Author: Zafom
Sentimental thinking revisited
Thanks Al, I appreciate your curiosity in my posting. This issue is a rather strange one, but I believe by discussing it with others, it will help me understand better the feelings I have each time I am baffled by it. There is already a well written discourse, 'The Turning Point', by Fritjof Capra on this issue which give some tangible form of expressions for me. You might get a clearer picture by reading the book. I will try my best to explain.
Capra is a physicist by profession. So he approached this idea from his findings in the field of physics. Here is his thesis (abbreviated) :
Quote :
The exploration of the atomic and subatomic world brought the scientists in contact with a strange and unexpected reality that seemed to defy any coherent description. In their struggle to grasp their new reality, scientists became painfully aware that their basic concepts, their language, and their whole way of thinking were inadequate to describe atomic phenomena. Their problems were not merely intellectual but amounted to an intense emotional and, one could say even existential crisis. It took them long time to overcome this crisis, but in the end they were rewarded with deep insights into the nature of matter and its relation to human mind. I have come to believe that today our society as whole finds itself in a similar crisis. ....high inflation and unemployment, energy crisis, healthcare crisis, pollution and other environmental disasters, rising wave of violence and crime and so on. My basic thesis is that these are all different facets of one and the same crisis, and that this crisis is esentially a crisis of perception. Like the crisis in physics in the 1920s, it derives from the fact that we are trying to apply the concept of an outdated world view - the mechanistic worldview of cartesian-Newtonian science- to a reality that can no longer be understood in terms of these concepts. We live today in a globally interconnected world, in which biological, psychological, social and environmental phenomena are all interdependent. To describe this world appropriately we need an ecological perspective which the cartesian worldview does not offer.
Now let us come to my particular posting. I am not trained in philosophy, so excuse me for the lack of better word for certain terms. The use of the word "sentimental" in my posting needs explanation.
Sentiment - (Oxford ALDCE 1985) mental feeling, the totality of what one thinks AND FEELS on a subject. My definition-subjective, intuitive, emotive faculties that make-up part of human perception. So "sentimental" means a mode of thinking which includes all the above aspects.
My call was for us not to exclude 'values' when we are examining a modern idea, for it is believed, from the thesis above, that most of modern ideas, including democracy, nation-state, freedom of speech, etc. was crystallized in an era where Newtonian Cartesian worldview was dominant, hence these might carry the inherent 'bugs', undetectable unless with the inclusion of "sentimental" way of perception. I believe everybody has his/her sentiments. No matter how scientific the person claims to be, he/she cannot produce an action which is totally objective. As such, it is a great mistake to rule human with strictly objective measure. The call to be 'sentimental' does not mean that we lacks sentiments, rather to make us aware of the dynamics of our thoughts and actions. Better understanding leads to better treatment.
An example might be required now. Imagine a common counter service scenario, paying bills for example. It is easy to draw a rule of first come first served basis. The question is abstracted, those who come through the door first will be first in line. This is a newtonian approach to the matter. Logical, and easy. It is easy to detect who comes first, and the order of service will be decided by the sequence of their presence. There is no ambiguity of someone who is halfly physically present. Any disputes might arise only because a slack of physical detection of an event. Someone might come in and while nobody was seeing managed to slip in front of an earlier guy. This could be solved scientifically by way of security camera or someother method, still a newtonian approach. Suddenly a woman came in, and she was ushered right to the front of the queue. And nobody objected. If we wear the newtonian mentality, we would alarm the people that a violation of the rule is happening. All the parameters is present to prove this violation. But yet the people, capable of sentimental discerning, could see that the woman is an old and frail lady. She does not look like to be able to stand erect for long. Out of compassion, the people give way to her. Imagine what would the scenario be if the people do not react to their subjective judgement. What if the old lady has to stand in line just as all others? By strict objective newtonian measure it would be right, but do we FEEL right?
The above example is simple for everyone to understand. First, everyone share the same sentiment towards an old lady. Secondly the sentiment, is of universal nature, a good one. However we can cite examples of bad sentiments. Now let us assume that the woman is a young and attractive girlfriend of the officer serving the counter. Everybody knew her as such. And out of fear of possible inconveniences from the serving officer, everyone keeps quiet. Other bad sentiments have the magnitude of causing bloodshed, genocide, war etc. The example of the old lady happens out of the control of newtonian worldview. The same can be said of the bad sentiments, when it happens, it happens beyond the jurisdiction of N-C worldview. However the thesis here is about the INADEQUACY of Newtonian-cartesian worldview to handle the intricacies of human behaviour, due to the exclusion of subjective parameters mentioned. We need to include subjective parameters when dealing with human, rather than exclude them, as in the N-C worldview. We need to develop strong metaphysical philosophies as a compliment to the current worldview. Here I call fellow Malaysians to develop a common, sensible, spiritual, sentimental faculties, guided by our cultural and religious values, for our nation so that we will be better equipped to handle our society. Also important is to have another look towards ideas which were borned out of the western "enlightened" mind with a second eye. The sentimental eye. (for lack of better word)
(http://www.forums.com.my/forums/Index.cfm?CFApp=3&Message_ID=271)
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