हिंदी
Chandigarh 23 March 2022
The Philosophy Department of Mehr Chand Mahajan DAV College for Women, Chandigarh organised online periodic lectures titled ‘Understanding Virtues and Virtuous Life: A Philosophical Deliberation’ and ‘Our Place in Space’ by Dr. Shivani Sharma, Chairperson, Department of Philosophy, Panjab University, and Dr. Smriti Mahajan, SERB Research Scientist, IISER, Mohali, respectively. The lecture on Understanding Virtues and Virtuous Life aimed to explore the concept of virtue and its different kinds in the history of ideas by referring to Indian and Greek traditions, and also to acquaint the students to the paradigm that is available across the cultures. Dr. Shivani asserted that Indian philosophical tradition is rich enough in suggesting as to how to make life meaningful and eventful and similar is the case with Greek tradition too. In her engrossing lecture, Dr. Shivani shed light on humans’ privilege to create a meaningful life, importance of living meaningfully, the role of the concept of Purushartha and Ashram vyavastha in realisation of virtue, difference between Shreyas and Preyas as propounded by the Vedas and the means to adopt virtuous life style. The lecture on ‘Our Place in Space’ by Dr. Smriti gave a generic overview of the scales in the universe in the context of galaxies and the large-scale structures which they form, trying to formulate an address for mankind in the larger Universe. The expert put the galaxies- our own Milkyway and the ones in our neighbourhood into perspective, discussing some milestone discoveries and recent developments in the field of Astronomy. Both the lectures witnessed enthusiastic participation of the students.
Principal Dr. Nisha Bhargava lauded these endeavours of the Philosophy Department to stimulate the philosophical thinking of the students. commenced by sharing the literal meaning of virtues and virtuous life. Quoting great philosophers like Socrates, Aristotle and Kant, Dr. Bhargava shared their interpretations on leading a virtuous life, and said that self-reflection is a prerequisite for a virtuous life.
