Sarovara

Conferred the distinction of being ‘great works’, classics are considered as important because they are supposed to set standards and make far reaching reflections conducted in different civilizations and epochs available to us. In recent years, however, there has been a debate as to why (and whether) we should study classics. One conspicuous assumption around which the controversy turns is that there are some timeless values and timeless ways of learning shared by all civilizations and epochs. How far is this assumption useful and in what sense can it be valid?

Keeping this question at the center, we will examine the idea of classics and its place in liberal education, concretizing our explorations by focusing on excerpts from two well-known works: “Protagoras” (Western) and Arjuna and the Hunter (Indian). We will also examine and evaluate perspectives that attempt to provide a resolution to the problem.