Chakrabarty, Chapter 3

I found this chapter especially philosophically enlightening and somewhat existentialist/Transcendentalist. Chakrabarty reviews the writings of Indian author Nandy and questions the relevance and meaning of the term "modernity." He uses the Indian custom of sati, and criticisms thereof, as the fulcrum of his argument. He talks of "resisting enslavement to the discipline of history." We, as historians, objectify societies, for example, so that we may study them. In doing so, however, we paint them as black and white/yes or no entities. When, in essence, "beyond a certain point theory cannot see." Thus, modernity cannot really be defined because it is in the eye of the beholder. One's modernity is another's enslavement. I think this is the root of the phrase "history repeats itself." We often try to create a history as a means of predicting a seemingly uneasy future that leaves us feeling chagrined. When, in essence, we cannot know. That is why he also points out that "intelligence and knowledge are poor--in fact, dangerous--substitutes for intellect and wisdom." Looking for solutions to social, political and economic problems, among other types of problems, by peering just around the corner (finding an immediate fix) actually shuts down our thinking. In reality, the question needs "time to gather depth." Of course, this is not always a possibility. Which leads us back to the crux of the argument.