Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Eric Lim had gotten married. His wife subsequently found out that he was a transsexual, with female organs, prior to his surgery. She sought a court judgment declaring the marriage void and won her case. An academic noted that as far as marriage is a form of contract, the use of mistake to get a party out of the contract is viable if the mistake is a fundamental one. That fundamental mistake in this case, the academic noted, goes to the misapprehension of the “totality of the person”. Let us think a little about this.
Is it true that the totality of the person comes down to the organ that he or she possesses? Am I any less a person because I cut my hair? Or how about something more vital- say in donating my kidneys or losing a lung? How about amputating a leg? When does a person, stop being that same person?
If you think the questions are easy, then Thursday evenings should be a breeze and you should come. If you think they are incredibly difficult, then there is even more reason to. So what are we doing on Thursday evenings? In a short discussion of Knowledge, I will seek to show, at least on a conceptual level, what goes on during our meetings.
Knowledge is a vast landscape with unending depths. There is the Science and Arts, Law and Economics, Sociology and Psychology. Where then do we start? More importantly, what do we aim to achieve? Do we skim the surface or plunge into the deep? I would say we incline towards the latter. In fact, we have chosen a spot rather tiny- instead of a whole field of study- we have narrowed it down to one set of readings. We have chosen a strategic landmark to utilize all our tools in. This is the study of Love and Responsibility by Pope John Paul II.
Why such a ‘location’? Because it is utterly relevant. It is about us after all. And it is about sex. Yes, sex is a prevailing and increasingly popular notion. More importantly, our ideas of sex as an act, as a part of who we are, are being shaped by many forces. The Pope’s writings aim to make sense of all these forces. He created a powerful microscope that peers deep within the heart of humanity and anthropology to understand what is good about sex. He’s handed it to us on a silver platter. Of course we’re going to take it.
Knowledge, nevertheless, finds itself welcome only to an environment that seeks. The transformative potential of the study group therefore lives and thrives only on the desire of all to know. Without doubt, this would not be easy. Yet, the secret lies precisely in the obstacles- where we start to listen to another in spite of our obstinacy, begin real dialogue that seeks to know rather than prove wrong, where we are gently but firmly challenged to question the assumptions that we live by- that is where and how we grow.
Knowledge often set itself on quite a high pedestal. Usually, only a paper qualification allows us to ascend. Without crossing the PSLE hurdle, it is hard to talk about A-maths or Chemistry. Speakers without credentials signify talks not worth going for. That is the reality today. This study group is humbled by that fact, but also encouraged by it. This is because we ask not of your certifications, but only of your commitment.
The Study Group takes upon itself, the task of making sense. More importantly, we aim to have fun whilst doing so. In that sense, our aspirations are but simple ones. Its simplicity lies also in the one promise that it makes. And this is the promise- That no one struggling will be left straddling alone. If we rush towards the next reading, to cover a syllabus, then we would be no different from a School. We go to schools to get qualified. We are here to study.
Marcus