Of Kelly Clarkson, Darth Vader, and Levinas

by Victor Uy

I’m sure most – if not all – of us have encountered the phrase “the dark side”, be it through a song popularized by American Idol Kelly Clarkson, watching too much Star Wars, or what have you. However, aside from Ms. Clarkson and Darth Vader, Levinas also speaks of this “dark side” philosophically that is il y a. The question of ontology is that why there is something instead of nothing. Something and nothing are quite on both ends of the spectrum; but technically speaking, nothingness is unimaginable because in order to think of nothing, you must first think of something and actually erase that something to come up with nothing.

Having said that, because of the huge gap between something and nothing, this “dark side” – il y a – comes about. As human beings, it is quite a given fact that we want to become “something”, which will allow us to “be” and to achieve transcendence by being a neighbor, by loving the Other, and by being responsible.
Let’s give a more concrete example that’s closer to home. We are fortunate enough to have had the chance to experience an Atenean education. Albeit a lot of Ateneans are really diligent when it comes to academics, it is undeniable that a sizable chunk of the population has adapted the “petiks culture”. The “bahala na” attitude of some students often overpower their diligence so much so that they just go to school for the sake of going to school. Therefore, they are not really “student-ing” – they fall in between the something and the nothing. I also know of some people who aren’t really “happy” with the courses that they’re in. Sure, they go to classes, sit there for the whole duration of the session. Hence, physically, they’re present; but the real question is, are they really there? By being unhappy with their courses, they don’t really have a certain direction, priority or purpose; it’s like they’re robots that are preprogrammed to sit on a chair for hours and listen to professors – whether or not they are actually mentally present.

For a more graphic metaphor, imagine the walkers on the TV series The Walking Dead. They’re “alive”, but at the same time, they’re not alive. They walk endlessly without direction and/or purpose until some guy puts a gun against their heads and pulls the trigger.


Levinas asserts in his philosophy of Ethics the non-reciprocal relation of responsibility. We do what is good simply because it is good, and our lived experiences tell us so. To give an example, whenever we give gifts, we actually voluntarily share a part of ourselves. We give gifts because we want to give gifts. Upon giving these gifts, we don’t necessarily expect anything in return. Insofar as gifts are concerned, I believe that all of the people that fall under the descriptions in the preceding paragraph are very much capable of maximizing their gift that is the wisdom that they have acquired and are acquiring. However, they have the prerogative to make something of that wisdom. Education, in itself, is a gift, but its potential is entirely wasted if we choose not to accept it or to live out what wisdom we have acquired.