The ethics of B. R. AMBEDKAR (1891-1956): three essays on his philosophy of practice

Abstract

Throughout his life, B. R. Ambedkar (1891-1956) referred to, and was influenced by, a diversity of intellectual traditions and systems of thought. But he should be understood first and foremost as a philosopher of ethical practice and moral behaviour. At the core of his moral philosophy was a simple but powerful idea: that all members of Indian society have a collective responsibility to be ethical and act against unethical practices. Ambedkar’s was not however a moral philosophy that could be confined within a singular canonical work. Rather, he introduced and developed his ideas in a wide range of intellectual projects: scholarly articles, generic tracts, public speeches, correspondence, and civic protests. For over four decades, he consistently argued that an entrenched, historical caste system lay at the (epistemic) root of most unethical social practices in Indian society; and encouraged his readers, listeners, followers and sympathisers to reject it in its entirety. Ambedkar did not develop his ideas in a traditional academic setup. Instead, his approach was structured around personal experiences and observations. This can be clearly seen from his autobiographical accounts in Waiting for a Visa (c.1937) where he elaborated on the myriad ways in which his everyday experiences of caste had shaped his ideas. It was the experience of untouchability in childhood which had first made him aware of the “indignities” and “discriminations” which his community had had to endure as everyday social realities.1 Later, as a young man, he would draw on these early experiences as the framing context for his works on ethics and moral philosophy.