Ecology, Culture and Philosophy is an important collection of essays that illustrate the continuing validity and relevance of the system of metaphysics developed by Basanta Kumar Mallik, one of the great 20th century Indian thinkers. One of the contributors unravels issues in ecology, and discusses how radically new ways of thinking can offer a way out of the crisis of the modern industrial system which threatens the survival of the human species. Another study attempts to see the conjection of musical development and cultural values in relation to both tradition and modern human experience. Yet another essay examines the domain of philosophical enquiry and develops a new perspective on the relationship between ideas and patterns of thought. Central of Mallik’s thinking were problems of peace and human survival. This collection focuses on the new Weltanschauung of Mallik and makes his philosophical work accessible to the general reader by providing explications of key concepts. Drawing on Mallik’s wider vision of a more humane future, the contributors consider fresh and more harmonious ways of thinking about how we can relate to our environment, and how we can creatively overcome the threats to cultural values. The result is a volume which makes us see our current crisis against a horizon of possibilities ensuring human survival if new ways of thinking can be come prevalent.
