Prophets Facing Backward: Postmodern Critiques of Science and Hindu Nationalism in India [Paperback]

Meera Nanda (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 5, 2003

The leading voices in science studies have argued that modern science reflects dominant social interests and cultural values of Western society. Following this logic, postmodern scholars have urged non-Western societies to develop their own "alternative sciences" as a step toward "mental decolonization." In this passionate and highly original study, Meera Nanda reveals how these radical critiques of modern science are enabling Hindu ideologues to propagate religious myths in the guise of science and secularism.

Nanda contends that at the heart of Hindu supremacist ideology lies a postmodernist assumption: that each society has its own norms of reasonableness, logic, rules of evidence, and conception of truth, and that there is no non-arbitrary, culture-independent way to choose among these alternatives. This logic is enabling Hindu nationalists to celebrate the most mystical and obscurantist elements of Hinduism as "Vedic science." By eroding all distinctions between modern science and other local sciences, the postmodernist left has unwittingly aided the growth of reactionary modernism in India.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This first detailed examination of postmodernism’s politically reactionary consequences should serve as a wake-up call for all conscientious leftists -- Steve Fuller, author of Social Epistemology

This is a brave and important book -- Dan Dennett, University Professor, Tufts University, and author of Freedom Evolves and Darwin's Dangerous Idea

About the Author

Meera Nanda is the author of Breaking the Spell of Dharma and Other Essays and Planting the Future: A Resource Guide to Sustainable Agriculture in the Third World.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (November 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813533589
• ISBN-13: 978-0813533582
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #553,482 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You either love it or hate it, August 20, 2009

By 

N. Panchmatia (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prophets Facing Backward: Postmodern Critiques of Science and Hindu Nationalism in India (Paperback)

I was surprised to see that Nanda's book received an average of 3 stars on here. Then I realized that there was a divide between half of the reviewers offering it 5 stars while the other half offered it 1 star. This explains the fact that one would either love or hate this book depending on their own opinions, and beliefs on the subject. Personally, the first time I read the book - I was extremely offended. Being a Hindu, I tried to blame her criticisms of Hindutva on the fact that she is not 'really Indian' - that being a foreign desi, she really should have no say on the matter. However, upon further unbiased exploration of the facts, an open mind that was difficult to have, and careful reconsideration of Nanda's intelligent words - I have truly become a fan. This is scholarship at its best. I commend her for her brave approach of a topic few others would dare discuss.

25 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reviewers Missing the Point, June 29, 2005

By 

S. Plowright (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prophets Facing Backward: Postmodern Critiques of Science and Hindu Nationalism in India (Paperback)

The author is not claiming or trying to be a philosopher, a historian, or a physicist. However, she brings to our attention an important and disturbing consequence of the Western fad for pseudoscience and irrationalism.

Nanda's training in her own science is quite sufficient for her to understand the scientific method, and to recognise snake-oil when she sees it. Cultural relativism, and the other idiocies spawned by Kuhn's magical "paradigms", have left the door open for politically motivated cults to justify dangerous, divisive, and oppressive ideologies.

Is tradition a defense for female genital mutilation? If you missed the point of Nanda's book, you will not be able to see that human rights are universal. Can cultural tradition justify the oppression of minorities? These are the real questions to be asked.

The last thing this World needs is intellectuals philosophising justifications for the patently absurd. Nandas book is a breath of fresh air, and it can only be hoped that others like it will put the wheels of reason back on the cart of civilisation.

29 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't listen to the naysayers, May 27, 2004

By 

Amardeep Singh "Lehigh English Professor" (Conshohocken, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prophets Facing Backward: Postmodern Critiques of Science and Hindu Nationalism in India (Paperback)

This is a much-needed argument, and excellent research. Nanda levels a devastating attack on the pseudo-science of the Hindu right. She also suggests that a wooly postmodernism in science studies and cultural studies are at best incapable of defending against Hindutva's form of anti-modern 'hybridity'. At worst, postmodernism is a direct asset to the ideology of Hindu nationalism.

Some of Nanda's points may be arguable, but this book is clearly written and well-researched. The arguments are forcefully presented and highly accessible. Academics and non-academics alike will be challenged by her points even if they disagree with her.