Radha Kamal Mukherjee Values, Social Ecology Sociology YouTube Lecture Handouts

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Radha Kamal Mukherjee Values, Social Ecology Sociology

Introduction

  • The pioneer of Lucknow School of Sociology
  • Influenced by Patrick Geddes
  • Works on social ecology and sociological effects of industrialization
  • Emphasis on Indian tradition and philosophy
  • Theoretical and conceptual schemes to study Indian society
  • Rejected the Marxian contributions - dialectical logic
  • Need for mutual interaction between social sciences and physical sciences

Books

  • The Regional Balance of Man (1938)
  • Indian Working Class (1940)
  • The Social Structure of Values (1955)
  • Philosophy of Social Sciences (1960)
  • Flowering of Indian Art (1964)

Concept

  • Radha Kamal Mukherjee had a sustained interest in the impact of values on human society.
  • He held that a separation between fact and value was arbitrary.
  • The facts and values could not be separated from each other in human interactions.
  • Even a simple transaction was a value based or normatively conditioned behavior.
  • Each society has a distinctive culture and its values and norms guide the behavior.
  • Therefore, the positive tradition of the west that wanted to separate facts from values was not tenable to him especially in the study of a society like India.
  • In the west there was a compelling need to free scientific enquiry form the hold of church theology.

Values

  • Values are not a product of subjective or individualistic aspirations.
  • They are objectively grounded in humankind՚s social aspirations and desires.
  • Values are both general and objective:- measurable by empirical methods.
  • He underlined two basic points-
    • Values are not limited only to religion or ethics
    • Economics, politics and law also give rise to values
  • Human needs are transformed into social values and are internalized in the minds of members of society.
  • Older civilizations such as India and China were stable. Hence values were formed and organized into a hierarchy of higher and lower fields.

Views on Economic Development

  • Indian economics modeled on British economics
  • Neglects the traditional caste networks in indigenous business-like handicrafts and small banks
  • Focused on the urban-industrial centers.
  • Works as an extension of monetary economics or market phenomenon.
  • In India, economic transactions take place within the framework of caste or tribe
  • Thus, the market model has limited relevance
  • Thus, there is a relationship between traditional networks and economic exchange
  • The castes of India operate in a non-competitive economic system
  • The rules of economic exchange were derived from Hindu religion
  • interdependence between groups
  • In order to understand rural India, the economic values should be analyzed with reference to social norms of Indian society
  • Religious and ethical constraints like values
  • Compel the people to act in sanctioned ways

Need for Value-Based Development

  • India has a rich history and is a storehouse of values
  • Values must be given importance
  • Planning of India՚s development towards value-based development and not only to handling immediate problems

Social Ecology

  • Link between ecology and society
  • Social ecology as an alternative to the damage caused by industrialization
  • An amalgam of sciences like geology, geography and biology
  • They work inter-disciplinarily to produce an ecological zone
  • Backed by social, economic or political factors
  • In the past many Indian ecological regions were opened up for human settlement and agrarian development through political conquests
  • The development of ecological zones is a dynamic process
  • Ecological balance is not mechanical carving out of a territory and settling people thereon
  • It is gradual change of ecological environment and response of people
  • Carving out destroys the social fabric
  • Process of western social scientists

Views on Agriculture and Development

  • The cutting of trees leads to floods and reduces the fertility of soil
  • Forests and woods of India - an ecological asset
  • Expressed his views on danger of mono crop
  • Leads to environmental problems
  • Agriculture should be diversified and industries decentralized
  • He advocated the integration of village, town and nation into a single broad-based developmental process
  • Urban development should not be at the expense of the village

MCQs

Q.1. Who was of the view that an integrated approach should be adapted for the study of social phenomenon?

1. D. P. Mukerji

2. G. S. Ghurye

3. Radha Kamal Mukherjee

4. Ram Krishna Mukherjee

Answer: 3

Q.2. According to R. K Mukherjee, what contributes to destruction of the social fabric in a society?

1. Ecological imbalance

2. Neglecting values while planning economic development

3. Physically carving out a territory

4. None of these

Answer: 3

Manishika