by Rico La Vina
To begin with, let us analyze Gabriel Marcel’s concept of the broken world. Marcel argues that the value of reflection has been discarded in favor of a purely technical kind of knowledge. This means that our actions and beliefs are judged on the basis of practicality. Reflection and creativity is something that is seen to be irrelevant and even counterproductive. This mentality pervades all aspects of society: from our education, to our family life, to our hobbies, and even to our personal relationships. Unfortunately for us, we cannot escape this brokenness.
The idea that our world is “broken” is hard to grasp so let me illustrate this concept with an example. Upon graduating college, many of us will become entrepreneurs, journalists, psychologists, doctors, lawyers, and economists. We will become this because it has been deemed practical by society. I say this not as a form of condemnation, but as a statement of fact. The problem is that many of us would rather do something else. Some would want to become musicians, artists, or do charity work. Unfortunately, those occupations are far too “impractical.” We will not be able to make money or earn. Rather than follow our dreams, we feel compelled to follow the norm which is to be practical and materially successful. The problem then is that we feel constrained by the rationality of practicality which dominates society. We can therefore see that Ateneans or not, we are victims of the broken world.
Even our personal relationships have been distorted by this emphasis on practicality and efficiency. We interact with many people on the basis of usefulness; people are treated as a means to an end rather than an end in itself. Such a way of thinking leads to the exploitation of the poor and the dehumanization of others which enables exploitation and apathy. Let me give an example. We live in a capitalist society in which money is the medium for many of our relationships. While I have friends and family that I value for their own sake, the vast majority of the people I interact with, I interact with only because of an exchange in goods. For example, I interact with salespersons because we exchange goods; I talk with security guards because they’re paid. Almost all of my relationships are based on something tangible and exchangeable. The problem with this is that if someone is of no use to me, it becomes easy to say that I have no relationship with him/her. There is no need for me to take care of them, to love them. It is this attitude which enables poverty. As a grocery store clerk, I will not give that poor person food because she is not a customer; as a doctor, I will not treat that person because he’s not a client, and I will not give that person proper housing because they have no money. In other words, by putting practicality and efficiency on a pedestal, we legitimize apathy towards the marginalized, the “useless.” Worse than that, we legitimize the mentality that it is perfectly fine to exploit someone because they are “useless.” This mentality, therefore, blinds us from something very obvious but often ignored: the idea that we are all beings who participate in the infinite richness of Being. We are broken because we have become apathetic towards our fellow human beings.
So what is the relation of this brokenness to our life? Most of us- including me- will one day work in this broken world. By graduating from Ateneo, we will learn the techniques to succeed in our occupation. We will learn how to control knowledge. For example, as a marketer, I will learn how to convince people to buy things that they don’t want. If I become a lawyer, I will be taught to see people from a purely legal point of view. The problem then is that these things we learn, our practical knowledge, could be used to make the world even more broken than it already is. By not reflecting, we could be trapped into thinking on a purely practical but inhumane way of thinking.
The purpose of studying philosophy then is to introduce a human element into our way of thinking. We study philosophy not for its “practical” purpose- although, I could argue that philosophy is a very useful subject- but for its ability to free us from thinking on a purely practical basis. Without philosophy and reflection, we become blind. Rather than see people as people, we see them as consumers, criminals, politicians, and numbers. We need philosophy to remind us of an essential but often ignored reality: that we are all human who exist together in this world, and that we have an obligation to take care of one another. Why do we have a responsibility to one another? Acknowledging this is the solution to Marcel’s broken world.
Do not get me wrong; I am not at all arguing against ways of thinking that involve technique. Marcel is merely saying that we should imbue this practical knowledge with human compassion and kindness that can only come from having a reflective spirit. Marcel’s challenge then is that the next time we are about to do something practical, we ask ourselves a very simple question: is what I am doing bad for other people? In other words, he challengers us to not only do what is practical, but do what is ethical. This is something that we must do to save humanity. When we refuse to reflect on the basis of impracticality, we only make the world even more broken. As Ateneans, as people who exist in the world with others, we must not reinforce a way of thinking that dehumanizes the Other, which conflates an infinitely complex person into a mere GDP or a sales number.
Philosophy is necessary because it allows us to see other people for what they truly are, as beings in their own right. For too long we have become blind to something so obvious. We need philosophy to allow the spirit of the truth to illuminate the world around us. If we do not reflect, then the world will continue to be broken.
Perhaps this is why Philosophy is one of the highlights in Ateneo -- it is part of the vision to create men and women for others. :) Before we become men and women for others, we must first see them as Other, not as object.
ReplyDeleteI just want to share this thing I read which Jim Morrison said:
ReplyDelete"The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You trade in your sense for an act. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask. There can't be any large-scale revolution until there's a personal revolution, on an individual level. It's got to happen inside first."
It's kind of related on how people give up who they are for particular jobs or positions. Kind of like how they say corporate men sell their souls the moment they step in the cold, hard office. They think being like this makes the world perfect, like some kind of Utopian society but it is this struggle for "perfection" that makes everything broken. We don't need techniques; we don't have to make things so complicated. All we have to do is figure out our selves first, then relate to others. It has to start within us because if we cannot recognize ourselves, how else are we supposed to work the rest out?
Mikee De Ocampo
PH101 - C