science than the bio-imperialism of the global-centric perspective that advocates the logic of uniformity. The proposal for bio-democracy that ensues is articulated around a series of requirements that include: local control of natural resources, suspension of mega development projects and of subsidies to diversity-destroying- activities, support for practices based on the logic of diversity; redefinition of productivity and efficiency to reflect this logic; and recognition of the cultural basis of biological diversity. The research throws light on the contribution of women in ecological and biodiversity conservation. It gives insight into the close interaction of women with nature that has been prevalent from olden times and which remained unacknowledged, sometimes ignored by patriarchy.
Keywords: biodiversity, politics of ecology, women, and environment.
The term ‘historiography’ first used by the historian Hayden White is a popular term today to refer to a novel way of reading history through ahistorical documents such as literature, art, oral tradition, folksongs, etc. Rushdie’s novel The Moor’s Last Sigh is woven around two families, two countries and two regions. Although the Gama and Zogoiby families are settled in Cochin, their ancestry is elsewhere. Through the story of Gama-Zogoiby families, the novelists depicts the history of the earliest diaspora- Jews, from Spain who landed in India somewhere around 600 CE. The protagonist is Moraes Zogoiby, who is also called the ‘Moor’. The title of the novel is a famous painting that was the creation of his mother. Through this strand of the plot, Rushdie gives ample material on the history and politics in India from the early times down to the 1980s.Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea, is a prequel to Charlotte Bronte’s novel of the Victorian era: Jane Eyre. The story of Bertha, Rochester’s wife who is seen as being mentally challenged in Bronte’s novel, is brought alive in the Caribbean island in Rhys’ novel, as Antionette, a child of English parents settled in Jamaica. Hence the latter is a meta-fiction of the former. Rhys’ intention is to expose the imperialist ideology of the Victorians and to depict the history of reverse colonialism that happened in the islands after the Proclamation Bill gave freedom to the Black slaves who worked for the white plantation owners.
Teaching Documents by Ancy Eapen
The view of biodiversity produced by dominant institutions such as the World Bank, World Conservation Union, World Resources Institute and World Wildlife Fund, and supported by G-7 countries is based on a particular representation of the “threats to biodiversity” which emphasize the loss of habitats, species introduction in alien habitats, and fragmentation due to habitat reduction. It fails to address the underlying causes, rather, it offers a set of prescriptions for the conservation and sustainable use of resources at the international, national and local levels; it suggests appropriate mechanisms for biodiversity management, including scientific research in methods of conservation. It also suggests the economic use of biodiversity resources, chiefly through intellectual property rights. This dominant discourse is being actively promoted from a variety of sites and through manifold academic, institutional, managerial, and political practices.
The discourse of biodiversity as resource management is linked to three discourses: conservation science, sustainable development, and benefits sharing, either through intellectual property rights or through other mechanisms. Although there is great variation in the positions taken by national governments in the Third World, it can be said that there is a Third World national perspective that, without questioning the global-centric discourse, seeks to negotiate the terms of biodiversity treaties and strategies. This article looks into the strategy adopted by the Third World countries in acknowledging the logic of diversity as a holistic ecology and a more enlightened science than the bio-imperialism of the global-centric perspective that advocates the logic of uniformity. The proposal for bio-democracy that ensues is articulated around a series of requirements that include: local control of natural resources, suspension of mega development projects and of subsidies to diversity-destroying- activities, support for practices based on the logic of diversity; redefinition of productivity and efficiency to reflect this logic; and recognition of the cultural basis of biological diversity. The research throws light on the contribution of women in ecological and biodiversity conservation. It gives insight into the close interaction of women with nature that has been prevalent from olden times and which remained unacknowledged, sometimes ignored by patriarchy.
Keywords: biodiversity, politics of ecology, women, and environment.
The term ‘historiography’ first used by the historian Hayden White is a popular term today to refer to a novel way of reading history through ahistorical documents such as literature, art, oral tradition, folksongs, etc. Rushdie’s novel The Moor’s Last Sigh is woven around two families, two countries and two regions. Although the Gama and Zogoiby families are settled in Cochin, their ancestry is elsewhere. Through the story of Gama-Zogoiby families, the novelists depicts the history of the earliest diaspora- Jews, from Spain who landed in India somewhere around 600 CE. The protagonist is Moraes Zogoiby, who is also called the ‘Moor’. The title of the novel is a famous painting that was the creation of his mother. Through this strand of the plot, Rushdie gives ample material on the history and politics in India from the early times down to the 1980s.Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea, is a prequel to Charlotte Bronte’s novel of the Victorian era: Jane Eyre. The story of Bertha, Rochester’s wife who is seen as being mentally challenged in Bronte’s novel, is brought alive in the Caribbean island in Rhys’ novel, as Antionette, a child of English parents settled in Jamaica. Hence the latter is a meta-fiction of the former. Rhys’ intention is to expose the imperialist ideology of the Victorians and to depict the history of reverse colonialism that happened in the islands after the Proclamation Bill gave freedom to the Black slaves who worked for the white plantation owners.