by Miguel Jimenez
Levinas’s idea of Il y a is an interesting topic. It’s that state of indeterminacy where there is neither nothing nor something. Levinas tries to illustrate what il y a is through citing different examples of it. I’ll do the same. Using my own, weird example, I think he was trying to describe the fact that when one or an existent is in a state of il y a, the existent is not totally there, or (Being (as Being HIMSELF)), but IS there as being. Think of my illustration as the existent being like a robot on stand-by, but it isn’t totally there because it isn’t being controlled or activated. The robot is able to conquer il y a when one finally turns him on and makes him move. When one isn’t Being, what is he/she?
I’d like to give another example, one that’s closer to home. It’s about il y a being manifested in a student’s procrastination for a project or term paper. Levinas’s idea of Il Y A is present when a student is in the state of procrastinating. A student, let’s call him Miguel, the quintessential crammer, procrastinated on his term paper. Basically, Miguel had 2 weeks to complete a term paper that he was telling himself that he’d start writing day after day after day. He tells himself, “hey, I wrote it already in my head,” but the paper isn’t written, it isn’t manifested in a tangible, paper format. For 13 days, Miguel fights his inner struggles to complete a term paper, for 13 days, Miguel tells himself he’ll do the paper tomorrow, and for 13 days, that paper is still blank.
Procrastination, is that in determinant state where Miguel is in, deciding whether or not to do the paper. Now, the two outcomes for procrastination is one, going back to laziness and playing video games, or watching random videos on YouTube. This can be equated the existent failing to emerge from il y a and not Being, or going “back to the mother’s womb,” back to dependency or the existent’s comfort zone. The second outcome is to actually push down laziness and do the term paper. This is similar to the existent pushing down the il y a and emerging as Being.
As students, I think the reason to why we cram is because we ultimately want time for ourselves and to do absolutely nothing that’s productive. We’re just really lazy. Also, for those hard working ones, we procrastinate because we have other things that we first need to attend to.
I really like this example you used to illustrate il y a! This is indeed something that we can all relate to as students, especially now that finals week is coming up. Reading this now, I actually never thought about procrastination as il y a before, but it actually really is. In putting off doing something, we fail to take action. We just remain stuck in one place as evidenced by how much of our work/requirements we still haven’t touched. Getting out of il y a is very hard. It’s hard to focus and say to yourself that you’ll start with your paper. But when we try hard enough, when we manage to bring ourselves to type the first few sentences of our paper, then it becomes easier from there on. We find that in no time, we are already done. So I guess, this is also a matter of how much you push yourself, how determined you are in getting out of il y a.
ReplyDeleteMarika King
PH 102 - A
I never thought of procrastination as il y a, and I guess, what you said is really true. Procrastination is most of the time really just because we're lazy, and as is what il y a is, it is the place where we need to exert an effort to go out of.
ReplyDeleteTrixia Tan
Ph102 C
I've always thought of I ly a, not as a state of procrastination but more as a state of loss.
ReplyDeleteIn definition, I ly a sort of an ill feeling not quite unlike the metaphysical unease we discussed the previous semester. Where we are aware that there IS a something, but not quite sure what it is. Because of this, we know that we are inclined to take an action, but can't move due to the unknown factor.
Kind of like, as you leave the house, you think that you left something. Was it the tap water running in the bathroom? Should you risk your time to go back and check it or trust yourself that you've done everything you need, only to be greeted by a newly formed indoor pool when you get back?
Or maybe when you put salt into your breakfast, but then think "Didn't I already pour salt just a minute ago?" if I put those omelette in my mouth now, I might intake some non-salted omelettes and thats just wrong. But then, if I attempt to pour salt, and it turns out that I already put salt on it a few moments ago, 'll end up eating an omelette that is too salty! So this dilemma helps illustrates the "loss" that spawns from I ly a.
I think. Maybe. er, Probably......... Nice blog post though!
- Jul Constantino PH102 - C
I do agree that the concept of il y a can be seen in procrastination. When we are stuck in that state wherein we refuse to act, we are precisely in il y a. I can say i experience this a lot because i, too, am a crammer and when deadlines come one after another, i always regret not managing my time well as i get really stressed in the end. I guess it is important for us to keep on moving in the sense that it is impt to fight this il y a because once we are out of it, we will realize how we can delegate our time balancing time for ourselves and time for others as well.
ReplyDeleteFrenchi Baluyot A
Thank you for using procrastination as an analogy to il y a. I never thought of it that way and reading about it made me understand il y a much better.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to what you said, I think one of the reasons why students procrastinate is because they are overwhelmed by all the work that they have to do, thus worrying about the grade that they'll get, and eventually worrying how the grade would be a reflection of themselves. In short, the student is afraid to emerge from il y a because of the responsibilities he/she will have once they become a being.
Bits Penaranda
PH 102 A
I completely agree that procrastination is an experience of il y a. I cram a lot, but there are times that I also step out if il y a and try to finish a paper days before the submission. In comparing two reflection papers that I made where one is made 5 hours before deadline, and the other is made a week before, I see that I explained myself better on the one that was made in advance. There is no "I" in the crammed paper, only anonymity in the words that I used. In the other paper, I showed my uniqueness and difference, I showed my being as Being, and it manifested in the grade that I got.
ReplyDeleteCarlo Nuñez
Ph 102 A