Sunday, March 9, 2014

Doing Good in this World

by Mao Tan

In an era where our own talents are what define us, it is understandable how humans could have done so many to change the world. Nowadays especially because of technology and numerous skills that people can acquire very easily, the world has already changed a lot since time and humans are most responsible of it.

Sadly however, most of these talents are those not used, or even if they are, humans only use them for themselves. Intelligence can be one talent but most of the time, we see this only being used to gain recognition or to find a way of stealing money of a country that could still be used to feed famished children who possibly are just another hour of empty stomach from death. Depressing but true. Many miseries that are happening on around us are because of people using their talents for personal gain. But looking at misfortunes at a different light, they happen also because of people doing nothing about it, people that just contain their talents to themselves and never share them with others. Doing harm is bad but doing nothing is also bad.

Talents are given to us, not for us but for the other. Maybe we aren’t starting a spark when we do nothing wrong with it but we’re also not putting out the fire. In order to change what’s around us, we must use these talents for the good and the other, not to gain and be recognized. The fact that we exist means that someone has done good to us and we must also share this good by using the talents we receive for others. As beings, we ourselves are gifts for the others as they are to us. We should open ourselves to the exterior and grow ourselves and go back to being human. Yes, it’s hard to do this in a world where it’s all about securing our economic and financial needs first. But the nature of giving has always been in us since the moment we had our first breath and it will still be as long as we exist in this world.

12 comments:

  1. Truly man in the current society would use their talents mostly for their selfish intentions. They do it to benefit themselves and sometimes even pull down others in the process. However, probably what this society needs to consider is how they can use these to help others. Of course it is evident that we live in this world with others and not simply for oneself as we relate with people and most of our actions would definitely affect others directly or indirectly. Man needs to reevaluate their actions since our worth as beings is not completely based on one's own individualistic perspective but on how much we are able to contribute to the greater society by responding to the call of service and sharing to the people around us.

    Johann Pe
    Ph 102 Section A

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  2. One of the main problems of developing countries is communication failure, and this could be applied to life. Imagine two prisoners who were interrogated. If the A does not tell about B's deed, and B does not tell about A's, they are both set free. Maybe let us say they earn 40 points each. If one tell, and the other does not, the rat earns 60 while the one who did not earns only about 10. If they both tell on each other, they both get imprisoned earning only about 20 points.
    Translating that to today's world, not telling is being good. But since you are never sure whether other parties will compy with the rules, you will always be at risk. Therefore, to inimize losses, people tend to totalize other strangers into being selfish people, thus they become selfish themselves. I think that this can be changed, though, by taking a risk. This can be changed by letting people know that the world is not full of people living the Law of the I, but instead, there is hope in humanity- hope that good people will eventually come out of their shells and understand the infiniteness and possibilities of the others.

    Kate Bonamy
    Ph102 A

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  3. I couldn't agree more. Certainly, we live in a broken world where we only look after our own well being. From our talents to our intelligence, we would use anything and everything to improve ourselves financially even if it means stepping on others. However, I believe that this is too embedded in our society so much so that it has now become an incurable disease. Honestly, the lessons taught in class are too ideal for me since I believe that living a truly ethical life can be next to impossible given society's demands, but that is also where the challenge lies. Even if it would be extremely difficult to change society, maybe the best place to start is with ourselves so that we may reach out to others and this is what Philosophy calls us to do.

    Robert Go
    Ph102 A

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  4. We can connect this to our lesson last semester about the broken world. One reason why we have a broken world is because people have become narcissistic. It has become all about us and developing ourselves for ourselves. However, when we focus too much on ourselves, one day we would find that we are actually really lonely. Whatever we do just seems so empty without that intention of including the other in our lives.

    This is why we should make every effort to include the others, to think of the others. When we become disinterested, we find that this is the time we become most creative, because we wish to share what we have with the Other. With this, hopefully, we can make the world less broken.

    Marika King
    PH102 - A

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  5. I think one reason why people do not step up with their talents is because elders have conditioned children into thinking that the investment of time in talents or hobbies that are not profitable is just wasting time.
    Times are certainly getting harder, and money is crucial in the survival of humans that live within the grid. Though many of our talents will not be able to bring food to the table, it certainly makes the struggle in life more bearable and keeps us looking passed the walls that can't seem to climb.

    But living a life of goodness and keeping a caring watch on Others, there surely will be a fortune and luck that will come your way. It isn't something that we should expect or that we should have as a motivation. But I think doing good with authentic goodness generates and attracts further goodness.

    I think the urgency and necessity of certain things make us see passed the Others right in front of us.
    And I think that those who have been awakened should act as lights that shine on the victory that we have constantly been looking passed, which is right in front of us. Which is the victory of and in the Other.

    Goking, Christopher
    PH102 - C

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  6. I think the primary reason as to why people choose to use their talents for their own is that they are afraid. They are fearful of the unknown.And in this broken world, the primary thing people live for or abide by is certainty. People get clouded by certainty that much that everything is already labeled to a certain extent.

    Hence, in relation to certainty, most if not all move towards the feeling of being secured. Security is a large form of certainty and this is related to the world's current selfish and closed lifestyle.

    But that's the thing, this is precisely the wrong kind of mentality. Because we live in a broken world, the sense of urgency of extending ourselves outward unto others, is lost. It becomes hazy and if we don't realize the gravity of this problem, nothing will be solved and the essence of humanity, of life, of service will be lost.

    Denise Tan
    PH102-A

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  7. Most of the time, people only think of what they need and want, not thinking of the others that they may have encountered. Because of this, many fail to acknowledge that they need the others to be able to truly be in being, this is also why being men and women for others in important in our education. What you said about our talents being for the others and not for ourselves is completely true, because we are called not for our own gain, but for the other, for the good.

    Trixia Tan
    Ph102 C

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  8. It's hard to admit, but as human beings, we are wired to be, in some ways, selfish. We all have this natural instinct for survival and self-sustenance. However, as educated people living in society, we should know better than to simply succumb to our natural animal instincts. A lot of times we act as if the sky is falling and that we are running out of time which is why we tend to just focus on grabbing all that we need and moving on, leaving a lot of missed opportunities to serve the other at our wake. After going through a year of Philosophy, I have learned to slow down, look back, and appreciate what is around me.

    Leo Lorenzo
    Ph 102 A

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  9. True, It's the kind of world we live in and the kind of people that most of us are. It's not a nice thing to say, but we have to face that that is how it is now. I guess all we can do, is to not be like those people who do things for themselves, and to do things for the other instead. It may not look like it will have much of an effect or can change the world in a blink of an eye, but its a start. These small things that we do may have a huge effect somewhere along the line, and doing our best and giving ourselves for the other is one of the greatest things we can do, no matter how small it may seem.

    Riel Evangelista
    Ph 102 A

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  10. I agree that we misuse our intelligence in order to attain personal/material gain and the media promotes this very idea into our society through movies like wolf of wall street, the italian job, wall street, runner runner, and many other similar fims. Not only does it promote the misuse of human intelligence but it also shows us that you only have to be smarter to actually get away with such a crime. Moreover, it shows the need to be cunning in order to survive the cut throat world of life. However, it would be a lonely existence if one believes what the media is currently promoting. Life is not supposed to be just about one self, it's also about other people. We need our ideals and sentiments in order to ensure that we use our intelligence for the benefit of society and not just for ourselves.

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  11. I agree with what you said that we live in a world where people do things for themselves. And I guess it would be really hard to change this kind of attitude if people will remain closed to the idea that others exist. I believe we are lucky enough to take this Philosophy course that opened our eyes to reality—the reality in which we exist in a world with other people. With this, I think the challenge for us is to not be like those people who are selfish and to start teaching them how to be human. The challenge is to be that small difference that can make a huge impact in our society.

    Hazel Alino
    Ph102 A

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  12. Talents are given to us by God for the purpose to hone them and share them with others. It is only ethical for us to do so and by doing so we are also showing God how much we appreciate these gifts from Him.
    We can show God our appreciation through our encounter with the Face of the Other. By being a neighbor who is available for the Other through the good deeds that we may do, we may not be sharing a specific talent of ours, but we are still sharing a part of us that exclusively belongs to us.
    No matter how big or small the deed may be, it is definitely the thought that counts.

    Bits Penaranda
    PH 102 A

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