…Limit and Beyond

Perhaps it has sometimes occurred to you, dear reader, that we are all lost souls. We want to say that we live in the best of times, but we are too burned-out to take care of ourselves. We grasp every opportunity to enhance our employability, and our weekends are occupied by Netflix that skips ending credits and starts another monotonous episode in just five seconds. Generations of smartphones are shipped every year, but retail therapy does not seem to promise enduring happiness. We claim to be proud global citizens, but we have lost the sense of rootedness that gives our lives meaning and purpose. In those moments of despair, we feel inexpressible pain, estrangement, and disillusionment for being stuck between our world and ourselves. 

This ePortfolio is about those moments.

Our globalised, science-savvy world lacks permanence. We are confronted with multiple perspectives, unlimited possibilities, and promises of personal achievement. Morality, nation, justice… Human beings once venerated these words, but now we learn that these are social constructs subject to interpretation and manipulation. We are left on our own to choose our paths and convince ourselves of the sanity of this world. 

Majoring in mathematics and philosophy, I want to find some permanence in this world. Unfortunately, studying the two foundational subjects together makes me realise the limit of human understanding and the socio-political divide among us. Mathematics has been proven to be an incomplete logical system, and academic philosophy is mostly a Euro-American intellectual enterprise. Truth, eternity, meaning. Those alluring concepts now seem treacherous. 

How do we survive this post-modernist, nihilist despair? Perhaps religion provides an option, but our broadly secular society seems to move forward without looking back. In contrast, this ePortfolio addresses something resembling theology secularised or the possibility and meaning of faith in a secular world. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a collection of essays denying the value of modernity or scientific advancement. This is a collection of essays filling in what has been missing in our modern life, to complement scientific development, and to reflect on innate human desires for community, hope and purpose. 

By naming this ePortfolio Limit and Beyond, I narrate my experiences of learning mathematics and philosophy in the past five years while being part of the USP community. It is not just a personal recount; it reflects on the broader crisis of modernity and being an individual in a globalised world. The limit is not merely a mathematical concept or specifically referring to the limit of mathematical and philosophical knowledge. To me, the limit also stands for the parameter of our comfort zones, thinking habits, and even human instincts. 

I reflect on the limit while hoping to look for something beyond our existential struggles. The three posts can be read in any order, but I would recommend that you save the one on Grace to the last. Each post consists of a poignant experience of learning and growth.  

Reason is the central theme of Rationalist Philosophy and Wounded Women. I reflect on the (in)adequacy of reason in ambivalent moral situations involving the disadvantaged. While we have been trained to be reasonable, responsible citizens, there is still room for compassion beyond reason. While reason may divide us, humanity unites us. 

Infinity is the central theme of The Mathematics and Phenomenology of Infinity. It is a reflection on life’s finitude in contrast to the human pursuit of truth, beauty, and meaning that defy oblivion. It narrates the pain of realising life’s ultimate limit and affirms the meaning of our wilful choices. 

Grace is the central theme of The Anxiety of Nature and The Difficulty of Grace. Life often appears to be a competition or a mindless national selection. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the post reflects on the Problem of Evil and how demanding it is to be graceful despite suffering. Borrowing scenes from The Tree of Life (2011), the post continues that earnest prayer for salvation. 

In his later writings, Ludwig Wittgenstein says that the purpose of philosophy is not to supply theories or to provide explanations. Rather, the nature of philosophy is therapeutic: it puts everything in front of us, without dogmatic deductions or solutions. The same sentiment is shared by the ancient Chinese Daoist, Zhuangzi, who wakes up from a Butterfly Dream while finding comfort beyond rational doubt. This ePortfolio looks up to these thinkers. The posts juxtapose the rational with the irrational, the measurable with the immeasurable, and the timely with the timeless. But none of these posts provides settled answers. They present things as they are, reminding ourselves of the limit while looking forward to the beyond. What they offer, if anything, is some therapy for the wounded and hope for the disillusioned. 

Do leave some comments if you want to communicate with me or to share your own experiences. I will constantly come back and check this ePortfolio. 

Thank you for dropping by.