Philosophy and the Art of Questioning

One of the first things a person learns having stepped into a philosophy class is that the subject itself is nearly impossible to define. In fact, it is probably THE first thing you learn. People have tried coming up with many fancy definitions of philosophy, but the problem is that the subject has no real parameters, and hence no specific area of study. So what, then, is this subject called philosophy and why is it so important?

It may, and has been, very often been regarded as a boring and wordy subject; meaningless and long-winded; with no real direction or extrinsic value of any sort. Yet throughout history, many people have dedicated their entire lives to the study of philosophy, as if nothing else in their lives mattered. Bertrand Russell, David Hume, John Locke and Descartes are just a handful of such people.

Philosophy, to me, is just a name, a label like any other, which, when invoked, creates either positive or negative connototations in the minds of various people. It certainly depends on what we perceive of it, as a subject, or as perhaps a method, but that is all there is to it; a label.

There are some among us who consider ourselves deep-thinking and constantly wondering about the GML (Great Mysteries of Life). These people like asking thought-provoking questions, no holds barred. There are others who might be currently undergoing a conflicted period in their lives, where they find themselves facing some rather disturbing and awkward questions about a great many things, such as faith and beliefs. And then there are those who say that all this is nothing more than an exercise in stupidity. This last group, sadly, would be the majority. Their entire argument revolves around the idea of 'why should we pursue questions that are ridiculous and unanswerable?'.

This last group of people are badly mistaken in their assessment, I am afraid. It is rather idiotic to say that philosophy is pointless; it is anything but. To prove this, it is crucial to get an idea of what philosophy is.

As human beings, we are unique, in a sense that we are capable of doing a great many things; we are the great achievers of the world, capable of solving great mysteries and finding answers to complex puzzles, as well as harnessing nature for our own purposes. Yet, these are not our greatest gifts. They are merely the products of something else that is of far greater value. Everything we do and achieve in life starts with a simple thing; a question. It is not our ability to find the right answers that mattes most, it is our ability to ask the right questions.

The ability to question is your greatest gift; the process through which you learn to ask the right questions, to me, is Philosophy. From the greatest human achievements to the simplest aspects of our daily lives, it all starts with a question. Think Sir Isaac Newton and the question of "Why things fall?" and think of yourself this morning, standing in front of your mirror and asking "what should I wear to work today?" We're all about questions, do you not agree?

Philosophy, then, is about asking questions that truly matter. Not just asking them, but pondering and contemplating over them; perfecting them, refining them. Through the use of logic and the sharing of knowledge, we are, in many ways, sharpening our minds, because we find ourselves looking through a much wider scope at life and existence. This process is the key to understanding the exercise of philosophy. It is not the destination that matters, but the journey. As Bertrand Russell put it in Value of Philosophy,

"Philosophy is to be studied, not for the sake of any definite answers to its questions since no definite answers can, as a rule, be known to be true, but rather for the sake of the questions themselves; because these questions enlarge our conception of what is possible, enrich our intellectual imagination and diminish the dogmatic assurance which closes the mind against speculation; but above all because, through the greatness of the universe which philosophy contemplates, the mind also is rendered great, and becomes capable of that union with the universe which constitutes its highest good."

River of Time
For every day that passes without a pause,
without a break in the river of time,
that we are left trailing behind,
watching the world dissappear into the distance,
and its only just the two of us, holding hands,
to watch it all go by in the end

When its not everyone who says what we ought to do,
they never really knew how much it all means,
that you never look away from me,
that you never leave, nor abandon me,
because without your hand holding mine,
I would drown in the river of time

There can be a million things in this life,
that makes you want to let go, break down and cry,
things that neither of us can hope to control nor deny,
but failure is just a fact of life,
the only true defeat, for either of us,
is when we stop trying, when we stop believing

I don't know how deep your feelings are,
and I know that my own is beyond words,
Its a secret that remains locked in our hearts,
but it isn't one that tears us apart,
for we are more than just spoken words,
we are joined in a ways unspoken,
and trust is the bond that holds us together,
my dear, we need nothing more...
together, we will brave the river of time

-The Burn

Random Mumblings

So I went to my childhood hometown for the weekend, two weeks into the new college semester, and that is something I would normally avoid doing, mostly because it is very far away and I usually have too much work to take a weekend off. However, I went anyway. I guess I could not resist going, since it was a good excuse as any that decided it. I have a niece, a cute little dynamite, a genius on some X, and she was getting her ear pierced. She is only six by the way. And did I mention she was incredibly cute. Well, anyway, the two of us have a special attachment to each other, probably because her mom, who is my first cousin, pretty much brought me up when I was a kid, and hence I am, in a way, passing it on to her kid.

The ear-piercing ceremony for young girls is particularly special in the Indian Hindu community as it has a lot of spiritual connotations (of which I do not know much about). Suffice to know that it is carried out with great aplomb and grandeur. It is customary that the niece sits on her Uncle's lap while the piercing is done. Now, my niece has an uncle, her mother's brother. Yet, I was invited to be a second uncle, which is a break from tradition. In other words, she sat on my lap while her left ear was pierced. Cool, huh?

For those of you who know me, this might come as a surprise. I am not a religious person and I usually hate all forms of religious customs and practices. Well, I don't hate them, I just don't really like being forced into any of them. For one thing, I stopped being Hindu a long time ago and unfortunately there are members of my family who still live under the impression that I'm still Hindu. I cannot bother explaining to them because it will be a pain and all I will get is blank confused stares followed by angry comments about how I am going to hell and God is going to smite me down.

This time was different. I did not mind the customs and stuff. I did not mind being made to wear traditional clothes. For once, I got to be part of a special ritual for a person I love very much. I know that I could not interfere nor stop the ritual because of my own beliefs, and to be honest, I did not want to. The ceremony was special in a different way, because here I was with this little child who has always looked up to me as her best friend and brother, and I was her anchor during a very special rite of passage in her life. That was all that mattered. It was wonderful. Oh yes, that and the fact that there was a lot of crying when her ears were pierced. Still, it was me who held her and calmed her down, so for those brief moments, I could not have wished to be anywhere else in the universe... my only regret was that... hmm... I'll stop here.

It makes me think. I keep coming back to this same question over and over again, probably because it is the only question that truly matters. What exactly do we all want in life? For me, the answer has been coming in gradual and potent amounts, with a significance larger than anything I have ever felt before. I do not know for sure how much it applies to everyone else, but I am fairly certain that it is the same to some extent, regardless of who we are and what we might say on the outside. The most important thing to us, living beings, is the fear of being alone. Not just physically, but the complete void of loneliness that comes from our shutting out those around us. We cannot stand that, no matter what we say. I fear loneliness more than anything, because when I am lonely, I do not see the point to my existence. Some of us may have tried to reach out at various points in our lives, and found that it hurt, when we are betrayed and lied to. So, we withdraw, and we substitute living companionship to that of material possession. We say that as long as we are rich, we do not have to worry about whether we have others or not. I don't know, maybe they are right, maybe it works for some. I know that it does not work for me. No amount of material wealth could alleviate the loneliness I would feel, and the sheer mortal terror I would feel if I did not have the ones I love close to me. I guess, in a way, I am saying that I would not give up the handful of beings in my life whom I love more than anything for any amount of wealth. I could go broke and be destitute, but I would still find happiness as long as I had these beings with me, these beautiful souls that make my life such a pleasure to live, despite the hard times that come sometimes. Those special moments I share with them are the reasons why I live... and will continue living.

Much ado 'bout Nuthin' at All

I am posting here simply because the buggering IT department in my college computer labs restricts entry into my other blog at blogspot. I try not to put stuff here, not because I don't like this site, but because I know it sends annoying Friendster Update E-mails to everyone on my list. I know how irritating that is. Anyway, I will try not to do it too often. Just when I am feeling particularly inspired to type something. Like now.



Actually, that inspirations just slipped away and I am currently left feeling empty. Seriously, I haven't the slightest clue as to what to type. I will try though. Something. Oh yes, got it.

I shall talk about death and loss. Morbid it may seem, but do not despair, for the main thing I wish to discuss only deals indirectly with the topic of death. I was reading this book by R.A.Salvatore these past four days (For those who follow this author, the book I am referring to is the third Hunter's Blade book, The Two Swords). The first bit following the epilogue, which is a monologue of Drizzt do' Urden, is a very insightful and thought-provoking one. It raised certain questions that might be worth pondering.

Drizzt talks about humanity's possibly Twoswords1_800x600intrinsic nature to desire chaos and anarchy. The gist of it is that because of the way we are, we tend to go for war and violence whenever we feel that we need to stir our excitements, and that long-lasting peace only leads to boredom within us. Drizzt is not making a statement, so it is important to not misunderstand the context of this situation. The Drow, Drizzt, has had to watch the fall and death of his dearest friends and his human beloved due to war. Despite being a veteran of many combats and battles, the loss takes a lot out of him. He begins to wonder whether, as beings, we may never be able to escape the horrors of war and violence simply because it is our nature to want it. We become passionate, excited and in the throes of battle-lust, we can only think of fighting, killing, and glory in battle. Through the passage of time, the horrors and bloodshed of past wars fade and we will only see the conquests of 'heroes' and 'champions'. We begin to look up to those warriors and instantly our own blood lust is stirred.

Drizzt's anger and pain at his loss makes him despite battle and violence even more, despite the fact that he is probably the greatest fighter in the Spine of the World. He stands and looks out upon a field of battle, where the bodies of enemies and allies alike lie strewn across the plains, and the carrion birds clean away the filth. He likens that cleansing of the physical remains of violent conflict to our own loss of memory of the ugly side of war. We forget about the suffering felt by our loved ones, those who suffer and die in battle. We only remember the glory. As such, the prospect of war becomes almost inevitable.

I cannot help but think that Salvatore was making a subtle hint at the current situation in our world through this book. We are faced by wars as well, in a world that is supposed to be highly advanced and civilized. Could he be right? Is war inescapable? Do we forget so easily of the loss and the pain? Despite having lost so much, we still choose the path of violence in order to solve our conflicts and grievances. Despite knowing the suffering war causes, nations still launch their artillery at their enemies, killing not just the small number of actual foes, but taking a far bigger number of civilian, innocent, lives as well. War is still happening in a world that has seen the passing of two great horrors known as the world wars. We have witnessed periods of genetic, racial and ethnic cleansing at such scales that should give us nightmares for a hundred generations, but this is not so. We seem to have forgotten very quickly indeed of the fate of the six million Jews under the Nazis, the tens of millions killed during the second World War and the continuing suffering of the people of Israel, Palestine, Kashmir and Chechnya, to name a few. The blood lust has gripped us again, and as a result, we are now standing upon the brink of another great war, where lives Will be lost, innocent people will suffer, just so warriors and war-commanders will have their glory and conquest. Is this who we are?

The Big Bad Burn welcomes the New Year with a huge "Bring it on!"

So begins the next chapter, the new semester of college, the continuing of life and existance. For the second year running, I am excited and thrilled. There are big things ahead, I can feel it in my bones. There are massive changes to be made, and I will do whatever it takes to be part of them.

Happy New Year Everyone.

The Thing about Media Piracy

It is something that we hear all too often in today's news. Everyday, we are being inundated by campaigns and messages begging us to stop supporting piracy. The type of piracy that is being talked about the most seems to be music, movies and software piracy, which, looking from a certain perspective, is basically the same thing. It is just people making copies of software and then distributing-no, sharing- with Internet users all over the world, some of whom then make pirated copies in the form of CDs and DVDs for the purposes of selling. The reason that piracy is so darn effective is because PIRATED GOODS ARE CHEAP and for the most part, pretty reliable (except for movies, that is).
Yet, every day, all this huge media conglomerates and corporate figures and celebrities and authorities keep telling us to stop buying pirated goods. Now, why is that? They keep telling us, normal, common citizens, who probably earn less in five years than they do in a month, to quit buying and downloading pirated material and go for the insanely-priced originals. As consumers, it is our duty and prerogative to search for the best deals, is it not? Why on earth should we listen to these 'authorities' who tell us to buy the more expensive stuff just so they can get richer? To me, the whole issue of media piracy is highly misdirected. The consumers should not be told not to buy what we think are the best deals in town. We should support the lower price, the better deal, and if piracy gives the poor person a chance to enjoy certain luxuries (such as good music, the latest technology) at lower prices, then, by all means, we should go for it. It is not our duty, nor our purpose, to stop piracy. The only people who should be doing anything are the corporate enitities and the celebrities themselves. THEY should learn how to protect their work better. We, in turn, should keep finding ways to make our lives easier with our low incomes. WE should not be made targets for 'STOP PIRACY' campaigns.
In any case, we should take a closer look at the reasons that the 'authorities' give us in order to encourage us to not support piracy. Afdlin Shauki (A person whom I used to think highly of) recently kept saying on the radio some nonsense about how our buying pirated movies is forcing him to eat his own Char Kuay Teow. The point he was trying to make was that artists were being robbed of their dues. Seriously, this guy should know better. He has been in the industry long enough. Without piracy, does he truly believe that the public will suddenly start rushing to buy the ridiculously priced originals? Does he honestly think artists will make more money when piracy is gone? Dear Mr. Shauki, for your information, the general public is not exactly as rich and glamorous as 'some' people to be able to go out every week and buy original material. Stopping piracy does not mean you will get richer, it just means, you will have a much smaller fan base. Get real, mate. We should take an example from the hundreds of underground music artists from America and Europe, who fully support piracy because it gives them something they would otherwise never have-recognition. These people need the power of internet downloads to allow them to reach a larger crowd. Most people would not want to spend too much money on artists they have never heard of, but if the stuff were to be free, then there is no burden attached. It is good for the artists because more people will know them, and if they so desperately wanted the money, all they need to do is play a gig, old-school style, which should be the proper way to earn a living, instead of making poor people pay huge wads of cash for a flat piece of plastic.
Mr. Shauki had a point, though, when he said piracy is robbing artists. That is, if we are dumb enough to look at it from the really convoluted and twisted perspective that tells us that if all of us just buy originals, then artists will make more money. Again, this is simply ridiculous. It only applies in this sense; the big names in the industry, due to piracy, do not earn as much as they might. Then again, these people are already bloody rich to begin with. WHY SHOULD WE GIVE OUR HARD-EARNED CASH JUST TO MAKE THEM RICHER? Please, support piracy. Let us NOT let our lives be controlled by these greedy corporations. GO FAKE.