Magdula, Camilo 10-11-17

Xaverian Missionaries Auditorium

Phenomenology Fr. Kenneth Masong

Phenomenological Reflection on Imprisonment

I.
Nowadays, people see the imprisonment as a place for the criminals who committed such
crime. This reflection paper of mine underline the issueof what really the essence of
imprisonment. I myself doesn’t know the true essence of this thing that’s the very reason why I
am eagerly wanted to write about this. Using the five principle of Edmund Husserl’s idea
somehow I may find the true essence which I come up with plenty of question apart from it. This
reflection paper answer the question does death penalty is necessary and I hope I can manage to
answer it philosophically.
I come up with this idea about imprisonment because I was highly struck of what happened
now in our society. I just wanted to know and understand the essence of imprisonment and that
death penalty is really a necessary thing.
In, reality the person who is a prisoner entails the very bad image behind the crime he or she
committed. Some people or even myself have this tendency in mind that when we hear about a
person who is a prisoner a very bad image come up in my mind. According to Edmund Husserl
we should suspend our prejudices and our biases in order to have a very essence of a thing. In
order to go into a broader perspective, I undergo plenty of survey and research in our apostolate
are where I teach. I asked one question but in the different level, for instance I asked a kid, youth
and the adult in different style but similar point about the question. Using the Epoche,
Phenomenological Reduction, Free variation, Intuition of essence, and the last Description of the
essence structure that Edmund Husserl introduced I am hoping that I can come up with the
transcendental phenomenological answer about the essence of imprisonment.
 II. The Epoche of Imprisonment.

When one hears what is imprisonment the immediate thought that will come into the mind
is that a person who is bad, who committed such crime and was proven to be guilty by the judge.
A person who is being put to jail in order to compensate its own mistake. A person who stayed for
how many years in the jail. As the matter of fact, imprisonment, this natural attitude is strongly
supported by the fear. That term substitute to imprisonment is a so-called consequence of the crime
committed by the person. For example, a person who murder a man can be sentence for how many
years in the prison. For instance, every crime you made has its own consequence entails with it in
accordance with the law. There will be a hearing that will be doing for how many meetings and
then the court will judge whether he is guilty or not. Constituting a significant part of this natural
attitude about imprisonment is the frequent thought that this compensate in accordance with the
degree of crime you commit would at least compensate by the refreshment that one would receive
from the monthly or in every hearing that can be sum up with judge and make the decision.

Many this preconceived notion ma have some shade of truth in itself. One must allow the
totality of experience of imprisonment to unfold himself before him, and not to create a false
conception, invisible wall between himself to actual reality of experience to pre conceived notion
of imprisonment. The preconceive notion of imprisonment is very relevant of the number of people
nowadays and give us a very shallow level of this experience, never confronting the full totality of
this experience and realizing the impact of such lives. Because of the unmistakable prevalence of
this natural attitude, we therefore take the experience of imprisonment for granted. Viewing, it is
just another of compensate notion without understanding the essence of imprisonment.

In reality, However, there are indeed more than just this compensation for the crime he did.
Thus, by locking up this well-imbedded natural attitude of us in a closet of suspension so to speak.
We may eventually come to grip with what this experience reveals about our personal character
and identity as race, as a people.
III. The Eidetic Reduction of Imprisonment

For the one to arrive at a fuller grasp of the totality of this experience, he must probe
deeper and deeper into the realm of this experience, until he ultimately reaches the very core, the
very essence of experience. 1The word imprisonment is from imprison Old French is the restraint
of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a
person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment
does not necessarily imply a place of confinement, with bolts and bars, but may be exercised by
any use or display of force, lawfully or unlawfully, wherever displayed, even in the open street.
People become prisoners, wherever they may be, by the mere word or touch of a duly authorized
officer directed to that end. Usually, however, imprisonment is understood to imply an actual
confinement in a jail or prison employed for the purpose according to the provisions of the law.

2
The original purpose of confining a person within a prison was not to punish them, but
was a means of keeping the perpetrator of a crime detained until the actual punishment could be
carried out. This was usually in the form of corporal punishment that was intended to cause the
guilty person pain, such as being beaten with a whip, or capital punishment which used a variety
of methods to claim the lives of condemned individuals. London is known as the birthplace of
modern imprisonment.

Where then is the venue of such a Practice? 3Usually, the imprisonment is held in the
different jail where the place of the sentence person is a bit near. In certain instances, this maybe
held in the police station where the inmate is being brought and accused as guilty but not a very
high crime. Usually after the incident that happened usually in the rural area, the “barangay tanods”
are the one in charge of the peace and order that was implemented by the government. They have
this power to charge the person who violated the law. Perhaps, in my own experience, the suspect
will be being brought to the barangay office and there he will stay and be release after some hearing
according to its corresponding violation. Henceforth, when in views the venue of such a practice
in this light, he cannot help but arrive at the inevitable realization that this venue is not really

1
Online Etymolgy Dictionary
2
www.Crime Museum.org/Wikipedia
3
Prison/Britanica, http;//www.britanica.com
significant, for this imprisonment could be held at practically anywhere, anytime not only in the
so-called main jail.

For whom this jail is? Does the place is intended only for the inmates? The imprisonment
is composed of inmates and the police who watch over the inmates. When I first visit the Quezon
City jail I noticed that there are plenty of people inside not only the number of inmates but a
religious congregation who had their own apostolate there. A jail is not only for the inmate but
also composed of different people who are working inside.

In reality, we cannot call it jail intended only for those who has sentence in long time in
prison but rather a composition of people who has different task with each other. Therefore, the
answer to the question posed is a blunt no: the persons performing inside the jail does not necessary
mean that only the inmate.

Moreover, could one then asset that because of the absence of certain accompanying
practice such as having mass inside, having their own manualia, performing prayer every day, such
a practice already ceases to be an experience of imprisonment? In response to this particular
question, one becomes aware of the fact that even if these practice are eliminated totally or just
modified to a certain extent such a practice never loses its character as an experience of
imprisonment.

How about the number of individuals participating inside the jail, helping the inmate? Does
this practice always require a group of person? Again, one realizes that this experience to be called
imprisonment, the number of persons observing and helping inmate to change is virtually
significant. In fact, helping maybe perform by just a single individual who will lead them to
reconciliation.

In view of all these consideration, we are led to ask. What then the very essence of
imprisonment? What then I that factors in the experience of imprisonment which change or
modified even in the slightest degree would cause this experience to cease to be the thing that it
is? In reality this essence is thus the helping of religious congregation for the inmate to be reconcile
and makes them feel realize that what they did is a sin and thus it may make us be far away from
God. The essence of imprisonment is that it is a place to reconcile about the thing they have done.
A departure from the essence would mean that the experience is no longer an imprisonment.
 Would Death penalty be necessary for those who commit a great mistake or crime? The
answer of this question is a very big no because if you put death in the first place the essence of
being a prison disappear because prison is the place where a person commit crime may be turn into
reconciliation. They can change themselves with the guidance of the religious congregation present
in the prison.4 Through the priest who has receive the faculty of absolving from the authority of
the church can forgive in the name of Christ.

When we viewed in this this sense, does this act clearly reveal the strong tendency to
support our fellow men even in the most circumstances? Isn’t this act a way of reassuring his
fellow men that they are all within the same boat crossing the sea of crisis?

I. Transcendental Reduction on Imprisonment

The experience of imprisonment, one comes to realize that different meaning maybe be
attached to it, depending upon the perspective taken up by the person experiencing it. If one were
to assume the stand point of an immediate help to the person who has sentence, he who view that
imprisonment as a place where the reconciliation is present. Those probably committed murder
felt guilty to himself may experience religious experience which the encounter of the holy spirit is
very significant part with the help of those kind religious advocate present in the prison.

Finally, with these answers talking about imprisonment I come with one essence that
imprisonment is there to help the criminals or the one committed crime to change their lfe andto
bereconcile with the family and the high above the Heaven through the help of the religious
activities. Death penalty is no use or it is not helping the person to change and that the essence of
imprisonment disappears.

4
Catechism of the Catholic Church base on the latin ‘’editio typical”, world &life publication CBCP/ECCCF
Manila, www.wordand life.faithweb.com,copyright on 1994.Libenz editenci vaticana citta de vaticano, page 418