Author: Ming Poon

Recognition, Good Deeds, and What It All Means

Posted on by Ming Poon

“In some ways, recognition can be a powerful thing.” – Florence Ng

 

Florence Ng (she/her/hers), Low Entropy Volunteer Writer

 

In a second year philosophy class I took many years ago, there was an ongoing debate on whether or not Mother Teresa was an inherently selfish person despite all of her good deeds. After all, didn’t she do good deeds for her own satisfaction? The issue on the table was altruism—is there such a thing as true altruism? Particularly with someone as well known as Mother Teresa, wouldn’t such recognition be inherently selfish? More importantly, does intention even matter when it comes to good deeds? 

 

I posit these questions because our world needs good people doing good deeds. But what does that mean? Perhaps more so than any other point in history due to the wealth of information at our fingertips, we are all riding a delicate tension between hope and helplessness, somewhere on the spectrum of misanthropy and love for humanity. Good deeds feel like a stepping stone for celebrity and corporate clout while activists, advocates, organisers, etc. largely carry on with their lives in obscurity. Does this mean that recognition or the desire for recognition is selfish or evil? Where, then, does obtaining recognition with the hope to inspire fall? What about the privilege of having the resources and/or capacity to carry out good deeds in the first place?

 

Perhaps such philosophical questions are moot. At the core of it, goodness is not an intellectual pursuit, but a series of actions and ideals shaped by experiences, values, identity, and community. Such actions and ideals are often upheld by specific communities, and interpreting, in my opinion, what the human experience is about. In this way, recognizing perceived goodness is no small thing. When we encourage, validate, and give respect to an individual for their good deeds, we as communities are encouraging more of it. In some ways, recognition can be a powerful thing. 

 

For example, if a person publicly says something hateful to a minority group, it isn’t uncommon to hear of backlash escalating into death threats. In this case, can the individuals threatening harm on a person be considered doing a good deed? What if that minority group is a threatening force advocating violence? Can the speaker be considered doing a good deed? 

 

In a world where many feel isolated, it can be difficult to interpret what good means, especially in a place and time where so many conflicting depictions of good and evil abound. It may be difficult to hear yourself in a sea of loud voices. I don’t have a solution for this. Instead, I present my own beliefs on the topic: 

 

  1. Actions that exhibit kindness, compassion, and the willingness to understand another’s perspective should be recognized, reinforced and perhaps even publicised to encourage others.
  2. Good and bad deeds do not define you, but how you perceive your actions can impact how you view yourself, especially if your definition of good does not align with others. Often, this could wear you down physically and/or emotionally. 
  3. Accountability is one of the most underrated forms of goodness. It is a recognition that one’s own actions have hurt people, and steps are being taken to reconcile and heal. When publicised, however, it can often appear disingenuous. 
  4. There are no real heroes in any story and the idea of a good person is a myth when we examine the same characters from a different angle. 
  5. Not everyone has the capacity to do good deeds or work toward a greater, collective good. We live among many oppressive systems designed to make this difficult.
  6. We are all just trying our best every day in the only ways we know how. 

 

None of the beliefs I listed are without their own tensions. There are certainly days where some beliefs are louder than others. Even so, many or all of these beliefs can be true at once in this incredibly nuanced world. Ultimately, the unsatisfying answer to it all is that it’s up to the individual to decide how to recognize and encourage the good you want to see in the world and hope that the rest of the world will follow. 

 

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Hello! My name is Florence, and I’m an educator, storyteller, traveller, avid board game collector and curious, lifelong learner, among many other things. I’m passionate about human connection and mental well-being, and I love meeting new people! 



The Value of Recognition and Appreciation

Posted on by Ming Poon

“We all need to be recognized for the successes we achieve and the work we put into what we value as recognition and appreciation are large factors to our growth” – Hailee Piendl

 

Hailee Piendl (she/her/hers), Low Entropy Volunteer Writer

 

Why do we strive for recognition and appreciation?

 

“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated” – William James. We all need to be recognized for the successes we achieve and the work we put into what we value as recognition and appreciation are large factors to our growth. It is a part of being human and a motivator for almost everyone. We strive for a “job well done” as it fuels the work we put in at our jobs, our relationships, and how we value ourselves.

 

The value of recognition in the workplace

There is a reason one may see a picture framed on the wall of their workplace that reads “employee of the month”. Incentives for employees to do their best and show impeccable customer service is to be recognized by their co-workers that they are “the best” of the month. 

My first job I ever had was at a pet store for minimum wage (shocker) and getting my first raise and being given the responsibility of managing the store was a huge accomplishment. That incentive gave me a boost of confidence in myself and in turn, I became more attentive and did an even better job at work. Hard work pays off after all! 

I believe giving incentives to employees is a great way to grow a company and those who are a part of it. Being praised for a job well done and a plaque to prove it grows one’s confidence and drive to be better, leading to a greater career and overall success of a company. We strive for recognition and appreciation in the workplace to feel respected by a community we value the opinions of.

 

Appreciation in relationships

Studies have proven appreciation and gratitude to be contributing factors to the success of one’s relationship. Whether it be with a spouse or family member, selfless deeds we do for one another would not continue if we did not get recognition for them. Why? Because it is a basic need to feel appreciated in a relationship. 

Many of my romantic relationships have ended because one of us felt invalidated in what we were giving to the relationship. The teeter totter of appreciation was tipped too far to one side and when love isn’t enough, what’s the point of being with someone who doesn’t value you? 

We need recognition to feel loved, to be seen by the one person we love the most. Oftentimes their opinion is the one we value most of all. Therefore, we seek their approval. One of the most common complaints from couples in a committed relationship is “He/she just doesn’t appreciate me”. Thus, they end up in couple’s therapy trying to figure out the underlying issue when a simple “Thank you, dear” would have gone a long way. Knowing it is a part of human psychology to be appreciated would improve relationships. 

 

Our beliefs and how we value ourselves

This is a tricky one, sometimes seen as self centered or selfish but don’t be mistaken. 

Selfishness is defined as: “lacking consideration for others; concerned chiefly with one’s own personal profit or pleasure.” Viewing ourselves in a high regard and believing we are worthy is one of the common qualities of highly successful people. It is not selfish. 

I believe viewing yourself in the highest regard is one of the greatest forms of self-love you can give yourself. The previous forms of validations above are through external sources. However, real success comes from the internal knowing we are worthy of success and love. 

If you don’t have the skill to validate yourself, one will eventually be starved of the external validation we need to be confident and go after our goals. 

 

In conclusion

We all need validation and appreciation because it is a basic need for humans. We gain that validation through external sources such as the community at our workplace and the relationships we share with others. Additionally, we need validation from ourselves to ultimately sustain confidence in ourselves and reach our goals.

 

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My name is Hailee and I have an unbreakable passion for health, wellness, and writing! I started blogging not too long ago and have since enjoyed every second of it. I write fitness and nutrition based articles over on my website www.youngandwyld.com. I am also a bookkeeper by day and online CPT by night who loves to help people achieve their goals while enjoying the process every step of the way:)

Thoughts on Perception

Posted on by Ming Poon

“There is neither certainty, absolute truth, or metaphysical reality, nor one single perception of people.” – Najmuddin Hossaini

Najmuddin Hossaini, Low Entropy Volunteer Writer

 

      The title is a genuine inquiry that can be probed from different perspectives. One is the philosophical possibility. To investigate it from this viewpoint, it can be articulated that there is no ‘object’ unless with some abstract discernment behind it. Whether the object is real, fictional, a human being, or non-human; a sort of judgment is applied to relate it with some pre-recognitions. For instance, when we express a statement like ‘the car is red’, we go according to common sense. The same condition is true with the phrase “Sara is tall” as well. In these examples, we presupposed that a certain order is called ‘red’ or ‘tall’. That presupposition comes from our pre-recognition of conditions.

 

What does metaphysics say?

      ‘Being’ and ‘reality’ are major elements studied in the metaphysics of philosophy. If we mention at least two noticeable tendencies in this field, we walk back to ancient Greek, the schools of Heraclitus and Parmenides; which have relied upon the topic from two opposite angles. Heraclitus of Ephesus was a pre-Socratic philosopher who believed that there is no permanence in things except “change”. As he expressed, everything is constantly “changing” and “becoming”. His most famous statement is “you cannot step twice in the same river”. Unlike Heraclitus, Parmenides of Elea, another pre-Socratic philosopher, thought that there is some kind of stability in the universe. He indicated, in addition to the changing appearance of universe objects, there is permanent stability in them as well. According to him, things have two dimensions: Appearance which is changing, and essence which is permanent. The connection of these notions with our topic is that we can adopt any of these stances toward people so we will get different results. If we adopt the way of Heraclitus, then people are in an ongoing change condition and our perceptions of them also should follow the same attitude. Hence, no accurate perception is there, unless we examine the people along with our perception of them permanently. 

 

Moral Relativism Position 

      Ethical relativism is an outlook held by moral relativists considering different moral judgments of people. The relativists take on their positions and moral judgments according to the cultural, historical, and social contexts of individuals. Therefore, the results of their viewpoints towards people are different and variable from one person to another and from one society to another. They accept that different individuals can have different views regarding what is ethical or unethical. In different words, moral relativism indicates that everyone ought to be judged concerning the context, and this situation is true somehow even in physics. 

      One of the lessons we learned from Galileo is that we “do not have absolute motion”, or we cannot claim if an object is moving or not in general. Galileo showed that one must always introduce a “ground” or “context” and measure the motion of objects against it. Therefore, we have no such thing as “absolute motion”. Whenever it is stated this object is moving, we should ask “Relative to what?” The point is that there is no absolute truth about the motion of objects, and the motion of objects is only meaningful relative to a context. The outcome the writer gets from the topic of relativism is that our perception of people is relative too. When we opt for a position regarding an individual, we might have inadvertently involved our own culture, social values, and moral judgments in that or we may have avoided the inclusion of the contexts of the other side. Therefore, if we exclude the social, historical, and cultural contexts of others, the possibility of moral errors in our perceptions and judgments toward others is always expected.

 

What is the conclusion?

      At the time we approach one window, other windows are not seen. In other words, we live in the world of multi-meaning instead of one. And, to know it, individuals have to own a wider perspective, different prospects, and an unsolid understanding of the universe. There is neither certainty, absolute truth, or metaphysical reality, nor one single perception of people. We are dealing with a world of possibilities in which individuals perceive people and things differently. So, it is feasible that what we think of people, the way we perceive them, and from the standpoint, we perhaps judge them, are inaccurate. As Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, and theologian said: “Each interprets my notes in harmony with his feelings, however, not one fathom the secrets of my heart”. Thus, a high chance of having inaccurate imagination about people is always probable. As a last resort, we keep this epistemological inquiry ‘how do we know that something is right or wrong’ reliable.

 

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Najmuddin Hossaini holds a bachelor’s in journalism from Herat University, Afghanistan, and a master’s in philosophy from the University of Pune, India. He has published many articles on the subjects of human rights, women’s rights, education rights of women, peace talks, the Taliban extremism, violence, and environmental issues.