Saju Chackalackal (born 15 March 1965) is an Indian author and professor of

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram DVK Pontifical Athenaeum also known as Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram Pontifical Athenaeum of Philosophy and Theology, is an institution of higher learning established by the Syro-Malabar Catholic congregation of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI ...

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. He is also a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

religious priest of the

Carmelites of Mary Immaculate The Carmelites of Mary Immaculate () abbreviated CMI, formerly also known as the Servants of Mary Immaculate (), is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, and is the larg ...

Congregation. He is a

Kantian Kantianism () is the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher born in Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia). The term ''Kantianism'' or ''Kantian'' is sometimes also used to describe contemporary positions in philosophy of mi ...

scholar who obtained a PhD from

Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (PUST), also known as the ''Angelicum'' or ''Collegio Angelico'' (in honor of its patron, the ''Doctor Angelicus'' Thomas Aquinas), is a pontifical university located in the historic center of R ...

Rome. He was the former chief editor of the Journal of Dharma. He has authored many books and articles. He was instrumental in preparing a number of course materials for

Indira Gandhi National Open University Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is a National university, public Open university (concept), open & Distance education, distance learning university located in Delhi, India. Named after the former Prime Minister of India, prime ...

, Delhi. He was elected as the Provincial o
CMI Preshitha Province, Coimbatore
He continues the title for the second term too.

Books published

* Unity of Knowing and Acting in Kant, Dharmaram Publications, Bangalore. * Ramayana and the Indian ideal: a search into the prevailing humanistic values in the Ramayana of Valmiki, Dharmaram Publications, Bangalore. * Igniting Minds to Transform the Society: "legacy of K.E. Chavara for Innovative and Inclusive Education" and Other Essays on Education * Tradition and Innovation: Philosophy of Rootedness and Openness, Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 2011.

Philosophical contributions

Chackalackal's philosophical contributions are generally in the areas of

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...

Religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

and

Society A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...

. In these fields he has published more than a dozen books and over a hundred articles. His most notable contribution is in the field of

Kantianism Kantianism () is the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher born in Königsberg, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia). The term ''Kantianism'' or ''Kantian'' is sometimes also used to describe contemporary positions in philosophy of m ...

through his book "Unity of Knowing and Acting in Kant: A Paradigmatic Integration of the Theoretical and the Practical." In this book he unearths the underlying unity between knowing and acting emerging at different periods and realms of Kant's philosophical thinking. Through his analytic and synthetic approach to the threefold critique, he highlights the

dialectic Dialectic (; ), also known as the dialectical method, refers originally to dialogue between people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to arrive at the truth through reasoned argument. Dialectic resembles debate, but the ...

s of the noesis and the noetic, the phenomenon and the metaphysics of the

noumenon In philosophy, a noumenon (, ; from ; : noumena) is knowledge posited as an Object (philosophy), object that exists independently of human sense. The term ''noumenon'' is generally used in contrast with, or in relation to, the term ''Phenomena ...

and the good and the beautiful. His research shows how Kant himself as warranty to this claim of absoluteness to the moral imperative in the field of free will. Chackalackal was also instrumental in setting up

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

collection at Globethics.net during his tenure as its director in India. The Hindu ethics collection was an initiative to collect and organise content on ethical philosophy of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

in a coherent framework. Under the aegis of globethics.net he organized three major workshops titled "Literature and Ethics," "Economics and Ethics," "Psychology and Ethics," and "Politics and Ethics."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chackalackal, Saju 1965 births Living people 20th-century Indian Roman Catholic priests 21st-century Indian philosophers 21st-century Indian Roman Catholic priests