MODERN ASIAN THOUGHTS BLOG #1

 

Knowing and Acting in the Season of Creation

    The pursuit for knowledge and for truth is an arduous yet imperative venture. This task is what animates philosophy (and all the other disciplines). But, is it enough to just know?

    "Knowledge is power," the popular dictum says. Well, this kind of power is unrealized; it is just a potentiality. Its actuality is realized by means of applying such knowledge to reality. Hence, I would say that applying what is known to our actions is the actualization of our rationality.

    On the notion of knowing and acting, Wangming has also contributed to this issue. What I like about his idea is that he presupposes a connection or unity with knowledge and action: in their original state, "knowledge automatically/necessarily leads to action (Kim, n.d.)." Knowing, for Wangming, is not about learning concepts. Instead, it is about knowing how to act in a certain situation. What guarantees that knowledge is applied into action is the concept of liangzhi (innate knowledge). 

    Unlike Plato's anamnesis (i.e., remembering/rediscovering innate knowledge), Wangming's liangzhi connotes neither acquiring knowledge nor rediscovering, but experiencing the operation of innate knowledge in real life. This entails that one can have knowledge by simultaneous action -- the only process of 'activating' liangzhi. Furthermore, action is one's response to a certain situation. One cannot but respond to the world because one 'moves' in the world. "For Wang, our lives consist of living in the moment (Kim, n.d.)." 

    

    As the Catholic Church celebrates the Season of Creation (as of this writing), I would like to focus my reflection on this event using Wangming's notion discussed above. This year's Season of Creation has the theme: "Listen to the Voice of Creation." The theme starts with an action -- listen. This presupposes that we already know the situation. But, do we really?

    If we follow a Western framework for 'knowing' [the situation], it is clear that humanity knows what is happening. Much has been said about the climate crisis as seen in the rich literature, studies, and papers about it. However, if I try to survey people's knowledge about the crisis with Wangming's notion of knowing, I doubt that they really have such knowledge.

    I mean, how could they? People are so pre-occupied with destructive notions of development, with how to be rich, and with how to be 'on top'. The initiatives on environmental protection are at time viewed as anti-progress efforts. These pre-occupations hinder people from truly knowing; consequently, they are hindered from truly acting.

    As a response to such crisis, the Catholic Church has invited us all to listen. It is, in my opinion, the proper action in response to the current situation that we have today. Listening enables us to have the proper knowledge on what is happening around us. As a result of such knowledge, we are able to take action in finally addressing this issue. 

   

Reference:

Kim, Y. (n.d.). Wang Yangming (1472-1529). Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://iep.utm.edu/wangyang/