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Sometimes having written all the entries, I felt my heart hardened. I seek refuge in God so that my heart would shed a tear even at the sight of moving clouds. Correct me if I am wrong but a hardened heart will learn nothing but ignorance. And its arrogance itself is a disease upon the heart. All praises unto God and glory be unto His Holy Name, Ameen (I’m tempted to put “Amen” instead).
So, readers, please supplicate so that I will become a better person, your brother in humanity.
Continuing to where we last stopped, I mentioned that I detached myself from religious ideas but yet still to practice it.
I believe I am different compared to who I was back then.
Back then, I held strongly upon religious ideas and merely overlooked others. Now, I am truly glad all I have to do is to be myself if I were truly sincere upon searching God and be part of Him
People with religious notions merely brush off philosophy as heresy. But I am truly glad I no longer have to come to that conclusion.
The above is just another entry in my Wall of my Facebook account. I do not know how to begin with. I always wanted to talk about why I am suddenly obsessed into philosophy. I always wanted to refute a friend of mine who said, based on what he heard; philosophy is deviant (in the religion). Should I begin with the last statement?
Let’s begin with, why did I choose to study philosophy? Well, I never knew I would be studying in depth about it until I took the elective module in my polytechnic as mentioned in one of my previous entries. But I already had the issues which were discussed in philosophy such as regarding the existence of oneself and what is the purpose of life. The module probably aided me more in aspect of critical thinking. Although theories were brought up, we did not explain in full details. I was only curious about them some time later.
I did not know how to start my journey back then. I only had a gist of it. Yet, everything in my world was still in a mess and I did not know where to start cleaning up. However as I studied philosophy, I began to appreciate some of the thinkers moreover I often thought of them as growing up since young and raised such questions which might not seem appreciated to those around them but probably to those of generations to come. Of course, that is not to say why I prefer them over religious scholars. The main issue here is; the questions they raised seem fundamental to everyone from all walks of life –it does not matter which religion or ideology you belong but they do play a part in considering how we should act or ought to live. At times you may be the ones who have these questions all by yourself. You sought an advice from a friend and got a reply which goes, “Don’t think too much about it.”
Well, the problem is; if we already have those questions in our mind, how could we not think too about them? Am I supposed to assume that my mind is playing tricks on me and I should live how I am supposed to live? The last words raise another question; how am I supposed to live? We may have different choices such as we should live according to our needs and desires or based on religious doctrines and so forth. So, who is exactly telling the truth?
For those of us who belong to certain religions and moreover you hold onto their teachings, some of you might probably have said, “We should believe what God tells us to do”.
Because I believe there’s God, I cannot be in disagreement to that. Logically, when someone has given you a help, isn’t it appropriate of you to thank him? And with God given us His blessings, isn’t it our part to be grateful by obeying what He tells us to do as a form of gratitude? Here you may want to raise a couple of questions such as, “Is God good (please define what good is)?” or “is it alright if I do not thank God and choose to live in any way I want?” and so forth. We can always come up with countless of questions but that is not the issue for now, though it is good that we ponder and contemplate about them so as to be certain with ourselves. If religions prohibited us from doing so, how then can we be sure of what we believe in?
Thus, I do not understand why anyone would mention that philosophy I deviant. And I hope you all are already asking, “What is philosophy?”
Based on my experience, anything could be part of philosophy. And somehow, the study of it is always traced back to the early Greeks who questioned nearly everything –this is what I found while reading a book called Introducing Philosophy book (yes, it is part of the Introducing series, which has Introducing Psychology, Introducing Aesthetics, Introducing Romanticism and so on). And during the time of Socrates, probably he was the philosopher who made ethics as an important study in philosophy. I did not have the book with me as I borrowed it from a library and thus, I would appreciate if any of you who are students of philosophy to correct what I said especially regarding Socrates. Yet again, philosophy is still a general study of issues such as truth, science, languages, metaphysics, epistemology and many others. Simply said, it is concerning everything under the sun –or probably anything in the universe. I cannot give an absolute definition what philosophy is but I hope I have done my part in explaining to you.
And some of you who are students of philosophy are already aware that some the theories suggested by philosophers throughout time can be contradicting when compared to each other. An example would be the case of Plato and Descartes who emphasised in reason over desires, e.g. I am thirsty and I come across a cup of drink which has been added with poison –if I value my life, it is logical that I do not drink it even though I am thirsty. However, other thinkers such as Hume mentioned reason is only a slave to desires, e.g. it is because sexual desire is part of us, and therefore it is logical that we fulfil our desires.
Thus, if one is saying that philosophy is deviant, those who are exposed to it already knows that we cannot believe entirely in it due to contradicting theories if anyone assumes that philosophy is like another ‘form of religion’. We could only rely on certain theories but not everything. Don’t you think we ought not to have contradictions in our lives so as to be certain in what we believe in? Digressing a little bit, I do not know what his intention was when he brought up that statement as shortly during the discussion, an old friend of mine joined us and because we hadn’t met quite a while, the subject of our conversation was changed.
Well, of course after sharing with another friend (not the same old friend mentioned earlier) regarding what the first friend said i.e. philosophy is deviant (or heresy, maybe), the statement “philosophy is deviant” is ambiguous. In what way is it deviant? Probably one aspect which I have mentioned above is contradictions. But could there be any other possible reasons? Possibly yes but I do not have the answer.
And knowing that I am bound to be prejudice and biased if I were to solely rely on religious beliefs, this is one reason why I choose to read more on philosophy (and that happens to be some time after my graduation). And religious ideologies are part of philosophy as well. As a matter of fact, every single action or thought is part of philosophy. We cannot run away from it because that is how philosophy in general has been said to have been described. The best possible description I could share, using Dictionary.com as my reference is; philosophy is the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct.
I detach myself from religion only for the sole purpose of searching for the truth, which is also another philosophical issue –how do we know what truth is? It is because I acknowledge there are other forms of beliefs in the world and I feel it is best if I were to study them.
In fact, I always question myself; assuming religion B is the truth i.e. as declared by God, then how does one who is not exposed to that religion can come to know about it if he is in religion A, or even born with no knowledge of any particular religion at all? Well, we may argue that God will give guidance to the poor soul. But the question is; how would he know? It is this sort of journey that he will to go through. In fact, it is a journey that we are all going through by coming to certain things on our own and not merely relying on all the information instilled within us since young. I can always rely on the statements of clerics and assume that they have more knowledge than I do –I won’t deny that. But is it not fair of me to walk through the path in doing my homework so as to come to my own conclusion if what these clerics claimed is true or otherwise?
And if people among my religion were to say; “Your faith isn’t strong enough –you shouldn’t study (about certain things, say, other religions)”, well such statements can be quite ambiguous at times. What does the term strong mean? In my understanding, it is not literally or physically strong in this context. Probably what the statement means; “You are not ready yet”.
But how ready are we? To say that we are ready because of the knowledge we accumulated over the years would sound inappropriate –it is saying that you have sufficient knowledge to study about another belief. Well, that may sound true as we need what we know based on our experiences to investigate another belief. But if one is curious is searching for the truth, how will he know if he is ready? Yet, at the same time such statements could have a very deep and profound meaning. I may discuss about it in the future or not at all.
Personally, it is not about how much one knows but rather how he is going to deal with the information he is about to receive upon stumbling into another belief different from his. Isn’t that then a form of test to our faiths and beliefs? And I urge all of you so as not to believe explicitly in the information given you no matter how much you trust the ones who deliver it. It is a reminder for you and me so that we can all do our homework first before jumping to a conclusion because of what others have said so.
P.S: I’m only doing my best to be whom I am or who I ought to be. Please supplicate so that I will be guided to straight and right path. O God, You hear my prayer. Grant me Your Guidance and Protection. I seek refuge in You from all the evil and malice which dwell within me and my surroundings. And I seek refuge in You from the accursed devil, Ameen.
Sometimes having written all the entries, I felt my heart hardened. I seek refuge in God so that my heart would shed a tear even at the sight of moving clouds. Correct me if I am wrong but a hardened heart will learn nothing but ignorance. And its arrogance itself is a disease upon the heart. All praises unto God and glory be unto His Holy Name, Ameen (I’m tempted to put “Amen” instead).
So, readers, please supplicate so that I will become a better person, your brother in humanity.
Continuing to where we last stopped, I mentioned that I detached myself from religious ideas but yet still to practice it.
I believe I am different compared to who I was back then.
Back then, I held strongly upon religious ideas and merely overlooked others. Now, I am truly glad all I have to do is to be myself if I were truly sincere upon searching God and be part of Him
People with religious notions merely brush off philosophy as heresy. But I am truly glad I no longer have to come to that conclusion.
The above is just another entry in my Wall of my Facebook account. I do not know how to begin with. I always wanted to talk about why I am suddenly obsessed into philosophy. I always wanted to refute a friend of mine who said, based on what he heard; philosophy is deviant (in the religion). Should I begin with the last statement?
Let’s begin with, why did I choose to study philosophy? Well, I never knew I would be studying in depth about it until I took the elective module in my polytechnic as mentioned in one of my previous entries. But I already had the issues which were discussed in philosophy such as regarding the existence of oneself and what is the purpose of life. The module probably aided me more in aspect of critical thinking. Although theories were brought up, we did not explain in full details. I was only curious about them some time later.
I did not know how to start my journey back then. I only had a gist of it. Yet, everything in my world was still in a mess and I did not know where to start cleaning up. However as I studied philosophy, I began to appreciate some of the thinkers moreover I often thought of them as growing up since young and raised such questions which might not seem appreciated to those around them but probably to those of generations to come. Of course, that is not to say why I prefer them over religious scholars. The main issue here is; the questions they raised seem fundamental to everyone from all walks of life –it does not matter which religion or ideology you belong but they do play a part in considering how we should act or ought to live. At times you may be the ones who have these questions all by yourself. You sought an advice from a friend and got a reply which goes, “Don’t think too much about it.”
Well, the problem is; if we already have those questions in our mind, how could we not think too about them? Am I supposed to assume that my mind is playing tricks on me and I should live how I am supposed to live? The last words raise another question; how am I supposed to live? We may have different choices such as we should live according to our needs and desires or based on religious doctrines and so forth. So, who is exactly telling the truth?
For those of us who belong to certain religions and moreover you hold onto their teachings, some of you might probably have said, “We should believe what God tells us to do”.
Because I believe there’s God, I cannot be in disagreement to that. Logically, when someone has given you a help, isn’t it appropriate of you to thank him? And with God given us His blessings, isn’t it our part to be grateful by obeying what He tells us to do as a form of gratitude? Here you may want to raise a couple of questions such as, “Is God good (please define what good is)?” or “is it alright if I do not thank God and choose to live in any way I want?” and so forth. We can always come up with countless of questions but that is not the issue for now, though it is good that we ponder and contemplate about them so as to be certain with ourselves. If religions prohibited us from doing so, how then can we be sure of what we believe in?
Thus, I do not understand why anyone would mention that philosophy I deviant. And I hope you all are already asking, “What is philosophy?”
Based on my experience, anything could be part of philosophy. And somehow, the study of it is always traced back to the early Greeks who questioned nearly everything –this is what I found while reading a book called Introducing Philosophy book (yes, it is part of the Introducing series, which has Introducing Psychology, Introducing Aesthetics, Introducing Romanticism and so on). And during the time of Socrates, probably he was the philosopher who made ethics as an important study in philosophy. I did not have the book with me as I borrowed it from a library and thus, I would appreciate if any of you who are students of philosophy to correct what I said especially regarding Socrates. Yet again, philosophy is still a general study of issues such as truth, science, languages, metaphysics, epistemology and many others. Simply said, it is concerning everything under the sun –or probably anything in the universe. I cannot give an absolute definition what philosophy is but I hope I have done my part in explaining to you.
And some of you who are students of philosophy are already aware that some the theories suggested by philosophers throughout time can be contradicting when compared to each other. An example would be the case of Plato and Descartes who emphasised in reason over desires, e.g. I am thirsty and I come across a cup of drink which has been added with poison –if I value my life, it is logical that I do not drink it even though I am thirsty. However, other thinkers such as Hume mentioned reason is only a slave to desires, e.g. it is because sexual desire is part of us, and therefore it is logical that we fulfil our desires.
Thus, if one is saying that philosophy is deviant, those who are exposed to it already knows that we cannot believe entirely in it due to contradicting theories if anyone assumes that philosophy is like another ‘form of religion’. We could only rely on certain theories but not everything. Don’t you think we ought not to have contradictions in our lives so as to be certain in what we believe in? Digressing a little bit, I do not know what his intention was when he brought up that statement as shortly during the discussion, an old friend of mine joined us and because we hadn’t met quite a while, the subject of our conversation was changed.
Well, of course after sharing with another friend (not the same old friend mentioned earlier) regarding what the first friend said i.e. philosophy is deviant (or heresy, maybe), the statement “philosophy is deviant” is ambiguous. In what way is it deviant? Probably one aspect which I have mentioned above is contradictions. But could there be any other possible reasons? Possibly yes but I do not have the answer.
And knowing that I am bound to be prejudice and biased if I were to solely rely on religious beliefs, this is one reason why I choose to read more on philosophy (and that happens to be some time after my graduation). And religious ideologies are part of philosophy as well. As a matter of fact, every single action or thought is part of philosophy. We cannot run away from it because that is how philosophy in general has been said to have been described. The best possible description I could share, using Dictionary.com as my reference is; philosophy is the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct.
I detach myself from religion only for the sole purpose of searching for the truth, which is also another philosophical issue –how do we know what truth is? It is because I acknowledge there are other forms of beliefs in the world and I feel it is best if I were to study them.
In fact, I always question myself; assuming religion B is the truth i.e. as declared by God, then how does one who is not exposed to that religion can come to know about it if he is in religion A, or even born with no knowledge of any particular religion at all? Well, we may argue that God will give guidance to the poor soul. But the question is; how would he know? It is this sort of journey that he will to go through. In fact, it is a journey that we are all going through by coming to certain things on our own and not merely relying on all the information instilled within us since young. I can always rely on the statements of clerics and assume that they have more knowledge than I do –I won’t deny that. But is it not fair of me to walk through the path in doing my homework so as to come to my own conclusion if what these clerics claimed is true or otherwise?
And if people among my religion were to say; “Your faith isn’t strong enough –you shouldn’t study (about certain things, say, other religions)”, well such statements can be quite ambiguous at times. What does the term strong mean? In my understanding, it is not literally or physically strong in this context. Probably what the statement means; “You are not ready yet”.
But how ready are we? To say that we are ready because of the knowledge we accumulated over the years would sound inappropriate –it is saying that you have sufficient knowledge to study about another belief. Well, that may sound true as we need what we know based on our experiences to investigate another belief. But if one is curious is searching for the truth, how will he know if he is ready? Yet, at the same time such statements could have a very deep and profound meaning. I may discuss about it in the future or not at all.
Personally, it is not about how much one knows but rather how he is going to deal with the information he is about to receive upon stumbling into another belief different from his. Isn’t that then a form of test to our faiths and beliefs? And I urge all of you so as not to believe explicitly in the information given you no matter how much you trust the ones who deliver it. It is a reminder for you and me so that we can all do our homework first before jumping to a conclusion because of what others have said so.
P.S: I’m only doing my best to be whom I am or who I ought to be. Please supplicate so that I will be guided to straight and right path. O God, You hear my prayer. Grant me Your Guidance and Protection. I seek refuge in You from all the evil and malice which dwell within me and my surroundings. And I seek refuge in You from the accursed devil, Ameen.
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