It's all Greek to me: Discussing Plato and Aristotle, FES launches philosophy school

The free nine-month programme will provide a forum for discourse on philosophy, history

HYDERABAD: Met by expressions of praise, apprehension and even criticism, German non-profit organisation Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) launched its school of modern history and philosophy at the Indus Hotel on Monday.

"Our education system is caged. It does not allow you to question anything," said author and philosopher Dr Ashfaq Salim Mirza. "This school's purpose is to enable you to question things such as religion, fundamentalism and entrenched social norms."

Over the course of its free nine-month programme, divided into 16 fortnightly sessions, the school, with a focus on Greek philosophy, will provide a forum for discourse about Greek history and historians, the evolution of philosophy, metaphysical and ontological approaches and the political awakening of Athens. The last four sessions will discuss Plato's idealism, Aristotle's metaphysics, logic and causation and post-Alexander Greece.



"We need to study the circumstances leading to the evolution of Greek philosophy, which was a precursor to development," said Mirza. "This exercise will help us to reflect upon our own history, identify problems and seek their solutions."

He agreed with Sindh University (SU) philosophy professor Dr Amar Sindhu that the subject could not be taught at universities. However, while Mirza believed that teachers were to blame because they discouraged queries, Sindhu accused the state of placing constraints upon knowledge.

Sindhu said that there was a subtle discouragement of the study for philosophy in Pakistan. "Socrates' crime was that he wanted to spread [the study of] philosophy," she remarked. "There is a similar opposition to the spread of this subject in our society as well. They do not want us to question religion or state policies."

She claimed that SU tried to stop teaching philosophy at least four times but faced resistance from teachers like her. "In the classroom, it seems like we are teaching the walls — the students show no interest in the subject."

Bashir Jatoi, another philosophy teacher, said that Sindhis claimed to have one of the oldest civilisations on the earth but they lacked historical research and understanding. "The inability to connect the past and the present has prevented the growth of Sindhi society."

Meanwhile, journalist Suhail Sangi wanted to know why the study of Indo-Chinese philosophy was being neglected, saying that it was more relevant to the circumstances.

Professor Badar Soomro, a mass communications teacher, agreed with Sangi. "It is as if you are foisting a foreign concept upon us," he argued. "We all know what harm the invasions of Alexander, Muhammad bin Qasim and the British colonisers did to us."

However, Abdullah Dayo from the FES and Zafar Junejo of the Thar Rural Development Programme, which is collaborating with the FES, supported the idea of capitalism, saying that democracy was a by-product of it.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 11^th, 2015.