The Essence of Questioning

by Vikha Vargas

26 June 2013
Discussed Text: Ferriols, "Insight"

Sometimes, I ask myself, what is the point of being human? Or what does it mean to be human? What am I here for? I have been living in this world for almost 20 years now and I still have not figured out one ultimate answer to my existential questions. During the past lectures, I have been encountering mind-boggling facts or perceptions about life and ways of living. I am also led to the realization that at some point in our lives, we tend to take things for granted. Because we think we are too aware of them, when in fact we are most probably not. We think that the simplest things in life are way too simple but sometimes they turn out to be the opposite. Why? Because we only see things on a surface level, which is probably why sometimes we fail to have a deeper understanding and perspective regarding certain matters. Sometimes, we fail to look sideways. We are too concerned about moving forward and finding the ultimate answers to our questions; we do not seem to notice the tiny details that may actually help us find answers. Also, little do we notice, we are already lacking the necessary experiences in life.

But, can we really find answers, at least in this lifetime? I cannot deny the fact that I am also confused. Thus, when the question about philosophy being aimless and useless was raised in class, I was torn between a yes and a no. It is a no because there are probably people who might have given up on their pursuit of finding answers, because in the end there are actually no answers –that everything is simply open-ended (at some point I believed this). Thus, it is pointless to ask questions because it will lead you to nowhere. It is just a waste of work for our brain cells to process things that can never be deciphered. But I changed my mind right away. Philosophy, for whatever it is worth, is definitely not useless nor aimless; and I am quite certain about it. I realized that my aforementioned reasons for saying that philosophy is aimless and useless are shallow. There is more to philosophy. There is more to questions that do not seem to have answers. They are not exactly pointless. When we ask questions and we do not find answers, we must ask again. As humans, I believe we should. We were given the capacity to think; thus we must use it. Our minds were not made to resemble stationary figures or jars that were never used for productivity but for display. The human mind was not made for that, it was meant to be used for the exploration of our imaginations and the processing of previous and recurring ideas. We must have a second-order, third-order, fourth-order (to nth-order, if necessary) questionings that serve as some sort of follow ups, because certainly they will give us closer to the answers; or if not closer to the answers, at least we become meshed into different and wider perspectives. That way, we learn. Philosophizing or asking questions lead us to something, thus indeed philosophy is not useless and aimless. Through the questions we raise, we are also led to new discoveries that would help us define our existence, even just contributing a tiny detail of it. However, we must remember that t is also important that we think and ask questions in the context of everyone else, not just within ourselves. More often than not, it is through others that we find ourselves. Therefore, we must think outside our realms and allow ourselves to be immersed in diversity.

Another thing which can also help us to become more aware of our surroundings (and to eventually find answers) is to experience life. As I have learned, philosophy is also experienced. It is something we also do. Philosophy is not just confined in books and theories, but also in experience –in submergence wherein we figuratively let ourselves swim, drown and die in experience through time. In fact, philosophy begins with life; thus we need to be immersed. In turn, it can change and transform us; and bring us to another place where we can experience new things. Seemingly, philosophy and the search for meaning and answers is not a short-lived task, but a lifelong process of searching and finding, and searching again. We were meant to be filled with questions –to keep us ever searching and learning. But not knowing the answers to these questions does not make us any less of a person. Through the art of questioning and philosophizing, we learn. With that element of learning, I now believe that it is not just the answers that we should be completely concerned of, but the questions raised, experiences gained, lessons learned --the getting-there and philosophizing aspect in life.After all, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said,“life is a journey, not a destination.”