PHENOMENOLOGY OF A CHURCH BELL

By Johnmer P. Villanueva

Cling…clang…cling…clang… Ding…dong…ding…dong…This sound reverberates in our ears every day when we are about to rise for the days’ works or when we are already fast asleep and in deep slumber. This was the sound that woke the indios when the moros were approaching; the sound mourned too the death of GOMBURZA. This joyfully announced our independence from the US; it cried out too in EDSA. Those were church bells that rang out for these and many other significant events in our history. But why were Church bells made? When and how are they tolled? First, what are bells? A bell is a hollow metallic device that makes a ringing sound when struck. Most of these bells have a round-shaped metal in its hollow part where a rope is attached. It comes in different sizes and colors or even in different designs. Due to these differences among bells, different sounds are created. What are church bells? These are the same hollow metallic devices hanging in church facades (belfries). Why were they made? Why is the church using it? Primarily, a bell through its ringing sound would give a signal. The sound calls the attention of the faithful. It may either signify an invitation for mass, the joy of Gloria, the miracle at consecration, and the return of a solemn procession. It may also signal the Angelus and the 8 o’clock PM memorial of the dead. Church liturgy further believes that the sound of the bell is a divine sound, in fact, the voice of God. The different ways of tolling bells would signify different attentions being called for. One may wish to take the round-shaped metal from its hollow part and opt to use other metals to hammer it. Nonetheless, the different strokes of tolling or differences in metals to hammer it- do not reduce its being a bell. The bellness of a church bell is determined when it is ringing its purpose– that is to sound the voice of God. It may be silent most of the time but God’s voice is often heard at its own time.    

A Dating Couple: A Phenomenological Paper

By Dionnie Boy Salanatin

While strolling inside the mall I suddenly felt hungry, I checked the time and it was thirty minutes after 3:00 p.m., so I decided to take snacks in my favorite restaurant. Inside the restaurant while waiting for my orders to be served, in the corner I saw a couple sitting about two tables away from mine. They were eating pizza and pasta, and I noticed on the table laid a bouquet of red roses and a bar of chocolate. The ambience was made romantic by the sweet melody of a classic music. We call it a date- the place, the delightful ambience, food, flowers and a bar of chocolate, and the couple having an intimate conversation, are all factors that comprise dating. The question, however, is if we are to go back to what is essential in dating what would be the most fundamental element is there to be considered?

             To properly answer this most fundamental question I took into consideration how this particular situation appears accordingly, that is, how I perceive the situation based on my senses’ perception. Inside the restaurant I see before me a couple, the flowers and chocolate and I could hear the music playing. Bracketing the essential factors that constitute that particular dating situation is a must, so I may arrive to what is truly the most fundamental element in dating. First, I bracketed the entire situation- the delightful ambience, food, flowers and a bar of chocolate, and the couple having an intimate conversation from the venue which is the restaurant itself. This gives me the dating couple having an intimate conversation while eating pizza and pasta with flowers and bar of chocolate on the table with a classical music playing. Thus, the venue now is irrelevant to dating. Next, I further reduced this situation by removing the classic instrumental background music which gave that delightful ambience. I bracketed the couple having an intimate conversation while eating pizza and pasta with flowers and a bar of chocolate on the table. This could still be further reduced without altering the actual situation which is dating. As I further reduced again, removing the bouquet of flowers and the bar of chocolate I got a couple who was having an intimate conversation while eating pizza and pasta, now this still makes sense. But, is food really important? If I were to further reduce the situation, removing the pizza and pasta and bracketing the couple who was having an intimate conversation, the situation still makes sense and is not altered. As I go along, reducing the situation by bracketing what is truly essential in dating and extracting things that may be removed without altering the fundamental essence of the dating situation; I later on arrived in having only an intimately conversing couple. However, this is still reducible by bracketing only the couple and removing the intimate conversation, and this left me only with the dating couple.  Lastly, by removing the couple itself this situation gave me the most fundamental or basic element in dating which is the “datingness”. This is no longer reducible since it already gives us the true essence or the most fundamental element of a dating situation. Dating may not necessarily require things like food, flowers and chocolate, music and venue or a couple of opposite sex, may it be of same genders. These are all accidents of dating and its “datingness” is its essence which exists within the consciousness as an abstract idea.

Phenomenology of Sexual Intercourse

By Francis Jay Jarabelo

In order to have a reproduction among the animals and humans, they need to perform sexual intercourse or mating with each other so that they can reproduce another life of them. Sexual means the physiological process or the physical contact or attraction. Intercourse is the synonym of interaction there is a relationship when doing that act. Sexual intercourse is an act of interacting of two different genders. How do they done it?  The sexual organ are in contact with each other performing a push and pull of the reproductive organs. Why is it that they are doing such thing as push and pull? They are doing it in that manner so that the heart will pump the blood and will go to the reproductive organ of the male. When it is cannot be hold it anymore or deactivated, then that is the time that the sperm will swim into uterus of the other reproductive organ and meet the egg cell to create a new life

. Why is it that they do such things as the sexual intercourse of two different genders in order to reproduce a life? Can it be by done by anything else? Man is the highest life form in the hierarchy among the animals and plants but still man has an “animality” within in his behavior or we call it an instinct. They do such things as sexual intercourse in order to feel or experience that pleasure when performing the sexual intercourse. Just like the dogs when they feel horny they automatically find a mate and engage into sexual intercourse with female dogs. The different of man in the dog is that man has rationality and it can control that pleasure with our reason while the dog has no rationality only that it is there instincts.

Phenomenology of climbing a tree

By Jeryme Cordero

Do you have problems in climbing a tree? If yes, I am going to phenomenologize it so that you will know. First, I must consider that the subject which is I and the object which is the tree. Climbing a tree may not be easy especially when you do not know how to do it.    

 I am going to do it. I am going to do is to climb a tree. My object here is the tree. First thing I will do is to feel that I am really climbing a tree. I can see a tree in front of me and I am going to climb it. When I am climbing, I can feel the roughness of the tree. I can see and touch its branches. I am going up when I am climb through its branches. As I climb, the ants are crawling on me. They are biting me but I focus myself in getting its fruit. I’m finding the branches where I can hold and place my feet. I am balancing myself so that I will not fall. I am reaching its fruit. After I have reached its fruit, I ate it and it tastes sour. When I am done eating I search for more fruit and I climb and climb until I reach the fruit that I am going to it. The tree I am climbing is very tall and big. It has so many branches that I found myself enjoying while I am hanging to it.

Phenomenology of a Paper

By Dave Raymond Clarito

We need something to write our ideas, knowledge, words, and all that we want to write. In the past, people use stones, rocks, trees, leaves, and even their skin to be like a paper or anything we can write on in this present time. As time passes by, the needs of people push them to discover other things and make tools and machines to make their lives easier and faster. Paper is one of the things they made. What is really a paper?

            When we say “paper”, it is an object of our consciousness referring to a sheet where we record, write, and encode everything that we want to. It is flat, smooth, and thin. It could be with any color, but usually, it is white. It is made of leaves from the trees or from the trunks of the tree itself. Because of its thinness, it could be easily torn apart. The most basic function of a paper is to be written by a writer, but it has other functions like to use it as decoration, to use it as a paper plane and boat, to make a fire, and also use as a paper ball and throw to someone or something.

            Paper has been a necessity to all of us especially to pupils, students, and even to teachers, because they use it to put their ideas, words they want to remember, and etc. The most important factor that makes a paper a “paper” itself is the subject who perceives it as a paper. The “Ego” who perceives it as paper, is the most important factor who makes the paper a “paper” itself. It, the paper, is first perceive by the “Ego” and the object will reveal itself to the “Ego”.

Phenomenology of “Crisis in Priesthood”

By Jose Julian Meneses

In the normal understanding “Priest” means the preacher of God. Priest preaches the Gospel or the Good News of the Lord to the people. As Christians, we have the idea of Priest because of our religion. In this religion, there is the priest that has the task to give himself to the people. They are ordained publicly because in order to show to the people that priests are for the people, they are ordained to serve the people. Our idea of priests is we expect them that they are called to serve, that they have committed themselves and decided to undergo suffer for the goodness of Christianity. Well, priests should be like this, just like our present Pope Francis I; he makes his life simple as he can be.

Looking in the reality, as Christians, we know that there is the crisis in the priesthood. There are some priests that do not fit in our expectations in being what should be a priest. Priests are called to serve as they committed themselves for the people. But is this really happening? Well some priests do but some are not. In a bigger view, what are some priests now in the world? Well, we can hear some negative information about some priests because they themselves do not live as priests; we could see that some priests are in totally comfort. Why is this so? Because they do not live the idea of “priest should have the only ideal priest and that is Jesus Christ”. If Jesus is not the ideal priest or model in the priesthood then there would be different ideals. That’s why there is a crisis in priesthood because every priest could have their own different principles in their priestly life as they have their different ideals.

My conclusion, there is no crisis in priesthood if every priest have the same and only one ideal priest, Jesus Christ, because He is our salvation. He saved us from the crisis.

Phenomenology of Women

By Jude Miguel Francis Tady

Long time before and until now we look at women different from men, that they are considered to be secondary in the human estate. This idea about women can also be seen in the creation story in the bible where Eve is created from Adam; she was created from the rib of a man. And this, in some sense, makes her little less than Adam. But does it really seem to be understood like this? Some would blame, direct or connect it to the feminity of women. Women are known to be weaker than men, that they let their own emotions rule over their own selves, and cannot stand alone when faced to pain and struggles in life. The state of being of women is lower than the state of being of men.

To think much deeper, women and men are alike. They are both Homo sapiens, they have the capacity to reason out. Their differences only occur in their physic, but considering that they are both humans; they are truly the same. They are both considerable to be embodied-spirits.

Nowadays, the “I-do’s” of men are already “I-do’s” of women, or, in another sense, the “I-do’s” of women are already “I-do’s” of men. For instance, women can already go to work, jobs alike of men and on the other side, men can already do the house hold chores; washing the dishes and the clothes, taking care of the children, cleaning the house,  and other things that a typical house wife does. All these things that they do don’t affect their being human. They are just taking responsibilities, nothing serious.

Knowing the sameness of both parties, make their essence of existence the same – no overpowering the other. But it is still true that the physical being of a woman is not that strong as of a man. Therefore, we tend to look at women as lesser than men.

Phenomenology of Brotherhood

By Raymond Pasco

What is brotherhood? Brotherhood is the relationship between brothers or a feeling of kinship and closeness. It may even be an association or community of people with a common interest, religion, or trade. Brothers may be brothers biologically even without brotherhood (separated) and brotherhood may also be brotherhood without being brothers biologically – biological relationship is not an eidos of brotherhood. Brotherhood is a relationship characterized by closeness, understanding, and sympathy between biological brothers or even between people not related to each other biologically. Closeness – even if related biologically as long as there is no connection, not in friendship and companionship with one another, there’s no brotherhood. Understanding – brotherhood entails connection, correspondence or similarity in some, if not all, ideals, simply put, common interest. There can be no brotherhood if there is no agreement with some ideals – this entails division in ends or paths and division of the individuals as well. Sympathy – brotherhood means being able to understand what the other feels. Without compassion or being for the other, brotherhood is not achieved – one becomes simply just there, without brotherhood relationship with the other.

These principles are applicable to the seminary realizing the fact that brotherhood is expected as a community. However, there are instances in the community that are contradictory to what brotherhood is. When there is over familiarity bullying happens – isolation/disconnection. When it comes to work, the Culture of “just leave it to the one in charge” arises – no companionship/no common interest. With these examples we see the reality that the community is unbecoming. The brotherhood is expected of the community, but in some instances the community loses its “sense of brotherhood.”

The phenomenology of perception

By: Mark Rexie John Sornito

Perceiving or seeing is one of the five senses. It is basically consisted of eyes, nerve cells, and brain in order to work. If we come to think of it, seeing happens in a very fast way. The way the things appear in us and understand them really quickly is a very impressive happening. What happens in the phenomenon of seeing is that, first, a thing should be there in order to be seen by someone who perceiving. Second, light should be present in order for the naked eye to see through. Absence of light covers the eye and the object with darkness in between. Third, when there is the object and light, the object will reflect its image to the eyes. The eyes will receive its image. Fourth, because the one perceiving does not understand what it is at first, the eyes will convert the image into electronic impulses which are encrypted data so that it can travel through the thin nerve cells to the brain. When the brain receives it, it undergoes a process in order for the one perceiving to understand the object appearing. Finally, when the brain finishes decoding the received impulses/ data, it will make the data travel back in the nerve cells towards the eye, with the data that are now understandable. The person can now perceive the object in a correct and in an understandable kind of way. But this whole process, that seems slow, is happening in a very fast way that e don’t even recognize it when it happens. As if we don’t have time to think it over or undergo the process we are going through during the perception.

The Phenomenology of a Solving the Word Problem in Mathematics

By: Karl Bolivar

They said that Math is the hardest subject among all. But even then, if it is true, in our life, we can’t escape in the influence or the way of Math deal in our everyday living. In counting money, buying foods, reading time, and etc. are the example of Math deals with us.

Word Problem in Math is a Math problem that being structure in words in the sentences in a paragraph. There should be involved of numbers with label. The other one but it is important also is that there should be a question asked for an answer. How can we solve a problem if there is no question at all?

The first thing is needed is that there should be a presence of the Subject to solve the Word Problem. In the same time is that there should be a Problem rise or asks in the subject.

The Subject would analyze the Problem then He will find all the given that stated on the Problem. Given is the numbers that stated on the Problem that would be used to get the answer. Next is to find of what being ask in the Problem. Then, think an appropriate solution that would come up for an answer. Fourth, try the solution. Fifth, check the answer if it is correct and if not, back to the step three. Lastly is to label your answer. This is how to solve a Word Problem in Math.