Vv oie COMPARATIVE ANTHROPOLOGY AND ACTION SCIENCES - ‘AN ESGAY ON KNOWING TO ACT AND ACTING TO KNOW Ss. 1. Balagangadhara Introduction Should action eciences exist, it is obvious what they would have to study: the nature of human action, the kind of knowledge that actions generate, the processes of learning to perform different types of action ‘and so forth. Comparative anthropology, as e discipline, studies and contrasts, where such contraste are Possible, the different ways in which human beings organize their lives, think about and experience both themselves and the world around them. A culture is a form of life and, a such, it is a way of going about the world; action sciences, ideally speak- ing, focus upon the very nature of these goings sbout the world. One would therefore expect to find a deep and intimate relation between action sciences on the one hand, and studies of culture on the other. A perusal of literature, however, shows the fact of the matter to be different. Different in which wav? It ie not necessary to apeak here ebout the attempt of anthropologiste to relate both their theo retical and ethnographic work to theories of action: many an- thropologists and a few anthropological quasi-schools have felt and continue to feel the need to integrate theories of human action in their approaches to the study of society. The same, it would eppear, cannot be said of action theories. As a rough way of establishing the interest that action theorists show in this matter, let us notice the kind of themes thoy take up for investigation: the relation between action and intention, between ments] states and action, and between adtions and events; the nature end properties of efficient and inefficient action, the rational and irrational action ete. A yreat deal of familiarity’ with re in thie tradition is not required to observe that neither anthropological theories nor ethnographic atudies play any role in their discussion. Why fe this 60” Here 1s one possible answer: the problems that are taken up for scrutiny are invariant across cultures and,® SN. BALAGANGADEARA, consequent, there is not such that anthropology can contsib= [Rete this enguley. Tl stems te Lapcioy serunes 97 tos Derhaps if ale for, they would alo defend i explldy, There I nowever, a second way of lookang at the iaeue: the themes that action ‘theorate addreea themealves to are the Sembere of this culture, ft in obvious that human nciion, hy ‘tue of being oman sani sue typical, opeclo-apecic whatever else that you my want to attribute, Not only fe it ‘aU it any other way would be eo deeply counterintuitive that i ‘Seca not oppear Pinus tn we far ont wesiern sap iste share this basic intuition, there te not much in thelr fot fore that coud concefbute to tae slcuenon. Alter aly ey 9 {tre frawed within the descriptive. possiblities open to tha While both these answers shed some light on vhy action theoties are indifferent to anthropology, the secant carries @ Fathor disturbing implication: It auegests that what the nota ‘theories study are not so wuch human actions (in their apecies- | Iypest atcernity) ses clturecopacitie mete sf seing, Ard the there afe other modes of acting and other vays of going about Thuan sotlons are muppoced to, have. Consequentiy, i action (laces ave We exit an csv” at ly evn tha Uy ‘oo ot the way other cultnon act nad at other forms of fe | could turn out to be both intelligible and sensible, (I shall leave {he question o its truth aside) T shall do so by very briefly Jeoking ita e motion that perinine {0 the domain of action theory vie, atton-haowledge. I wil suggeet that the notion of ection” nouledge within the western tendon, bv and Iarwe, hee cose {ovnean Knowledge about actions: My’ lain Wil be thet tale te stand why action-knowledge has come to mean what it pnding eres 1 te Gin equine tht vv dove 0 moe cultures: In the folowing pages, 1 ehall endawvor to lond come Dhsusbticy wo these suggeccone by looking epocicaly ino one fulture, vizy India ‘To provide degree of intelligibility to these claime fs the in; detailed arguments and slaborste defences are ar much SulaiZe ay kon ax thay eee bayoad the province of thie este JIOWING TO ACT AND ACTING TO NOW ® The structure of the paper ‘his yper hee wet, Inthe fie, nto the probien TRS. otis, fee the utead oat une tmrougooue nay Ii ere uvbarce of theoreti weave abut wei pct A OSHS Ue Indl on thas got ve fa mite the wn Sonne em of teil rennet that hun stor? Boe er ID SE Glin er ner ect hoe Fane ‘the second section, 1 suggest thal learning is related to cultare ‘hich playe en important role In the kind of learning process ‘ln of learning and clin thal us e bode of tarring mwning process: Uhleh creates sction-knowledge, are exan~ toed hha ec Wie at some empires ypotnenes tre generated to ghow the hesitle poll of this gppronch IRSCTND dA oat the nt cto Pike Up he EEhetbcoiahZ aan ‘on oma tot bntonge toe ‘second, 1 compare the notion of action-knowledge with the more that arse ees result cf such a contrest function as the there of ‘ire part of an unconcluded project I am vorking ons thie srl! dei upc case wane nypancse at apes Tether products Aaa prafes It Bas the alton of wanting eel fhe Tullid core altre within the tngunge of Shine Asay ave teal io got to convinen but to per= TAEPGGAT PASTY at Tana at oe Sy fry ok le, T vant you to ask yourselves by the end of this article, © 1. Raising « problem: knowledge and social lite Go any one who hue tome fest hand knowledge of Indiay Conginction of the folowing thee Phenowenn must appear Boe frtmordioary and eteiking” Firstly ita social organization (Fz hetovealed canto eyates) exhibits enorwous complexity, wa {ts tes Hint fan order and tauchee avery walk of fe. Te ie SEIN Scganiatlon Under whose scope falle not only aeYeuisdaue and te winutinn, bub alse the deeper aud the ef ‘And yet, no Indian could tel you much about the ‘principles! of ‘tus System, ive alone the ynanice efits reproduction. Theo Set stout tinal crgeiton one hat ha Bad Rory of ‘Indian tradition. Of course, many treatises about the ‘caste ‘ysten’ have beon authored by Indian intelectunls during thie ‘century. My point ie that theorising about the ‘ata s7aten? ie belther indigenous to the tradition nor inberted from iy but & earned and acquired mode of treating the eubject. Second) ‘cach of the ‘nets! groupe in Indin appeare ta have an enorncule Fepertlve of "dot" and "don'te™ auuin. were you to dip into the Itarature of the Indian tradition ‘expecting to find comple raasnnings and juntiieations to mupport any one ast. from thie Wariegated, hardly overlapping sets of “injunctions, you re ‘varlaty of moral actions and there eppesra to exist sany action= iernmtives without m correlated corpus of futifieatory Meera fare, Thirdly, neither the socal etitutions wor the moral prse~ oral oF political: In other worde, absence of Koowiedge sboat Practise fe not supplanted Uy the premenee of suthortes whoo® [ofitotione could make debates” and arguments mupesfiuous these three phenomena in any one society? The anawer would be situation sketched above with that of the West regarding some the (otal number of moral principles (or ‘iajunctions’) in the Woot with the amount of Hterature prosuced about them. These Injunctions, each of which ie formulated and defended ‘a= iEeneral principle, 60 not (probably) number more than twenty. But the literature about them stretchee to infinity, With respect {India Would be difficult to take any euch elle fle rot heat wishes the ‘injunction? are general princes or not, one ‘gee not tow how many injunctions est end, a8 Tabi, there e hardly any justieetory literature A toe nae of tin Hore Sre two poate respontce (a) Because indians have no comparable moral theories (comps- ble, that ie, to thoes of the Wort), they really hve. no nation of tgsod! and "bod. Therefore, they are inmorale Not weny would ‘This doer not merit an snewer- (0) Tiny are wrvnied nn prinitive stage of moral development, RNOWING TO ACT AND ACTING TO BNOK a even if ney nave eumbied upon some fundauestal wovad pelt lee. This ie a eelidefeating response: if 0 culture he ‘tumbleg" upon euch principlen, and every sndividual from each ifenerntion over thousands of ears continues to stumble upon {i"moral pesetie doce not require to be mupported By ethical! theories. By the same token, the existence of theoretical tres ‘Sree about total practices in # culture re hardly indicative of fte maturity ‘if only by leaving auch or siniar responses aside that we are better able to formulate the iesue thet a culture like Indi Talon: Let ut do 00 by looking et ove facts. The Tndian cas Spntam hae had a tong Rimtory. Aa goclsl ofgantzation, It ‘Sppence to have gurvived (in whatever form, and through what= Ser mecheniens) mary fondamantal upheavals: through ehal= Gage posed by inieznal wovemente (ike Buddhiva ete.) to msrnatiy impered necnoniso-paltic) renrgeninatione (Ininaie Invasion, Bech colonialiea and mubsequent Integration into 6 Mord caplet myeicm)s That in to eas taste epeten' pears Irave adapted fem to changing envisonments over the course of having to prejudge the ‘desireblity' or otherwise of euch ap leary, the minimum that is requlred for such an adaptive cei organization fs that mou hind uf haovlaage be present So feclety ond that it be evade to ie members. Knowledge must De precent, because the actions that reproduce w way of ving tre knowledgeable actions and cannot be either random or Purely exploratory once, Furthermore, vecause there actions able a social organisation to adapt iteelf, they wil have to be Informed ‘ctions: And because what se adaptive over thousands ime orgenisation, which Te = reson of infinitely any action of lndefinitely miny indigo fis each ember of such a form af fe must have access to this Uhowlcdeer Othesvieo, there would be no continulty between enorations and hence no culture either. Given that Indian ‘Eaaty hee ebne ouch thing called culture and ome ind of 8 Nistor, the quratione must now be fiir obvious: If knowledge thout theoe fonctions not what there i, What other kind of Schade tet? Bw ie mock Knouladge tranmnitted through the fenarations? How do indiviguale learn it? How dose this enable Shee ta cuctain # very complex form of onal Interartin” ‘These questions have rarely been rained in the Mterature, be ‘tadice about the Indian ‘enste ayeten' for example, have 2 Sumed the presence of mus ov ull tprncipie! undetiying andee S. BALAGANGADHARA, supporting the ‘xysten’. These etudice have also excavated and Drought to light, many such principles: from non-eesitarian prineples through hygienic principles albelt in’ melaphysice) fore) from transactional rules threigh len of calton forme ton to the very peopenaity of human beings to eesinise fitness Uhruigh extended nepation, st. Th lo net the glace te dleccen the’ veraliy of any of hens sda. And yet wanton there tak why thio epprooch har been the dosinant one at alt That is, ‘hye i eonumed tnt knowledge about huban practice fe the best way to understand human ways of going ebout the world? ‘In thls papery 1 began to anger thie question ag well by Lying {@ lnk notions of Knoviedge and ways of bnowledge acquisition 1% the nature of cultures. Thue, « pilosophical quest, vay that of larfying some conception ef inovledge berint and ends aa Droject in couperstive anthropology. tara, arming and paredigne of ardor 4 plausible to aosopt the Sea thet the way the aemove uf « iroup lorn iz intinwtly connected to the culste of that group" fn thin party 1 shall provide # Usiet pouldve saver to the ‘Question by looking at one element that plays an iaportart sole I Gnning the mode of lenreing to the suture ot a grout, ‘A hues beinge, ve are socaized within the truaeverh ot groupe: in ice broadest genes, “ecialeation’ reece to the rot ‘eas of living with olhere. Who thees ‘there are, end what i feans to “ie with them” are thinge that» huwan organies Jearns when it gets socialized. Thet le, socialising process = valves tansaliting thin knowledge, which ie practic! ln nature ‘The custome, lores and traditions of human groupe not avy preserve this Lnowadge but are also the mechaniase of te {aneniasion, What n lmrning praceee Se, when wound from the point of view af the organism that in being wacializedy is 9 socializing that organien. The teachere, thu draw upon the rewuroos of the culture to which they’ Uelony. Consequently, the methods of teaching an organisa wall tach only to the exsut they dovetail wih the proceorey af laening, Because we, te human being, are not genetically detaraied to warn tn anyone particular way, i cout be ately Meld that the teaching processes give form to the way an orgnnien learns ‘bout the environment That iy the way’ one lonrna is none frivimly dependent upon one's culture, We may, therefore, eo- xp the wen tne not only the what but also the OW of arrange {etcoanected to the culture of an organian'e group. All of the atove chaise appear exttenely reasonable. AB Ve shall scon see, {t alto anpeare possible to xenerate a culture-epecific notion of learning, vhich ie able to shed light on a diverge eet of phe- Several slowents are of drwct relovance to the wey a culture “ai” and others" the experience ot “body” and “apace et. {hat one lament from the set, visw the experience of order. 1 onstrucd rather bron, warning ean Be een 85 the way tm organist akes its envizonnent habitable Le, Wis an activity SS Eaking «habitat: The fashion im which this taker place, Tovever, depends on the experience the organiam has of the fnvirontent that az to be fade habitabis. One ef the funda ‘menial differences between cultures is the manner of structur- Ing this experience and the, T euggest, takes place through the ‘me explein ot order within their members: tia Simos ae i cach generation seyotewe are not the ‘intended’ reaulte of the actions of its oimos ie share the property of not being the planned products Senbere ere necossury to maintain the cultural order and tet fetons, someon, can either sustain oF disrupt these orders is ‘ls present in most cultures. Sowever, vist distinguisnce one culture from another is, song other thines. the vay this sense end feeling af order Sc Droverved. Quite sbviautlyy aone way af Hoewsving @ sense of Grder can ennfinon ta prosaren nnly tn the setent # canelowsle Structuree the very experience of order ieee That te to aay, Gr ordoe" are hath dacciptons of the mame process but from f 2 fence of gear by structuring the experience of the next. A way ordesy it apponre to ne) fi leelt modele oF represents ot fxplcatee thee very onder whowe experience ft se eupposee Eructure. nother words, that which structures the experience of Cosmos a sm order mort Self, in eome wny oF aaathe, Sunt or exprace the arder of the Coemoe: Tall uch @ Brotulsbes cultures from one another, under this construal, would Serine nature ot their paredigar of order. ‘My suggestion ie that ‘Religion’ has been the paradigm of order for the western culture. Accoraing to the account ReR ttbove, H would mean that “Religion both wtructures the expesi- nce the univetoe an ie tte tn stance of bet order. Now, Whatever ‘Raion’ might be, i fe without doubt true Gf, that ie ‘udaiom, Christians and Taian are Whnt religion are) that i ‘explanatory. Thet weane to fey, the structure and the wiretegy (of religious explanations both structures ond sustains an expe fence of order that the univeree in, Becaues the finer and [Subller pointe ebout the nature ef religious explanations wre Rot Talevant for thie pener, Int me erualy oatine the three basic [phases which culminate Im the aenee of order that 1 consider Fepical for, if nat vinique toy the West "Phare ie the fret phase, T'euppose, of « ‘pre-religious’ expe- tienes of the world: In this phony there te an experiencing of the conetancy and regularity of the Universo. The necond phase Shaoe’ the world actly eet the third phane, there it & ‘cheoe ef the phenomenal world. What happens in this process is UWially bracketed avey, Inaving behind only the chaos that the hendwenal experience it wupposes to be unt the devyer wees {fe discovered. The cbviousnece and the all pervasiveness of this imituge Je exprensed in the way child’ development wan con~ fxived unt recently, and in the vey the emergence of ‘mythical fd ‘ongieal thinking fe account tors Achila's worl, 1 was ied, je 4 "bloowiit, burzin’ confusion” unt it learnc to onceplualiseycategoriae and apeaie And ve are tela that our ltnceslore licopted to find lexplnations' for naturel phenomena ‘Becauee they were confronted by a chaste world ie. by the occurrence of srandon’ events. Even the argumente for the Ghortence of God took the form of “arguments from decign™ fie hands of the mediovel naturalists end theologisns. The damental attitudey in ather Words, Le that i there are no vor "principles" underiving en experiential worls, svch ® ‘orld wil have to be s chaotic and wnerered Worl ‘Bantider now nathan sutra, whora much of simler para digas of ardar do not axiet. To he memberr the ebove sugges ‘rpetientia ne ta tio sultare The universe is experienced as ‘as the ruaon? for thie order. Sxplanation® may try to eay what the order consists of; but the truth or otherwise of these ‘explanations ave trrelevent t0 the fact that the wniverge Je an forder. That i to soy, the world does not embody oF express an fender (or anything eee: to epenk of the varldy to experince ty Sito experince onder, For this to be trusy i would require thet Sch t eulture have n foot or priomry Model of order which Te fot explanatory in nature, Nevertheless, it must be ordered ond UU order must be visible on the "eurface’ The trath or feats of the mony different ‘explanations’ Cinterpretations’ would. Derhape, be e Better word in this context) must be irrelevant to fapeverine the question whether auch a root model fe an order. ‘hat ie to sy, in such a culture, the toot or primary wodel of Sfactions, with e beginning and an end (nether of which need the beste), falling each other contiguscsly in tine woul Conelitate such an order. India in one auch culture, Twant 15 Shin, and ite paradigm of order ie not raligion but eomothing ‘la Call i, for the aake of convenience, Ritual paradigas of order or tvo fundamental ways of structuring the ‘rode (ritual for ene, religion for the other) is absent in either Ihence aa elsost unrecognizable counterparts, A religious ritual Religion. We ehall have an opportunity to relive this problem ‘ean, but ia anotner form later ‘Gwen thie, the problem that covupies the intellectual energies cor one culture ie: given Unt the universe ie an order, How %2 Devform actions thet beter ft the order? In an another i tak Pkiforent form: What e the navare of the order ach thet one ‘bay perfor the action thal require to be performed? Hox, aake See 2uluive, to perfora actions and continue to iaprove thes uch that the order doer not disintegrate? In an another, the Geder ie not sible ie ie a "design's @ Maw” thet ie hidden teneath. Knowedee of thie order would silow one to decide boat the ight ection that requires to be performed ln indefi~ fitly wane contexte, These two paradigm of onder, that dirin~ [Buish these two cultures, hed some light on the way the Euitare: £9 ect one hae to lenow in another. entble the emergence of culturally dominant moder of learning.a SSN. BALAGANGADHARA sn foo ete devel the by of peor a improv hove is what T shall call acton-knowledge. Inthe next two 3 Actlon-knowledge and exemplary learning ‘The propoel th whl oun in the ret of thin paper i the {owing Action-Rnowladge or Preston! Knowledge) tes wpeces St knowledge thet io distinct from theoretical knowledge. The [Procees of sogulting thie knowlodge invelves wiuctis eis Ley Tearning through exemplare. Exemplare are different feoe idupies sai ierefucey the process of learning through exear plate is not the same as learning through examploe ha. ft is not foe kind of inductive lerning: Aotoneknowiedgey on thie eo- county is not Koowledge about actions; nether in tthe same ae Sequining tome sui or the other. In the next section T shall look at the properties of practical knowledge and the conte ‘Qutncee that flow When proponed aan cule apacilic sade of Ieening. 31 Stories ae modele Oe of the eharetarietn propentiae of Indian sooty, somathing hich strikes everyone with more then a vegue asquaineance of stories, Insndated with stores, its people appear to relish the ‘reasons! and ‘explanations’ require aries and thelr presence i ‘tantly exposed to stories at all levels of soci interaction, they ed up Paying Af Toportant rove tn the Very process of tocal- ining tise. So, whatever be the roles that stories playy it is Fotwonabie to baseet that they are vital ingredients ia. the ‘process of Inening to live with the olhere. That iy im auch @ Eulture, storie would have to fonction es unite of'e lensing ‘By virtue of which property can elcis ply the role thet 1 intringic propertiee to morive that enable them to be unite of arming. Tdo mot think tha it akse @ grest deal Wf seine W WIOWTNG TO ACT AND ACTING TO KNOW speak of unite of learning outside a'apecific learning process. However, given opcetic hind of learning proveas sition cau! be it nts because they do have some properties. For” the Firstly, stories are e way of representing the world. Cogni- STE Hpelng Uy oe Sol he work Brod ue term. Ae modela, they portray, stand for or represent fone avail part of the world. Lat us briefly see how they do ft ‘ake, for instance, « group performing wome ritual or the cotter, say, rain ritual. When aeked about the significance of ther actions, one cate to hear a story. Such m story depicts n ‘tte event which includes the perforning of the rain risa in Sail tec ie wctuted othe peformaney of wach rita singing and chanting in some specified fashion and the Pouring ‘justifying this beliet by Yelling ® story. What then are they [Because etoriog are wodelo of a situation, at models they are naitier true nor flee; Hla only Sn models that wetetente come Cut true o fale, when the forme euch sital ad ‘ho suing ome al tet can be said aout the story fe that tie ot model for such @ situstion. I, on the other hand, we look the membars of the group experience the situation, ‘lot could be explicated. When the ritual ie ters formed nd the rains do not cose, the group experiences thie the faine do come, il le experianced ao “everything ie ar it Becolet, if you wil the suggestion 1 unde eerlier about ‘iplanations about the nature of the order, T sty is irfelevant ccubedded in that rugeostion that can be anevered now In ans Sich culture (incusing the ineinn culture that I'am talking About), a any moment of tine, hypothesee float around which Durport to explnin the order of the universe: some oF othe? ‘out of the puttern thet one’ culture end the soemos exhib {ind tome explanction f tne’ tole of individuel actions: wie? Teapéct to gustaining or dlerupling that ordar. Many. ouch explanations have some nnd gone? Why dove the senve of order “his is Let enowered, i ve ask ow auch cultures manage to custain this facling te the ebesnce of hnowledye awl thews SN. BALAGANGADEARA pattern. What mechanisms preserve the sense of ordet without Fequiring the presence of Knowledge about the order, which the Culture and’ cosmos exhib? One’ uch mechaniew’ admirably Suited for the Job ia the wtorios and legend that culture Stories preserve patterns without anving what these patterns ‘are, They depict partial aspects of an order without epeclving What the order canrictn of. Bartorming tha sina, the soming of Fring, etc, in & vequence of evente fescribed in a sory without pecitying m eelton hetuen them, The experienes of Sanne thing having gone wrong sonewhers” and that of "everything ie Sei should tam ane empeneane of dlaturbanee/appropeatenes ‘cordingly eo whether the story ie not/ie ¢ nodel of the itustion. Stories do not arplan anything breasts the? do ot ‘Bodel relatione (causal or otherwine) betvecn events, In Very or they uot nedel © act of affaire we 8 far said about the stories allows we to propose the following taoat the lreprenentntional anpect of stariee fe ‘what makes them eontiaucus with other "reprecentatlonal” prod= {elo known to elke pheopliyy ecientie Whelan ter Duty of ‘Ssuree, there are alo differences between thew: wheream theo ‘oe clala to explaiy stniee the ay sucls sina Turorton oe Justify some belief that you have, elories do not. Neverthe ‘representational (or cognitive) property. Therefore, I will now snake n mile cla whion 1 nope’ to strengthen later on #8 thie ticle, that stories embedy ‘some kind. of knowledge’. Or, Sugntiy duterentiy, they are nite of learning. What Kind of knowledge ie it thet these slariea enbody? And 1m when ring of a lorning process are they te Unite” In oFser to begin answering this question, T need! 10 look at the wecond Property of the stories we Well 32 Stories as exemplare Apart from exhibiting cognitive property, stories pomsest & Practical one too. BY describing @ Wey of going about the word they are a way of going about the world. They are models in & [proctiol sense Le, they oan be emulated. Stores are pedagogical Inotrunente par excellence becsuse of thie additional property. ‘But how can storie teach us to do anything? How can they be invtructive, Le netruct ue to do anything et al? How can & encripton of m wy nf ering bout in the word be Heelf say ot gong about in the world?” a sare they do nt come with any enpit marae ated sme doo exam at th sm tin te i ibe Scene aw wnntln for practical ection ether ‘20 fn onder to achieve Ye af they can tnehy then hw brome Toone Wat Kind os leaning activity ie reid wtoriee SIRO oe enero enover See te SS rang A econ, they area aot ot provenionm, What they depict ar ‘btaine o's practice relation of iment. Onky ne rch can “Rovies combine thie double function they are ‘theoretica and “pesca a the mae fee Taey ace nak stemyntorenrs innracone, nor ace they only Fepreentatona They entertain {Sar but not the way tho “The Inte Red Ring Rong” coos ‘Uniortanding and ination fall ogsther to understand i to eleie'end Ns tate ito nderstand. Storiw areobgve Stetructone Gnguned an repreontations depicting etm. Gre Inerne wile nt inno ava tha one fr Iotning Minos 8 rtcntention leaning weitere acess, 1 muggeted that method of tence vil tech any to the etent the dovet wth the proces ef Waiting: Hhcagh neta controvecsl suggoion by el i ‘Hor Ur len what it ims Storie cate ued to tench Sol‘ony‘WMine plocens of loaring is mach toot te ont re ‘respars,Gonsauentn, i a cite hore mimetic learn fe SPE'SSGAGIN'SGUG ee th ten 2 5k ply tesa Tony map artrini take vu fancy, enpare wou fanaa Bivinieuce they tannoe Scene soeh eco become = Sou fh Steven FTow Intron Ton te thar hn pssstian Wo beara metanivn with insthcliony citar the narrtive or the partion mu caCr? Instroctond auth. Netter tha noroe now the tory ther CEPT lon thle shaven hp motevon the cee tat Shankara) ave eufficen to ln instructs eathorey to the yportrey action executed by either divine or human authorities. {int hove fon the suggestion the cows fe a mabsntetonal nity) whny then ee Tuninel athonye testo ‘See This fethe nme ar ekg What mater orice ino unite of SSfacmg proces have: partly enaweree the quero Sirens%° SN. BALAGANGADHARA. Bat, there is « more intriguing point lurking in the back- ‘eround: instructional authorities nad ote enertanaive with Feligious, mora, plltical or divine authoritice, That We to say, learning through aise, lead a from the point sf vinw of th learning eubjoct Involven the activity of "onstructing’ the” Ire Tothee® doe nat cary idonttying eae oh vies ar of aval importance to thie pope. Lt eotriet myootl to Just ilentltying tw Ifthe process of going about the world involves the activity of contcucting instructional suthoritien; and iit is the case {hat there is no necessity, say, that religious or political eu ‘hoctees, by Virtue of thelr Porition, are sleo instructional ‘authorities, the consequence if obvious: thelr ability to give form to your lerning witviuse ie very wuch redscad. Oy Put in broad ond bintorcal terms, where mien obtaine, there neither ‘religion" nor ‘police’ would ‘have a dominating and deciive mpact on ways of going about the world. The sonveren welt ‘also hold true! the Toundation’ for forae of interaction between, embers of wuch w eoclaty would havn tn he fury incepentont ff both the ‘religious’ end. spottien! authoritiee. Sociologist have often pusslat mewn tive fac that fm nis inlgion ere sere ples and ‘education dia ot Tus for any onath of oy Jearlng’ process occurs in Indin wight well begin to ahed ‘The second point that 1 went to make regards the public or ‘osil proccen of lucas: Bots Use proves of lerning and the Knowledge that is acquired presuppose social internction. n= Felerring to) say, the moral domain once ogsin fo be moral ‘is between an individual, ieslated subject and some injunction er Ue einer. ow the community in which auch an individual finde himself io” is « question of no moral wignificance to hie woral benavior. By contrast, in = culture dominated by mimes (uke India) the relation te Between individuals (be they the really ‘eting community or the ficutious indiisunle portrayed inthe tories). A moral individval. in other words, premeppanes ® ors! ‘conturity. Reforaulated in diferent terms, te general point i= ‘hist Becaue inet naming hae « public disenein, opinions problems will have to refer to the community of lescning #ub- OWING TO ACT AND ACTING TO KNOW a Learning through exewplare: propartion and consequences Minetic earning; to briefly eunmeriae, ie learning through ex- fenpiars Examplars, a tne of mich 2 lonmning propane, hewn & fepreesntatial property and can be emulated. My claim is that {ie dominant node af Inning to Indie ie miwolls or seamplary learning. "Phen laa hind of citclaity in what fe nid) if you tate 8 nn 1 definition! mimesis ls exeaplary learning end exemplars are Fequires to be eaid both about exemplars and mimesis than 1 circularity in two vaye! Pirelly, ake what 1 have anid ao far not Sta dennition, but as an attempt at explication; secondly, BE jendonce: Quite apart from that, something elae requires to be Ecne! the cain that thi way’ of learning ie m dominant wode of Yearning in Indis haw not Yet shown to be the case. shal fry 19 Go that ao well: Howaver, the invention le mot #0 much to con- ‘Vince you of the truth’ of that claim as to meke it appesr plausible, That wil be done by drawing out ome consequences Because Jwant to talk about thle at e rather generel level, lot Taniliar 1 you. ‘Suppose tht you are a eoctah worker, Working, e8y, ssiongst inigrant children from the neighborhood. You have undertaken pany actintues to mtegrave them better into the nelghSarnoad Social life and, for the womenty you are at a lose about how to Droceed further. That is, ou do Bot Know what to do next Whe ‘resting with the despair arising out of the derive to do ‘Soncthing ‘now and wot being able to know whet Sie that you Should do Jou mest an old frend of youre. In the process of onvereation, he caduely mentions about some activity that en evonintarce of hic undertoot ny ea, an old people's home. Ac Soon an you hear shout fy you suddenly Know what your nest setin wuld he with the Snaigrant ehildren. And, an a peske baits; your ection is toualy different from the ectivity thee took place ie the old people's heme, Uhat enastly happened: here?2 S.N, BALAGANGADHARA 1 ould like to auggeet that the activity performed at the old poonle's home functioned we an exemplar for vou that fa, Risctioned as s generative action. ‘This, in the frat place, © ‘hat nn asmplan ic Wt ereaten ety original metinna. IE ys ere “ling to accept this wuggeetion, 1 should now lke to elaborate ‘ether om thle pointe ‘There are two ways in which you could understand the satonent mace abover You vould say that the Unyulste deocrip= {lon of the action gave you e new iden about the nction that you fn executor But, Shere fa no wecond way of conwiruing the Mfatenent, which ie what I'am proposing. 1 a= not eaying thet {he acttypertormea at the cht prope howe geve You a0 Ht ef another ection that You could perform in your eitstion. No. You must reed te Merl: that persone ection gonereted 0 new ‘sion; you are now able to perform « nev ection, sowsthing that You could not do before, While You tay be able to describe the ‘stivitr, whieh 08 intend to perform, the description/conce>” tion of the ction in parasitic upon the ablty to execute ft In Greate/gencrate new idea/though/tbeory in your head, some ‘Ste action, ae a exemplar, enentor » pow ation” Vo may ‘Suplnin thet thi ie spooky. Fair encugh Buty 1 put W You fle Ssonore aposky’ than the Woot” that ideas can give bieth to nes) laegs: Action® give birth to new ond original wetone in the way’ ‘You have now, in other worde, acquired action-knowledge. ‘int inj whe deveribed from your polit of viewy your ably te produce m new action now in whnt i mesne to apeak of you faving acquired sction"enoviedge- n thie casey the exempiae happened to be a linguistic description of someone's action. Guite obviously, {t need not be so in til eadea. Tou Bay eee fecone doing something and tet enables you to erecute a new ‘gn es well In both cages, the learning process is the sane lassnine throueh an exewslar or mimetic learning. Ae a conse quence, st must be clone thet sineeisy aa & learning proceesy 16 rentive and dynamic. “Consider, now, the second property of actlon-knowledge. Ip Gnicrtakon by.e very specie individual ina very apecific Individual in & totally different context, the ebility to execute an sruely different actcn. All canplare ore alvey® santcrt bound: But, they are generative in totelly different contexte, Or; put sven wore ceri, tle prevaely the cuntent depen of at ikon thet maker jt fertile in different contests ROWING TO ACT AND ACTING TO KNOW 8 ur general intuition regarding the nature of guidelines or decision principles Sa that the more, genera shutcnct and con text independent they are, the more unofl and true they are. In fect tie is s demand tet we make pon all Koowedge- ‘en: the only aiterenoe; in thir case, ia that ther ie founda ion eve legtinaay.derivee from tne person Se ection, bet ue Ieok at the latter oasibty, Naat ove emulation mean hero? TE ey eecinnkal md bln taseation of these seat “aca figure, as Sndividuale, were born into and hat of thone who want to emulate thes. Not oniy that. Ar feubosinente of “principles they are incvverent to contexte Consequently, theee “desl! are exemplars only in thie sense Shes "one reproduces their iver and their actonay which SEooenible not quite think ofthe surly Christian tnriyre) oF ‘Soe agcepte the Inposaibity of euch a reproduction. These two Doraibiliien are preserved in the moral talk of the Wert thus (re Mought” to be srl, but one never "Sey 0° that the Mought™ "uiterent trom Sat and thet theon indtvidinte ara mao) ‘rceptional figures. Thet means to sey, morel “ideale” heve fepresent the longing and decire to be sora. More, they” are ent from the cedinazy mortals who strive to be lke thes (ie. Devsoral persone tenteiver. Duty they Peprement « pun tae wocthyy but quite unreachable. If they are relevent to dally practices oniy in o negeuve Way! daly prectoee cups Bevother than what they, in fat, are. What one dove not learn {om auch deal’ la how? to reach that gol Ler ieee jets > fot belp improve daily practices. ir we look et the striae tn Zan, on the other hand, they are tales about zeal or fictitious figures performing etione~ io~ contests, Statice of Kings, long lost Me etylew and of actions Siow net are tend at tntiigh thay ave tomething 2 88% to US intone world, That they da ay something taker it obvious tet whatever wight be sequlved {could not be blind emulation ‘Thee starce enable you to execute the ection in your situation ‘tout tere being Say Ha omar Drtwon thw two “The Pont of thie contrast ie the following: morally exempinry figures lin the West) are not exemplars in the sense in which T fm Using the term. An exemple fa'@ unit of learning and oral ‘eae’ of the West are never thet. There in a disturbing conse quence to thie thought: in the fichd of morality, the West doce at non the peeve nf bewing that Teall mine, ects here ace no’ oxwuplars, there le no possiblity of learning itot Knowedge about ‘principles’ that ellogedly guide wctions), ned practical knowledge roquicse exemplary Tonrning, tho oom helen js az obvious ae it wil be unpelatable: the voluminous lterecuce slow aural activity in the West Aides en abromal poverty is mora! life: Thoos wilione of treatives, tracts and fhe advance sade by the West in ita quest for the moral order, Lu expressions of unease and absence: ebgence of Bora me the concomitant uneae Ts this sonenquence true? T 60 not think that the assue one cof veracity or olherviae of the cain. y for one, do aot paren She hcg af heen Oe ake them ot to te Sauorel cr inon-noral- There is a more mubetantil probien et nds Why docs the moral domi of one culture when described {from within the euiture of another appesr “immoral” or "non- wont? Unfortunately, T-eannot take up thie problen here. sinsela in the Wort from a more general point of view. 52 Skil and action-knowledge Consider the following example, original to Ryle, about a skied Chelate that isin front of hin, be Observer © monkey perfor= {ng some sequence of actona iat Ingpives fin to explore ose ftrsteies, ew veya of czcuaventing the problem. the reeull of {hin elratagising le @ successful climb. ‘A vlean would see thie “inprevisstin’ as part of being « udied'wountaneer. Consequently, the suggestion about Jarting ‘through stemplare appeara sacimiabe within. the Rylean ‘kee~ lng how ane denowing ta. That le to ony, what T have called ae Sfecses af lerning themgh seampiarn maybe coneeptiniced fete process of acquiring the al Uo identify wn exemplar. Atmee ‘SN. BALAGANGADIARA romult the notion ef ell could be reintroduced at a seta-level invauch & vay that enowing how to identify an exemplar and knowing how to use it on the one hand, and knowing thal sonething is an exemplar energe ae the tvo prisary divisions Within the sketch that { have provided. hn added temptation o= Philosophical incentive for indulging in euch wn exercine would Be thet some of the counterintuitive properties may ‘be i= spensed vith by pleading ignorance: becauss we are not quite lear how human hinge acquire the various shia that thay de ‘ecquire, until puch time aa ve are clear, there ia no need 12 of execution with respect to the organi Shatactestsun proyetey of sctumeanowibage ie POSEY thas Ee ‘ction, which ‘an be executed, iw novel and original Even required to acquire some ski Tovever, it appears to mo, that the new action that © eiled rectitioner can execute aricoe by @ combination of actions, “hich he had eeady executed. That a to ayy i i lke ge ating «new word out of nn evisting regerinine of wore Secondly, ‘even nore inpoctantiy, the skill thot one how in lent, in at Teast soe circumetancns, to improvise. A eked ‘hinininear stuck on the tountais abvontly watching @ mentor stove from place to Place is able to do something ae 8 rent cf fling the astione of the monkey as au exemplars Pritt thie learning episode, there wean ation that he could not generate fut of the repertoire of actin le nds fhe woul Mave he ‘would hove not been stuck in the fire pace, To be eure, he onkey's moveuent: you and T'watching the same wonktey fsetlon would not be abie to what the eked mountaineer Si. But this ie no problem: what we can lesen depende to a very {grec extent Upon what wl have already’ Ieasne. Thal ne and the eame ind’ of learning process ean oocur both within the fravework of exercising @ shiled activity and eleewhere (that does not involve an exercise of ail) muggart very strongly that Jesring trough etempiace cantot be en es kil to ently TRWOWING TO ACT AND ACTING TO KKOW 108 There ia third romon, purely Ung n nature, tat Ing how In the statement "akil to learn through exemplars”, ‘the Word “ski” can be replaced by the word "larning” without ‘any obvious lees of meaning. Thie suggests that ‘wil! is coex~ {neve with earning’. However, the same substitution doew not can gee; "ie {a a hilled tennis iis ind eurgeony oe a skied probien {og replaced ‘ek! everywhere. Consequently, we ould ot be aif with the sonnotatione usually attached ta, when ./ the aii 19 learn through sxouplare”. Fourthly end Foullpy the knowing how in ito normal uonge Pika oat 0 sletar af actions that are related to each other, To do so with respect fected Unnsl careplace's fh epyens to my mould He cou fuuly ond with the sau degree of familiarity. distinguish between learning proceas that ie indifferent to the situation, are decisive. With suitable modifications, poselole to absor» ction Laowledge into the Telaively mare Teniiar “knowing how Why, you ney vonder, is it important? The anever would become dbviout when we look into the vay” action-knowledge could be ebrorbed into "proporitional knowledge’ 5. Action-hnovledge and knowing that 1s there any reton to Unit the proces of mince learning 12 frou an arbitrary fist comes to my mind. Besides, if learning Siesogh cotmylars le indforent to what ta learned) there la ne {ood Tenson to ay that i is limited to practical actions only his patient in order to destroy w tumor. Though a concentrates hile at'e lose aa to what to do, he heare of an eray general ‘ho conqueres fortress by senging in Me army in several ‘ery sual! unite and have them converge upon the fortress from Girfecent directions, Tho result of thia hearing enables our furgwon to execute a new acon: he now radiate the tumor ws Ey' sending is several ad doaoe and have them converge Upon the tunor in diferent. directions. ‘there ie'e ronson why T choons thie atory: itis one of the examin tend ta nendy tha sole af analygioe an matuphare108 ‘SN, BALAGANGADHARA human problem solving processes. I do not want to go into the detail Gf the asyumontn but the claim of the cognitive eelen= Uste working in thie domain fe that analogiea and metaphors play a Tole in discovering 8 slut in the way the story of the {feneral inepced a poesble gohtion to the doctor's dletst: Tn Sie wed wat ol have ne an neap” wt ther 1 exemplars are nothing but ‘analogies’ or ‘metaphors’, both the procest of ‘ninetic lenin” andthe notion of nrton tele sedge" can be dispensed with, With thet lao go the so-called anterintulten namanquonoee: Uy could safely suggeet that the ‘Some for emp, give pou wi dea abot the tein tht you could porferny lanrning through stomps! ia teally the wore feniiat process of aolving problems using analogies ole Taw aan thia challange te ust? Pati the yi of sombogion ‘and metaphors, im so fer ea they ares part of the learning rovevey Gast Ierning in Jerning SEGUE exes EAA ‘are Gusteations of stances, of some general principle oF {ne other. 10 learn througn exmspes 1s to discover the general Principles that are instanced, Analogien and Detaphore, at Goneequence, turn out to be “good” etamples, Lea they are ect of examplen. Tt apponre to we thet thie exactly ie what fxomplars tre not! they are not examplee becune they donot Instant anything. ‘Secondly, much 8 proceso of Inening Se what ve call ductive Isgtnings tem prosonn that inion gonsen peinsipae from 8 fot of particular intancee: Th Kind of hnoviedge glenned the cf hcpatieahnowledg. Hovevey i appears tome That one ‘would lke 1 Took ot setton-knowedge we & dirtinct epecier of Neither of the two arguments are decisive, such leas eonvine~ sing. it apponra to me that i ie pouible to arsiminte the notion cf ieerning through exemplare into sone or other variant of ‘tnalopiel problem solving. However, f uch an aaslalation of minesin into either wi’ or “knowiedge""were to covur, tre faloving appears to happen’ You could at hed light om nay, ‘canta nyatem’ for nny thar fact) of culture by spenking of either “ell or “analogea’ In hho peo the aglratony teil ofthe eure we be OWING TO ACT AND ACTING TO NOW 108, the iden of minotic learning, which have some counterintuitive ceneuguenceny are propcsed as vulture myositis alow of ene in thia light, they appear to be productive ‘Ueauve they are ele to shed some light on phenomens which otherwise appear puzzling. However, aa # mode of learning it ‘tppene copauie af exanaion to area’ other then practical Ieee Ing. Not Just that! any refuel to, do no appanre arbitracy. Hoxever, when this extenson takes ploce, ft merely appears aa ® ‘Bd variant which can be absorbed by other notone of lsrnine. ‘These other ‘notions of lesring, however, are Unable to ehed auch light prerinsly shout thaws phonement Rich mimetic Iearning ves" eble to umianta. How should thie be addrewsed? © Comparative anthropoloay ax # philoeophical quest dlitter between cultures: Religion for one, Ritual for the other. ‘here 1'nintoa tet cock know ot the other Paradigm of Order vat reliiou rae an Heats rlipene. But gen ‘ton te and Jo net Ritual a riuatatie Teligion Se and ie not ® Relyion, thie division hae now reproduced tac inthe dominant dee of learning: mimesis is and ie pot inductive Yearning! 1 le ‘tnd Eis ot a ek tle preset and’ ie not preaen.in the West. Tm not going to plead alecoa in order to underetand the Tn fo far as learning is a process of cresting » habitat, stain soil ftaractions, the ability to thine about Natare and sto. Bash ultra! groupy Ht appeare to moy develope one inde of aciviice into a dominant node. Other Finds © within the dominant framewerky we modifies by #¢ and in {he process of developing actioneknowledge, a culture dominated by ft requises:teeoretieal Mnowleager However, the mode ef ‘theoretical learning emerges within the overarching frame of Pracical learning. The otter way, for another culture, goes Se wel ‘Cansequently, the iseve of extending one node of earning to ‘encounaas other modon in actual not because of the propensits ofthe theoseliciane 10 raine it Rather; Hein an actual extension hve developed other moder of laening apart from the daxinnetjos SN. BALAGANGADHARA saodified by St Formulated differently: & culturally dominant Sone of learning extend ond adapts itaels to ether erese of learning. However, as we have soen, auch eftensions are not Productive: Minetic learning does not appear to tll un Much ‘bout theoretical learning; theoretical knowledge baa even less culture like India that hed ‘apecialized in developing ection Ikan, the culture that did'develop the naturel aienses exits ‘when we therefore ack questions about the exirnce of diffe in the affirmative: Yeo for eaample, micas exit in the West a2 Shin to woe kind of family, resemblance: theee two are not the ‘Gane; tney are not identi! Ienrning processes. Gonsesuently, the wecond antwer: if minediarefere 10 the way leasing oooure ln tadis and to the doanine Kt incudes, then mines x buon in the West. Minesie Ze and ie not preaant in the West. nthe first ection, I Snked odes ef learning to the expesi- Cultures. There wee, however, other cultures and civilizations: thay experience order? What inde of learning proccnoce have Sod’ seriously begin asking questions about hunan leasing, culture-apecific anawere to inaues that we cannot even formulate Droperiy tony. Before ve sould ‘say ‘whet "knowledge fay we heed to Know how cultures gurvived, and What they have Inarned. Such studieg, undertaken by members of different cultures acsnat the ectaround of thle cron, bave hay arid Yo ‘Which are neither univeraal much lees theories ~ that merely the same way a religion dove tot become a Universal religion dows not become the way of learning simply becouse itis called ore basic than action-knowlecge or whether the former Se Drone upon the latter tr to indulge in a genacese struggle However, given the kind of dozinance thet the West enjoys and the tragie manner in vhich it hae acquired tha dominance, the HHIOWING To ACT AND ACTING TO KNOW ot questions act by its intellectuals have becowe the queations of Iiqeig” the problem of ection ta the Felon betwoet intending td acting’, between ‘mental states and actions’ and #0 forth These are ot the probleme of action or action-knowledge, but thoae that arise when you attempt to treat a dosinant mode of Tearning ees suborainma on In hie article, T have taken a, very heailant fires atap in txecuting a project that T beinve te necessary. Aa a fiat wep, 10s unbainsond and uneneedinninds Resewer, the tentaeen tne feet ing iv no am indication of th weahaaas of the ‘iemly. In the came way, 1 hope that You will hot prejudge the kind of project T aw pleading for by the serfs (os the ‘of thie paper. As we well know, experience, here a apeouniversitet Gent