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Saving Them From Yourself: AnInquiry into the South Asian Gift of Fearlessness[Note 1. I thank Charles Hallisey for all of his guidance ...]
Author(s) -
Hibbets Maria
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of religious ethics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.306
H-Index - 20
eISSN - 1467-9795
pISSN - 0384-9694
DOI - 10.1111/0384-9694.00026
Subject(s) - generosity , altruism (biology) , indigenous , gift giving , hinduism , variety (cybernetics) , south asia , sociology , asian americans , gender studies , environmental ethics , law , religious studies , social psychology , political science , philosophy , ethnology , anthropology , psychology , mathematics , biology , ecology , statistics , conflict of interest , ethnic group
This article considers the importance of indigenous classifications in the study of comparative ethics. Specifically, it explores medieval South Asian gift discourses from Jain, Theravada, and Hindu Dharmasastra sources, which list and discuss a variety of prescribed gifts. Such lists generally include a category of gift known as the “gift of fearlessness” (abhayadana) , wherein refraining from harming others is considered a species of gift giving. This type of gift and the discussions concerning it unite generosity and nonviolence in a way that is suggestive for understanding how some medieval South Asian theorists conceived of the gift, human nature, and altruism.