Q1 of 12 Page 179

Sen quotes Eliot’s lines: ‘Not fare well/But fare forward voyagers’. Distinguish between ‘faring forward’ (Krishna’s position in the Gita) and ‘faring well’ (the position that Sen advocates).

Krishna advocated that one shouldn’t care about the consequences when carrying out one’s duty, as long as the cause is just. This is in contrast to what Sen suggests. Sen advocates ‘faring well’ and questions the idea of not caring for consequences of what we consider, to be our duty. He also says that in the present world of terrorism, wars, and violence, Arjuna’s line of questioning should also be considered along with Krishna’s teachings.


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2

Sen draws a parallel between the moral dilemma in the Krishna-Arjuna dialogue and J. R. Oppenheimer’s response to the nuclear explosion in 1945. What is the basis for this?

 1

Maitreyi’s remark— ‘what should I do with that by which I do not become immortal’—is a rhetorical question cited to illustrate both the nature of the human predicament and the limitations of the material world. What is the connection that Sen draws between this and his concept of economic development?

 2

It is important to see that the Indian argumentative tradition has frequently crossed the barriers of gender, caste, class, and community. List the examples cited by Sen to highlight this.

 1

What is a Sen’s interpretation of the positions taken by Krishna and Arjuna in the debate between them?