Some philosophers believe that the function of philosophy is to analyze the foundations and presuppositions underlying other fields of study. Others, that it is to integrate scientific knowledge with that of other disciplines to achieve some kind of consistent and coherent world view. Philosophy emphasizes intellectual autonomy, for it appeals to your own ability to find out what is true and what is right through your own thinking and experiences, without depending for your beliefs solely upon an external authority. A major benefit of studying philosophy is that it helps develop skills in problem-solving, in analyzing concepts, in formulating clear definitions, and in asking leading questions, all of which are often emphasised as valuable 21st Century Skills. Studying philosophy also helps you to improve your communication skills, for it teaches you how to write and speak more carefully and cogently.
The UNESCO General Conference in 2005 had the conviction that embedding the concept of World Philosophy Day in society would popularize philosophy,and suggested that the 3rd Thursday of November be celebrated as World Philosophy Day, which this year is on 17th November 2022. Elon Musk has also acknowledged that his success is due to the adoption of ‘first principles’ and fresh thinking, rather than by simply copying best practices. These are clearly enhanced with the pursuit of learning Philosophy.
I have developed a suite of WhatsApp delivered weekend, weeklong and monthlong programs on Philosophy. To know more about these programs, please send a WhatsApp message to Prof MM Pant at +919810073724 or e-mail him at mmpant@gmail.com. The first edition of the weekend program is being offered on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th November 2022.
The name of the program is “ Why learn Philosophy?”.
The flow of topics for the program is as follows:
Saturday: What’s it about?
1.1: Some myths about Philosophy
1.2: What is Philosophy about?
1.3: The map of Philosophy
1.4: Philosophy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
1.5: Philosophy as vaccination against ignorance and stupidity
Sunday : Making Philosophy useful?
2.1: Utilitarianism
2.2: Deontological Ethics
2.3: Stoicism and Existentialism
2.4: Epistemology, Ontology and Metacognition
2.5: What next ?
The exact description of the themes may be tweaked during the actual delivery of this weekend program.
Enrolment and fee payment:
* As the courses are being delivered through WhatsApp the enrolment process is simply that of sending a WhatsApp message to Prof MM Pant at +919810073724.
* The fee for this weekend course is Rs 1000/- and can be easily remitted through PayTM to MM Pant ( mobile number : +919810073724).
* For those who would rather pay into a Bank account, the relevant information is :
* Madan Mohan Pant
* HDFC Bank, Unitech Cyber Park, Sector 39, Gurgaon
A/c 26451000000301
HDFC0002645
* (The account number is 26451 followed by six zeroes followed by 301)
To know more, please send a WhatsApp message to Prof MM Pant at +919810073724
Prof. M.M.Pant has a Ph.D in Computational Physics, along with a Professional Law Degree, and has been a practitioner in the fields of Law, IT enabled education and IT implementation.
Drawing upon his experience in world class international institutions and having taught in various modes of Face-to-Face, Distance Learning and Technology Enhanced Training, Prof. Pant is now exploring the nature of institutions which will be successors to the IITs, which represented the 1960s, IIMs, which represented the 1970 and Open Universities which were the rage of 1980s & 90s.
He believes that the convergence between various media and technologies would fundamentally alter the way learning would be created, packaged, and delivered to learners. His current activities are all directed toward actual implementation of these new age educational initiatives that transform education in the post Internet post WTO era..
Prof. Pant, has been a Former Pro-Vice Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and has been on the faculty of IIT – Kanpur (the premier Engineering institution in India), MLNR Engineering College and Faculty & Visiting Professor - University of Western Ontario-Canada.
He has been visiting scientist to research centers in Italy, England, Germany & Sweden and has delivered international lectures with about 80 papers published.
During his association of almost 15 years with the IGNOU, Prof. Pant has served as the Director Computing and has been the Member of All Bodies (i.e. School boards, Academic council, Planning board, Finance committee and the Board of management).
With his interest in Law, backed with practice of Law in a High Court, and his basic training in Science and IT, Prof. Pant has been particularly interested in the Cyber Law, Patent & trade mark issues, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) issues etc. and has been involved with many activities, conferences on “Law & IT”
Prof. Pant is presently;
• Advisor to Media Lab Asia - Chairman of working group on ICT for Education, chairman of PRSG handling projects on ICT for education.
• Lead Consultant for an ADB funded project for ICT in Basic Education in Uzbekistan
• Member of the drafting Group for India’s National Policy on ICT in education
• Chairman of the group creating books for class 11 and 12 students on ‘Computers and Communication Technology’ appointed by the NCERT
• Preparing a ‘Theme Paper” for the NCTE in the area of ICT and Teacher Training
• Advisor and mentor to several leading Indian and Multi-national Companies in the area of education.
Prof. Pant has in the recent past been ;
• Member – Board of Management – I I T, Delhi for 6 years (two consecutive terms)
• One-man committee to create the Project Report & Legislation for Delhi IT-enabled Open University
• Advisor to the Delhi Government on Asian Network of Major Cities Project (ANMC-21) distance learning project in association with Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
• Chairman Board of Studies, All India Management Association
With his mission to create and implement new business opportunities in the area of e-learning & learning facilitation, Prof. Pant has promoted Planet EDU Pvt. Ltd., as its Founder & Chairman, along with a team of highly experienced and skilled professionals from Education & Training, Operations, IT and Finance.
