Thakurartha Devadithya Guardiyawasam Lindamulage Nalin Kumara de Silva ( Sinhala: නලින් ද සිල්වා; born 20 October 1944) is a Sri Lankan philosopher and a political analyst. He is the current Sri Lankan ambassador in Myanmar. He was a professor in the department of mathematics, a member of University Grant Commission and the dean of the faculty of science at the

University of Kelaniya Pannaya Parisujjhati , mottoeng = Self-purification is by insight , established = 1875 Vidyalankara Pirivena1959 Vidyalankara University , type = Public , endowment = , adminis ...

, Sri Lanka. De Silva has openly stated that the so-called 'objective scientific method' is a lie. In June 2011 he stated that information regarding the presence of

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, ...

in water claiming that the cause of Rajarata chronic kidney disease had been given to him by the god

Natha Nath, also called Natha, are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism and Yoga traditions in India. The Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science, an organisation in which De Silva claims lifelong membership, has said that they consider it "extremely unfortunate that the Dean of a Science Faculty should make it his publicly stated aim to run down science and bring it into disrepute." However the presence of arsenic was verified in water and vegetation, and the source was found to be agrochemical fertilizers.

Early life and education

Nalin de Silva was born on 20 October 1944 in Kovilagodella,

Panadura Panadura ( si, පානදුර, translit=Pānadura; ta, பாணந்துறை, translit=Pāṇantuṟai) is a city in Kalutara District, Western Province in Sri Lanka. It is located approximately south of Colombo and is surrounded on ...

, Sri Lanka. His father was Daniel De Silva, a principal, and his mother was Jayline Perera, a school teacher. De Silva was the eldest of eight siblings. He had primary education at Bauddhaloka Maha Vidyalaya,

Thurstan College Thurstan College ( si, තර්ස්ටන් විද්‍යාලය) is a national school for boys in Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka, providing primary and secondary education. It is located in the Cinnamon Gardens neighbourhood of ...

Colombo and secondary education at

Royal College Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janu ...

. He captained the Sinhala Debating team at Royal College and won the Weerasooriya medal for oratory. He entered the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Unive ...

in 1963 and graduated in mathematics in 1967. De Silva entered

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

in January 1969, where he obtained his doctorate in theoretical physics –

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...

– in 1970 He is married and has two sons and one daughter.

Academic work

Constructive relativism

Nalin de Silva was formally a member of the Marxist Trotskyite Lanka Sama Samaja Party and the

Nava Sama Samaja Party The Nava Sama Samaja Pakshaya (''New Equal Society Party'') is a Trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka. It was formed through the expulsion from the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) of the Vama Samsamja tendency led by Dr Vickrambahu (Bahu), Suman ...

, and as a Marxist studying both disciplines he intensively began to question the foundations of both

Marxism Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectical ...

and science. As a result, in 1986, he wrote ''Mage Lokaya'' (My World), criticizing the basis of the established western system of knowledge, and its propagation, which he refers as "domination throughout the world".He explained in this book that mind independent reality is impossible and knowledge is not found but constructed. This has further evolved into a study of

epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Epis ...

and

ontology In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality. Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exi ...

, and in the process he has introduced and developed the concept of "constructive relativism" as the basis on which knowledge is constructed relative to the sense organs, culture and the mind completely based on Avidya. Though he was identified as a representative of "Jathika Chinthanaya" an idea proposed by Gunadasa Amarasekara based on national thought concept of Erich Fromm, Nalin de Silva's concept Chinthanaya is a different epistemological concept.

Arsenic controversy

The Rajarata chronic kidney disease (RCKD) has been an ailment prevalent in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka for several decades. In 2010 a team of scientists headed by Priyani Paranagama, head of the chemistry department at Kelaniya University, conducted a study to find the cause of the disease. The team was advised by Nalin de Silva, dean of the faculty of science, Kelaniya University. The team presented their findings in June 2011. They stated that they had found high concentrations of

in drinking water, vegetation, rice and other samples in the region. The team, however, refused to release their data to the public, raising questions about their methodology. Their finding were followed by allegations that the arsenic was being introduced to the system through foreign pesticides and fertilizers. As this statement caused a huge uproar in the agricultural sector in Sri Lanka, the Industrial Technology Institute stated that they had used Hydride Generation Atomic Absorption Spectrometry on rice samples which showed no high levels of arsenic. The ITI study also found that in samples of 28 different pesticides only 3 showed any signs of arsenic, and even then not in the concentrations that De Silva's team alleged. The Kelaniya University team stated that they had used new methods to locate the Arsenic in the samples they collected but did not feel a need to submit their findings for peer-review. De Silva stated that they did not publish their results in a "so-called peer reviewed journal due to our concern regarding the authorship of the paper as the original idea was given by 'samyak drshtika devivaru' also known as

Devas Devas may refer to: * Devas Club, a club in south London * Anthony Devas (1911–1958), British portrait painter * Charles Stanton Devas (1848–1906), political economist * Jocelyn Devas (died 1886), founder of the Devas Club * Devas (band), ...

When the authenticity of the findings made by the University of Kelaniya team were questioned by other scientists, De Silva stated that the god "Natha" had first told them about the arsenic through a mystic.

The merit (pina) in this regard should go to the "samyak drshtika devivaru" who first told that Arsenic is present in Rajarata drinking water and later revealed to us that Arsenic which is not found naturally in Sri Lanka has found its way to the wells and the wewas in Rajarata through Agrochemicals.

It's simply like this. We can see professors. Professors cannot see Arsenic. We cannot see gods. Gods can see Arsenic. I like this because there is certain symmetry in it... I know very well that the so-called objective scientific method is a lie.

Paranagama too has stood by De Silva and defended their methods. She said that they had first been told of the arsenic by the wife of "a university lecturer who had developed her mental faculties to communicate with a higher being", but then used scientific methods to deduce it. The Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science released a statement in July 2011 questioning the validity of the findings and the process and individuals involved in the study. Their statement laid the blame for the scandal firmly on Prof Nalin De Silva, and they called for other scientists and researchers in the group to distance themselves from De Silva to have their work taken seriously .

There is another serious issue which casts grave doubts on the credibility of the claims made by the Kelaniya group. The press has publicly identified as the leader of this group an individual, who despite holding a responsible position, professes a disdain for 'Western' science. He has publicly claimed supernatural revelations ('samyak drushtika devivaru') as the source of his group's information and even methods. While recognising that many scientists are deeply religious, the SLAAS wishes to state categorically that superstition and the supernatural have no place in science, and that scientific results inspired by such sources are highly suspect because of a probable bias on the part of the investigator. We also note that other researchers in the group have yet to distance themselves from the eccentric statements of their leader, and they need to do this if they wish to be taken seriously as scientists.

Western cultural dominance

De Silva has also been a vocal opponent of what he calls western cultural dominance which he claims is in its final phase.

The western Christian modernity (WCM) is in the last phase of its hegemony and is acting like an insane person. It has no respect for the sovereignty of the other countries as has been exemplified from invasions, killings and supporting so called rebel groups in the countries in Asia and Africa. The USA that became the leader of WCM after the so called second world war is trying desperately to hold to the hegemony of WCM. After more than five hundred years of world domination WCM will have to leave the planet without making the people suffer more and more.

De Silva has also referred to linguist and philosopher

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky i ...

as a puppet of the Western Christian Modernity.

The west also maintains people such as Chomsky who is not known to the average American in order to show to the world that there is freedom for the intellectuals to champion their views heard more by the rest of the world than by the Americans themselves.

Philosophy of science

Nalin de Silva who is influenced by

Paul Feyerabend Paul Karl Feyerabend (; January 13, 1924 – February 11, 1994) was an Austrian-born philosopher of science best known for his work as a professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley, where he worked for three decades (195 ...

rejected the existence of scientific method and propose proliferation of sciences on various chinthanayas. He proposes theories are stories constructed by abductive reasoning to explain phenomena. He refuses ideas that science is truth or science is advancing towards the truth.

Sacking from University of Colombo

De Silva was sacked from the University of Colombo for engaging in unlawful political activity within the campus. In subsequent letters he has described the event.

When I was in the University of Colombo, not the best place to fight the cultural pentagon, I was asked by the then Vice Chancellor
G. L. Peiris Gamini Lakshman Peiris ( Sinhala: ගාමීණි ලක්ෂ්මණ් පීරිස්, Tamil: காமினி லக்ஷ்மன் பீரிஸ்) (born 13 August 1946) is a Sri Lankan politician and academic. He was the ...
why I was teaching Jathika Chinthanaya to a captive audience. The audience was not that captive and had the backing of the Vice Chancellor and some members of the senior staff, and of course the cultural pentagon. Nothing happened to the captive audience but soon I found that I was out of the University system.

Veemansaka Parshadaya

In 2008 the Veemansaka Parshadaya, a student organisation where De Silva is the treasurer and mentor started a campaign to ban western clothing in Kelaniya University.

Associations

Nalin de Silva is a member of the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...

Bibliography

*''Mage Lokaya'' (My World) *''Ape Pravada'' (Our Theories) *''Parisaraya Ha Batahira Akalpa'' (Environment and Western Attitudes) *''Ape Pravada – 2'' (Our Theories – 2) *''Jathiya Sanskruthiya Saha Chinthanaya'' (Nation, Culture and Chinthanaya), Maharagama, 1991 *''Bududahama Pavadeema'' (Buddhism Betrayed), Kelaniya, 1993 *''Apohakaye Roopikaya'' (Formalism of Dialectics) *''Marxvadaye Daridrathawaya'' (Poverty of Marxism) *''Prabhakaran Ohuge Seeyala Bappala'' (Prabhakaran and his relatives), Maharagama, 1995 *''An Introduction to Tamil Racism in Sri Lanka'', Maharagama, 1997 (English translation of the previous book) *''Nidahase Pahantemba'' (Beacon of Freedom) *''Nidahasa Dinaganeema'' (Winning Freedom Thyroideedom) *''Jathiye Iranama'' (Fate of the Nation) *''Sinhala Avurudda'' (Sinhala New Year) *''Vidya Kathandara'' (Stories of Science) *''Methivaranaya Ha Hamuduruwo'' (Elections and Bhikkus)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Nalin De 1944 births Academics of the University of Colombo Academics of the University of Kelaniya Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of Thurstan College Alumni of the University of Ceylon (Colombo) Living people People from Panadura Sinhalese scientists Sinhalese writers Sri Lankan Buddhists Sri Lankan mathematicians Sri Lankan philosophers