28, July 2025
Modernity Without Morality? Rethinking Progress and Ethical Foundations – A Comparative Philosophical Analysis
Author(s): Rakesh Mondal
Authors Affiliations:
Assistant professor, Department of philosophy, Lalbaba College, Howrah, W.B
DOIs:10.2017/IJRCS/202507013 | Paper ID: IJRCS202507013Abstract
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Abstract: This article explores the essential inquiry: Can modernity endure without a robust moral foundation? In an era of swift technical progress, economic expansion, and globalisation, humanity confronts significant ethical challenges, including climate change, inequality, cultural fragmentation, and existential meaninglessness. The approach utilises both Western and Indian philosophical traditions to examine modernity's predicament. Western philosophers, such as Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Nietzsche, Max Weber, Zygmunt Bauman, and Hans Jonas, emphasise that rationalisation, nihilism, moral relativism, and unrestrained technical power lead to a materially sophisticated yet ethically vacuous society. Conversely, Indian philosophical systems—Vedanta, Buddhism, Jainism, and the Bhagavad Gita—provide lasting ethical principles rooted in spiritual unity, non-violence, and duty. Contemporary Indian intellectuals like Gandhi, Ambedkar, Vivekananda, Tagore, and Aurobindo provide indigenous solutions to the ethical disruptions caused by Western modernisation. The essay advocates for a revaluation of progress—not just as economic or technical advancement, but as a process informed by ethical accountability, spiritual awareness, and socio-cultural cohesion.
Keywords: Modernity &Morality, Ethics & Morality, Western Philosophy, Indian Philosophy, Ethical Progress, Spirituality and Ethics, Social Justice
Rakesh Mondal(2025); Modernity Without Morality? Rethinking Progress and Ethical Foundations – A Comparative Philosophical Analysis, International Journal of Research Culture Society, ISSN(O): 2456-6683, Volume – 9, Issue – 7, Pp.75-80. Available on – https://ijrcs.org/