In Gandhi’s nonviolent resistance there were five goals, (he called it his Constructive Program) like the fingers of a person’s hand. They included the following: ending Untouchability (racism), home spinning of cloth (rejecting commercialism and taking responsibility for India’s economy), sobriety (anti-alcohol, anti-drugs), Hindu-Muslim friendship (religious toleration), and equality for women (ending discrimination in jobs, suffrage). Gandhi used these goals to guide his decisions towards a free India.
The Philosophy of Gandhi
Directions: You will examine one of Gandhi’s philosophies below. You must list 10 people (see list below for ideas) that exemplify those values or who violate those values. Write their name in the column you believe they belong in. Then explain (in brief) why you made the decisions you did in the REASON column available.
Key Concepts of Gandhian Philosophy
Love: of self, God, nature, fellow humans; love as compassion, warmth, kindness, friendship, empathy, fraternity, altruism, service, mercy, help, sharing, trusteeship, non-possession; love as healing, patience, tolerance, reconciliation, forgiving, repentance, sacrifice, mutual aid, solidarity.
EXEMPLIFY THOSE VALUESVIOLATE THOSE VALUESREASON
Nonviolent action: in lifestyle, economics, politics, society, defense policy, institutions and organizations, education and communication, child upbringing, approaches to crime and punishment, direct action for peace w/justice, peaceful resolution of conflicts, constructive work to build up a nonviolent world order, relief and rehabilitation work; removing structural (indirect) violence. Non-killing: disarmament, preventing accidents and calamities, non-injury in both human and non-human contexts.
EXEMPLIFY THOSE VALUESVIOLATE THOSE VALUESREASON
Nonviolent Ethics and values: spiritual and ethical religion; joy with conscience, reasoning and responsibility; human-centered, eco-friendly, holistic, ethical and sustainable science and technology, economics, politics, society; human rights and responsibilities; purity of means and ends; welfare of all and welfare of last first.
EXEMPLIFY THOSE VALUESVIOLATE THOSE VALUESREASON
Truth: Truthfulness, honesty, transparency, accountability, expanding conscience, awareness and responsibility; justice with compassion; taking responsibility for past mistakes, errors, sins; repentance and apology; avoidance of repetition of mistakes, freedom from ignorance, errors, mistakes, sins; pluralism; understanding of the multiplicity of truth; humility and respect for others’ truths; holding on to relative truth but continuing quest for further truth; attempting to arrive at a consensus on key issues; quest for truth; testing truth with reason.
EXEMPLIFY THOSE VALUESVIOLATE THOSE VALUESREASON
Erasmus
Martin Luther
John Calvin
George Whitefield
John Locke
Baron de Montesquieu
Jean Jacques Rousseau
Voltaire
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
George Washington
John Adams
Samuel Adams
Thomas Paine
Benjamin Franklin
John Marshall
Abraham Lincoln
Robert E. Lee
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Adolf Hitler
Benito Mussolini
Harry S. Truman
Joseph Stalin
Winston Churchill
John F. Kennedy
Fidel Castro
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Malcolm X
Thurgood Marshall
Richard M. Nixon
Ronald Reagan
Bill Clinton
Saddam Hussein
George W. Bush
Osama Bin Laden
Barack Obama