Comments on: Habit’s Impact on Freedom

By: The Pakistani Spectator » Lead Story » Inertia in Government and Military Spending | Politics Entertainment Blogger Interviews Urdu Section | Pakistan Blog

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 19:00:33 +0000

[...] a year ago, in Habit’s Impact on Freedom, I discussed ways that habit and custom constrain our freedom, sometimes harmfully, and sometimes [...]

By: Iftikhar Janjua

Iftikhar Janjua — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 11:34:00 +0000

It’s all about perspective. How do you look at the things.

By: Dr. Ayesha

Dr. Ayesha — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 07:58:00 +0000

Pakistani society is largely multi-lingual and multi-cultural. Religious practices of various faiths are an integral part of everyday life in society. Education is exceedingly looking upon by members of every socio-economic level. The traditional family values are highly respected and considered sacred, although urban families have grown into a nuclear family system, due to the socio-economic freedom imposed by the traditional joint family system. Time has been changed a lot; there was a time when youngsters respect their parents but it’s no more. Why is it so? It’s all because of the culture that has always been in state of flux .Past few decades have seen emergence of a middle class (rural people) in cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Sukkur, Peshawar, Gujarat, Attobabad, Multan etc. The North-western part of Pakistan, bordering with Afghanistan, is highly conservative and dominated by regional tribal customs dating back to hundreds of years. Pakistan is a Muslim country and Islam is the official religion. Islam is the religion which is professed and practiced by the people of Pakistan

Pakistani society is a “Male Oriented Society”, where they are given full protection and great respect. The family is headed by a male member, usually the oldest male member of the family. He guides the other members. Old people are given prestige, honor and respect in Pakistani culture. Social life is simple. Social customs and traditions reflect Islamic touch: people are very much conscious about their social traditions and feel pride in following them.

By: Idrees

Idrees — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 07:57:00 +0000

Cultural and social taboos often obscure the central role one plays in all our lives as individuals, couples or families

By: Tiger

Tiger — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 07:53:00 +0000

TPS, I love you for this gem. Its very insightful and was a very pleasure read.

By: Tahir Khaili

Tahir Khaili — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 07:51:00 +0000

Human rights has been violated in the garb of social norms, customs, practices, politics and even religion in Pakistan. This planned negative perspective projection of vested groups labeled the name HR and its issues as social taboo. Through the efforts of civil society organizations it has now reached to a stage where they are being accepted as a need based right and not as a taboo. Pakistan is signatory to some of the international HR conventions yet there are many which still needs deliberation. State of Child right in the context of bonded time labor, along with their elders and human trafficking are also issues of grave concern. In this context overall state of Judiciary is also poor due to shortage of staff and places which leads to delayed justice. The attitude of Police due to delayed and inefficient justice system has become haughty and for a poor person accessing a police station is equal to impossible. This has of course promoted further corruption in the system. On the similar analogy it gets translated in to political arena where every incoming government accuses the previous one of corrupt and inefficient practices and tries them through accountability bodies, which gets a new name with a new government. The element of subjectivity and political victimization gets heightened in such a situation as one’s basic right to freedom of expression is victimized.

By: Saad Rafiq

Saad Rafiq — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 07:47:00 +0000

A very moving article indeed. I have always felt that there are many useless and thorny customs around in Pakistani society, which restrict our development and always let us down in the cluster of nations.

For example, our hypocrisy. At one end we criticize US, and on the other we accept loads of aid from them.

By: Baber

Baber — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 07:44:00 +0000

Habits are not merely intersubjective, however; they are partly rooted in social interaction, partly in material conditions, and I call them deeply grooved systems.

By: Rubab

Rubab — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 07:43:00 +0000

the essence of habit is an acquired predisposition to ways or modes of response, not to particular acts except as, under special conditions, these express a way of behaving

By: Jessica Martin

Jessica Martin — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 07:42:00 +0000

Dewey naturalizes the concept of good: “good consists in the meaning that is experienced to belong to an activity when conflict and entanglement of various incompatible impulses and habits terminate in a unified orderly release of action