Bhikhu Parekh

Superb introduction to the life, work and thought of Mahatma Gandhi, covering a lot in 140 pages with considerable depth. Parekh starts with a brief overview of Gandhi's life, devotes most of the book to a variety of his ideas (human nature, our position in and relation to nature, cosmic spirit, views on modern society, industrialization, various forms of political government, social justice, to name a few) and how they shaped his activism and the practice of satyāgraha, and concludes with Gandhi's legacy and main strengths and weaknesses of his thought.

"Thanks to his passionate commitment to a non-violent vision of human life, Gandhi challenged conventional wisdom, broke through traditional categories of thought, stretched the boundaries of imagination in all areas of life, and opened up new philosophical and practical possibilities. Gandhi’s questions demand answers. And if we reject his answers, as we are bound to do in several cases, we need to provide alternative answers. He requires us to think afresh about things we have long taken for granted, and therein lies his greatest contribution and true originality."

I couldn't agree more.… (meer)

By an academic, for academics, using academic argument forms, and with an academics meanness of spirit. Although there's a lot to interest the general reader I had trouble getting past the formulaic "There are n theories of x; all are defective; n 1 is correct and is mine."

[a:Parekh|263768|Parekh|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] argues that conflicts between subcultures in a society are only resolved in circumstances that allow the cultures to argue according to their own logic, but then assumes throughout the existence of a vague transcendent realm of reason whereby claims can be adjudicated.

I'm reading [a:Kymlicka|17957|Will Kymlicka|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg] in search of better exposition.… (meer)