“Activists and intellectuals are essential to protecting the society from two of the greatest dangers — power and profit.” Sundar Sarukkai
Sundar Sarukkai was, till 2019, a professor of philosophy at the National Institute of Advanced Studies. He was also the Founder-Director of the Manipal Centre for Philosophy and Humanities. His work is primarily in the philosophy of natural and social sciences. Sarukkai is the author of Translating the World: Science and Language; Philosophy of Symmetry; Indian Philosophy and Philosophy of Science; What is Science? and two books co-authored with Gopal Guru: The Cracked Mirror: An Indian Debate on Experience and Theory and, most recently, Experience, Caste and the Everyday Social. His most recent publication is JRD Tata and the Ethics of Philanthropy, which draws on the experience of entrepreneur JRD Tata to examine philanthropy in an Indian context.
Sarukkai has also been active in outreach programs to take philosophy to different communities and places, including philosophy workshops for children and bringing philosophy to the public through his writing in the media and through his initiative Barefoot Philosophers.
“[Sundar] has contributed significantly to the philosophy of science, and has advanced our understanding of political lives as experienced on an
everyday basis.” Dipankar Gupta