#Amartya Sen

[dabiconcordia]

Apples and Sympathy “of two girls who find two apples, one large and one small” Girl A tells girl B, ‘You choose’. B immediately picks the larger apple. A is upset and permits herself the remark that this was grossly unfair. ‘Why?’ asks B. ‘Which one would you have chosen, if you were to choose rather than me?’ ‘The smaller one, of course’, A replies. B is now triumphant: ‘Then what are you complaining about? That’s the one you’ve got!’ ― Amartya Sen

[strayngerscorner]

Everyone!

I just found an amazing quote while reading a paper on identity in Roman times. The paper is by someone other than the quote is from.

Amartya Sen:

"The constraints may be especially strict in defining the extent to which we can persuade others to take us to be different from or more than what they insist on taking us to be."

I am in love with this quote because this perfectly sums up the problems we are facing with identity contemporarily.

As well, it comforts me when thinking about my own identity, because I don't identify with anything. I find my identity in the absence and void of what's left out or in-between the groups people align with.

What are yalls thoughts on this??

[weil-weil-lautre]

Paradoxes of Liberty - Amartya Sen (1981)

[beenasarwar]

What I've learned from Noam Chomsky

As news of Noam Chomsky's failing health makes the rounds, I share some learnings from my interactions with a trailblazing public intellectual whose moral compass has impacted the world

As news of Noam Chomsky’s failing health makes the rounds, I share some learnings from my interactions with a trailblazing public intellectual whose moral compass has impacted the world PERSONAL POLITICALBy Beena Sarwar Noam Chomsky in Pakistan, 2001. Screenshot from VPRO news report by Beena Sarwar. I once asked Noam Chomsky how he manages to remember so many facts and figures and hold…

[wellconstructedsentences]

The relevance of health equity for social justice in general is hard to overstress.

Why Health Equity? by Amartya Sen

[alexsussuarana]

[trc-magazine]

Redefining Education:

"A Guide to Transformative and Purposeful Learning"

curriculum studio

I.I JUSTIFICATION: "Education is life itself."

– John Dewey (1916)

Education is not a fixed institution—it is a living, evolving force that adapts alongside human progress. Dewey (1916) argued that education must be responsive to the needs of society, functioning as a tool for both personal and social evolution. If education remains static while society advances, it fails to equip learners with the necessary tools for survival in a changing world.

"Education must always be a site of transformation"

Education has never been stagnant. Throughout history, we have seen its transformative nature:

Ancient Civilizations: Knowledge was shared through symbols, paintings, and oral traditions, embedding cultural values into learning.

Industrial Era: Education was mechanized to prepare individuals for specialized labor roles, reinforcing rigid structures in learning.

Colonial Education Systems: Designed to control populations, shaping narratives that erased indigenous knowledge and histories.

Modern Globalized Education: A vehicle for global connectivity, enabling knowledge-sharing across cultures through digital learning and intercultural exchanges.

As Paulo Freire (1996) critiques in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, traditional education functions as a "banking model," where students are seen as passive recipients rather than active participants in learning. This mechanized transfer of knowledge prevents true intellectual growth. In a globalized world, this rigidity is no longer sustainable.

Education must become a site of transformation, where students are encouraged to think critically, engage ethically, and develop values that contribute to their societies.

Education as a Social Process

Education does not exist in isolation. It is fundamentally a social process (Vygotsky, 1978), where learning happens through dialogue, interaction, and cultural exchange. This is why Transformative Education must go beyond content delivery—it must foster:

Cultural Appreciation – Integrating art, music, and history to develop a sense of identity.

Ethical Reasoning – Encouraging students to navigate moral dilemmas and develop personal integrity.

Emotional Intelligence – Developing self-awareness and social skills for better interpersonal relationships.

When values and ethics are woven into education, students develop a strong sense of purpose and responsibility, both to themselves and their communities.

Transformative Education in Action

Projecto Guri, Brazil

This initiative provides free music education to at-risk children and teenagers, emphasizing collective music learning and performance.

Impact:

Social Inclusion – Students engage in a shared creative process, reducing social isolation.

Cultural Diversity – By embracing various musical traditions, students develop cultural appreciation.

Personal Growth – Studies show increased self-esteem, improved social interactions, and clearer future aspirations.

By learning an instrument, students gain discipline, teamwork, and a sense of belonging, proving that education is not just about academic knowledge—it is about identity formation and life skills.

Soka School System, Japan

This system prioritizes value-creative education—a philosophy aimed at developing students’ inner happiness and social responsibility.

Findings:

Traditional Japanese education places less emphasis on self-expression and social relationships. A comparative study across nine countries found that only 35% of Japanese students felt comfortable expressing their ideas openly in school—the lowest among the nations surveyed.

Soka School System Approach:

Emphasizing character development alongside academic learning.

Encouraging students to find personal meaning in education.

Cultivating emotional intelligence, self-confidence, and ethical decision-making.

Graduates from Soka schools often enter society not just as high-achieving individuals but as socially responsible and purpose-driven citizens.

The Future of Education

As Amartya Sen (1999) argues, education must be forward-thinking, preparing individuals to thrive in an evolving world rather than simply meeting outdated employment needs.

Modern education systems must:

Move beyond standardized testing toward competency-based learning.

Encourage project-based education that connects learning with real-world challenges.

Design classrooms that prioritize ethics, self-awareness, and adaptability.

If we continue applying rigid, test-driven 20th-century education to a 21st-century globalized society, we are limiting both individual potential and national development.

"Education is transformative by nature—and so, it must transform itself."

Here we argue that Transformative Education is not merely a pedagogical trend but a critical necessity. It is a response to the limitations of traditional education, which often reduces learning to rote memorization rather than fostering adaptability, creativity, and ethical reasoning. It aims to explore how we can bridge the gap between theory and practice, bringing Transformative Education into classrooms worldwide.

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📚 Further Reading & Resources

If you're interested in diving deeper into the concepts discussed, here are some recommended books and academic resources:

Pedagogy of the Oppressed – Paulo Freire (1996) 📖

Democracy and Education – John Dewey (1916) 🏛️

Education for Critical Consciousness – Paulo Freire (1974) 🔎

Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World – Tony Wagner (2012) 🚀

The Capability Approach and Education – Melanie Walker & Elaine Unterhalter (2007) 🌍

📌 Note

This blog post is an adapted version of a work-in-progress master's dissertation on Transformative Education. The full dissertation will explore in depth: ✔️ Theoretical foundations of transformative education. ✔️ Case studies demonstrating its impact in real-world classrooms. ✔️ Practical frameworks for integrating transformative education into different learning environments. The next article will focus on the objectives and significance of the study, outlining its academic contributions, practical implications, and relevance to contemporary education. Stay tuned for more insights!

[dinajpurbartanews]

Amarta Sen Refuse Bangabibhushan of West Bengal Govt

বঙ্গ বিভূষণ সম্মান নিচ্ছেন না অমর্ত্য সেন। বঙ্গবিভূষণ সম্মান নিচ্ছেন না অমর্ত্য সেন কারন নিয়ে ধোঁয়াশা নিজস্ব সংবাদদাতা – কলকাতা : রাজ্য সরকার বঙ্গবিভূষণ (Bangabibhusan) পুরস্কার ঘোষণা করেছে। কিন্তু নোবেলজয়ী অর্থনীতিবিদ অমর্ত্য সেন সেই পুরস্কার নিচ্ছেন না। পারিবারিক সূত্রে জানা গেছে, নোবেল বিজয়ী অর্থনীতিবিদ ড.অমর্ত্য সেন বর্তমানে বিদেশে রয়েছেন, এখনই দেশে ফিরছেন না। কিন্তু কেন তিনি বঙ্গবিভূষণ…

[pier-carlo-universe]

“Quando le donne stanno bene, tutto il mondo sta meglio” - Mobilitazione Nazionale contro la Violenza sulle Donne

me.dea aderisce alla mobilitazione nazionale con l’illuminazione della scarpetta rossa in viale Massobrio ad Alessandria

me.dea aderisce alla mobilitazione nazionale con l’illuminazione della scarpetta rossa in viale Massobrio ad Alessandria. L’Associazione di Promozione Sociale me.dea, Centro Antiviolenza di Alessandria, ha scelto di aderire alla mobilitazione nazionale indetta dalla Rete D.i.Re per alzare una voce decisa contro la violenza sulle donne. Il 9 novembre, in una giornata dedicata alla…

[kimskashmir]

India's tradition is Hindus, Muslims living, working together: Amartya Sen

KOLKATA — Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on Saturday said India has the tradition of Hindus and Muslims working and living together in cohesion. Sen, a noted economist, was speaking at a programme at the Alipore Jail Museum to foster book-reading habits among underprivileged youth. “Going by the history of our country, Hindus and Muslims have been working together in harmony in perfect coordination…

[barrissoffeeapologist]

Anartya Sen's 'Lady Chatterlay's Lover' example of his Paretian Liberal Paradox

[dislocatedchristians]

An Extremely Kind Overview

Beginning on page 50 of this magazine, there is a very kind overview of my charity work, faith, and writing. Although it is published in a secular magazine, my faith is openly discussed, which I hope gives readers pause to reflect. Being a Christian changes everything, and I give God all the glory. I’m grateful to my friend Nicki for taking the time to write it and for being so complimentary; it…

[disorganisedautodidact]

Autodidact’s Library No. 15: Amartya Sen, Identity and Violence. The Illusion of Destiny

I read this book because of a tumblr post. I can’t find the post any more and don’t remember who made it, but they said it was a sort of antidote to Huntington’s infuriatingly stupid “clash of civilisations” idea, and after spending 8 years in a Middle Eastern studies department of a European university, I really, really needed that. Anyway, I wasn’t promised too much – the book not only rebutted Huntington’s simplistic idea of “civilisatons” and “cultural identities”, but it made me chuckle a few times with some rhetorical dig or other at Huntington and his ilk.

What the book is really about is the multiplicity and complexity of identity and the freedom of choice we all have in deciding which of our identities are important to us and what consequences to draw from that. No one is just German or just Indian or just English or just Mexican, but instead the same person can identify as an American citizen, a white person, a woman, a lesbian, a member of her local chess club, a left-wing person, a computer engineer, a Christian, etc. etc. etc., all at the same time. According to Sen, it’s not just right-wing nationalists who tend to flatten people into a singular identity (or a very few identities) and use that to form in-group cohesion and turn people against the out-group, causing a lot of violence, but he claims liberals make the same mistake even in their efforts to counter said right-wing rhetorical strategy. For example, there is a lot of focus on intercultural cooperation or interfaith dialogue, but always with a focus on people as members of cultures or religions (and often focused on religious leaders as spokespeople), when it might be, in Sen’s opinion, more effective to encourage people to work together as a civil society and find a common identity instead of just a collection of cultural groups that remains focused somehow on their divisions.

Even more important, according to Sen, is encouraging people to apply reasoning and free choice to their various identities. There are obvious limits to this, as a young-ish person from Germany I can’t choose to identify as an African man, but I can choose to regard my queerness as a more important part of my identity than my nationality. (Or vice versa, which sadly several conservative politicians in Germany are doing.)

I found his theses clear and worth thinking about, and the various historical examples he brings are interesting. I did think the book gets a bit repetitive at times, like the same points could have been made in 100 pages rather than 150. Still, I’m glad I gave this a read!

[newsbluster]

Amartya Sen: The Unsung Hero!

Amartya Sen: Amidst a whirlwind of false news, let’s unravel the inspiring journey of renowned economist Amartya Sen, a man whose legacy continues to shape the world. In this blog post, we delve into the life and achievements of this extraordinary individual, debunking myths and celebrating the truth. Unraveling the Truth:In a recent wave of misinformation, reports surfaced claiming the demise…

[intellectures]

Friedenspreisträger 2023: Der unbeugsame Salman Rushdie

Der in Mumbai geborene und in den USA lebende Schriftsteller Salman Rushdie wurde zum diesjährigen Träger des Friedenspreises gewählt. Unter hohen persönlichen Risiken verteidige er die Freiheit des Denkens und der Sprache, heißt es in der Begründung.

Der in Mumbai geborene und in den USA lebende Schriftsteller Salman Rushdie, Autor von Bestsellern wie »Die satanischen Verse«, »Joseph Anton« und »Quichote« wurde zum diesjährigen Träger des Friedenspreises gewählt. Unter hohen persönlichen Risiken verteidige er die Freiheit des Denkens und der Sprache, heißt es in der Begründung. Seit Jahrzehnten lastet auf Rushdie ein Todesurteil der…

[wellconstructedsentences]

[H]ealth is among the most important conditions of human life and a critically significant constituent of human capabilities which we have reason to value . . . . Equity in the achievement and distribution of health gets, thus, incorporated and embedded in a larger understanding of justice.

Why Health Equity? by Amartya Sen