Colloquim - Dr. Dalmiya

April 27, 2:30pm - 4:30pm
Mānoa Campus, Sakamaki Hall C-308

Weeping Wisdom: Grief and Morality in the Mah脛聛bh脛聛rata芒鈧劉s 芒鈧淏ook of the Women芒鈧劉

The 芒鈧揃ook of the Women芒鈧 in the Sanskrit epic, the Mah脛聛bh脛聛rata, contains a graphic description of the devastation of war and of women wailing over dismembered corpses of dead warriors. My paper tries to make sense of this interlude of grief in a traditional and timeless narrative of valor doubling as a text of ethical instruction. Reading the laments of the women against the grain, I suggest that we find here a 芒鈧揹ifferent moral voice.芒鈧 I argue that, in this episode, the epic self-reflexively stages the 芒鈧渃onundrum芒鈧劉 or the absurdity of good people suffering undeserved, inexplicable plight. While conservative interpretations try to 芒鈧渁ccommodate芒鈧劉 this disruption of conventional intuitions about morality, the disorientation depicted in this scene holds clues for feminist moral theory in terms of intimacy and uncertainty. Overall, what I attempt here is an offbeat exploration of the philosophical import of grief in a cross-cultural context.


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Free

Event Sponsor
Philosophy, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Jenna Saito, (808) 956-8649, philo@hawaii.edu,

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