class today at SOM202

Please spread the word that our class today, Tuesday May 29 will still be at SOM202.

Thank you.

Heidegger 2

Protocol: Thursday, 24 May

Author: Jess

I. “Western-European philosophy” as a tautology ([paragraph] 11)

• Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, etc. are not considered as philosophy because they are [from] a different tradition
• Point: Heidegger wishes to distill philosophy to allow to really see its actual “spirit”

II. Presupposition in philosophy: discrediting certain possible paths

• Problem about trying to understand philosophy in terms of reason/ as a matter of reason
• It is somehow reason using/defending itself for justification.
• It is necessary to understand that defining entails abstraction in that in order to come up with a definition it is necessary to abstract. The definition formulated from abstraction is used as a basis.
• Example: When studying the liver, it becomes something conceptual wherein the liver is deemed as the liver of everybody. The common qualities of the liver are abstracted in order to use it as a basis of a particular definition in that the object has to pass the list of qualities in the definition.
• Implications: What is not rational should not be a matter of philosophy
• This understanding of philosophy already disregards a lot of possible inquiries.
• It is impossible go into certain human enterprises, particularly art, since art is looked at not by rationalizing it, but by experiencing/ feeling it.
• Point: If philosophy is about reason/ a matter of reason, then it can be considered as one of the many diverse branches of science, which will lead us nowhere in understanding philosophy.

III. Heidegger’s critique of modernity (a critique of technology)

• Modern humanity has lost the sense/ perspective of viewing the world the way the ancient Greeks/primordial people possessed because of technology
• Modern humanity has lost a primordial connection with the world in that it no longer sees the world as it is. Modern people deem themselves as separate from the world because of the advancement in technology.
• Example: Now, a tree is seen in the way of its scientific qualities (chlorophyll, photosynthesis, etc.) in that it is understood based on how it fits into certain definitions or categories.
• Modernity lost the sense of the poetic
• If reading a poem like Trees by Joyce Kilmer and somehow go through the poem line by line, then perhaps we can experience the tree the same way the poem experiences it in that this experience is different form the preconceived notions of science.
• This sense of the poetic has been replaced with the sense of utility.
• Rain: (then) experienced as a blessing, as a necessity for survival to grow crops, but (now) deemed as inconvenience        
• Juxtapose: usual way of thinking of urbanized people and indigenous people towards nature
• Mother Nature is a dead metaphor or doesn’t mean anything to us anymore in that this view of seeing nature came from that which no longer holds true in modern society. In modern society, nature is no longer a mother but more of a pumping station/ a resource.
• Point: Technology: double-edged sword
• Not only separates us from a primordial connection with nature and the world, but also separates us from one another.
• Typewriter: there is certain artificiality with it in that the personality of the person typing the letter is lost in the sense that one’s personality can be seen in the strokes of the handwriting.
• The pen follows the rhythm of the hand, but in typing the fingers become tools, forced to follow the configuration of the machine.

IV. Relevance of the critique to  “What is philosophy”

• When we talk about “ti estin” and “quid” and “what is,” there’s a big difference since “what is” comes from a technical point of view and “quid” expresses as if that something could be captured by way of definition, while “ti estin” does not mold that something into a category or definition, instead it merely provides the avenue for that something to reveal itself and it does not dictate its unconcealment.
• The analogy of the gardener and the builder: Gardener as “ti estin”, Builder as “quid”/ “what is”
• When one defines, he/she is a builder. Categories are established in order to try to fit nature within a box. Example: The categories in [bureaucratic] forms, such as gender, try to fit a certain person in the categories present in the forms.
• The gardener does not dictate the growth of the plant, but merely provides the space for it to flourish on its own capacity.
• Point: Heidegger knew that modern readers would look at philosophy in the matter of the “quid” wherein we try to classify and categorize everything/ want to see/ grasp everything as “quantifiable” in that categories are created to try to fill or represent the spaces present in our understanding of things. Thus, turning back to the primordial way of seeing things/ perspective is needed to understand the question at hand. (What is philosophy?)

V. Heraclitus and Parmenides as “Great thinkers” ([thinker:] Denker)/ ([poet:] Dichter)

• They don’t seem to prove any particular point in their writing (there is this sense that they are not exactly doing philosophy) because they are still in harmony with Logos/ one with everything.
• φιλοσοφία (philosophia)=> φιλόσοφος (philosohos)=> ανερ φιλόσοφος (aner philosophos) => (hos philei to sophon): he who loves the sophon ([paragraph] 22): tries to establish the fact that indeed Heraclitus and Paraminides are “great thinkers” because they were one with the Logos in that they inhabit that sophon ([paragraph] 26).
• Sophon= Hen Panta: “all is one”
• Individualism is very important to modern humanity; however, primordial people see themselves not as a ‘self’ but in unity other people in a community
• Indigenous people has no distinction of what is man-made and natural, just see everything as one, as part of the cosmos/ of an order
• Example: dike: means the whole cosmos is ordered; however, the modern mind limits it to inter-human affairs by labeling it as “justice.”
• Point: Heraclitus and Parmenides both inhabit that unity with the sophon; however, modern society no longer lives in that unity because of individualism/ definition/ separation from Hen Panta. This is why contemporaries have a hard time understanding Heraclitus and Parmenides.

Venue for classes

Thanks to those who expressed their preference for SOM202 over our official classroom, F204.  I agree with the comment that the former is more conducive for our purposes  than the latter.

I am currently asking the OAS to allow us to continue using SOM202 until the official start of the first semester on 11 June.  The request is still pending.

Next week I shall ask the Department of ISCS if another classroom could be provided for the rest of our JTA semester.

Please check this website on Tuesday morning to confirm our class venue for that day.

Please spread the word to keep one another informed.  Thank you and see you on Tuesday.

PJS

Parmenides 2

Protocol Tuesday 22 May
Author: Joshua


Dike can’t be translated directly to justice since it talks about order that is present in everything unlike the latter.

• Occupies a larger context than Justice
• Parmenides defies dike
• It would take an epic hero to cross the gate that dike is guarding

The Way of Opinion (Demigod/Daimon in story)

• The ones who were driving the chariot were demigod[desse]s
• Any spirit between between gods & mortals
• Can only take the man up to the gate

The Way Of Truth (Goddess/Thea in story)

• Goddess as truth herself
• Revealing herself to the persona and instructs him on the way of truth
• Epic hero has courage to ask questions and does not [get satisfied with] opinions
• The Way Of Truth is [the only path] worth pursuing

Being, That is, What is (alethes:true)

• Thinking is always connected to Being or What Is
• We are always thinking of something (ex. We can’t imagine something based from nothing)

Nothingness, That Is Not, What Is Not (sphallo:false)

• Pseudo-way (pseudo: not appearing as itself)
• Cannot be expressed nor recognized
• We should not [tread] this way.

According to Parmenides...

• Being does not change
• Being has to be motionless
• We are constantly in the “now” (always here & present)
• There is a wholeness

[Being as a] well-rounded sphere...

• Inviolable
• “can’t make a perfect circle”
• A symbol of divinity for the Greeks

Limit

• Something with a limit is perfect while the one that has no limit isn’t
• Ex. In sculpture, artist will put a limit to the stone for it to become a statue
• Perfection of a sphere is achieved because of its limit (limit is perfect & not distorted)

Our experience of nothingness is a negation of What Is. No sign-post is able to capture the fullness of reality.


[Friendly comment: This outline is too bare and therefore not very useful. Some important points made in class could be reversed if the one reading the outline is not very careful.]

Class today at SOM 202

Please remember that today, Thursday, 24 May, the DISCS faculty and staff are on holiday thus the computer lab (F204) we frequently use will not be available.

Thus, our class for today will be held at SOM202.  This is only for today.  The next class sessions shall take place at the usual venue.

Please be guided accordingly.

Heidegger 1

Protocol: 22 May
Author: Gia
[words in square brackets are mine. -PJS]

Parmenides: Fragments
I. Being as discussed by Parmenides

• Being [spelled with uppercase letters] suggests that he could be referring to something different [from] the notion of being in everyday language.
• being as a noun: a being; the being—implies [creatures, entities (e.g. human being, extraterrestrial being)]
• Being as “well-rounded” and “motionless”
• Being is not [a creature or entity] that changes or perishes with time

II. Parmenides refutes Heraclitus

• Everything Heraclitus said is part of the Way of Opinion, as he talked about appearances, things that change and things that seem—nothing more than phainomenon.
• Contrary to Heraclitus’ beliefs, Being [] cannot [] be in flux, it has to be something that just is.
• We must sift through perception and opinion to find what is truly real.
• Everything that changes and is imperfect must still participate in the perfection of the Real.

III. Fragments

• Fragment 2: Non-Being cannot be explored, recognized or expressed because it is not.
• Non-Being is not the mere opposite of a certain concept, as Being in itself cannot be a concept that is in perfect form. [This last prepositional phrase is unclear]
• The thinking that there is a duality into Being/Not-Being is misleading; truth becomes further concealed.
• Fragment 3: We can only get closer to Being when we approximate Way of Truth by thinking.
• Fragments 9-onwards: discusses opinions prevalent during Parmenides’ time

IV. The [Pseudo-way, sphallo: false]

• Way of Opinion is different from the Inquiry of What Is Not
• Opinions are based on Being and are inquiries into what is (however still imperfect because they are of mortal creation)
• Reminder that the Philosopher, in spite of his enlightenment, is still a mortal with his own opinions and doubts of what he knows
• The philosopher’s task is to question and examine what people deem as established truths

Martin Heidegger: What is Philosophy?
I. Presuppositions in Every Question

• Asking a question presupposes knowledge related to the question
• The [inquirer] reveals that he does not know the answer.
• Presupposes that the person he asks is [most probably] capable of answering the question
• [The quotation from Fr. Ferriols expresses and summarizes this insight.]

II. The Question: What is Philosophy?

• Straight definitions are problematic because it distances the speaker from what is being defined
• Definitions distance in order for reality to be seen in a certain way
• Cannot grasp philosophy through a formula definition
• Philosophy [a]s methodos, by way of a path
• Similar to Parmenides’ Way of Truth
• Must use the historical approach to answer what Philosophy is
• Φιλοσοφία (Philosophia) – we express an affinity to the Greek tradition every time we use the word Philosophy, therefore we must go back to the meaning used by the Greeks
• To stay true to Greek meaning, we need to recognize that wisdom from elsewhere cannot [strictly speaking] be called Philosophy
• i.e. no such thing as Zen Philosophy, Chinese Philosophy, etc.
• Mere appropriation of the Greek word, as it is different tradition from what Philosophy really is
• We attach ourselves to the Western philosophical tradition whenever we do philosophy
• [Thus the category Eastern Philosophy (e.g. Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism) is a misunderstanding and the category Western European Philosophy is a tautology]

Parmenides 1

Protocol Tuesday 15 May
Author: Joy Federico
[words in square brackets are mine. - PJS]

1. Translating : True or False VS “Katotohan” or “Kasinungalingan”

[But before we arrived at this part, why did we spend time translating parent first?]
a) Details / precision are/is lost once we translate.
b) Although both words (Truth and 'katotohan') refer to 'truthfulness', they can be conveyed differently, depending on the usage.
c) How the words are formed was based on a cultural context.
ex. The word, “katotohan”, when splitted apart, means relationship (ka-)-this (ito)-communality (-an). Thus, combining these fragments that makes up the word, gives us the notion that 'katotohan' means that the truth is based on something that is experienced by the community.
d) Using the words as an example, we can see the cultural differences between the west and the Filipinos. (ex. The west finds the value in precision as opposed to the Filipino culture which is more community-oriented.)

2. Aletheia (αλήθεια)

a) Corresponds to truth/ “katotohan”
b) Word breakdown: 'a' = is a negative prefix. (Ex. Asexual, amoral)
`          'leth' = means hiding or concealing.
         'eia' = to be in a condition.
Summing all, aletheia in Greek context means “unconcealment”.
c) For the Greeks, truth is something that is already there but in concealment.
d) Again, for the Greeks, truth is not something that is verified instead, it is something that appears from its concealment.

3. Introduction to Parmenides' Work

1. Doxa (δόξα ) and Phainomenon (φαινόμενον )

a) Doxa is translated as 'opinion' / 'how something seems' / 'how something appears to us and how we experience it'.
b) Phainomenon is translated as 'phenomenon', meaning, an occurrence or an appearance of something we cannot completely explain.
c) An opinion is the reaction to a phenomenon thus, it varies per person. However, some phenomena are intended to appear as the truth. (Ex. A conman's work)
d) An appearance could be acting as the truth but it could be a deception. (As Sir said, “Science is built to find out the hidden truth among things that appear.”)
[c and d above are both unclear]

2. Parmenides' Poem

a) Divided into 3 parts in hexameter verse. [Why is it important to note the style/genre?]
b) The poem lost it[s meter] since it has already been translated.
c) Written like an epic. Like an epic, the poem addresses that it is not easy to find the truth.
d) The search for truth is only possible if the warrior is patronized by the heavens.
e) Truth cannot be accessed by pure search instead, it must be experienced.
f) Except for the persona, the characters in the poem are all women.
-Women and men are different in the understanding of knowledge. Men tend to be more objective. Women, in contrast, give more value to experience. (Ex. The persona is being guided by women.)
g) Juxtaposition of Light and Night to[knowledge] and ignorance. (The persona having left the Palace of Night to go towards the light.)
[Friendly comment: Here we find the details. But where are the insights?]

Heraclitus 2

Protocol Thursday 10 May
Author: Iyel Sunga
[words in square brackets are mine. - PJS.]

Fragment 9, 13 and 61:
- Creatures enjoying their true nature. Something might appear as waste to some creatures but serves as life and survival for others.
- Everywhere we look, there is conflict and order. What may be deemed as proper for us may not be proper for other creatures. What is seen as a disadvantage can actually be an advantage in another perspective (ex. Volcanoes erupting)

Fragment 51:
- Balance in nature: there is always a balance of opposing forces everywhere (ex. Human body and its acids in the stomach that become destructive once the balance is lost).

Fragment 45:
- Soul in the fragment means psyche (Ψυχῆ in Greek) [in English:] spirit[, in Filipino: diwa, kalooban]
- The logos is constantly hiding. It may feel like we are already there but we continue to search, travel and ask. Being one with the logos is not something we learn but it is something we try (ex. Dancing)
- Oddyseus in the Odyssey kept travelling (searching for his soul [metaphorically]). It took him 10 years before returning to his home which means understanding who he really was through the conflicts he faced in his travel. This story shows how each one is given a burden to surpass for us to know who we really are.

Fragment 20:
- There are people who just go through life without asking and knowing who they really are so their children also become victims of the same fate.
- Not everyone asks the question “WHO AM I[?]”
- It is impossible to know who you really are but it is worth the effort.
- Reality is abundantly rich and forever broader. Philosophy allows us to know reality better, not to exhaust it. Life becomes more exciting because we continue to discover things about [ourselves].

Fragment 91:
- The world is evolving therefore, we cannot touch the same mortal substance twice (ex. Performance).
- This fragment introduces how we look at the world. Do we really know who we are or are just assuming [unclear] since everything is constantly changing?

Fragment 123:
- It talks about φύσις (physis) which refers to growth.
- An example would be a person sincerely telling who he really is but at the same time, not being transparent because he doesn’t fully know himself.
- You cannot force something to happen in nature, you must wait for it to happen. This shows the difference between architects and gardeners. Architects have full control on the outcome of their designs and projects but gardeners have to wait on how the seeds will grow.
- There are also some people who are denying reality because they are afraid to accept the reality thus, hiding themselves.


[It is difficult to see which points have been emphasized in class. But aside from that, good outline; plenty of details.]

Heraclitus 1

Protocol: Tuesday 8 May

Author: Harvey Chua

Additions in square brackets are mine.-PJS

Heraclitus: Fragments

Philosophy begins with wonder. [reference to Plato's Theaitetus] Wonder [here] means perplexity.

I. Perplexity
[The] fragments [of Heraclitus are] hard to understand precisely because [they] represent the “different way of reading and writing for philosophy,” & the failure of logic, grammar, and words to fully capture the experience of reality

Heraclitus was called Ho Skoteinos- dark or obscure one

        -wrote in an obscure manner on purpose

        -didn’t want to water down or desiccate the insight of reality
Ferriols- certain insights resist our efforts to fully explore them because of the superabundance & richness of reality; a tension exists between sense of knowledge & sense of ignorance.
Aphorisms- try to convey such insights while being caught in the raw experience
         - avoid the comfort of conceptual analysis, the filter of language and the screen of the writer’s style

Summary: Philosophizing with the philosopher, we remain within the experience

II. Lack of Unifying Theme- an attempt to place everything into a unifying whole means deducing a concept from the totality of the text

III. The Law [as translation of the Greek word logos]
Heraclitus- prescriptive in human affairs; descriptive in cosmic/natural ones

Logos=word; Leg/Lec: to bring together

ex. elephant- when the word is uttered:

     1) we collect everyone to focus on that object
     2) everyone brings together their experience of elephants

     ex. Anthology (collection of flowers), Biology (collection of knowledge of life)

     ex. Lectio/Lecture- collected together to listen, deliverer[?] collects knowledge, deliverer[?] brings himself together before audience

           Collection gives order to things

IV. Paradox
helps keeps tension of the given experience

knocks us off the demand for conceptual understanding

let reality show itself without distinctive categories

Fragment 8: shows tension/opposition

harmony in music- beautiful but distinct tones/notes [pitch]

continuous conflict that sustains order and harmony

logos- everything in the world is going through constant tension to arrive at harmony and maintain order

Fragment 51: bow & lyre- tension of bow and lyre (even guitars)

balanced tension= the “right” sound

guitarist knows what is just right by experience, cannot be conveyed through conceptual explanation

Nature is especially part of this order; humans affirm or deny logos

Summary: Heraclitus’ text is difficult because it suffers from the failure of words and philosophy to capture the richness of experience; its suffering (random; difficult to understand) represents Heraclitus’ attempt to express the superabundance of reality without desiccation. 

Insight part 2

Protocol Thursday 3 May

Author: Jazz Eser

I.        Seeing and Understanding: Simultaneous or Separate Activities?

              a) While at first, it seems that they are separate activities, they are actually simultaneous.

              b) In the game, we already have an idea as soon as we see something and that identification of what we see to an idea is already understanding, therefore they are simultaneous.

              c) The reason we see both as separate activities is because of abstraction.

II.      Abstraction

              a) Comes from the word abstractio which means “to pull away”

              b) Abstraction is a tool in the analysis of insight or conceptual analysis

              c) Looking to what you need to ask

              d) Prescinding or disregarding the fundamental differences

              e) Looking at reality at a particular kind of way

              f) However, abstraction is dangerous when reality is only seen through that abstraction.

              g) Reality is abundant with meaning and cannot be defined through a single abstraction

       Example of abstraction in counting objects

1. We must first abstract from the certain aspect of the things we're trying to count. If we're counting people in a room, we disregard other objects in the room such as fans, blackboards, etc. 
2.   We must also abstract what we count to the things themselves. In counting people, we must ignore if they're boy or girl, tall or short, etc. otherwise, we'd be counting one for each different person.

Friendly comment:  Jazz, what do you mean by IIc ("Looking to what you need to ask")?  That phrase is unclear.  See you in class. -PJ Strebel

Introductory class: Insight

Welcome to Ph 101!

Thanks to those who have already checked out the blog page.  Sorry if you only saw stuff from last year's class.  To make it up to you, I decided to allow the rainy weekend influence my sensibilities and give the page a new look. Anyway, here we are and so let's have a fresh start with Paco's outline of our first class discussion.  Feel free to post comments and questions below.

Protocol of class discussion Thursday, 26 April

Author: Paco Halili

Insight

1)      What is Insight?

a)      it is a crucial element in thinking

b)      “seeing” with the mind

c)      hard to convey to those who don’t have this insight

2)      Using Insights

a)      analyzing what makes up the insight

i)        can deepen the meaning of the insight

ii)     allows one to know how to let others easily experience the insight

       Example: jokes

(1)   analysis of the joke can cause a more effective delivery

b)      encapsulating the insights in metaphors

i)        clarifies the insight

ii)     solidifies its meaning in the mind

       Example: words

(1)   words can be seen as metaphors

(2)   using some words in a specific way requires insights that may be:

(a)   based on the word’s history

(b)   based on how people have used it

(3)   looking at a word with a specific insight can make you use it more correctly