METAPHYSICS AND BIO-ETHICS TOWARDS A SOCIAL SPIRITUAL

FOUNDATIONS IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM

(FROM THE SPIRITUAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE GOSPEL AND THE SOCIAL TEACHINGS OF
THE CHURCH INTEGRATED IN THE ASIAN AND POST MODERN TRADITIONS )
DR. S. LOURDUNATHAN*

ABSTRACT
THE ISSUES
Two vital queries are introspected in this paper: (a) what is the ontology and morality that has been
dehumanizing the Human Person which needs to be critiqued in order to participate in co-creating
the human Person of the third millennium? (b) Alternatively, what is the kind of metaphysics and
ethics that needs to be unearthed, re-formulated and prophesied in order to reclaim the Human
Person. Both these queries are responded from the standpoint of the Gospel, Social Teachings of the
Church, Asian Philosophical Spiritual Traditions guided by Post-Modernity.
FRAGMENTATION & EXCLUSION OF THE SOCIAL-OTHER: A CLOSED ONTOLOGY
Fragmentation and the exclusion of the-other is the ontological ground of the existential context of
humankind in the contemporary society. The multiple layers of fragmentation and exclusion may
be classified in two three major dimensions: i. The Spiritual, ii. The Structural (Social, political,
cultural, economical, and religious), and iii. The Ethical. The crisis-context when viewed from the
point of view of a Philosophy and Ethics, is deep down, is a tension between ontology and
metaphysics. A Particular totality of totalities is wounded. It is a crucifixion. It is a problem of a
birth-pain for an ethics of sustainability and justice. It is the problem of thrown-ness at the
metaphysical, epistemological and ethical dimensions. It is both Calvary and Resurrection
simultaneously.
The kind of wounded totality of the cosmic life calls for a process of Introspection and Deconstruction for Re-Construction. We need to de-construct the closed ego of the inhuman
colonized life-forms. Hence, arises a need for an alternative pedagogy of deconstruction for
reconstruction of The Human Person. If so, what are the principles of such alternatives?
METAPHYSICS AND ETHICS FOR SOCIAL SPIRITUAL FORM OF LIFE: A DISCUSSION
The paper engages into a serious discussion on the principles of sustainable metaphysics and ethics.
It is done from the perspectives of The Gospel, social teachings of the Church, a selected Asian
Philosophic-Spiritual traditions and Post Modernity. The alternate sustainable principles of
Metaphysics (discussed in this paper) include:
(a) The logic of negation of negation for the affirmation of the-other as the mediation for Social
Resurrection; (b) The concepts of Concern-for the-other, commiseration for resurrection as the
Faith-praxis in the 3rd millenium (Insights from The Gospel and the social teachings of the
Church); (c) The concept of inescapable inter-relationality and inherent responsibility as
metaphysical imperative (Buddhism and Jainism); (d) The concept of Identity-in-Difference of the
Social-Many and the need for a Multilogue a step ahead in dialogue, as against monologue. (e)
From the concept of centered-spirituality to the faith-praxis of non-centric and the OtherOriented spirituality. (f) The Involution of the Word of God.
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* DR. S. LOURDUNATHAN, Department of Philosophy, ArulAnandar (autonomous) College, Karumathur
(M.K.University), Madurai-625 514, Tamilnadu, INDIA, Phone:(0452) 859349