NEW214Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Consequentialism, Al-Qaeda, Buddhist Ethics
Document Summary
What distinguishes one caste from another was determined by the line (cid:1) of work. So if your father is a priest, you would be born in the most privileged caste. If your parents were servants/slaves, then you will also be a slave/servant. Lowest class in the caste :untouchables: so impure, the cannot be classified into the caste system, they have jobs that deal with dead bodies. Hunters, fisherman (those who need to be in touch with dead bodies: the population of the untouchables is quite large, it"s a pyramidal structure. This caste system is not so different than our contemporary world except that you inherit your caste you cannot climb up the social ladder. This caste system was present 1000s of years ago in india but it"s now present in 21st century. How could such a tradition survive for so long: some parts of india, people still believe in the validity of having a caste system.