Anthon Jason
Have you ever considered that the daily bureaucratic routines we endure, such as fingerprint attendance at the office or Monday flag ceremonies, may have their roots in spiritual practices from thousands of years ago? This is one of the striking ideas presented by Professor Al Makin at the Wednesday Forum on 8 April 2026. Drawing on 25 years of experience teaching philosophy, the professor took the audience on a journey across time and space to unpack a crucial question: Does Indonesia have its own philosophical tradition, and has its location in the so-called Ring of Fire helped shape the way we think? It was the key question raised at the beginning of the forum by the moderator that day.
Shiva’s Legacy: The Ritual Roots of the Archipelago
To understand the landscape of Indonesian thought, we need to look back at the powerful influence of traditions. Professor Al Makin argues that Nusantara society has been deeply shaped by Vedic traditions, especially Shaivism. This cultural DNA has produced a society that is strongly attached to rituals, ceremonies, and repetitive practices. In his view, Indonesians tend to obey established orders in search of harmony rather than pursue innovation or challenge the system. This subconscious legacy, he says, seeps into the structures of our modern life, including the administration of higher education and government. Daily routines such as mandatory fingerprint attendance for professors or civil servants function as a kind of ritual that prioritizes blind obedience, with little connection to intellectual quality or personal integrity. This shows that instead of building a tradition of analytical thinking, we have collectively chosen to preserve a tradition of repetition.
Syncretism and the Paradox of Harmony
Indonesia’s geography as an archipelago once made communication between ethnic groups a major challenge. It pushed our ancestors to develop a way of life that was highly unique and adaptive. From this grew what many describe as a syncretic, pluralistic, and deeply tolerant character. History illustrates this clearly. In the classical Nusantara era, followers of Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, and Tantrayana Buddhism could establish their places of worship side by side in a single temple complex, as seen in Prambanan and Kalasan, with almost no serious friction. Even today, there are regions where local mythologies blend with elements from the Old Testament and the Qur’an.
This extreme form of religious mixing might be seen as dangerous in monistic states such as Saudi Arabia, yet it is still socially accepted in Indonesia. But here lies the central paradox. While we are skilled at weaving harmony among different religions, the history of this nation is marked by bloodshed and internal conflict. Civil wars among Shiva worshippers and power struggles among Muslim factions are historical realities that cannot be denied. Our political and social rhetoric constantly praises “harmony,” but what happens on the ground often tells a different story. Authoritarian practices, factional battles, and widespread corruption flourish in a society that proudly claims to be religious.
The Art of Questioning: How Philosophers, Theologians, and Activists Diverge
In the middle of this ritualistic dominance, where are our philosophers? Professor Al Makin draws a very firm academic line. For him, the deepest essence of philosophy is "the art of questioning." A true philosopher must be able to think critically beyond religious boundaries, national borders, and the dogmas of their own faith. Through this lens, major figures such as Al-Ghazali in the Islamic world or Nurcholish Madjid (Cak Nur) in Indonesia are not classified as philosophers, but as theologians. Their thinking, in the end, is limited by the aim of defending and clarifying their respective religious teachings or ideologies. Prophets and messengers of revelation also stand outside the category of philosophers. Holy scriptures are believed and followed for the sake of reward and are not to be questioned. Philosophical works, on the other hand, are written to be examined, criticized, and doubted. He also draws a line between philosophers and activists. Activists may be brave enough to risk their lives on the streets to defend minorities, but they rarely produce theoretical works or new books on methods of thinking.
The Intellectual Legacy of the Nation’s Founders
Even with such strict criteria, Indonesia has every reason to be proud. Its founding fathers were genuine philosophers. Figures like Soekarno, Mohammad Hatta, Sutan Sjahrir, and Tan Malaka were devoted readers of Western philosophy, from Immanuel Kant, Karl Marx, and Hegel to Enlightenment thinkers such as Rousseau and John Locke. They did not stop at reading. They sharply reworked these theories into the early blueprint of the Republic of Indonesia.
Within this intellectual landscape, the Minangkabau tradition holds a special place. One key figure is Abdul Rivai, a native doctor who proved the strength of his analytical mind by dismantling the claim that only Europeans could serve as military doctors and mastering Dutch legal literature. Then there is Tan Malaka, a visionary who is often cited as the first to use the term “Indonesia” as the title of a political book. In the arts, leading poets like W.S. Rendra and Chairil Anwar are also recognized as philosophers. They engaged deeply with the ideas of Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialism and then critically transformed those ideas into their stage productions and literary works.
Dialectics in the Forum: Decolonization and the New Orthodoxy
This sharp, analytical presentation quickly sparked a lively academic debate. Several scholars in the room voiced strong criticism of such a narrow use of the label “philosopher.” They worried that this kind of textual standardization could produce a kind of “elitist orthodoxy.” At this point, one question stood out: if an ordinary person on the street is wrestling with the existence of God, do they lose the right to be called someone who is doing philosophy?
Participants also called for a decolonial approach to philosophy. They urged that local wisdom and repeated spiritual practices of Indigenous communities, though never written down in books, be recognized as valid epistemologies and legitimate ways of producing knowledge, not reduced to mere “culture.” In a similar vein, the tendency to essentialize the many ethnic identities of the Indonesian archipelago under a single label, “Siwa,” was also criticized as an oversimplification of a deeply diverse sociological reality. On top of that, audience members criticized the absence of women philosophers and feminist thinkers in the intellectual history surveyed in the book.
Responding to these worries about elitism, Professor Al Makin argued that making a clear methodological claim about “who counts as a philosopher” has become urgent today. For him, this is needed to build an orthodoxy of rational thought that can balance the growing orthodoxy of religious dogma, which almost monopolizes our public space at the moment.
A Warning for the Next Generation
As the discussion drew to a close, the forum sounded a sharp warning about where the nation’s policies are heading. Professor Al Makin pointed out an ironic fact: today’s public leaders, ministers, and legislators read very little and no longer value the freedom of analytical thinking. Our current political reality prefers subordinates who blindly follow orders from those in power, rather than critical thinkers who dare to question and evaluate policy. This crisis is rooted in a national education system that has been far too slow to introduce the “art of questioning” to its students.
School lessons have long focused on mechanical memorization, rigid halal-haram doctrines, and unconditional obedience to authority, leaving almost no space to appreciate questioning minds. Therefore, if this country wants to protect itself from the spread of hoaxes and misinformation, philosophy and critical thinking must be taught as early as possible, at least from junior and senior high school. Through this process, reading, critiquing, and doubting are the only path for Indonesia to break free from an endless cycle of blind, repetitive rituals that ignore real substance. Ultimately, philosophy is not the enemy of faith, but a liberating light for the mind that must be kindled to usher in the future maturity of the Indonesian nation.