Mar 22
The Broken World
“It’s hard to see others as a human nowadays”
Just got home at 23.30 PM. My boss has a treat at one of the Japanese restaurant on the block m after work. Thanks to Sabrina and Husein, means a lot! Before get to sleep, I decided to write this copy. The topic that I would like to write is about how hard to see other people as a human nowadays, especially in digital era. And I think this related to the Gabriel Marcel’s idea, that he called “The Broken World”.
Last week my existence class discuss about Gabriel Marcel. He is a french philosopher who first to spark existentialism as a discourse besides Sartre. If Sartre is an existentialist atheist, then Marcel is his version of theist. Marcel proves the existence of God through experience. Marcel is a person who has been intelligent since childhood. Had attended World War I as a nurse.
According to Marcel, the current world has been destroyed because humans are no longer “humans”. Especially in the era of modern technology, the relationship between humans no longer exists but there is only a relationship between functions. If I write this article, my presence is not my human being with your human being, but the function of the writer and the reader. I see you as a reader and you see me as a writer. If we go to the shop, we meet the seller where we positioning ourself as a buyer. This is a function game which for Marcel becomes a big problem which he calls The Broken World. Humans are not seen as autonomous humans. Nowadays, we always see other people from the side of their function. Relationships like that often happen around us.
Humans seem to be machines. Human values and positions are now more determined by their position or function in society. Your existence is being yourself, but others only consider you as your function. Wait bro, are other people’s opinions important? Yes. It is important because you will not exist without the existence of other people while our relationship with other people is only a functional relationship -a relationship on the basis of function. Our life today is in The Broken World. This is Gabriel Marcel’s starting point. We should no longer train to be human, but practice to humanize humans.
Honestly, I still often do the same thing. Seeing things outside of myself not as a human, but as a function. For example, when I use Gojek, I only see the Gojek driver as a driver and not as a human. Security guards, boss, bakers, lecturers, waiters, chefs, my parents or even God are not exception. I only see them as a function rather than human. Is it immoral to do these things? No. This is not a matter of good-bad or moral-immoral. What exactly do I want to tell you is that the consequences if we act so -If we interpret the others based on their function. By seeing others based on their function, we will create a distance between I and you, I and him, I and her, I and my parents, I and God, or whatever. The relation is become subject-object, not human to human. If we are distant from the others, then we can’t be exist because our existence will not exist without the existence of the others. And yes, it’s not about validation, it’s about the existence of others that had a communion with us. How can you claimed yourself exist without the others that living besides you in this reality? So, yeah. Human to human is a must. Erase the distance. Be exist. That’s what Marcel taught to us.
Actually there is more topics that I would like to share about Marcel such as his idea about Being and Having, Problem and Mystery. But, I’m so sleepy guys hoammzzz, I’m sorry. I promise will talk about it in the next copy. Peaky Blinders newest episodes is arrive. I want to watch it until I fall asleep. Selamat Malam folks! Stay healthy and thanks for coming!
