Theory and Praxis
You might wonder why I bring this topic into this blog. Actually, I can’t keep the ideas in my mind I have to share it to the people who open and read my blog. No matter what’s in their mind I just have to be opened to the people. Who knows if somebody will have the same experience with me. I try to explain now my idea about THEORY and PRAXIS based on my lived experience. If you have comment please you have the right to do so.
There is always be a deep abyss between theory and praxis. But before we go deeper to my thesis we need to define first the terminology. Theory is a hypothetical. It is in a cognitive level of human understanding. It is an understanding from above. Praxis is referring to workability of hypothesis. It refers to the lived experience of human being. It is an understanding from below, understanding based on experience.
What have been mentioned above was purely academe. There should have been a steeping of the feet on the ground so that we may understand what is theory and praxis per se. In a layman’s words, many of us have always a high regard to their level of thinking which we permanently dwell on. We forget that we are living in the world with full of abundant reality. We tend to solve mystery in the level of our hypothetical mind most especially the mystery about life, the mystery of the unsolved problem, the questionable existence of good and evil, the crisis that we ever face nowadays, and so on and so forth. That particular intention is noble and plausible but the reality is different. it is not based purely in the state of mind, it is not theory alone neither praxis alone. It comprises of both theory and praxis. There would be balanced programming between theory and praxis. Theory and praxis are both two wings of a bird in which one is not enough but the need of two wings would lead to the right destination. Both theory and praxis must coordinate each other so that a better result may come out.
Theory should be embodied by praxis, so as praxis with theory. So that a fair, balance and just decision may correctly come out. This is true to our real life. In every circumstances we have to think it first, weight it, see the advantages and disadvantages based on the lived experience.
When I was in my college, I have this principle in life that said, “whatever conceive in my mind its possible.” In my apostolate in the community I met a lot of people; and together with these people were the experiences that somehow questioned my principle. There was one time a man went near and asked his help . He had a problem with his son. His son was a drug addict. I thought it was so easy to handle this as long as it was not yet extreme, means a mad man or insane. And that son of him wasn’t extreme. With so much background and experiences with this kind of circumstances, I never hesitated and went to the son hoping that I could calmed him. I started to talk and pacified him. I thought I can handle this case but I wasn’t. With the time I spent to him, the more he got cruel and mad. He had a tendency of throwing stone to the people whom he’d met. I was almost hit by a stone that had been thrown to me. In this instance, I realized that whatever the circumstances were you have a precaution first before indulging to the problem; safety first before doing it. My presumption attitude was putting myself into danger. Thank God it never happened to me.