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Adventures into the Unknown: Essays
The enigmatic genius of great mathematician and historian DD Kosambi shines through this book comprising his four essays, two of which, discovered in his papers, are being published for the first time. The book sheds a new light on his personality and range of his interests and concerns. Meticulously researched edited by Ram Ramaswamy this little book will be of great interest to all students of science and intellectual history.
106 pages, Paperback
Published January 31, 2016
21 people want to read
About the author
Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi
17 books43 followersDamodar Dharmananda Kosambi (31 July 1907 – 29 June 1966) was an Indian mathematician, statistician, philologist, historian and polymath who contributed to genetics by introducing Kosambi map function.He is well known for his work in numismatics and for compiling critical editions of ancient Sanskrit texts. His father, Dharmananda Damodar Kosambi, had studied ancient Indian texts with a particular emphasis on Buddhism and its literature in the Pali language. Damodar Kosambi emulated him by developing a keen interest in his country's ancient history. Kosambi was also a Marxist historian specialising in ancient India who employed the historical materialist approach in his work.He is particularly known for his classic work An Introduction to the Study of Indian History.
He is described as "the patriarch of the Marxist school of Indian historiography".Kosambi was critical of the policies of then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, which, according to him, promoted capitalism in the guise of democratic socialism. He was an enthusiast of the Chinese revolution and its ideals, and, in addition, a leading activist in the World Peace Movement.
He is described as "the patriarch of the Marxist school of Indian historiography".Kosambi was critical of the policies of then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, which, according to him, promoted capitalism in the guise of democratic socialism. He was an enthusiast of the Chinese revolution and its ideals, and, in addition, a leading activist in the World Peace Movement.
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January 2, 2021
Excellent collection of Essays from Kosambi.
The book has 4 essays: first is the commentary used by Kosambi in his lectures on Dialectical Materialism, second is on Statistics, third on Atomic Energy in India and last covers many more topics, mostly in context of India.
In the lectures on Dialectical Materialism, it seems to me that Kosambi often drifts away from the main talking point of the lecture. This happens in many of the lectures. Although all of what he is says is quite interesting, it certainly broke the flow of reading for me at times.
Nevertheless, the lectures are not something which can be understood in one read alone, and I plan to read all of them again; to understand it more properly.
The second and third essays are just brilliant. Being a Mathematician himself, Kosambi talks about use of Statistics in Social Sciences with a degree of depth, well explained even for a layperson.
His views on the harms of Atomic Energy, and his foresight as to how India should look towards Solar Energy has been proven true in today's times.
The last essay, which has the eponymous title, takes on variety of different contemporary topics; Kosambi starts with a general commentary on the topic and then explains the relevance of it in context of India. Kosambi makes a convincing case as for how and why India lacks behind in several areas to the western world, though at the same time constantly highlighting the potential India has for development.
One highlight of the book is: The author, while talking about an issue, time and again, explains how there are available logical solutions, and even available resources to implement these solutions; only due to the 'for-profit' nature of Capitalism is the mentioned logical solution not being implemented to solve the problem.
Brilliant collection overall. Highly recommended. Although in my opinion, it should be read more than once to gain any meaningful understanding, especially of the first essay.
The book has 4 essays: first is the commentary used by Kosambi in his lectures on Dialectical Materialism, second is on Statistics, third on Atomic Energy in India and last covers many more topics, mostly in context of India.
In the lectures on Dialectical Materialism, it seems to me that Kosambi often drifts away from the main talking point of the lecture. This happens in many of the lectures. Although all of what he is says is quite interesting, it certainly broke the flow of reading for me at times.
Nevertheless, the lectures are not something which can be understood in one read alone, and I plan to read all of them again; to understand it more properly.
The second and third essays are just brilliant. Being a Mathematician himself, Kosambi talks about use of Statistics in Social Sciences with a degree of depth, well explained even for a layperson.
His views on the harms of Atomic Energy, and his foresight as to how India should look towards Solar Energy has been proven true in today's times.
The last essay, which has the eponymous title, takes on variety of different contemporary topics; Kosambi starts with a general commentary on the topic and then explains the relevance of it in context of India. Kosambi makes a convincing case as for how and why India lacks behind in several areas to the western world, though at the same time constantly highlighting the potential India has for development.
One highlight of the book is: The author, while talking about an issue, time and again, explains how there are available logical solutions, and even available resources to implement these solutions; only due to the 'for-profit' nature of Capitalism is the mentioned logical solution not being implemented to solve the problem.
Brilliant collection overall. Highly recommended. Although in my opinion, it should be read more than once to gain any meaningful understanding, especially of the first essay.
Displaying 1 of 1 review