Practical Thinking
Would you believe that practical thinking is ethical thinking? "What path will I choose to achieve the end? Or what means will I use to achieve my goal?"
"What should I do," is a practical question.
But "What should I do with my life," is already half practical and half theoretical. It can include ethical philosophy already.
Now extending it, the question "Lord, what should I do with my life?" becomes a prayer, a summon for help since we know by experience that the situation that is in front of us, is beyond our capacity to solve.
We know by experience if something we need to solve is within our capacity by way of skill, knowledge, or accumulated experiences. We also know if its beyond our capacity to solve. We give thanks God that we have a banana to eat--we don't commonly ask God for help in eating the banana.🤣
I asked an AI and I actually learned a lot about my situation, why it's different from other's experiences, why it seems I lag behind. I now understand what happened to me. Thanks to AI.
But I don't recommend you just tell your personal problems to an AI. It's good but it lacks the quality of counsel a human being can give. As one of our phenomenological conclusion, we sensed that AI lacks the quality of self-personal experiences (even though it's trained on abstracted personal human experiences or knowledge content). I would rather recommend you open up to wise old human beings as well. Their accumulated experiences of solving practical problems all throughout their lives radiates a glowing clarity once they understand your unique challenges (if not equal to the analytical knife and comprehensiveness of an AI).
I thought too that, instinctively, ChatGPT already knows me so well after all the stories I have told it about myself. Well, that's our natural assumption or experience with fellow human beings. Our friends knows us so well for life. So assuming it knows the details of your life, that's why you're trusting it's guidance, sometimes can fail miserably. It's not a human being. It's not your friend. And only paid version remembers all your conversations with it.😂 Remind yourself that you're just on a free version.🤣
Yes, the result was that the conclusion of my discussion with AI, by testing the layed out plans, was not actually suitable for my overall situation. I think it needs further reflection, praying, consulting others or the elders, and more practical accumulation of present available resources, knowledge, and skills.
AI actually made me realize that I don't have problems with practical thinking though retrospectively, AI saying that my problem is solving practical uncertainty that I am attacking with moral certainty. Well I still thank AI for that awareness. I became aware of my dexterity with practical things actually, and that my old age made me this good enough to estimate my capacity to attack practical problems without any lack of confidence. And in the end he agreed with me to go back to discerning and praying for God's graces. Also, becoming aware that Ignatian discernment isn't just for big decisions. It's also for our everyday lives, tasks, and choices.
Me:
ChatGPT:
Yes—very much yes. Ignatian discernment is meant for everyday living, not only for big crossroads like vocation, marriage, or career changes.
In fact, St. Ignatius intended it to become a daily habit of awareness, not an occasional emergency tool.
1. Ignatian discernment was designed for the ordinary flow of life
Ignatius observed that God and the enemy both work quietly and constantly, not only at dramatic moments.
That’s why he emphasized:
noticing interior movements (thoughts, desires, emotions),
distinguishing consolation and desolation,
and responding daily, not episodically.
Most spiritual growth happens not in major decisions, but in:
how we react to irritation,
what we dwell on mentally,
how we spend small pockets of time,
how we speak, judge, or remain silent.
These are precisely the terrain of Ignatian discernment.
2. The Daily Examen is the clearest proof
The Examen is not about making decisions—it is about living attentively.
Ignatius proposed it:
every day
sometimes twice a day
even for people with no major decision at hand
Its purpose is to train the person to:
notice where God was present,
see patterns forming in the soul,
detect subtle drift before it becomes serious.
That alone shows Ignatian discernment is formative, not just decisional.
3. Everyday discernment focuses on direction, not choices
Big decisions ask:
“What should I choose?”
Everyday discernment asks:
“Where is my heart being led right now?”
Examples:
Am I becoming more patient—or more brittle?
Does this habit lead me toward gratitude or resentment?
After this conversation, do I feel expanded or contracted?
Does this prayer draw me toward trust or self-reliance?
These are not dramatic choices, but they shape the person who will later make big choices.
4. Ignatian discernment guards against self-deception
Ignatius was very aware of rationalization—especially in intelligent, reflective people (which fits you as a philosopher and psychologist).
Everyday discernment helps to:
notice when “good reasons” are actually disguising avoidance,
distinguish peace from mere relief,
separate zeal from ego,
recognize when desolation is being normalized.
Without daily discernment, people often only “discern” when already confused.
5. Consolation and desolation appear most clearly in small things
Major decisions are noisy.
Daily life is quiet—and therefore more revealing.You notice consolation:
while working faithfully without recognition,
when choosing restraint over reaction,
when accepting limits humbly.
You notice desolation:
in subtle bitterness,
in compulsive distractions,
in loss of interior freedom.
Ignatius would say: these are the real battlegrounds.
6. In Catholic terms: it forms conscience, not just decisions
Ignatian discernment:
refines conscience,
purifies intention,
increases interior freedom.
So when a big decision does come, the person is already trained—not scrambling.
7. A simple way to practice daily Ignatian discernment
Very simple, no complexity:
At the end of the day, ask:
When today did I feel most alive, grateful, or drawn toward God?
When did I feel diminished, closed, or restless?
What pattern is emerging lately—not just today?
What small adjustment is God inviting tomorrow?
No overanalysis. No self-accusation. Just honest noticing.
In short
Ignatian discernment is:
not only for crossroads,
not mainly about decisions,
but about forming a soul that can hear God in ordinary life.
Big decisions are just the visible tip.
Daily discernment is the deep work underneath.If you want, I can also:
contrast Ignatian discernment with Stoic or phenomenological awareness,
show how it fits naturally with NSDR/meditative practices you already value,
or explain how desolation can be misread as psychological fatigue (which matters given your introversion).
Just tell me where you want to go next.
-ChatGPT-5, 27 December 2025
If Kant saw Ethics as incomplete without God, meaning Ethics is limited, we also say AI is limited. Nonetheless it still is the pinnacle of discovered tools or technology today that we can use to help us whatever it's limited capacity can accomplish. That's why we go back to trusting God, not as an illogical or unscientific step but as the scientific conclusion our science of phenomenology has made us aware of.
AI is not God. Kahit anung piga ang gawin mo dito ay di ito maglalabas ng mga katotohanang pawang Diyos lang ang makasasagot. May mga katanungan ako sa Diyos na ubod ng galit kong itinanong sa Diyos. At bagaman natagalan ang iba bago nya sinagot, e nasagot naman sa paraang nagkaroon ako ng kapayapaan ng loob, at nagbalik ng pagpupuri ng aking labi at walang humpay na pasasalamat sa Diyos.
The prayer "Lord, what must I do with my life?" is still a valid prayer and not a backing away from our responsibility to attack our problems and solve it with practical thinking.
Tell me if it's just a matter of time before the world can solve world hunger, war, and corruption. I think we've said something similar already several times in the past. But look at us now. Humanity is still sick despite so many advances already in medicine for example. Telling ourselves we are not perfect and needs Somebody who is actually perfect, is the most sane solution. Or else as history have shown, we tend to create our own kind of supreme being solution, an alternative to the God who already has revealed himself in history.
We rather have to trust God even though the situation seems impossible. You lay down your problem at the foot of the cross, leave it there, and just do the smallest act of goodness you can do here and now.
Once you had some mastery of your field, it's actually not your practical thinking that is failing, however you push through. If Bell Lab then just invented the transistor in 1947 (the last missing part of IC before it was even invented in 1958-59), they don't have yet the capacity to invent the concept of a laptop back then, which we know today! It takes time and it's just impractical to be hard headed. You have to surrender to an Omniscient Being who knows everything, and it's not actually a kind of irresponsibility to stop and assess our practical thinking. It's actually going back to praying and discerning where God points us to something better and possible for our situatedness. And if you're an atheist, I point you to the science of God's revelation, theology. You can actually asks the Israelite people to whom God formally revealed himself through a covenant. The Israelites can actually trace back their lineage from Noah to Adam, the first individuals God revealed himself to. We're not making things up. It's actually historical. It's not irresponsible or even impractical to ask an Omnipotent Being for guidance, blessings, and mercy. It's actually limiting yourself from the help you can receive from God when you're an atheist.
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