SynTalk

Did Buddha have friends? Did Gandhi have enemies? Can you renounce friends? Is friendship universal? Do we ‘need’ enemies? Is competition ever with enemies? Why is there ‘narcissism of small differences’? Can rivals be friends? How are enemies, adversaries, and opponents conceptually distinct from each other? Are democratic structures meant for pacification of politics: can enemies be turned into adversaries? Does self interest contaminate friendship or does mutual self interest bind it together? Can power be shared? Does allegiance to a world view come along with enemies that need to be fought? Did competitive sports (Olympics) come to be as a substitute for combat and battles? How is the sense of the self developed? Can there be friendship between collectivities (such as countries)? Would the European Union have come to be without the preceding World Wars? Why and ‘how’ did Panchtantra come to be? Would a highly transactional world make friendships redundant? Are there friendships in competitive sports? Is mono-modal friendship possible? Will there ever be a world where there are no friends (or enemies)? Can affection be manufactured by law? SynTalk thinks about these & more questions using concepts from sports psychology (Bhishmaraj P. Bam, Purushottam Academy, Nashik), political theory (Prof. Rajeev Bhargava, CSDS, New Delhi), & philosophy and history (Prof. Vinay Lal, UCLA, Los Angeles). Listen in....