I’ll be completely honest and say that though philosophy is quite interesting, sometimes, I feel like it seems to hate me. I find a lot of things subjects in school pretty interesting, but none of them seems to dislike me the way philosophy does. For example, I find accounting a pretty interesting subject (yes, I find it quite interesting so sue me haha), so when I push myself to study, I seem to understand things eventually. But that is sadly not the case in philosophy. Though I push myself to keep reading, listening in class and studying, I still find it ridiculously challenging to grasp the concepts sometimes.
But there are certain concepts that seem more graspable. Last Thursday, we talked about il y a. Now this is something I found amazingly easier to grasp, easier to understand. If I am not mistaken, this seems to be the middle ground, that moment when you are “caught in the middle”, that moment when you ask, “should I or should I not?” or “is it or isn’t it?” Maybe I found this one easier to grasp simply because it is so easy to relate to. I realized that maybe I have been stuck in il y a for way too long. In this very moment that I am writing, I am actually trying to fight and overcome this state of il y a. Yes, I love to write, but I guess I never actually wrote anything for this class blog ever. Why not? It is probably out of fear. Will I get judged? Yeah, I probably will, but why should I still write anyway? Because it is my passion and I have something to say. Isn’t that enough of a reason? Simply because I can and I want to. And when I finish writing this, I have to overcome yet another state of il y a. Should I send it or is it enough that I have poured out what I need to say by typing this down? Well, if you happen to read this, then I guess I overcame this state of il y a as well. I defeated that fear.
But something in the back of my mind is still bothering me. Most examples I have heard in class, read on other blog posts and even the ones I gave here pretty much have the same idea. By choosing to just do it, in a way, we overcome this fear, we consider ourselves to have won the battle. But should this always be the case? What if in that state of il y a, we chose to stay silent? What if we chose to not do it? Does that mean we have lost against this fear that probably causes this state of il y a? How about in this example? Say, you have strong feelings for someone. You are sure, this is what they call love and you have found it. But there is just one problem. You know he/she has someone else. So you are in this state of il y a. You are caught in the middle. Should you tell him/her or not? If you do, you MIGHT just get your fairytale ending, but at the expense of someone else. If you don’t, does that mean you are not strong enough because you chose not to do it? (If you don’t understand the example I gave just now, listen to this song, which perfectly describes that story I just gave.)
I got so confused when I saw David Archuleta :)))
ReplyDeleteIt's good that il y a can be related to simple stuff like wondering whether to recite in class or not. I sometimes hate myself for being so shy and indecisive, that I miss out on a lot of things. I think that it is important to understand that whatever you want won't come from thin air, we can't do magic. We really have to stand up and act, and not waste our time being anxious.
As funny as it sounds, whenever Doc G would ask us, "Are you student-ing?" it actually makes sense. It actually reminds us to do what we're supposed to do, without others reminding us to--which is, in this case, to recite and participate.
ReplyDeleteThe battle also feels very much conquered once we've pushed ourselves to just do it. How often have we overcome il y a and raised our hands in class? Or in my case, commented on this an entry in this blog?
Thank you for posting this entry. This is quite encouraging.
At least you've finally overcome your "il y a" of blog posting. hehe. :P
ReplyDelete"With cases like these, is it always right to just do it then? Or is choosing not to do it the right thing to do sometimes?" - my favorite part of the post, since it is these kinds of questions that tackle many aspects of philosophy and the humanities in general.
Good job! Hope you continue to conquer your "il y as" in life. :)
Awwww. Is this story based on experience??:> haha.
ReplyDeleteAnd no, I don't think its that you're not strong enough that you chose not to tell the person you love. I think it's coz you love him/her so much that you don't want to destroy his/her happiness. But yes, I think you are stuck in il y a, "the in-between". But don't worry. Just like all other in betweens, there is always something to overcome. And eventually, you will overcome your il y a. It may not be the same guy or girl, but you will overcome that il y a. You'll meet someone else and you will be able to have your fairytale ending =)
But if you think that guy you're talking about in the blog post above is really the one and you're strong enough to tell him, go do it =) Take a chance :D
Jason Dacuyan, Sec A
Everyone asks, "Should we just do it?" Should we just go for it and see what happens next? I don't necessarily think so. From today's class, I learned that it isn't about the YES or the NO, but the QUALITY of the decision. When we say NO to something, we don't necessarily close off all ties regarding that decision. We just simply think that for the betterment of ourselves, we should say NO.
ReplyDelete"We have to stand up for our own choice and see the value of our response to things." :) -Doc G
Hokulea Cabrera
PH102-A
This blog made me realize that in conquering our il y a's can also mean taking risks. For instance, there is the fear of being judged, failure, or losing someone; all of these could be barriers, barriers which we must eventually learn to overcome. Overcoming il y a's entails great risks; and for us to not remain being caught in the middle, we must conquer the "anonymous and senseless rumbling of being" and eventually find our "being".
ReplyDeleteRussell Virata
PH102 Sec C
When it comes to things, like the example you gave, i think that you have to take the tine to think and eventually step up from that indecisiveness. Do you really love the person or is it just infatuation? Take the time to think about that. then later on decide on your mode of action, of whether to tell this person about your feelings or move on and find a different love.
ReplyDeleteI think that by staying within that indecisiveness, you won't be able to move forward and truly enjoy the things you should enjoy. If you're experiencing this situation right now... don't be afraid to say how you feel when the time is right. You deserve happiness too.. :) and whatever happens, just be ready to handle the responsibility of your decision.
PS... i love the song... hihi... XD
The same goes for me!! :( No matter how hard I listen and how much time I devote myself to reading our books in Philosophy, I can't get the grades I want. I can understand things, although sometimes vaguely, but when it comes to tests, I don't really know what's happening to me. :( And, as for all the mathematical classes, such as Accounting and Math, i've always done great. I think it's because we're so used to having things in an equation. We're used to having a system. But in Philosophy, there's no equation; it's all based on life experiences. And these experiences are always unique and different. It's just up to us to decide what we want to do with these experiences.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, congratulations for sending this post, something I don't think I'm brave enough to do. You've overcome the il y a! :)
-M. Cua, Ph102 A