Anger (galit) is a primal or visceral emotion. In one way or another, emotions such as anger precede ethics and can be dangerous to oneself or to others when not controlled or used constructively. Moreover, anger communicates that boundaries exist between us and the world, and when one feels that this boundary is violated, anger is expressed imperatively. One of the dangerous kinds of anger includes anger that is directed inward, which when not expressed will eventually lead to self-destruction. Another kind is anger that is directed outward that can turn into violence and rage, which can potentially inflict pain against others. The last kind of dangerous anger is anger associated with sadness wherein one feels helpless or frustrated when something is not attained. In here there is a sense of isolation and pain due to an obstacle that cannot be removed.
However, there is a type of anger that can be turned into a virtue. Transformed anger has the capability of removing obstacles causing anger, therefore eliminating the menaces of anger. Anger can only be transformed, however, under some conditions. First, there must be real anger to begin with, and it must be recognized. If there is no authentic anger to begin with, then there is nothing to transform. Next, one must ask what his/her anger is for. Recognizing the purpose of one’s anger ultimately leads to a formulation and realization of goals that will be pursued. The purpose and goals of one’s anger lead to plans and directions. Although having a goal poses the danger of disappointment and frustration, and obstacles can obstruct the way, anger can be used in order to be persistent and tenacious in order to attain the goals. Once again, anger is transformed in this process of attaining one’s goal and emotions are used in a constructive way.
As human beings, people are goal-oriented. In this way, anger can be transformed into a virtue in almost every situation we put ourselves into. There is always a goal that must be pursued, and these goals must be realized. For Kant, man’s categorical imperative is justice. This categorical imperative means that justice is an unconditional moral obligation which applies to all rational beings and is independent of any personal inclination or purpose. Each and every person’s goal is justice and in attaining justice, humans also seek for growth and happiness. Growth or pagtubo is sought in order to attain justice of being on equal ground with one another. In growth, there is development, progress, and one enters a new level of existence. Growth produces profit for someone attaining it. However, one of the consequences of growth turns out to be injustice and inequality. In one way or another, there will exist a competition between people attaining justice, and those that are left behind remain at the bottom, and those who are fast and capable move to a new level, as if in a game. Growth therefore creates the higher and the lower levels, builds walls and generates discriminatory laws wherein those in the lower rank have no growth, power, or freedom. On the other hand, those in the higher rank are free, have control or autonomy, and therefore undergo a continuous process of growth. Unconsciously, growth which is meant to attain justice, also introduces exclusion on the other side of the spectrum.
We now come to ask whether justice has any necessary connection to liberalism. Liberalism can be defined as a political worldview which believes that the central problem of politics is the protection and enhancement of freedom of the individual. In order to achieve progress, freedom must be put in the forefront of the government’s priorities. For Kant, specifically, liberalism is the practice of autonomy wherein one exercises authority and uses his/own reason and capacity to act on oneself in attaining justice. In liberalism therefore, one can use transformed anger in order to undergo and achieve growth. However, full understanding of growth leads us to say, according to Nussbaum, that justice is beyond growth because growth leads to exclusion. This also means that justice is beyond ethics and it remains to be an existential question such that it continues to make different opposing effects whichever path you take, in that it gives freedom to the one who is strong enough, and takes away freedom to those who are weak.
The question of justice therefore, presupposes that one should be strong. What happens to those who are weak then? For Nussbaum, the weak should be the ones to be prioritized and chosen. While the individualistic definition of justice says “I get what I deserve” and means that one should be strong in every way, the second definition of justice is reserved for those who are weak. As emphasized by Nussbaum, justice means love for those who are weak. This includes the poor, children, refugees, and other people who cannot help themselves. Strength on the other side of the coin is when one helps the weak. Love redefines rationality in this case and it requires authenticity. Nevertheless, love cannot be defined simply because there is no expert in this field and it needs to be experienced personally before it can be understood. Love is experienced subjectively because it remains to be a different experience for each person. Most importantly, love also means to give space to the other person and let that person reach his highest potential. It takes a leap to love and imagination is needed in loving. One must be able to imagine the greatest potential of the object of love, for it to be authentic. The same goes with what is said that only when you see that you have a great potential that you can come to love yourself. In giving love to another, there must be honesty and authenticity to express the truth, and since man is mostly afraid to say what is going on deep within his thoughts, love means vulnerability. Authentic love then requires that one must be weak to be able to express it eloquently. Because it requires authenticity, love also redefines rationality. Therefore the second definition of justice means that although one has anger, he/she feels the need to love. Specifically, this transformed anger is also used to love.
The answer therefore to the question of justice producing inequality is love. In loving the weak, balance between the higher and lower rank can be potentially achieved. Emotions, specifically anger, in this sense can be used in two ways. One way to use anger is to attain one’s own goal through persistence and tenacity. The other is to help the weak to achieve and reach his highest potential. Finally, this means that it is only when one has transformed anger that justice is possible. Emotions, such as anger, play a vital part in justice.
24 February 2016 for PH103*
Little Dipper 