by Wys So
“The Greek language, and it alone, is logos.”
It is one of the statements in Heidegger’s “What is Philosophy?” that has caught my attention. After trying to relate the Greek language (or the Logos) to my life, I’ve found out that I have approached more Greek letters than I imagined. To my surprise, more than half of my life I have been dealing with those Greek letters such as α, β, µ, Ω, £, etc.
Few days ago when I was reviewing for my Advanced Calculus test about real number line, I surprisingly gained some insights about the relatedness of Mathematics and Philosophy. Theoretically, imagine a real number line from negative infinity to positive infinity, this real number line for me is the whole reality itself. From the real number line I choose a subset “S”, this subset can be imagined as a small circle located inside a very, very big circle named “R” which stands for reality. So each and everyone of us has our own “S”, which is our unique life, our daily routine, or the world that we are immersed in subconsciously.
Recalling David Foster Wallace’s “This is Water” lead me to think of a concept in Advanced Calculus called the “boundary point”. David Foster Wallace called our attention to be “aware”, similarly, it’s like telling us to be on the “boundary” of our own “S”. Being on the boundary point and to be aware will help us in realizing that the world is not just about ‘my’s. We are actually living with other people, with many other more subsets on the real number line. In addition, it is also implied by David Foster Wallace that we should go to the “exterior” of our own subset, going “out” of ourselves.
Moreover, Advanced Calculus highly focused on the problems about “existence”. Most of the problems are all about proving. Some of the problems are: Prove that x is an interior point; prove that the limit does not exist; prove that S does not contain its limit point; prove that the union of open sets is open, etc. All of these problems are similar to philosophy in the sense that they are looking for a reason, for an existence, perhaps. In fact, philosophy is about reason, about existence.
And it’s probably why people say that great mathematicians are great philosophers.
Showing posts with label Math. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Math. Show all posts
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Wine, Math, and Language
by Hubert Cua
26 July 2012
Discussed Text: Gabriel Marcel, "Introduction," The Mystery of Being
Wine
Dr. Garcia mentioned something like this in the class: It may be good to drink small amounts of wine before philosophy class. Although this may sound strange, this may be good for us. (Of course, drinking wine in any amount is prohibited in school). This may be good for us, because small amounts of wine unmask our face from fake things we show to others. It brings out what is in us that we cover up. By drinking small amounts of wine, we become truer to ourselves and to others. At this point, it is noteworthy to mention that some poets, particularly Li Bai of Tang Dynasty of China, usually drank small amounts of wine before writing poems to better reflect their true feelings and emotions in their poems. Ironically, he also died because of drinking wine.
Mathematics
“Some” mentioned in the class that mathematics is universal, constant, objective and “dead”. I was a bit hurt with the last word in this statement, which is “dead”. When I was in high school, some of my classmates asked me to teach mathematics, before class, during recess or after class. There was a time that some of my classmates asked me why mathematics is “hard” and why I was “good” in mathematics. This was what I answered to them before. Mathematics is like a tree. Initially, it may look lifeless, because it is not moving. Eventually, by solving more and more exercises and problems, you will find out that it has something in it. This something is a feeling that I could not to explain in words, but this something is like the life of a growing tree. After a few philosophy classes, I had a deeper understanding of what I was trying to say in what I answered before. Last time in the class, I was trying to explain this, but it seemed that I was not able to explain this well, so let me explain it again.
What do you think of feel about these equations? You probably see or feel that there is some sort of “bending” or “flexing” (Imagine Taichi Master bending hands or Avatar bending air) within the Pythagorean Theorem, right? You also probably see or feel that there is some sort of “deep knowledge” or “metaphysical ease” within mathematics, right? These are the life of mathematics. This is “philosophy” within mathematics. (I am not claiming that I can define the “philosophy” within mathematics.)
Language
It seems that even things which seem to be “not philosophical”, like mathematics, is “philosophical”. Even the language that we speak is philosophical. Although this is quite out of topic, it does not bother if I share this anyway. (From this point on, everything that I am typing are personal and are not necessarily true. Everybody is welcomed to give comments, but please do not attack me in any form.)
When we meet somebody, we say "Hi" or "Hello" in English, Magandang Araw or Magandang Gabi in Filipino and Nihao in Chinese. It is true that we show respect when we say Hi or Hello, but Hi or Hello is still a short word Hi or Hello. From this, we can see that the life of Americans is stressful to the extent that they cannot even say a long word when they meet somebody. “The sun is beautiful.” is the very literal translation of Magandang Araw, while “The night is beautiful.” is the very literal translation of Magandang Gabi. From this very literal translation, we can see that Filipinos show high admiration for nature. Considering that the Philippines is full of natural resources, the language of Filipinos are very much connected or related to nature. According to Dr. Garcia, for Filipinos, beauty is very much connected to good, so we can also say that Filipinos show high admiration for goodness. “You are good.” Is the very literal translation of Nihao. At this point, it is remarkable to mention that the Chinese have a saying that translates into “use the human being as basis, center or foundation.” From this, we can see that Chinese values the human self and the human collectivity. This is related to the ancient survival instincts of Chinese limited by the geography of China. Although China has a land area of more than 9,600,000 km2 and a population of more than 1,300,000,000 people, China has only less than 8% of the world’s arable land and less than 6% of the world’s fresh water. In order to feed more than 30% of world’s population (25% own food, 5% export food), Chinese must use the lands extremely effectively and extremely efficiently. To do that, “Use human as basis, center or foundation.”.
When we go to a place, the place owner says "Step In" (This is exactly what Americans say.) in English, Tuloy Po Kayo in Filipino and Huanying Qingjin in Chinese. The phrase "Step In" does not seem to express hospitality or express welcoming feelings. From this, we can see that western, particularly American culture, is individualistic. On the other hand, Tuloy Po Kayo expresses hospitality or welcoming feelings, "Meet You Happily, Please Enter" is the very literal translation of Huanying Qingjin. These phrases not only expresses hospitality and welcoming feelings, but also emphasizes pleasant and happy feelings.
When we leave a place, we say "Bye" in English, Paalam in Filipino and Zaijian in Chinese. Just like what I have previously mentioned, Bye is just Bye. “To let you know” is the very literal translation of Paalam. From this, we can see that Filipinos show respect to others when leaving by saying that they are leaving. “See you again” is the very literal translation of Zaijian. From this, we can see that the Chinese greeting expresses a form of looking forward or anticipating another meeting with others when leaving, although it seems warmer than Paalam. Both words show collectivistic cultures of the east, in contrast to individualistic cultures of the west.
When we greet somebody who celebrates his/her birthday, we say Happy Birthday in English, Maligayang Bati in Filipino and Shengrikuaile in Chinese. The phrase Happy Birthday is quite different from the past English phrases, because of the word Happy. What is more interesting here is not the unusualness of the phrase Happy Birthday, but is the value people give to birthdays. Before, at least for some, people get to have what they want, like gifts, foods and etc., only during their birthday. Now, people get to have what they want not only during their birthday, because life now is generally more comfortable than the life before. Still, people maintain their value for someone's birthday. “Greet you happily” is the very literal translation of Maligayang Bati, while “Get happy quickly on your birthday” is the very literal translation of Shengrikuaile. Both phrases further support the high value people give to birthdays. Overall, language is seems to be directly proportional to the years of civilization. This means that the longer the years of civilization, the more develop the language is.
26 July 2012
Discussed Text: Gabriel Marcel, "Introduction," The Mystery of Being
Wine
Dr. Garcia mentioned something like this in the class: It may be good to drink small amounts of wine before philosophy class. Although this may sound strange, this may be good for us. (Of course, drinking wine in any amount is prohibited in school). This may be good for us, because small amounts of wine unmask our face from fake things we show to others. It brings out what is in us that we cover up. By drinking small amounts of wine, we become truer to ourselves and to others. At this point, it is noteworthy to mention that some poets, particularly Li Bai of Tang Dynasty of China, usually drank small amounts of wine before writing poems to better reflect their true feelings and emotions in their poems. Ironically, he also died because of drinking wine.
Mathematics
“Some” mentioned in the class that mathematics is universal, constant, objective and “dead”. I was a bit hurt with the last word in this statement, which is “dead”. When I was in high school, some of my classmates asked me to teach mathematics, before class, during recess or after class. There was a time that some of my classmates asked me why mathematics is “hard” and why I was “good” in mathematics. This was what I answered to them before. Mathematics is like a tree. Initially, it may look lifeless, because it is not moving. Eventually, by solving more and more exercises and problems, you will find out that it has something in it. This something is a feeling that I could not to explain in words, but this something is like the life of a growing tree. After a few philosophy classes, I had a deeper understanding of what I was trying to say in what I answered before. Last time in the class, I was trying to explain this, but it seemed that I was not able to explain this well, so let me explain it again.
A^2 + B^2 = C^2 --> B^2 = C^2 – A^2 --> B^2 = (C - A) (C + A).
What do you think of feel about these equations? You probably see or feel that there is some sort of “bending” or “flexing” (Imagine Taichi Master bending hands or Avatar bending air) within the Pythagorean Theorem, right? You also probably see or feel that there is some sort of “deep knowledge” or “metaphysical ease” within mathematics, right? These are the life of mathematics. This is “philosophy” within mathematics. (I am not claiming that I can define the “philosophy” within mathematics.)
Language
It seems that even things which seem to be “not philosophical”, like mathematics, is “philosophical”. Even the language that we speak is philosophical. Although this is quite out of topic, it does not bother if I share this anyway. (From this point on, everything that I am typing are personal and are not necessarily true. Everybody is welcomed to give comments, but please do not attack me in any form.)
When we meet somebody, we say "Hi" or "Hello" in English, Magandang Araw or Magandang Gabi in Filipino and Nihao in Chinese. It is true that we show respect when we say Hi or Hello, but Hi or Hello is still a short word Hi or Hello. From this, we can see that the life of Americans is stressful to the extent that they cannot even say a long word when they meet somebody. “The sun is beautiful.” is the very literal translation of Magandang Araw, while “The night is beautiful.” is the very literal translation of Magandang Gabi. From this very literal translation, we can see that Filipinos show high admiration for nature. Considering that the Philippines is full of natural resources, the language of Filipinos are very much connected or related to nature. According to Dr. Garcia, for Filipinos, beauty is very much connected to good, so we can also say that Filipinos show high admiration for goodness. “You are good.” Is the very literal translation of Nihao. At this point, it is remarkable to mention that the Chinese have a saying that translates into “use the human being as basis, center or foundation.” From this, we can see that Chinese values the human self and the human collectivity. This is related to the ancient survival instincts of Chinese limited by the geography of China. Although China has a land area of more than 9,600,000 km2 and a population of more than 1,300,000,000 people, China has only less than 8% of the world’s arable land and less than 6% of the world’s fresh water. In order to feed more than 30% of world’s population (25% own food, 5% export food), Chinese must use the lands extremely effectively and extremely efficiently. To do that, “Use human as basis, center or foundation.”.
When we go to a place, the place owner says "Step In" (This is exactly what Americans say.) in English, Tuloy Po Kayo in Filipino and Huanying Qingjin in Chinese. The phrase "Step In" does not seem to express hospitality or express welcoming feelings. From this, we can see that western, particularly American culture, is individualistic. On the other hand, Tuloy Po Kayo expresses hospitality or welcoming feelings, "Meet You Happily, Please Enter" is the very literal translation of Huanying Qingjin. These phrases not only expresses hospitality and welcoming feelings, but also emphasizes pleasant and happy feelings.
When we leave a place, we say "Bye" in English, Paalam in Filipino and Zaijian in Chinese. Just like what I have previously mentioned, Bye is just Bye. “To let you know” is the very literal translation of Paalam. From this, we can see that Filipinos show respect to others when leaving by saying that they are leaving. “See you again” is the very literal translation of Zaijian. From this, we can see that the Chinese greeting expresses a form of looking forward or anticipating another meeting with others when leaving, although it seems warmer than Paalam. Both words show collectivistic cultures of the east, in contrast to individualistic cultures of the west.
When we greet somebody who celebrates his/her birthday, we say Happy Birthday in English, Maligayang Bati in Filipino and Shengrikuaile in Chinese. The phrase Happy Birthday is quite different from the past English phrases, because of the word Happy. What is more interesting here is not the unusualness of the phrase Happy Birthday, but is the value people give to birthdays. Before, at least for some, people get to have what they want, like gifts, foods and etc., only during their birthday. Now, people get to have what they want not only during their birthday, because life now is generally more comfortable than the life before. Still, people maintain their value for someone's birthday. “Greet you happily” is the very literal translation of Maligayang Bati, while “Get happy quickly on your birthday” is the very literal translation of Shengrikuaile. Both phrases further support the high value people give to birthdays. Overall, language is seems to be directly proportional to the years of civilization. This means that the longer the years of civilization, the more develop the language is.
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