From the two meetings last week, what struck me the most was the methodic doubt that sir mentioned. How we are supposed to doubt everything until we arrive to the truth, which we are not to doubt. To be able to arrive to this, we are first to doubt our senses by doubting if we are aware of our surroundings like a mirage. We begin to bracket everything when start to doubt everything, probably also God. After continuous doubting, we arrive at a point where we become aware that we really doubting everything, but there is a limit where even when we doubt, we can’t doubt that we are doubting and thinking beings. We are a thinking thing in which we can be assure of.
As we began the discussion on of the “Third Meditation,” sir emphasized how important the “I” is, how it is embodied and that it is supposed to be affirmed by us. By affirming this, we know that we are thinking. Thinking in a sense where we doubt, affirm, know, love, etc. Also to have a better sense of this, Descartes encourages us to pause for a moment. We are to take the time to listen and reflect to ourselves. Focus the world that is embodied in us… “Kalooban.”
Also In class sir contrasted Descartes and Marcel’s Philosophy. Where in Descartes, we are closed off from other people. Also Decart doubted so much that he is only sure of himself and uses God as a guarantee. Also he mentioned that reality is greater than something that we can measure, goes beyond the objectifiable or mathematical(?). But with Marcel in the other hand, he affirms that our existence co-exists with other people. Also, that we are participating in a world with other people. We are to be social to be ale to enter society.
I believe that at times we are all Descartes’ where we tend to forget about what’s happening outside or that there are external factors (like people) out there and concentrate too much on ourselves.
“TAO,TAO,TAO…” was the main lesson my third year high school history teacher taught me. We cannot live alone, we need others in our lives to be able to find ourselves more. Life is a give and take relationship.
Last thing, never forget God. initivm sapiente timor domini- The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord.
I like Reiley's sharing about what his high school history professor taught him -- how we need other people in our lives in order to experience more and to also therefore know or find ourselves more. I won't forget what we discussed in class that ourself or we are composed of different selves.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time, I also see a certain value in "closing ourselves from other people." 'Cause I think that really helps in also getting to know ourselves more. All the questions, doubts, and what not that we ask ourselves helps us in reflecting, thinking, and feeling more. And I believe it is through that, whether it is immediately or eventually, that will allow us to see where we are and how we are and therefore we will be able to interact with others or make ourselves a part of other people's lives (& in a good way!)
- Finina Muñoz (C)
I also like Reily's post. It is a picturesque description of how we experience the writings of Marcel and Descartes in our daily lives. Eve Avila (A)
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate our resident photographer's highlight on the importance of external factors that Descartes seemed to forget or perhaps missed. I feel like the importance of the external factors, specifically people around us is the whole point of being Atenean. Man for Others. I really feel like we should not be like Descartes and forget about others but we have to think like Marcel. Each of us being connected with one another.
ReplyDelete-Fern Tensuan (C)
I like how he points out the fact that everyone is related and one cannot live alone. Having people around us allows us to show what is in our "kalooban" where we determine who we are and what we are capable of that gives us the meaning of being fully human.
ReplyDeleteWhat I'm always interested about in Philosophy it always leads us back to the idea that as individuals, we are limited but when we realize that we are a part of this greater whole, we take part in experiencing the infinite and help us reflect our kalooban. Also, I do somehow agree with what he said that Life is a give and take relationship and I want to put this in words which i think is more applicable in the discource of philosophy, Life is full of relationships.
ReplyDelete- Mar Tan (C)
What hooked me to this blog post right away was the picture at the start. Well, to put simply, it was a nicely shot photo that created the mood for the rest of the blog.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I agree with what Riley said about how "We cannot live alone, we need others in our lives to be able to find ourselves more." Since we are social beings, it is essential for us to be able to interact and have people in our lives. All our experiences that mostly involve other human beings are gateways to further exploring ourselves. It is for that reason that we must constantly keep this in mind and not shut off other people.
The starting point of Descartes in his reflection/meditation is a very modern one. He begins by asking what he can know and from there he proceeds to asking about reality or what is real. I like Reiley's point about reflection on the "Kalooban", on the depth of the self, and also the limit to Descartes methodic doubt. Even in Descrates complete removal of himself from the outside world, he doesn't doubt that he is an "I", and it is in their characterization of this "I" that he and Marcel widely differ, seeing as how Marcel places emphasis on the self as being with other selves.
ReplyDeleteI personally would have liked it if he expounded on his final point more. Descartes explicitly places importance on God as the link between the thinking thing, the res cogitans, and reality, a vision of the whole of reality being of course wisdom. :)
- Veronica Jereza (C)
I am actually more inclined to Marcel's idea than Descartes and I also agree with what your high school teacher said about life being a relationship with others.
ReplyDelete-Diane Cheng(C)
I like how you laid down the difference between Marcel's and Decartes' writings. Marcel's writings actually really hit me because sometimes I tend to focus too much on my own problems and my own world. I'm a shy person, or an introvert as they say. Most of the time, I prefer keeping things to myself. However, as Marcel says, we really can't go through our lives alone. This is why we must remember to value our family and close friends and to not take their presence in our lives for granted. It is through the people we love that we learn more about who we truly are as individuals.
ReplyDeleteKathleen Sun (A)
I love the part where you mentioned "TAO TAO TAO" because it reminds us how much we truly need each other. It's important for us to analyze our blind certainties in life and question what is unquestionable for us. There are time wherein we've believe in something (or someone) for so long that we don't know who we are without it. We forget that the only thing that's constant in this world is change. We change everyday and that's the beauty of life. However, it's easy to get lost in ourselves when we start to question everything. To me, this tends to happen late at night whenever I can't sleep. I start to analyze everything in my life and this often leads to me overthinking. This is probably why they tell you to not believe half the things you tell yourself late at night or it will eat you live. This is why we need to have core people in our lives, the people who can put us back into perspective during difficult times.
ReplyDeleteGenica Lim (C)
I agree with you that sometimes we all act like Descartes and tend to doubt everything around us. But I can’t help but ask: is it our fault that we have experienced certain situations in our lives that led us to this point wherein we find it our hard to grasp the things happening around us? Personally, I doubt things because I hate uncertainty; I hate it when I can’t be sure of something like passing a quiz, exact time for a meeting, outcome of an event, etc. We discussed in class that one danger of methodic doubt is that we put ourselves in the corner, in a place where we become unsure if there is really an existing world out there. And I liked that you pointed out that in the end, we should never forget God. I believe that in this world of chaos, He is the only one that we can be sure of. Also, one thing that struck me during this discussion was when sir Earl said “maybe it is not about the certainty but about the willingness to trust in the mystery” And maybe this is something that we should remember; maybe it’s only when we start to trust others, trust God, that we can stop questioning everything.
ReplyDeleteHazel Alino (A)
I find your comparison of Descartes and Marcel to be very relevant in how we understand life. At times, as you have said, we tend to be more inclined with Descarte's thinking when we detach/close off ourselves from the outside world. However, this should not be the case as we individuals need to be aware of our existence with others as had been emphasized by Marcel. Considering these, I believe that the reason why we live in a broken world is that it seems that we tend to forget a greater reality in which we belong to: a society. It is only through recognizing this society that one may be able to live life to the fullest as one can grow through interaction with others, since after all, no man is an island.
ReplyDeleteJohann Pe (A)