{"id":240,"date":"2020-05-22T15:00:30","date_gmt":"2020-05-22T14:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/?p=240"},"modified":"2020-05-20T16:54:59","modified_gmt":"2020-05-20T15:54:59","slug":"thinking-though-its-tough-time-to-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/2020\/05\/22\/thinking-though-its-tough-time-to-think\/","title":{"rendered":"Thinking Though it\u2019s Tough Time to Think"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Femi Omotoyinbo<\/em><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
PhD Candidate in Philosophy<\/em><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
18\/05\/2020<\/em><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
\n

\u201cThe crisis is a tough time to think through all the\npieces that are necessary.\u201d That was an intriguing point by Bill Gates in his\nrecent interview with Ezra Klein. It is a point that is too significant to escape\nthe nose of a sober philosopher or the minds of persons who may be concerned\nabout mental health or how to think in such a tough time. To contextualise Bill\nGates\u2019 statement here we may shorten it as \u201c[it] is a tough time to think\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our major question is \u2018how can or should we think when it\nis a tough time to think?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are other questions we may need to consider before\nwe could derive an answer to our major question. Such questions include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Why is it a tough time to think?<\/li>
  2. How is it a tough time to think?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Bill Gates\u2019 statement already answers the first question\nsaying that there is a crisis that makes it tough to think. Almost everyone\nknows that something is wrong in the world at the moment. It is most likely\nthat even babies in wombs could sense that a virus is currently wreaking severe\nhavoc in the world that will soon host them. COVID-19 is making it a tough time\nto think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now that we know why it is a tough time to think we are left with the second question: How is it a tough time to think? This may not be straightforward to people who rightly think that the virus is not an infection of the brain or the nervous system, but rather an infection of the lungs. If it is not affecting the nervous system, so how does it affect thinking?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A recent article \u201cKnowledge as the Working and Walking\nNarrative\u201d, mentions that there are two basic processes of knowing which are\ncalled the Dual Carriageway of Knowing<\/em>. On one way, the mind\nis working<\/em> towards reality, the individual is directing\nherself (maybe by thinking) to acquire certain knowledge. On the other way, the\nreality is walking<\/em> towards the mind, knowledge is entering\nthe individual\u2019s mind without the individual trying to acquire the knowledge.\nThe individual is often in control of the former and the latter is often beyond\nthe control of the individual. So how is this relevant?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    During this challenging period, while we are trying to think about particular things and direct our minds to know somethings, our thoughts could be overwhelmed by the realities that flood our minds. It is almost impossible now for a day to go without news about Coronavirus. It is presently an overwhelming reality of everyday life and it creates a difficulty to concentrate on other things that we try to know. Social media and various outlets consistently flood our minds with the realities of COVID-19 even beyond what we would want to know. At the introductory phase of the virus, there were different descriptions from political leaders. For example, the President of China (Xi Jinping) calls the virus a \u201cpneumonia epidemic\u201d. The President of France (Emmanuel Macron) calls it \u201cthe invisible, elusive and advancing enemy\u201d. The Prime Minister of Russia (Vladimir Putin) calls the virus a \u201ccommon threat\u201d. The (lucky) Prime Minister of the UK (Boris Johnson) calls it an \u201cinvisible killer\u201d while the President of the US (Donald Trump) calls it \u201cthe Chinese virus\u201d. These descriptions are followed by different statistics of deaths, of infections, disparities in infections and survival rates among other things. When these unavoidable torrents of information flood our minds, it is so difficult to concentrate on other aspects of life. It is indeed a tough time to think. Now, what can man do when it is tough to think?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It is not an option for a man to stop thinking because, as Michel Foucault puts it, \u201cman is a thinking being\u201d. Though it is tough to think, human beings must think. It is, however, important to be more thoughtful about thinking whenever it is tough to think because thinking often has a boomeranging effect. A religious personality once mentioned that \u201cMan is a thinking being: what and how we think largely determines what we are and what we will become.\u201d But our thinking will not only affect us as individuals; it also affects people around, specifically how we relate with them. So how can we be \u2018thoughtful\u2019 with our thinking when it is tough to think but we must think?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In 1637\u00a0<\/strong>the French philosopher Ren\u00e9 Descartes came up with\u00a0Cogito ergo sum<\/em>\u00a0to argue for the attainment of certain knowledge.\u00a0Cogito ergo sum<\/em>\u00a0means \u2018I think therefore I am\u2019. Bringing this Cartesian statement to context here, we may say that we can have a thoughtful approach to our thinking in tough times by starting the thinking with ourselves. We should make the \u2018I\u2019 come before the \u2018think\u2019. If we cannot avoid the influx of thoughts on Coronavirus, then we should personalise the thoughts. Let the thinking about Coronavirus starts with you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What are the significances of the various thoughts on\ncoronavirus for you as a person?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What are you identifying or knowing about yourself during\nthe phase(s) of the virus?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Who do you think you are in the context of the\ncoronavirus?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And what is the significance of who you are on others\naround you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This is not a call for some irrational solipsism or\nuntamed anthropocentrism. It is rather a call for a sincere self-examination.\nDespite all misgivings, the virus has presented humanity with a sober mirror to\nre-evaluate itself. Taking time before that mirror and painstakingly examining\nwho we are individually is the best way to think now when it is difficult to\nthink. Socrates rightly advised that \u201cMan [and woman] know thyself. An\nunexamined life is not worth living.\u201d Perhaps it is an advantage that the virus\nis offering us all the lockdown so we can pause and examine ourselves before we\ncontinue with the next phases of our lives. An example in this blog is the\ninteresting article [https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/2020\/05\/11\/just-some-lockdown-thoughts\/<\/a>] by Rachel Thompson about how she recognised how less\ngrateful she was for some benefits that she now realised that she is having. We\nshould all take that bold stance to put up ourselves before the sober mirror of\nCOVID-19 and check out who we really are, particularly in relations to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Many of us typically create a mental identity of being busy, we barely spend minutes with our families. We are now realising that we have only been using the workplace as an escape from the challenges at home. During the lockdown, we are now caught up with disagreements, misunderstandings and disputes that we have failed to address and have used our works as an excuse to avoid. Some of us believe that we are self-sufficient. We act, speak and think like we are the only ones existing in the world. We never believe we would need anyone in our lives but now we seek to communicate with people although virtually and we desire a reciprocal reaction from everyone. We are beginning to see that no one is an island, we are all social beings very much in need of ourselves. Some of us have enjoyed a lifestyle of discrimination, whether it is age, class, gender, language, race or what have you. We look down on certain people and implicitly or explicitly consider them as underprivileged. We think we are rich whereas health (not money) is the real wealth! We smile at peoples\u2019 shabby dresses and feel satisfied that such people have already lost any competition with us for a good life. But who says life is a competition where the downfall of one is essential for the success of the other? Now the whole world is in a classroom, nature sombrely walked in as the teacher and slowly wrote the course title on the board: \u201cCOVID-19\u201d. One of the learning outcomes is \u201cThat human beings will know that whether they are black, brown, yellow or white, they are all bloody humans. The only possible difference is that they can either be bad or good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Many of us are keen to have many things for ourselves\nnotwithstanding if we need them or even to the detriment of those in dire need.\nOthers consider us as greedy but it sounds derogatory and unacceptable to us.\nHowever, now we are learning that many of those things that we struggle to\nacquire are mere wants and not needs. Now that we can only pick three things\nper item at the stores and we still survive till another opportunity to leave\nthe queue and enter the grocery stores; we are beginning to see that we have\noften used our wants to starve others of their needs. We now understand that\nwhat we really need in life is our health and the struggle to acquire more than\nneeded is unhealthy. Now we agree with Immanuel Kant that, \u201cwe are not rich by\nwhat we possess but by what we can do without.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There are some of us in positions of \u2018power\u2019 to make\ndecisions about the success or failure of some persons under us. We forget that\nwe are not the first and we will not be the last persons to occupy such a\nposition. We happily, though surreptitiously, victimise or oppress those under\nus, we believe that it is the way to command respect. That is the way to show\nwe are the boss. We sometimes boast that the promotion or success of certain\npersons is over our dead body. That is, as long as we are alive, such persons\ncannot have a promotion or some benefits that they deserve. Fortunately, we are\nnow learning that the same air that keeps the victim alive also keeps the\nvictimizer alive. And that a change can happen by tiny challenges in the puff\nof air we take in or out. We are all at the mercy of something above and beyond\nevery one of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    While we have been busy looking at our differences,\nnature is seeing us as one. Life, at least on earth, is similar for everybody.\nIt is simply a journey from the womb to the tomb or from birth to death. We are\npart of each other and the best we can be is not about the best we can achieve\nbut the best we can give to ourselves. There is a commonness in the humanness\nof our humanity which evolution may never be able to explain. We hear about\ndeath rates and we feel sorry even though it may be unlikely for us to be\ndirectly affected. But the empathy we show is a tacit admittance of the reality\nthat anyone that goes out of existence is part of humanity, part of ourselves.\nAnd it is a sign that we too will go someday even if we become another\nMethuselah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The COVID-19 period is like humanity is crawling through\na dark long tunnel and unfortunately, many persons will not see the end of the\ntunnel. But it is not just about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It\nis about what you would look like when you get to the end of the tunnel. At the\nmoment, humanity is acknowledging its frailty and there are many things that we\ncannot change. It is probably unhelpful to dwell much on what we cannot change\nat the expense of what we can and, even, ought to change. Take a bold step to\nassess yourself in the sober mirror and change what you ought to change while\nyou still have the time. I will start to conclude with some apt lines by Shawn\nCarter (Jay-Z), in the song \u2018Forever Young\u2019: \u201cSo we live life like a video\u2026when\nthe [D]irector yells cut, I\u2019ll be fine\u2026\u201d That you will be fine when the\nDirector yells cut depends on you to now start thinking about yourself: Take a\ncareful and reflective look at yourself in the mirror of life. Perhaps it is\ntime to admit like Thomas Nashe (of blessed memory) that \u201cHeaven is our\nheritage, Earth but a player’s stage\u201d and agree with James Shirley that \u201cOnly\nthe actions of the just, Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now that it is tough to think let the thinking starts\nwith you!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Femi Omotoyinbo PhD Candidate in Philosophy 18\/05\/2020 \u201cThe crisis is a tough time to think through all the pieces that are necessary.\u201d That was an intriguing point by Bill Gates in his recent interview with Ezra Klein. It is a point that is too significant to escape the nose of a sober philosopher or the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":789,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lifeinlockdown"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/789"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":241,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240\/revisions\/241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/happ\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}