Emmanuel Emigdio D.

Dumlao Seminar III Reflection: Creative Responsibility and Moral Dilemma Thursday, 430-530

Man maintains his balance, poise, and sense of security only as he is moving forward. -Maxwell Maltz

In an unlikely introduction to our Seminar III, we were faced with numerous dualconcepts, such were things that I was able to come across in some of my Sociology, Philosophy and Psychology class way back in my undergraduate studies. However, never did I expect to encounter them again such in a Seminar III class. These dual-concepts include but are not limited to wants and needs, legality and morality, culture and morality, and my favourite: Platos dualism. These dual-concepts are such body of knowledge that is intimately linked to another body of knowledge to the point that sometimes the existence of one is needed by the other in order to enable both bodies of knowledge to develop and prosper. Being faced with such dual concepts, the interrelation of these pairs of body of knowledge and perspectives pose numerous moral dilemmas to everybody in their own unique ways. How do you balance wants and needs? By fulfilling ones own wants and not his needs, is he making an immoral decision? Even if this is taken with the fact that he did so just because he wants to be happy? In the dual-concept of morality and culture, is ji-had, when involving violence, immoral? Even despite the fact that some were raised from a child to an adult for this sole purpose and he knows nothing else? Can he be still considered to be making immoral decisions? Now posed with this type of impasse in ones own thinking what then could be a possible tool in order to enable us to create a midpoint, halfway or a balance between these two conflicting ideas? I believe that there is a necessity to be able to balance both ends of a particular dualconcept. It is obvious that one should not always cater to his needs only and totally disregard a persons wants. Well, come to think of it, we need WANTS from time to time. Not always, but time to time and balance it with ones NEEDS. Such is elementary in concept but in practice, balancing a persons wants and needs is proving to be a very difficult task for some to the detriment of people around them. A balance between two dual concepts is indispensable, a balanced society of want and need is an equitable society. A balance of morality and culture is a

moral culture which is just a stones throw away from a moral society. A balance of a modified dualism of Plato is a whole person or a sound soul within a healthy body. Now then comes back to the question of how this balance could be attained. I believe in my own understanding of creative responsibility, that creative responsibility is a tool to enable us to reach that midpoint between these dual-concepts. There is responsibility because of the sense of duty or urgency to do a particular thing. There is creativity because in doing something, one is able to do it exemplarily. In merging these two together, creative responsibility for me is the ability of an individual to be able to perform his own daily tasks in life in an exemplary or creative manner. As an example, there is creative responsibility used in peace talks with MILF rebels, there is creative responsibility involved when attempts are made to improve Christian-Muslim relations. There could even be creative responsibility when trying to balance work and play. In sum, creative responsibility for me is when a person is able to create new methods and perspectives in tackling the different and, usually, difficult moral dilemmas of life and being able to attain a prescribed goal. Creative responsibility is to create a response to these dual-concepts in order to effectuate a balanced and healthy individual. Only then are we going be able to keep getting better and more developed as a society.