The Search for Filipino Philosophy

Mercado accepts the

definition of philosophy as the system of motivating values, concepts, or principles of an individual, group, or culture.

humanistic and behavioral

Mental Framewo rk

Culture and Philosophy

As, Filipinos, we have to clarify our

world view and the result is philosophy. -Mercado

Eastern

Philosophy

Western

Philosophy

Accent on synthesis The unity of things Tends to see a harmony between opposites More existential - i.e., focused on gaining release from suffering (salvation philosophies) Unsystematic, rambling, disorganized, aphoristic, & repetitious style of thinking & writing (suspicion of human ability to grasp The Truth)

Accent on analysis The plurality of things Tends to draw sharp contrasts between opposites Less existential - i.e., focused on understanding the nature of reality, value, & knowledge Systematic, precise, analytic, logically organized, logically extended (non-aphoristic), & less repetitious style of thinking & writing41

Mercado criticizes the individualistic philosophy of the west. He said that as philosophybecomes more and more specialized, it also becomes more and more absurd and useless. So in order to avoid the esoteric

character of philosophy, it must be

holistic and

interdisciplinary

For example, it is apparent

that there are models that dominate the whole western philosophy. Models such as the dualistic body and soul, which influenced most of the individual philosophies. In the Orient, Chinese, Hebrew and Buddhist philosophies shared the body-spirit-soul model. Thus, by knowing these models, we can have a more or less rough understanding of the word views of adjacent nations.

Differentiate Etic

and emic perspective by giving example.

Open your book on page 79 for a silent reading. What is culture?

What is considered vital in our

human culture? How does education give us the opportunity to discover what is true and good and noble? Cite two examples. What are the three things we can do to take care of our culture?

Answer activity on page 80 in your reflection.

Using this methodology,

Mercado probed into the evolutionary and processoriented philosophy of evil of the Filipinos, meticulously explored into the principles of Filipino Legal Philosophy, and elaborated the Filipino concept

of loob and sako p which became a modeland basis in the present study of the Filipino

Philosophical basis

Filipino values are, for the most part, centered at

maintaining social harmony, motivated primarily by the desire to be accepted within a group. The main sanction against diverging from these values are the concepts of "Hiya", roughly translated as 'a sense of shame', and "Amor propio" or 'selfesteem'. Social approval, acceptance by a group, and belonging to a group are major concerns. Caring about what others will think, say or do, are strong influences on social behavior among Filipinos.

According to the anthropologist Leonardo Mercado , the Filipino worldview is basically

'nondualistic'.

Based on his linguistic analyses of Filipino value termslike (Cebuano buot), he concludes that Filipinos desire harmony, not only in interpersonal relationships, but also with nature and religion, while still remaining nondichotomous.

loob

"The Filipino wants to harmonize the object

and the subject, while at the same time holding both as distinct."Elements of Filipino Philosophy (1974), Leonardo Mercado, SVD

Loob In Philippine Culture, Loob or Kalooban refers to one's

inner self, or, more specifically, to the internal dimension of a person's identity. It's external counterpart is labas - the physical, outward appearance.

What I think is what I do. What I do is what

I think.Ours is the identity of the new ageambivalent, polymorphous, processual, always becoming.

Loob: interrelationshi p with people and intrarelationship with his sakop or to oneself the I, and the uplifting of ones soul

One thing that is to

be observed, everything revolves in relationships, in the sakop, in the upliftment of ones soul. Justice for the Filipino people is the satisfaction of

sakop Filipinos likes to be invited even if it is only a joke

and even if it is an occasion within the clan or nearby neighborhood. In politics, the sakop thing is very apparent. Everyone becomes relatives. During the time of victory, everyone wants to be part. Based on our concept of hiya A neglect of this personality leads to misunderstanding or pagdaramdam.

Sakop philosophy is also

reflected in the jeepney. The sakops may be the driver and his extended family, the passengers and the jeepney driver, or the association of jeepney drivers. Group passengers (barkadas) like students also ride together. When acquaintances meet

or take the same jeepney, one usually pays for the companion. The sakop mentality appears in the

What is lusot? Literally, it means to pass or to go

through a narrow place or barrier. In the physical sense, a thread passes (lusot) through a needle's eye, or a cold wind passing through the window. In the applied or figurative sense, it means passing through a tight situation such as to escape danger. Lusot can be said of an alibi. Lusot has a particular application in the moral sense.

In the context of human interaction, lusot plays a major role For example, somebody who wants

application papers expedited in business will use the lusot system. This may entail giving presents and similar forms of bribe (lagay), sometimes called pampadulas (slide), to "oil" the approval of the papers. Thus lusot and lagay can go together. Somebody offers a gift in order to land a job.

Why do people resort to lusot? One reason is reflected in the saying, "Kapag

may gusot, may lusot." It may roughly be translated: If there is a problem, there is a solution. Since man has goals and ambitions, problems or obstacles to those goals need solutions, including lusot. Goals not rarely have to be achieved, "kahit na anong mangyari" (no matter what it takes). Thus money, power, influence, personal skills (such as the skill of giving alibis) may be used to attain the goal.

Let us take a concrete example The domestic helper tells her employer,

"Ma'am, I was able to break a plate." The domestic helper was thinking in Tagalog, "Ma'am, ako po'y nakabasag ng pinggan," meaning she accidentally broke the plate. It is different when she says `binasag ko ang pinggan' where the action of breaking is intentional. Given the gray area of human acts, the linguisticevidence of the Philippine languages justifies saying `nakapatay' instead of `pinatay' and similar instances. This

gray area is where lusot takes place.

For example, a jeepney driver who is caught for

violating traffic regulations bribes (a form of lusot) the policeman to let him go. The jeepney driver thinks that the bother of going to the police precinct will make him lose business opportunities.

When a supervisor

reprimands an employee, the employee would find it hard to separate his work from his own person being castigated. When a Filipino say,

Masama ang loob it pertains to the pain of ones whole being.

Therefore Lusot concept is both holistic and

interior.

Principle of harmonyPerson (subject) Act (Object)