Polytechnic University of the Philippines

Office of the Vice President for Research, Extension, Planning & Development

Institute of Cultural Studies

PUP

Theory Building

Workshop

April 20-June 29, 2013

Voluntary Urbanism: The Agency of the City Michaël Dos Santos Oliveira - Architect

Does an imperative for action exist today in urbanism?

The emerging paradigm called "agency" refers to a simple matter of voluntary

will. Nonetheless, the actors and subjects of such actions are complex, so that

understanding them demands that we consider a variety of concepts.

In Western culture, philosophers considered agency (defined by the field of

action) as by circumscribing human free will. In ancient Greece and the Middle

Ages, thinkers such as Aristotle and Aquinas made important contributions to

philosophy centered on voluntary action. Conceptualizing modernity, writers

like Giddens and Habermas focused on human action as rational order.

Postmodern authors such as Deleuze and Badiou introduced concepts like cause,

event, and desire. In today´s altermodernity i, contemporary writers like Žižek,

Hardt and Negri emphasize the uncertain human drive based in the power to act

- being, loving, trusting, transforming, creating.

If modernity and postmodernity claimed freedom of thought and expression,

respectively, the current altermodernity claims freedom of action.

Thus, in contemporary theory, agency (the voluntary act) finally emerges as an

historical actor. Agree that the design of an assemblage is generally complex.

Since then the term expresses agency's ability to act in an entity or person in the

world, which means "the temporal-relational context of action"ii. But the action

tout court is by nature an operative and interventional role: ‚to be able to ‘act

other-wise’ means being able to intervene in the world.‛iii

Accepting that the agency of the common dominates the present establishes a

theological position from which to look forward to the future, what Derrida

called l'avenir, which is "to come‛. This is based in the assertion that Difference

as an object of postmodern desire is what impels us today to dig into Matters of

concerning grounded in the Commons as a terrain for partage.v A key question is

to define the ways in which the commons, the public and the private are

articulated and can coexist. In the multicultural world that we live in, it is more

interesting to see what brings us together than what divides us.

The recent years of financial crisis have raised important questions about the

neoliberal ideological systemvi,‚in a world where collective efforts are countered

or even replaced by individualism, where politics are uncertain and the swings

of unpredicable economies discourage communal investments.‛vii

Ideological dogmatists, claiming to be in the vanguard, are obsessed with urban

malaise. They characterize the contemporary world and its territory as a

situation where injustices and inequalitie have created a urbanism of victims,

‚where the metropolis is presented as a machine that empties the city of reality, a

sociological field where the horizon is disappearing and where each moment of

stabilization is hypocritical and fleeting; the city as empty spaces, panic,

insecurity, screams and rage, infrastructural parasitism, and so on.‛viii

But we can also see the informal city’s extreme urbanism, with its slums and

favelas, as a demonstration of multiple struggles to achieve equity, ‚the principal

task of the XXIth century is to politize – organize and discipline – the ‚destructed

masses.‛ix Certainly, inequality and poverty are profound. Globally, the top 20%

holds more than 70% of total world wealthx. Inequality threatens economic

stability and democratic rights in the city. This requires a new perspective on

geo-politics: ‚a poverty that history returns to us as wealth rather than origin, as

desire-to-come rather than misery. This is the new use value: the common.‛xi

Because the city belongs to everyone, the urb has a universal value, it is the place

where shared common interests will emerge, ‚The character of multiplicity of

actions is the essential charm of the city‚xii If cities are to be resilient, equitable

and inclusive, their residents must create it through their common wills. These

new forms of education and practice can help us to imagine different forms of

Voluntary Urbanism.

We live in an era in which the social order of nation-states, class and traditional

family is in declinexiii. Jean Luc de Nancy called this la crise de la communauté.

Today's "exceptions", are poverty, homelessness, permanent unemployment or

the ‚death drive‛ as common tragedy. These circumstance demands communal

living and governance. To create such voluntary political arrangements, it will be

necessary to move from perverted egotism to rational egoism, from Proletariat-

Liberalism to Voluntariat, an ethics of virtue which operates through communal

and mutual interactions such as generosity and reciprocity,xiv as gift economies,

supported by contributions rather

than taxes or fees. As Zizek says: ‚Instead of taxing the rich excessively, one

should give them the (legal) right to decide voluntarily what part of their wealth

they will donate to the common welfare.‛xv Even more important, the donation

to the welfare state should be an act rather than a material contribution. Such acts

will encourage fuller democracy since everyone will have to do it individually.

The agency of Voluntary Urbanism is based on acting in common while

remaining in the self, a singularity within the Multitude, with a man or woman

seeing themselves both as a human being and as part of a community. Human

Agency is the antidote for passivity. It transforms humanity into a multitude

capable of democracy, through ‚participating actively in government deciding

on all the matters that concern them‛xvi. The agency of the self becomes a

common Habitus (Bourdieu) of the ungovernable ‚active minorities‛(Virno). The

process of voluntary participation in government constitutes political agency as a

new mode of collective activity: the basis for a self-ruled multitude (learn to live

and rule without masters). The moment of truth for the urbanist, is finally a ‚self-

constitutive collective action.‛xvii The power of voluntarism resides in the self-

agency of the multitude. The intellectual and political courage to imagine

egalitarian democracies, new political ‚trajectories of living life in common will

lead to the production of the greatest collective oueuvre, the city.‛xviii The main

task in creating this new city is not ideological but practical.

Today more than ever, it is important to build alternative worlds. Surprisingly,

we can find alternatives already existing inside of current society rather than in

some imagined ‚outside‛. One good example of Voluntary Urbanism is the

volunteer fireman´s community, a locally based group that provides social and

emergency services.

As a case for communal urbanism, a fireman’s life demonstrates a permanent

and stable alternative community, with a balance between work and health. It is

a alternative mode of life that has existed for centuries, rather than a

counterculture invention such as a commune or a faits divers. In addition to

housing firefighting services, the fire station provides several (temporary)

commmon spaces [Fig. 1;2;3] such as the dining room, dorms, floor watch, toilets,

etc. Living life in common means accepting duties and responsibilities, acting

respectfully to others, and, most important, trusting your fellow firemen. This

alternative set of social practices belongs to volunteers, who engage in civic

intervention with both individual and collective consciousness. Their

participation produces a ‚new civic and urban idea of solidarity.‛xix

Being a fireman is a voluntary community service. Their services bring calm to

the chaos of urban life. Their passion to help others has creates a range of urban

involvement from fighting fires to social services to emergency medicine, all of

which provide, enable and sustain their capacity to successfully help and build a

strongest city. The fireman, as a civic agent operates in the commonality of urban

life and within fields of danger. The main purpose of the job is to save lives,

reduce risk, provide humanitarian services and protect the environment in the

most competent and effective manner possible. Firemen are called upon to tackle

a wide range of emergency situationrems where problem solving skills and

initiative will be vital to resolve incidents quickly and calmly. Since they act in

emergency situations, as volunteers, they accept risk without reward, ‚The Act

occurs in an emergency when one has to take the risk and act without any

legitimization‛xx The potential of such uncertain acts challenges the pre-

established standards of urban practice and engagement, both through their

accepted ways of acting and the act itself: ‚A sense of agency is also to accept a

new sense of what it may mean to be an architect, one which the lack of a

pedititated future, is seen as an opportunity and not a threat‛xxi

Could various types of urbanism become an unsolicited act, like that of the

firemen? Voluntary Urbanism is the development of such deliberate efforts,

under material conditions which encourage free voluntary action to overcome

unwillingness or passivity. In this sense, the urbanist today has to become a true

"action man or woman." This urban action approach attempts to go beyond

concepts of political consensus and resistance to encourage agencied practices.

Voluntary Urbanism supports a new moment of experimentation based on our

ability to create spaces and relationships, then transport them into action as part

of a collective will for a common purpose. In short, the meaning of agency in the

city is voluntary participation to both defend lost causes and enunciate new

possibilities for urbanism.

The Voluntary Urbanist in the city (ignoring the structural constraints of

privitazation), should act with public objectives, communicating with

institutions in order to contaminate them with positive thoughts, actions and

collaborations. Their acts should aim for economic and political visibility, in

order to communicate research and actions since there are, "Problems for which

there exists no program, no plan, no ‘cellective agency"xxii. These problems call

for new groups as yet undefined and which, in the end, might be happily

unexpected. Building a real alternative civic project will depend on the capacity

of the society and the nature of the city but most of all on the ability of volunteers

to intervene, mediate and sustain new relationships, to build the foundations of a

shared democratic urbanity.

Michaël Oliveira in graduate from FAUP, Faculty of Architecture University of

Porto, visiting Student researcher at UC Berkeley College of Environmental

Design, currently volunteer architect at the Columbia University GSAPP´s Global

Studio-X Rio exploring the future of cities.

Fig.1 – The Kitchen. Los Angeles Fire Department Historial Archive, Engine

Company No.28, Cecil Lynch Collection, Circa 1950.

Fig.2 – The Common Room. Los Angeles Fire Department Historial Archive,

Engine Company No.28, Cecil Lynch

Collection, Circa 1950.

Fig. 3 - The Rec-Room. Los Angeles Fire Department Historial Archive, Engine

Company No.28, Cecil Lynch Collection, Circa 1950.

____________________

i - Modernity: the triad ‚identity-property-sovereignty‛, and Altermodernity:

‚singularity-the common-revolution.‛ Hardt and Negri refer to the possibility of

a

multitude of alternatives to the classical idea of modernity, in which capitalism

will function without domination. See Hard, M., Negri, A., Commonwealth, The

Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, London,

England, 2009.

ii. Emirbayer, M., Mische, A., What is agency?, in American Journal of Sociology,

103(4), p.970.

iii. Ibid. p. 10.

iv. See Latour, B., Why Has critique Run out of Steam?: From Matters of Fact

to Matters of Concern, in Critical Inquiry, Vol. 30, No.2, Winter 2004,

p.225.

v. Rancière, J., Communists Without Communism, in Costas Douzinas and

Slavoj Žižek,

eds., The Idea of Communism, London: Verso Books, 2010, p.167-177.

vi. ‚Neoliberalism is a form of political economic organizing that operates under

the

assumption that human development is best achived when individual

entrepreneurial

freedom are liberated whithin the institutional frameworks of property rights,

free markets, and trade‛ in. Harvey, D., A brief History of Neoliberalism, Oxford:

Oxford University Press, 2005.

vii. Maas, W., Towards an Urbanistic Architecture, in The State of Architecture at

the

beginning of the 21st Century, ed. By Bernard Tschumi and irene Cheng, The

Monacelli

Press, Columbia Books of Architecture, New York, 2003. p.14. viii. Negri, A., On

Rem Koolhaas, in

http://www.haraldpeterstrom.com/content/5.pdfs/Antonio%20Negri%20%20On

%20Rem%20Koolhaa s.pdf

ix Žižek, S., Censorship Today, in Volume No.18, AfterZero, Archis 2008, #4,

p.46.

x. People Building Better Cities, Traveling exhibition, 6 countries, 12 cities, India,

Thailand, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, USA. A Global Studio project in

collaboration with The Center for Sustainable Urban Development in the Earth

Institute at Columbia University, and partners in exhibition cities.

xi. Negri, A., Some thoughts on the concept and practice, in the Idea of

Communism,

Edited by Costa Douzias and Slavoj Žižek, Verso, p.165.

xii. Mendes da Rocha, P., La cuidad es de todos, Colección la cimbra, núm. 9,

trad.

Emilia Pérez Mata, ed. Fundación Caja de Arquitectos, Barcelona, 2011, p.16.

xiii. The "alternative" is recognized for its inherent sense of urgency for civil

society: ‚according to Hegel, the inherent structural dynamic of civil society

necessarily gives rise to a class which is excluded from its benefits (work,

personal dignity, etc.) - a class deprived of elementary human rights, and

therefore also exempt from duties towards society, an element within civil

society which negates its universal principle...‛ in Žižek, S., The Plague of

Fantasies, Verso, London, 1997. xiv. For the concept of ethics ‚gift-giving‛ see

Peter Sloterdijk, Repenser l´impot, Paris: Libell, 2012. See also ‚reciprocity‛ in

Marcel Mauss, Reciprocity, The Gift, trad. Ian Cunnison, Glencoe, IL: The Free

Press, p. 1-2, 3, 10-12, 69-77.

xv Zizek, S., Beyond Envy and Resentment, in The Year of Dreaming

Dangerously, Verso,

London, 2012, p.114.

xvi. Hard, M., Thomas Jefferson, or, the transition of democracy, in Michael

Hardt

presentes Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence, aditional material

by

Garnet Kindervater, Verso, New York, 2007, p. xvi.

xvii. Étienne de La Boétie, The Politics of Obedience: The Discouse of Voluntary

Servitude, trans. Harry J. Kurz, New York: Free Life Editions, 1975, p. 52-53 cit in

Hard and Negri, Empire, op.cit. ‚What we need is to create a new social body,

which is a project that goes well beyond refusal. Our lines of flight, our exodus

must be constituent and create a real alternative. Beyond the simple refusal, or as

part of that refusal, we need also to construct a new mode of life and above all a

new community. This project leads not toward the naked life of homo tantum

but toward homohomo, humanity squared, enriched by the collective

intelligence and love of the community.‛

xviii. Swyngedouw, E., Civic City Cahier 5: Designing the Post-Political City and

the

Insurgent Polis, Bedford Press, AA Publications, May, London, 2011, p.55.

xix. Montaner, J. M., Muxí, Z., Arquitectura Y Politica – Ensayos para mundos

alternativos, Gustavo Gil, Barcelona, 2011. p.137.

xx. Žižek,S., Welcome to the Desert of the Real!, Verso, New York, 2002, p.153.

xxi. Schneider, T., Till, J., Beyond Discourse: Notes on Spatial Agency, in Agency

in

Architecture: Reframing Criticality in Theory and Practice, Footprint, 2009, p. 98.

xxii . Livesky, G., Agency, Assemblages and Ecologies of the Contemporary City,

2010, in

Kossack, F., et al, op.cit., p.2.

Image Sources:

Fig. 1 - http://www.lafire.com/stations/FS028/photos-

CecilLynchCollection/CecilLynchCollection.htm

Fig. 2 - http://www.lafire.com/stations/FS028/photos-

CecilLynchCollection/CecilLynchCollection.htm

Fig. 3 - http://www.lafire.com/stations/FS028/photos-

CecilLynchCollection/CecilLynchCollection.htm

ANG MANILA TIMES VILLAGE SA LOOB NG TATLUMPU’T-LIMANG

TAON, 1972-2007

ABSTRAK

Maglalahad ang bahaging ito ng buod, konklusyon at rekomendasyon ng

pinag-aralang kasaysayan ng Manila Times Village sa loob ng tatlumpu’t limang

taon.

Matatagpuan ang Manila Times Village sa gitnang bahagi ng lungsod ng

Las Piñas na bahagi ng kalakhang Maynila. Katabi naman ito ng ospital ng

Perpetual Help Medical Center na nasa gawing timog silangan nito. Ang

Perpetual Help University System-DALTA naman ang nasa bahaging hilaga

nito. Ang munisipyo ng lungsod ng Las Piñas ay nasa gawing kanluran ng

subdibisyon. Malapit dito ang mahahalagang institusyon na karaniwan ay

nilalakad lamang.

Ang Manila Times Village ay itinayo ng huling mga taon ng dekada

sisenta. Ang debeloper nito ay inialok kay Joaquin ‚Chino‛ Roces, may-ari ng

Manila Times para tirahan ng mga nempleyado ng pahayagan. Ang may-ari ng

pahayagan na ito ng mga panahong iyun ay si G. Joaquin ‚Chino‛ Roces. Sa

tulong nga ni G. Roces ay nakakuha ang ilan sa mga nagtatrabaho sa Manila

Times ng bahay sa subdibisyong ito. Isaisang naglipatan ang mga nakabili ng

taong 1970.

Halos hindi pa buo ang mga bahay nang lumipat ang karamihan sa

kanila. Unti-unti nilang pinagawa ang pagpapatapos sa bahay habang

nagbabayad sila sa Social Security System ng buwanang bayad na halos

isandaang piso kada buwan. Maliban duon ay iniaawas ng paunti-unti sa

kanilang buwanang kita ang tatlong libong piso na kanilang hiniram kay G.

Roces upang ipambayad ng ‚equity‛ sa SSS para maka-utang sila ng bahay at

lupa. Hindi naging problema ang pagbabayad ng mga unang taon sapagkat

maayos ang kanilang kita, masaya sila sa kanilang kumpanya.

Hanggang dumating ang araw ng Septyembre 22, 1972. Isang araw

matapos madeklara ang martial law ay isinara ang pahayagang Manila Times.

Naging dahilan ang makasaysayang pangyayaring ito upang mabago ang takbo

ng mga buhay ng mga tagarito. Lumipas ang halos mahigit labing-apat na taon

bago pa ito muling nabuksan. Ang mga empleyado ng pahayagan na nakatira sa

Manila Times Village ay nakakuha ng ‚separation pay‛. Subalit ang halagang

kanilang natanggap ay hindi sapat para sa karamihan na makakuha ng

panibagong pagkakakitaan upang ipagpatuloy ang pagbabayad sa bahay at lupa

na kanilang nautang sa SSS. Karamihan sa mga taga-rito ay ibinenta ang

kanilang mga bahay at lupa. Sa kasalukuyan ay humigit-kumulang sa limampu

na lamang ang mga orihinal na residenteng nakatira sa kasalukuyan. Ang

mahigit kalahating porsyento ng mga ito ang nakapanayam ng mananaliksik

upang makalap ang mga datos na ginamit sa pag-aaral.

Sa aspeto ng heograpiya, masasabing ang pisikal na anyo ng barrio ay

nabago sa loob ng tatlumpu’t limang taon 1972-2007. Ang mga panahon ng

dekada 70 ay mailalarawan ang berdeng kapaligiran sa barrio. Mga kadamuhan

ang mga lupang nakapaligid dito, mabango ang simoy ng hangin, hanggang

unti-unting nagbago sa pagsusulputan ng iba’t-ibang barrio gaya ng BFRV at

Manuela. Higit na nakabago sa anyo nito ay ang pagtatayo ng paaralan na

sinundan ng ospital ng Perpetual Help, taong 1974

Ang pangkabuhayan ng mga taga-rito ay nabago matapos na ipasara ang

pahayagan ng Manila Times noong 1972. Sa loob ng mga unang taon matapos

maisara ang pahayagan ng Manila Times, ang mga residente na nagdesisyon na

huwag ibenta ang kanilang lupa at bahay ay nagsikap na pagdugtungin ang

araw at gabi sa iba’t-ibang marangal na paraan. Ang medyo bata pa ay nakalipat

ng ibang mapapasukan. Ang iba ay naging mandaragat ng barko na bumabyahe

sa ibang bansa. May ilan sa mga maybahay ang naging tanging kumikita at

nagtaguyod sa pinansyal na pangangailangan ng pamilya sapagkat ang ilan ay

may trabaho gaya ng pagiging guro sa pampublikong paaralan. Ang ibang

maybahay ay nagtinda ng pagkain o meryenda, nag-gupit ng buhok o di kaya’y

nagtahi ng damit. Ang ilan nama’y tinulungan ng mga kamag-anak na mga

nagtatrabaho sa ibang bansa o di kaya’y may anak na nakatapos na ng pag-aaral

at tinaguyod ang pamilya. May ilan na napakinabangan ang separation pay at

nakasimula ng negosyo gaya ng taxi at maliit na tindahan.

Sa pagkakatayo ng paaralan at ospital ng Perpetual nagkaroon ng

pagkakataon ang mga taga-rito na madagdagan ang kanilang kita. Una ay

naging suki ng ilan ang mga trabahador nuong itinatayo pa lamang ang mga

gusali sa perpetual, sumunod ay ang ilan sa mga empleyado at estudyante rito,

ay naging ‚bedspacer‛ ng mga tagarito. Sa kasalukuyan marami pa rin ang

kumukita sa pamamagitan ng pagpapaupa ng mga kwarto. Nadagdagan pa

ang pagpapaupa sa mga pwesto na ginagamit sa komersyal na dahilan.

Ang halos humigit kumulang na sumunod na sampung taon ay binalot ng

kahirapan ang orihinal na residente na taga-rito. Ang mga panahon ng dekada

otsenta ay unti-unti na silang nakaka-ahon sa kahirapan dahil ang ilan sa kanila

ay nakapagpatapos na ng pag-aaral ng mga anak. Ang lumipas na sampung

dekada simula sa kasalukuyan ay halos panahon ng pag-aani. Subalit ang iba ay

hirap pa rin dahil sa mga karamdaman dala ng katandaan. Ang konsolasyon

nila ay wala na silang iniintinding buwanang bayaran sa SSS kundi ay ang

taunang buwis na lamang.

Sa ekolohikal na aspekto, naharap ng mga taga-rito ang problema sa

umaapaw na tubig pag tag-ulan, problema sa basura, masikip na daan dahil sa

dami ng mga sasakyan na nakaparada sa kalye at kawalan ng ika nga’y

‚privacy‛. Ang asosasyon ng homeowner’s ay sinisikap na tugunan ang mga

problemang nabanggit.

Sa aspekto ng populasyon, nagsimula sa 150 ang residente hanggang sa

ito ay halos nasa 50 na lamang ngayon. Karamihan na sa mga nakatira dito ay

mga nasa pangalawang henerasyon ng residente o yaong mga nakabili ng lupa

at bahay mula sa orihinal na taga-rito. Malaki ang porsyento ng mga estudyante

na nakatira na ngayon dito.

Sa aspekto ng seguridad masasabing ang lugar ng Manila Times Village

ay tahimik sa pangkalahatang paglalarawan. Maliban na lamang sa mga ilang

panaka-nakang problema ukol sa ingay ng mga estudyante, nakawan at awayan

ng grupo ng kabataan sa paglipas ng tatlumpu’t limang taon.

Sa pamanang kultural ay tinalakay ang mga nakaugalian ng mga taga-rito

sa okasyon ng kasal, binyag at libing. Sa lahat ng okasyon na nabanggit,

nangingibabaw ang pagtutulungan ng mga magkakaibigan at

magkakapitbahayan. Ang pagdadamayan sa panahon lalo na ng kamatayan ay

laging nakikita sa mga taga-rito.

Ang mga taga-rito ay kuntento sa uri ng pamamalakad ng lokal na

pamahalaan. Maayos din silang nakikiayon sa mga bagay na inaasahan din ang

kanilang kooperasyon.

Ang karamihan sa mga taga Manila Times ay may relihiyong katoliko.

May mangilan-ngilan na hindi hindi katoliko pero bahagi pa rin sila ng ibang

sekta ng simbahang kristyano. Ang mga katoliko ay hindi gaanong regular sa

pagsimba tuwing linggo. Kaunti lamang ang aktibo sa mga gawaing simbahan

gaya ng pagsali sa Basic Ecclesial Community, Annual retreat, at iba pa.

Ang buhay para sa ilang mga taga-rito ay tinuturing nila na pagkakataon

ng lahat na imulat ang mga bata para maging mabuting tao. Sa pananaw ukol sa

kamatayan, ayon sa ilan ito ay isang bagay na siguradong darating sa

kaninuman. Sa pananaw ukol sa edukasyon, tinuturing ito ng karamihan na

pinakamainam na maiiwan sa mga anak, Ang edukasyon ay nagsisimula sa

tahanan. Ang trabaho ay dapat hinaharap natin ng may ibayong sipag, pagiging

propesyonal sa pakikitungo sa katrabaho at katapatan sa institusyong

pinaglilingkuran. Sa pananaw ukol sa pamahalaan, naibulalas ng ilan sa mga

nakapanayam ang kanilang pagkadismaya sa takbo ng maruming pulitika sa

bansa. Sa pananaw ukol sa pamilya, matuturing na pinakamagandang regalo

mula sa Diyos ang pamilya. Ayon sa isa sa mga nakapanayam, ang

pagpapamilya ay dapat wag haluan ng ibang pamilya. Karamihan ay

mababakas ang ugali ng pagpapahalaga sa relasyon nila sa Diyos at sa kapwa

tao. Ang kanilang hirap na pinagdaanan ay naging instrumento sa naging uri ng

pakikitungo sa kapwa ng nakararami dito.

Inirerekomenda ng mananaliksik ang sama-samang gawain ng mga

nakatira dito upang mapanatili ang kalinisan at kaayusan sa seguridad. Ang

mas madalas na pagkakaroon ng mga sibikong proyekto ay mapatupad para sa

mas mapalalim ang mga samahan lalo na sa mga kabataan ng kasalukuyang

henerasyon. Mas maging masigasig ang opisyal ng simbahan para mas

mahikayat ang mga taga-rito lalo na ang mga kabataan na maging aktibo sa

gawaing naglilinang sa kaluluwa at nagpapalalim sa relasyon sa Diyos. Naway

mas lalong mapalakas ang tinatawag na mutwal o ‚symbiotic‛ na relasyon sa

pamamagitan ng mga residente at ng mga namamahala sa Perpetual. Sana ay

lalong maging masigasig ang mga guro at opisyal sa unibersidad na

paalalahanan ang mga mag-aaral ng tamang pagkilos sa loob o labas man ng

unibersidad. Ang unibersidad ng Perpetual ay maaaring makipagtulungan sa

ilang residente na nagpapaupa ng mga kwarto upang mahikayat ang mga

nagtapos dito na maging aktibo sa mga proyekto ng alumni.

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Social, Political and Cultural Life of Manila in the 19th Century.

Masteral Theses and Dissertations

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Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Ateneo de Manila University

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Pampulitika 1979-1994. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, De La Salle University.

FERRER, Jerrick C. (2001) City Growth and Development of Las Piñas. Unpublished

Master’s Thesis, University of Asia and the Pacific.

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Unpublished Master’s Thesis, De La Salle University.

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Thesis, University of the Philippines, Quezon City.

SUMULONG, Sassy (http://www.geocities.com/rocesphils/manilatimes.htm

COMMODIFICATION, TECHNOLOGY, and the MACHINISTIC FUTURE

Today, according to Rodney Brooks, the director of the Artificial

Intelligence Laboratory at MIT since 2003, a new age is about to begin and such

changes will have a major impact on our lives.1 But what are those ‘Changes’?

What are the factors that will make such changes possible? What or who makes

such changes possible? In this paper I posited three topics that, I think, are

interrelated with each other: (1) Commodification, (2) Technology, and the

(3)Machinistic Future. These concepts are essential to this paper and they operate

1RodneyBrooks,‚Us and Them‛, in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Nanotechnology. See

also, RodneyBrooks, Flesh and Machines: How Robots Will Change Us, (New York: pantheon Books,

2002). pp. 197-212. Moreover, in this paper, though Rodney Brooks is speaking here in a different

context, emphasizing such a drastic change will serve as an introduction for the framework of

this paper.

as the backbone of this study. We will attempt to break down these thick

concepts as we go on and be surprise to what we will discover soon, but for the

time being, let’s make an initial guess as to what this paper will lead us.

I. INTRODUCTION

History is always a History of Ideologies. These are the words that still

echoes in my mind from the first time I heard it, which fortunately, coming from

a respectable professor knowledgeable in Marxism. Following such logic, History

becomes a symbol, a word that represents a phenomenon which constitutes

ideology. Whether a struggle between ideologies is performative in this

phenomenon or not, that we don’t know, but one thing is for certain, an ideology

prevail thus a society manifested. Accordingly, ideologies were propelled by

‘interest’ in the Marxian language while it is ‘intention’ in the field of

phenomenology. Hence, the one million dollar question is: whose ideology;

whose interest; whose intention? We are out of context if we says that it is the

interest of the otherwise than being which is a non-human. Although, we can

open the possibility to grant that assumption, however, in my rather obvious

presupposition, we will otherwise sit for a ‘temporal agreement’2 that it is the

interest, the ideology of the ‘privilege few.‛3 Currently, at this present but now

instantaneously becomes past time, I may ask, if history is dominated by the

privilege few, granting that they operate with such magical act, what happened

to the ‘unprivileged many’4? Are we, the unprivileged many, threatened with the

process they are using to progress their interest? What devises or tool they are

2 The concept of ‘Temporal agreement’ here denotes the Gadamerian Hermeneutical

character of saying that this agreement is not fix, not rigid, not absolute. Thus, opening the

possibility for ‘becoming’, the possibility to be change. For a more broad understanding about

this concept of temporal agreement read, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method, (London:

Sheed& Ward Ltd, 1979).

3 I just coin the notion of the ‚privilege few‛ here in order to present a rather quasi-

offensive endearment to those what Marx says the ‚haves‛ in contrast to those who ‚have not‛. It

can also animate the idea of a Capitalist, the Bourgeois. However, if the term ‘privilege few’

appeared on some leading philosophers before, my apologies for not citing this concept to them.

4The contra-position of the privilege few, the ‘have not’s’, or the Proletariats in Marx, the

working class.

utilizing to advance this ‘privilege interest’? What kind of future is waiting for

us, humanity at large?

II. THE DRIVING FORCE OF COMMODIFICATION

Before we speculate within the deeper level of this concept of

commodification, let’s make the ground of discussion by defining what this

commodification function in this paper. Commodification is an activity of man,

allocating value to objects—-the objectification of things—-in and for a certain

purpose: one of this is commercialization. Commodification is not limited to

objects, things, like food, metallic utensils, etc. Even human beings, technology,

or at some extent, a passport to heaven can be commoditized. Two things are to

be noted in the process of commodification: 1) there must be an existing ‘goods’

or ‘service’ that is being valued or have putted some value, 2) that goods or

services were being commercialized. It can manifest in any form but the central

of this system of commodification is the control of the human. Commodification

cannot be without the control of the human subject. While on the technological

level where Artificial Intelligence is possible, still, commodification cannot

flourish without the contrivance of human intelligence.

Thus, the human subject controls the process. The subject is celebrating

an anthropocentric character in the field of commodity. Therefore, in reading the

intention, the interest that maneuvers the whole process of commodification, we

must look directly to the subject—to man per se. What is it that shapes man to

enter in the process of commodity, to buy the idea of trading? My thesis in this

question is that human beings are longing for something. What is this

something? What triggers us to crave for something? Saint Augustine has long

been rallying his points in this query. For him, man is a finite being created with

infinite wants and needs, thus his concept of God to necessarily exist.5 That God

for Augustine is the only one who can satisfy man, since He is the infinite giver

of these infinite wants and needs. Though, Saint Augustine’s projection of the

finiteness of man sounds theological, it enables us to grab some hint on the

5 For broader discussion see Eleonore Stump and Norman Kretzmann, The Cambridge

Companion to Augustine, (Cambridge Companions Online © Cambridge University Press, 2006).

nature of man, rendering visible the kernel elements of the human interest, even

the interest of the privilege few.

A. DESIRE AS THE PROPELLER OF COMMODIFICATION

Through Augustinian access of the human nature, we will draw out what

he meant by ‘longing’ to a more theoretically concrete representation of it—

desire. In guising the concept of ‘desire’ here, I postulated it as something active,

something that always pointing for something. I think the concept of

phenomenological ‘consciousness’—Franz Brentano’s intention6---can help us

understand the concept of desire that is controversial in this paper. Accordingly,

‘desire’ is always a desire of something, auto-implicating a sense of ‘content’.

Needless to say, desire is not just a transparent-passive concept that doesn’t

point to something but on the contrary, when one is speaking of ‘desire’ it is

integrated in it a theme, or content, speaking of something other than the plain

act of desiring. Now, we can openly ask, what are the content(s) of this desire, of

our desire, of the desire of the privilege few?

i. Desire for Survival

The first content of desire that I’ve postulated is the desire for survival. I

think no one will disagree to this assumption unless he/she is advocating some

sort of suicidal philosophy since even Albert Camus, an Existentialist-Absurdist

philosopher that sees ‘human that expect’ and a ‘world that disappoints human

expectation’ still advocates living in a most possible fulfilling way.7 Moreover,

6Edmund Husserl (1859–1938) in his Logical Investigations (1900).according to Husserl,

consciousness is always consciousness of something, then thinking is always thinking of

something. See also Karl Simms, Paul Ricouer, (Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London and

New York) p. 35. This logical framework is what I follow in this concept of ‘desire’, that desire is

always a desire of something.The idea is first initiated by Franz Brentano in his concept of

‘intentionality’, see http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/brentano/

7http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/camus/

when we observe nature and species in it, the manifestation of this desire for

survival is everywhere. Creatures have this innate survival instinct that they

used when caught in a crucial situation. Squid excretes black inks for defense

mechanism, skunk discharges bad odor, dog bites, and even human beings use

force in order to be safe. Thus, this is undeniably evident. But one thing is still

important in the concept of the desire for survival. It is what I called here, the

struggle for maintaining and gaining the basic structure of life. Initially, it is not

complex at all for it only pertains to what species do, especially us, humans to

acquire our life support, such as our basic needs, security, health and the like.

Hence, this point opens wide technical or practical answers of sustaining human

life, but again the central idea of all this is that we desire to survive and it is

fundamental to all of us, thus, even to the privilege few.

ii. Luxurious Desire

Another kind of desire is a rather non-organic desire, the desire for

luxury, enjoyment, comfort, and the like that is not basic to human survival.

However, I will not argue that it is artificial to man to have this desire, this

luxurious desire, since even in the ancient times, man already dreamed of having

huge and elegant houses, or something that will comfort and satisfy their

cravings for ideally great things. This is why I manage to drag the Augustinian

concept of ‘finite and infinite’ and his notion of infinite wants and needs.

Humans were created in this condition, and for Augustine it is for theological

purposes, a sense of satisfaction in the true beatitude—God. But to avoid

confusion and some sort of theological conceptions, we will bound this luxurious

desire as the ground why ‘excessiveness, ‘surplus’, inequity, accumulation of

wealth, tyranny, monopoly, manipulation, and so as what we call the privilege

few come into the picture. The vision to maintain the basic human needs in

reference to the future creates ‚greed‛, competition, oppression, exploitation,

and other forms of it. They are afraid of the future that they will be deprived of

such human needs, and so they wanted to have more of those.

This kind of desire injects man the stimulus to, willfully or unconsciously,

enter in the system of commodification. The privilege to say and be recognized

that ‚I have‛, ‚I own this‛, ‚I am the master‛, is what this luxurious desire tends

to do. Although, we can see another version of the luxurious desire as a

programed being conditioned to others, atleast, the originator of this desire is

authentic in having such impressions. The lure of the idea that one can put value

to objects around us and even to human itself and use it to become a means for

trading, celebrates at the heart of those who feared to become a ‘have not‛.

iii. The manifestation of Desire as ‘Ideology’

Concretely, desire is put into action when it becomes the ideology of

someone, or a group maybe. The privilege few may not have a specific and

identical desire but their desire has one common denominator, that is, the

luxurious desire which is manifested in the ideology they advocate. The

luxurious desire now becomes their way of living. SlavojZizek describes

ideology as ‚you do not know it but you are still doing it‛.8 It is a symptom one

is not aware of why he continues doing it but enjoys to do it. Therefore, the

privilege few, the ‚haves‛, the capitalist desire, the luxurious desire they were

addicted to and becomes their ideology is a form of madness.9

Warranting that they didn’t know it cannot excuse the fact that they desire

for an excess, they desire for the fulfillment of themselves. I think, in them, the

ubermench, the superman of Nietzsche will and can possibly emerge. At this

point, it seems inevitable to think and be excited as to what this ideology is all

about. I myself wanted to know more about this ideology, and in this paper we

cannot but offer only an understanding of this ideology from the standpoint of

the outside, from another horizon (horizont) in the language of Gadamer. That is,

this ideology wishes to fulfill first/only the interest of the privilege few, and if

granted, the interest of the unprivileged many, later. And all that we can see is

8SlavojZizek, The Sublime Object of Ideology, (New York/London: Verso, 2009), 16. I wanted

to license here the idea that there is a great possibility that the subjects involve in an ideology are

not even aware and conscious of the ideology they are involved with.

9 I think Nietzsche must be the basis of this idea of madness that I am rejoicing in this

paper.

this kind of ideology creates hundred folds of oppression, exploitation, alienation

and the like.

On the other hand, this event or a phenomenon of luxurious desire within

the sphere of the privilege few is aggravated by the substantial tools they have

such as capital—wealth; technology—system; power—politics; etcetera. And

these tools are now the binding force, the backbone of the society. These tools are

the major factors which influences the development and degradation of the state

in different level, in the economic level for instance. Thus, whether or not this

privilege few are united in one grandeur vision, the fact that they function as the

life-support network of the state seems to already denote their dominion, and

power, and so alienation and oppression.

This is what we call the capitalist ideology, the ideology of the privilege

few. The ideology that is centralized in the commodification of goods, services,

and so as humans, and is peppered with tools, such as technology, for the

smooth sailing of their privilege interest.

III. THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY AND ITS COUNTER EFFECT

A. Technology Defined and Its Role As The Apparatus Of The

Privilege Few

There are ample of ways to define technology, and these definitions are

not weak, ineffective, and implausible at all. Some of the leading thinkers of our

time define technology as hardware10, rules11, system12, and even applied science.

10 See Lewis Mumford (1895-1990), in the article What is technology? Defining or

Characterizing Technology. Mumford claims that the earliest ‚machine‛ in human history was the

organization of large numbers of people for manual labor in moving earth for dams or irrigation

projects in the earliest civilizations, such as Egypt, an acient Sumer in Iraq, or ancient China, he

calls it the ‚megamachines‛ (Mumford 1966).

11 Look for Jacques Ellul’s concept of ‚technique‛, he treats technology as a rule rather

than a tool.

12 The economist John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2004) defined technology as ‚the

systematic application of scientific or other knowledge to practical task‛(Galbraite, 1967).

To make our definition of technology meet in this paper, I will attempt to offer

my definition of technology, in order to know my standpoint. Technology is a

mode that systematized human activities and ease human effort. Thus, this

definition includes systems that put-in-order human actions, for instance

government laws. It also includes the machines that contribute in the

development of industrialization. But how come that I reach the thesis that

technology is the apparatus of the privilege few? One will argue that technology

is for everyone, no one can put a name in it stating that ‘technology is mine’. But

the means of producing such technologies are owned and can be owned by

some. It is not as free as the term technology imbibes. In Marxism, this is

unequivocal, the forces and relations of production is now owned and

monopolized by the bourgeois, by the capitalist. Therefore, technology is owned

by the ‘few’—the strong and powerful few. They invest huge capital for the

advancement in technology that common people experience. Millions of money

was founded or backup even single research for a cure of disease. And these

‘few’ are not priest but businessmen, so they expected profit with their

investment.

Let’s imagine how much money Microsoft earned every year, that is

partially equivalent to the money third world countries losses every year.

Therefore, the logic is clear, in order to gain and control huge amount of power,

whether it is through political, economical, and security, or, just for comfort and

pleasure, the privilege few have to invest their money and make larger profit out

of it. And technological investments are one of the trending investments in the

sphere of the capitalist now a day. All of these arguments boiled out to one

conclusion: they use technology as a means to advance their interest, to make it

more concrete, and attainable. And technology is not the isolated being that were

used as a means of the privilege few, but also the unprivileged many, abusing

the very logic of their predication, the ‘have nots’, the ‘unprivileged’.

Moreover, it is define as ‚any systematized practical knowledge, based on experimentation

and/or scientific theory, which is embodied in productive skills, organization and machinery‛

(Gendron, 1977). Further, it is ‚ the application of scientific or other knowledge to practical task

by ordered systems that involve people and organizations, productive skills, living things, and

machines‛ (Pacey, 1983).

Because the unprivileged possess nothing, but life and force, such as labor

force and multiplicity, the privilege offer them a deceitful offer, bargaining what

was left for the unworthy things such as money, that first and foremost,

originally without value but a piece of metal. How do they do it? Again, they do

it, in and through the enticement and trickery via technological products, e.g.

technological artifacts and technological programs. It is a wide raging

conditioning that slowly happens but penetrates not only within the surface of

the physical but most importantly within the mental level, within the very being

of man itself. What a terrible alienation isn’t it?

B. Technological Attack And Its Quasi-Self-Independency

This technological advancements and development also influences the

culture and different aspects of society, therefore I will call it here the

technological phenomenon. Consequently, if it is a technological phenomenon,

whereas the above discussion made such questions clear, it will also imply that

the new phenomenon society is living is the phenomenon governed by the

privilege few. And in this phenomenon, alienation is tolerable; exploitation is

acceptable and backup by law. Through technological advancements, the

capitalist power spread like air particles. New systems and technology opens a

much easier way to hamper human freedom. One example of this is the cyber

law that is controversial in the Philippine virtual reality. It explicitly shows the

oppression of freedom, freedom of speech and freedom of information in

particular. Developments in machines reduces human labor, and man power,

and as a result, ‘unemployment’, ’surplus’ of goods, and under-wage. Here,

unemployment, surplus and underwage create new opportunity for the privilege

few to make abuses even more acceptable. It served as a pre-wired working

system that goes in favor of the capitalist. There are other forms of alienation and

oppression cause by technological advancements, such as the ‘invasion of

privacy’. The technology of surveillance system magnifies the treat on privacy.13

13 See J. Stanley and B. Steinhardt, Bigger Monster, Weaker Chains: The Growth of an

American Surveillance Society. (American Civil Liberties; Union Technology and Liberty Program.

Moreover, technological advancements in human genetics, robotics, and

nanotechnology even leads to the ‘alteration’ of the natural structures of man—

physical, psychological, social and so on.14 If one argue that privacy is a rather

fabricated concept because there is no such thing as private, and then let us hear

some of the thinkers arguing the contrary.

James Fitzjames Stephen (1873) says, ‚there is a sphere, nonetheless real

because it is impossible to define its limits, within which law and public opinion

are intruders likely to do more harm than good.‛ Here, the ‘intruders’ that

Stephen pertains, I will utilized in this paper, is the capitalist conditioning and

alienation which seems invisible but actually happening in the technological

level of enticement. If the unprivileged many will be deprived even of their right

to privacy, which I think is the greatest alienation and oppression of all times,

then life within this technological phenomenon it is not the life I dreamed of.

Privacy is worthy of safeguarding, these approaches argue, because intimacy is

important; privacy is worth protecting because we value the sanctity of a

personal realm.15

However, on top of all of this, a greater reality waits to be revealed. The

truth that technology slowly acquires a quasi-human character, an identity that

eludes human predication, is another controversial point here. Heidegger

already envisions a technology that, poetically speaking, lives on its own. It

became autonomous. In our rather naïve conception of technology, according to

Heidegger, technology is just a complex of objects and techniques, that seems

passive in itself; indeed, we conceive of it as activated only by us, but the essence

of technology reveals it as something far from neutral or merely an instrument of

human control; it is an autonomous organizing activity within which humans

January2005) . It is well exposed in it the danger brought by the technological advancement such

as surveillance security program in reference to our privacy.

14 Michael J. Sandel, ‚The Case Against Perfection‛ (The Atlantic Monthly, April 2004),

51-62. Further, try reading Bill Joy, Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us,(Wired Magazine: August 4,

2000).

15 Helen Nissenbaum, ‚Toward an Approach to privacy in Public: Challenges of

Information Technology‛in Ethics and Behavior, (Laurence Erlbaum Associates Inc. 1997), 207-219.

themselves are organized.16 Here the point is clear, technology becomes the

master of itself, and as far as the capitalist or the privilege few sees they are the

one controlling technology in order to manipulate the unprivileged many, on the

contrary, even them, they were controlled by the technology. How can such an

assumption even possible? As we see, the capitalist invest on technology for

technological advancements, thus converting mountains to plain fields for the

plantation of plants that will produce sources of energy. Then seeing the

progress of technology as simple as that, but the thing is, they now become the

‘workers’ that maintains the technology they created. They become the slave of

technology, in one reason, because for them, for the capitalist, technology is their

means to attain their luxurious vision, to attain the realization of their ideology.

Therefore, in the end, through the autonomous character of technology, the

unprivileged many are not the only one being exploited and oppress here, but

unconsciously, even the privileges few. They are now victims of technology as

well. But, considering the fact that technology is not human, and in the human

subject only interest resides, and ideology and intention is possible, we cannot

overthrow the idea that the privilege few is still in the privilege position which

gives them the power to oppress the weak, and claim to be the master.

IV. THE MACHINISTC FUTURE

In the course of our discussions, we establish that there is an existing and

prevailing ‘desire’, ‘Human interest’, ‘Ideology’ in the society which is actually

the interest of the privilege few. Now, let’s see the effects of these technological

conditioning guided by the Capitalist ideology on other elements of society such

as Religion, Education, and Culture. But first, it must be noted that through

technological forces penetrating the Social Systems, Laws, Politics, extending it to

the virtual reality where social networking sites are populated by the ideologies

of those who ‚have‛; and the technological researches in nanotechnology,

genetic engineering, robotics, etc., consume large part on the field of medicine,

Aesthetic standards, reproduction, recreational activities, and the like; what is

the response and effect of this in the elements of society?

16Tad Beckman, Martin Heidegger and Environmental Ethics, (Harvey Mudd College,

Claremont, CA 91711. 2000).

A. The Response of Religion

The before peaceful areas of religion is now breaking its silence as an

inevitable response to the changing environment it is situated. Some religious

sect manages to become more radical as to the point of welcoming the influences

of technology. They were allowing their members to alter the natural structure of

their bodies and the like. One good example of the changes and effect of

technology in religion is the dichotomy of stands they were advocating in

response to the issue of Reproductive Health Bill. Some of them are pro and

some are cons. This is really a great manifestation that the technological

advancements penetrate the sacredness of religion. In other words, the capitalist

ideology as it is tantamount to technological influence is slowly corrupting the

once been sacredness in the religious sphere, making them more mechanically

entice and will not hesitate to follow the deceitful offers of the capitalist.

B. Education As The Cradle Of Slave Mentality

And The Forerunner In The Production Of Future Machines

Education is one of the vital elements of the society. Wherein, the molders

of the uncountable generation of productive citizens are necessary. These are the

teachers, professors, directors, and president. But what if, these groups of noble

people were being conditioned by the capitalist ideology through technological

advancements, do you picture out what kind of citizens will live in the future?

Initially, because of the technological growth in different level, universities

cannot deny the external influences they encounter everyday when it comes to

formulating their curriculums and the goal of the university. Let’s try to break it

down in a more simple way. The capitalist having in possession of the

technological forces that dictates the economy for example, is logically the

dictator of the ‚demand‛ and ‚supply‛ regarding employment, jobs, wage,

industries, factories, and the like. Thus, by controlling the demands on the level

of employment and what specific job is demanded, the universities, on the other

hand, will response to the call. They will formulate curriculums that will best fit

to the demand of the capitalist. Of course, it is also for the benefits of their

students in order for them to have a job as soon as they graduated. But on top of

all of this, in the standpoint of the capitalist, the university is just a cradle of the

slave, the workers that they will soon utilized for the progress of their

businesses, for the advancements of their capitalistic interest. Thus, the

university only produces workers specialize on areas demanded by the privilege

few but not professionals professing the alienating phenomenon the students are

situated. Further, what is even more trembling here is the fact that universities

didn’t even know what they were actually doing. They didn’t know that the

knowledge they imparted to the students are the knowledge provided by the

capitalist and is in accordance to the promotion of the ideology of the privilege

few. The university is not aware that they were molding the great slave machines

in human history, it is in and through, the impregnation of the slave mentality to

their students. The slave mentality that working under the capitalist is good

because it is the only way to live, and that the capitalist benefits such as bonus,

incentives and the like are enjoyable.

Therefore universities becomes a tool, an institution, hand in hand with

technology, that served as a means for human exploitation, and

commodification, all for the advancement of capitalistic ideology and the interest

of the privilege few.

C. The Culture of the people without Identity

And what can we speak of the culture in this kind of setting—a setting

where the capitalist ideology is penetrating even inside the close plastic of

‘boybawang’? The culture as being the reference of the identity of the people will

easily be corrupted, which for the most part, what is happening right now. Why

did I say so? If we look at the Philippine context where people, specially the

youth, are easily been entice to other culture, we will see that the allegiance and

loyalty to their own culture is not an important factor anymore of living. But, in a

deeper sense, it reflects a rather greater truth: the people of today thus lost their

identity that is why they even try to copy or borrow the identity, culture, styles

and the like of other country. The most celebrated example of this is the

emergence of POP Culture, the popular culture which implies that alienation, an

oppression on the level of cultural struggle takes place, and there is an existing

oppressor and oppress. Thus, advancing and supporting our claim that people

becomes mechanistically animated by the dictate of a larger than being

influences, that is, the capitalist ideology, the interest of the Privilege few. People

of today are not interested at all in retrieving the lost culture, their lost identity,

because on the first place they were being conditioned that they didn’t actually

possess such identity, and culture.

D. The Picture of the Future

Out of these fragments of ideas that become visible to us, in relation to the

exposition of the privilege-few vision (capitalist ideology), and also as a

prophetic act of envisioning the future, let us assemble the pieces of ideas like

chips of the puzzle. And in the process, do you know what I see?

I foresee a future where people, things, and animals vanish—only

commodity exists.

I see a picture of a rather unimaginable present-future in the hands of the

privilege few. I see machines, but these machines are not made out of metals and

run by fuels. These machines are first class.They were called the ‘human

machines’—the cyborgs of the future. The future manufactures different types

such as doctors, teachers, lawyers, president, etc. Though these machines have

various titles and functions,one thing is common to them, they were all slave

machines programmed for the advancement of the interest of the few.

The authenticity, freedom, love, and all the abstract things that

fashionedhuman beings into its humanity reduces to a simple concept—value.

And all the activity of man, his potentialities that can be actualize, this future has

a term on that, labor force.

It is a world much more cruel and fearful than what Aldous Huxley

envisions in his book Brave New World:since in this world of future machines

the only thing that exists is the manifestation of the Capitalist interest.

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________. Flesh and Machines: How Robots Will Change Us, (New York: pantheon

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Gadamer, Hans-Georg.Truth and Method.London: Sheed& Ward Ltd, 1979.

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Joy, Bill. Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us. Wired Magazine: August 4, 2000.

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Information Technology‛ in Ethics and Behavior. Laurence Erlbaum

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THE IMAGES OF THE FIRST FAMILIES

AND THEIR POLITICAL DYNASTIES

IN THE PHILIPPINE PRINT MEDIA

ABSTRACT

The first families are very influential in the Philippines. They represent the

Filipino families in the country and around the world. Since the Philippines is a

country with people who are family-oriented, the first family is always seen as a

cultural and political icon. Because of their great power to build the nation, it is

significant to study their images in the media which serve as one of the most

influential social institution in the country. Since political dynasty is a perennial

issue in the Philippine government, it is being asked to every individual who

wants to run the politics and to those who are already in the position. Even the

first families are not exempted to be in hot seat to answer the said issue.

Political dynasty is being prohibited by the 1987 Constitution yet there are

still no law which will support that provision. Though the term political dynasty

is yet to define, the existence of politicians coming from the same descendants is

becoming a trend in the Philippine politics. It is also clear that most of the past

presidents including their first families rooted from either a close relative or a

political dynasty. Because of this, the first families and their obedience to the

Constitution is being subjected to inquiry.

Several news items were written about the first families and their political

dynasties in the leading newspapers. These news items together with the

perception of people from different sectors form the images of first families and

their political dynasties.

The study is a qualitative in nature with case study as a design. The

researcher will use content analysis and focus group discussion as methods in

drawing the image of the variables in the study. The study hopes to give a

descriptive analysis of the family and political culture as portrayed by the first

families in the Philippines.

INTRODUCTION

When a political icon became a president, it was not only his own life that

would change but also the lives of his family members. As he officially became

the leader of the executive branch of the government, his family would be

labelled as the first family gifted with instant celebrity status and public praise.

In the country with people who value family the most, the culture within family

became a part of a larger political culture.

The political ambition of the first family actually expands to a political

dynasty which is forbidden by the constitution. It is clearly prohibited in the 1987

Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines: Article 2– Declaration of

Principles and State Policies Section 26 the existence of political dynasties in the

country which rule out the equal access to public service. This provision in the

body of rules of the government needs full respect primarily by the highest

officials of the republic. The family culture of Filipinos within homes continues

to overrun in the public offices until they monopolize the power in the local and

national government. The living proofs of this infringement are the first families

whose members over the past years had dominated the local and national

elections. Why does this kind of abuse to the provision of constitution been a

practice? It is because there is still no approved law that will explain such

statement in the constitution. Law-makers could not agree with the definition of

political dynasty. The first families of the past would also point their fingers to

other political dynasties.

The Philippine mass media have dual roles in the uninterrupted

increasing number of political dynasties. While journalists question the political

dynasties, advertisements allow politicians to project themselves as role models.

Therefore, there is a balanced projection of image of the first families and their

dynasties. However, what is being projected more by media may not be equated

to what the public will think about them. The image of the first families and their

dynasties are significant symbols of the family and political culture in the

Philippines as they are seen as the representation of what Filipino family is

among other families in the world.

OBJECTIVES

This paper aims to know the images of the first families and their political

dynasties in the Philippine print media during their years of reign. Specifically, it

aims to achieve the following objectives:

1. To identify the first families of the Republic of the Philippines and their

political dynasties considering their backgrounds, geographical scope of

power, and positions held in the government;

2. To analyze the content of the leading newspapers considering the news,

editorials, and features which were related to the first families and their

political dynasties:

Topic / theme

Treatment to the issue (positive or negative)

Emphasis to the issue (space consumed in the media)

Exposure of the issue (frequency)

3. To know the perception of the people from different sectors toward the

first families and their political dynasties’ portrayal in print media; and

4. To draw the images of the first families and their political dynasties based

on the content and perception analysis.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

In drawing the image of the first families and their political dynasties,

political science and communication theories will be utilized.

Italian Scientist Vilfredo Pareto in his major work The Mind and Society sets

out to identify a minority of highly talented individuals at the top levels of

society who possess superior personal qualities and wield great social and

political power (Berberoglu, 2005, p. 29). This particular group of people are

called elites.

Pareto also divides the elite into two (political and social) segments: A

governing elite, comprising individuals who directly or indirectly play some

considerable part in government, and non-governing elite, comprising the rest

(Berberoglu, 2005, p. 30). The first families and their political dynasties are

considered governing elite considering their grand power in the political arena.

But not all members of the first families are governing elites, although most of

them are public officials in the executive and legislative branch of government,

other family members are influential in other fields or career.

The rise and fall of the elites can be described by the Circulation of Elite

Theory which emphasizes the change in regime. This happens not when the

rulers are overthrown from below but when one elite replaces another. The first

families who are considered elites transfer their title to another family not

through a legal action but through a change of regime. Pareto asserts that people

are assigned elite positions by virtue of being so labelled (Coser, 1970). First

family is the label given to the family of the chief executive of the Philippines.

The first families continues to survive by expanding its prominence to its

extended family which further evolve into political dynasties because of the

same ambition inherited to its family members.

Figure 1. Theoretical Model of Circulation of Elite

Another theory to be used in the study is the Semiotics. It will be the way

of understanding how language works particularly in the print media. Semiotics

is the science of studying produced meanings. Its ultimate goal is to unravel the

meanings that are built into all kinds of human products, from words to

symbols, narratives, symphonies, paintings, and comic books to scientific

theories and mathematical theorems (Danesi, 2007, p. 3). The study will take into

consideration the communication and linguistic aspect of the theory by

understanding the print media content about the first families and their political

dynasties.

Linguist Ferdinand de Saussure designed a model of what constitutes a

sign. He offered a dyadic or two-part model of the sign. According to him, sign is

composed of a signifier (the form which the sign takes) and a signified (the

concept it represents). The relationship between the signifier and the signified is

referred to as signification (Chandler, 2007, p. 14).

Figure 2. Theoretical Model of Semiotics

The newspaper content about the first families and their political

dynasties is the signifier while the perception of people from different sectors is

the signified. While the signifier holds the main linguistics and communication

variable, the signified serves as the interpretations. The association of these two

is the image formed of the first families and their political dynasties. And since

there is always a change of first family who are considered political and social

elite, the images also vary.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES

The First Family of the Philippines: A Model

Figure 3. Conceptual Model of the Study

The first family is a title given to family of the head of government of a

country. It is a family considered to rank first in social prestige in a particular

place. A first family usually consists of: chief executive of the state, the first lady

or first gentleman, and any children of the couple. The Philippines whose people

are family-oriented look up to first family as a representation of all Filipino

families in some aspects of living.

The Filipino family is closely knit and characteristically an extended

family. A typical Filipino household consists of the father, mother, children, and

additional members composed of grandparents, uncles, aunts, or other relatives

of close affinity (Ongsotto & Ongsotto, 2002, p. 20). Because the members of the

family respect collectivism and take care their other relatives, their powers as

families are also extended. The most apparent confirmation to this is the

existence of political dynasties.

Guillermo (2012) in his book entitled Historical Dictionary of the

Philippines defined political dynasties as established clans of elite families in

various regions in the Philippines and wield a great deal of political clout in most

aspects of government, business, and society (p. 339). Political dynasties,

exemplify a particular form of elite persistence in which a single or few family

groups monopolize political power (Querubin, 2011, p. 2). First families of the

Philippines are not safe for being disobidient to the Constitution. The Laurels of

Batangas, Osmeñas of Cebu, Roxas of Capiz, Macapagals of Pampanga, Marcoses

of Ilocos Norte, and Estradas of San Juan City are some of the first families

whose members of nuclear and extended family have entered politics in the

national and local levels. If these families who at some point of the history had

become an icon family with much respect and praise from public, become

representations of unhealthy democracy, no wonder that local government

offices also become nests of political power with family interest.

First families and their political dynasties are political elites referring to

power holders of a body politic and includes the leadership and social

transformations from which leaders typically come (Simbulan, 2005, p. 6). Not

only does Filipino culture articulate strong beliefs about the family in the abstract

but individuals, as both leaders and followers, are influenced by kinship

concerns in making political decisions (McCoy, 2009, p. 8). Because of this

kinship concerns, though it makes the family culture of the country broader, it

affects some decisions in the governance of the leaders.

The social status of a family defined by their economic status is also a

symbol of power. As what the society today dictates, the socio-economic and

power of people were seen as related. Those who had luxury goods specifically

those from foreigners was quated to social prestige and political power (Junker,

2000, p. 3). The relation of politics and economy is now one of the strategies used

by people to occupy the political arena.

According to Rafael Vicente’s Contracting Colonialism: Translation and

Christian Conversion, it can also be traced in the history that during the Spanish

occupation in the Philippines, Spaniards favored the ruling elites by putting

them in the colonial hierarchy. As Phelan notes from Pigafetta’s account: the

Spanish colonizers did not seek for Filipino rulers rather they created it (Woods,

2008, p. 35).

The First Families in the Philippines

Over the past years, the history has named fifteen (15) presidents of the

Republic of the Philippines with each having a family considered as first family.

Current President Benigno Simeon Aquino III is the only chief executive elected

without a spouse. The table below shows the first family from the first republic

to the present. It also includes the descendants who ventured into politics.

Elpidio Quirino was the only president with no family members or close family

members who are politicians according to the literature gathered. His

descendants are well-known in the field of pageant, health, and media. Other

presidents also have descendants who are celebrities in other fields such as

media and arts.

Philippine

Presidents

Place

of Origin

First Lady/

Gentelman

Children Descendants in Politics

Emilio F.

Aguinaldo

1898-1901

Cavite Hilaria Del

Rosario

(first wife and

considered

the first lady)

Maria

Agoncillo

(second wife)

1. Carmen

Aguinaldo

2. Melencio

3. Emilio

Aguinaldo, Jr.

4. Maria Aguinaldo

Poblete

5. Cristina

Aguinaldo

6. Suntay Miguel

Aguinaldo

1. Cesar Virata, A

(grandnephew and

Prime Minister of the

Philippines)

2. Ameurfina Herrera

(granddaughter and a

former Associate

Justice of the Supreme

Court)

Manuel L.

Quezon

1935-1944

Aurora Aurora

Aragon

Quezon

1. Maria Aurora

Quezon

2. María Zeneida

Quezon-

Avancena

3. Luisa Corazon

Paz Quezon

4. Manuel L.

Quezón, Jr.

1. Manuel L. Quezon III

(grandson and current

Undersecretary of

the Presidential

Communications

Development and

Strategic Planning

Office)

Jose P. Laurel

1943-1945

Batangas Paciencia

Hidalgo

1. José Laurel, Jr.,

2. Jose Laurel III,

3. Natividad

Laurel

4. Sotero Laurel II

5. Mariano Antonio

Laurel

6. Rosenda

Pacencia Laurel

7. Potenciana

1. Jose Laurel IV

(grandson,

representative of the

3rd District of

Batangas, son of José

B. Laurel Jr.)

Laurel Yupangco

8. Salvador Laurel

9. Arsenio Laurel

Sergio

Osmeña

1944-1946

Cebu Estefania

Chiong

Veloso

1. Nicasio Veloso-

Osmeña

2. Vicenta Veloso-

Osmeña

3. Edilderto Veloso-

Osmeña

4. Milagros Veloso-

Osemeña

5. Emilio Veloso-

Osmeña

6. Maria Paloma

Veloso-Osmeña

7. Jesus Veloso-

Osmeña,

Teodoro Veloso-

Osmeña

8. José Veloso-

Osmeña

9. Sergio Osmeña,

Jr.

1. Sergio Osmeña, Jr.

(son and former

Senator)

2. Sergio Osmeña III

(grandson and

incumbent Senator)

3. John Henry Osmeña

(grandson and former

Congressman and

Senator)

4. Tomas Osmeña

(grandson and former

Mayor of Cebu City;

2nd District

representative)

5. Emilio Mario

Osmeña, Jr.

(grandson and former

governor of Cebu)

Manuel A.

Roxas

1946-1948

Capiz Trinidad de

Leon

1. Ma. Rosario

Roxas

2. Gerardo M.

Roxas

1. Gerardo M. Roxas

(son, former

congressman)

2. Dinggoy Roxas

(grandson, former

congressman)

3. Manuel ‚Mar‛ Roxas

(grandson, former

congressman, senator,

and current

department secretary)

4. Felix Roxas y

Fernandez

(former mayor of

Manila)

Elpidio Ilocos Sur Alicia Syquia 1. Tomas Quirino

Quirino

1948-1953

2. Armando

Quirino

3. Victoria Quirino-

Delgado

4. Fe Angela

Quirino

Ramon

Magsaysay

1953-1957

Zambales Luz

Magsaysay

1. Teresita Banzon-

Magsaysay

2. Milagros

Banzon-

Magsaysay

3. Ramon Banzon-

Magsaysay, Jr.

1. Ramon Magsaysay, Jr.

(son and former

Congressman and

Senator)

2. Genaro Magsaysay

(brother; former

Senator

3. Vicente Magsaysay

(uncle and former

congressman and

former Governor

of Zambales

4. Joseph Benedict

Aquino Magsaysay

(grandnephew and

barangay captain)

Carlos P.

Garcia

1957-1961

Bohol Leonila

Dimataga

1. Linda Garcia-

Ocampos

1. Policronio Garcia

(father and former

municipal mayor in

Bohol)

Diosdado

Macapagal

1961-1965

Pampanga Purita dela

Rosa

(first wife)

Dr.

Evangelina

Macaraeg

(second wife,

considered

the first lady

because the

former wife

was already

On first wife

1. Arturo

Macapagal

2. Cielo Macapagal-

Salgado

On second wife

3. Gloria

Macapagal-

Arroyo

4. Diosdado

Macapagal Jr.

1. Cielo Macapagal-

Salgado (daughter and

former provincial vice

governor),

2. Gloria Macapagal-

Arroyo

(daughter and former

President of the

Philippines)

3. Juan Miguel

Macapagal Arroyo

(grandson and current

congressman, 2nd

dead during

the

presidency of

Macapagal)

district of Pampanga

4. Diosdado Macapagal

Arroyo (grandson and

current congressman,

Camarines Sur)

Ferdinand E.

Marcos

1965-1986)

Ilocos

Norte

Imelda

Romualdez-

Marcos

1. Maria Imelda

Marcos

2. Ferdinand

Marcos, Jr.

3. Irene Marcos

1. Maria Imelda "Imee"

Marcos (daughter and

Governor of Ilocos

Norte)

2. Ferdinand "Bongbong"

Marcos, Jr. (son and

current Senator of the

Philippines

Corazon

Cojuanco

Aquino

1986-1992

Tarlac Benigno S.

Aquino, Jr.,

1. Maria Elena

Aquino

2. Aurora Corazon

Aquino

3. Benigno Simeon

Aquino III

4. Victoria Elisa

Aquino

5. Kristina

Bernadette

Aquino

1. Servillano Aquino

(former

Representative of

Samar to the Malolos

Congress in 1898)

2. Benigno Aquino, Sr.

(former

Representative of the

2nd District of Tarlac

from the 4th

Philippine

Legislature to the 7th

Philippine

Legislature and

Senator)

3. Benigno Aquino, Jr.

(husband, a former

Vice-Governor and

Senator of the

Philippines (1968-

1972) who was

assassinated during

the Marcos regime)

4. Agapito Aquino

(brother-in-law and a

former Senator and

Congressman)

5. Teresita Aquino-

Oreta

(sister-in-law, and a

former Senator of the

Philippines)

6. Herminio Aquino -

son of Servillano

Aquino, he is a former

Congressman (1992-

1998) and Vice-

Governor (1998-2001);

7. Jesli Aquino Lapus

(brother-in-law and a

former Congressman

and secretary of

Department of

Education)

8. Benigno Aquino III

(son, former

Congressman,

Senator, and currently

the President of the

Philippines)

9. Paolo Benigno Aguirre

Aquino IV

(nephew and former

Commissioner of

National Youth

Commission)

Fidel V.

Ramos

1992-1998

Pangasinan Amelita

Martinez

1. Angelita Ramos-

Jones

2. Josephine Ramos-

Samartino

3. Carolina Ramos-

Sembrano

4. Cristina Ramos-

Jalasco

1. Sen. Leticia Ramos-

Shahani

(nephew and former

Senator)

2. Ranjit Shahani

(Former

Congressman)

5. Gloria Ramos

Joseph

Ejercito

Estrada

1998-2001

Manila Dr. Luísa

Pimentel

(considered

First lady

because she

was with the

president

during its

term)

On Dr. Luisa

Pimintel

1. Jose Ejercito, Jr.

2. Jackie Ejercito

3. Jude Ejercito

On Guia Gomez

4. Jospeh Victor

Ejercito

On Joy Rowena

5. Jojo Ejercito

On Laarni Enriquez

6. Jerika Ejercito

7. Jake Ejercito,

8. Jacob Ejercito

1. Dr. Luisa Pimintel

(wife and former

Senator)

2. Guia Gomez

3. (former wife, currently

the Mayor of San Juan

City)

4. Jose Ejercito, Jr,

(son, former Mayor of

San Juan and currently

a Senator)

5. Joseph Victor Ejercito

(son, former mayor

and congressman of

San Juan City)

6. Emilio Ramon Pelayo

Ejercito

(former Mayor and

currently the

Governor of Laguna)

7. Gary Pelayo Ejercito

(nephew, and Board

Member of Quezon

province)

Gloria

Macapagal

Arroyo

2001-2010

Pampanga Jose Miguel

Arroyo

1. Juan Miguel

2. Evangelina

Lourdes

3. Diosdado Ignacio

Jose María

1. Jose Ma. Arroyo

(grandfather of Jose

Miguel Arroyo and

former Senator)

2. Juan Miguel

Macapagal

Arroyo (son and

congressman from 2nd

district of Pampanga)

3. Diosdado Macapagal

Arroyo (son and

congressman from

Camarines Sur)

4. Ignacio Arroyo, Jr.

(brother-in-law and

congressman from 5th

district of Negros

Occidental)

5. Maria Lourdes Arroyo

(sister-in-law and

Party-list

Representative)

and other Macapagals

as mentioned above

Benigno

Simeon

Aquino III

2010-present

Manila Unmarried The president’s

sisters:

1. Maria Elena

Aquino

2. Aurora Corazon

Aquino

3. Victoria Elisa

Aquino

4. Kristina

Bernadette

Aquino

same as mentioned to

former President Corazon

Aquino

Source: Presidential Museum and Library, malacanang.gov.ph

The Family and Political Culture

Political dynasties are common in many contemporary such as Argentina,

India, Japan, Mexico, and the Philippines. The Philippines is a notable example

of a dynastic democracy. More than half of the elected congressmen and

governors have a relative who has held elected office previously (Querubin,

2011, p. 2). According to UP sa Halalan 2013, a project of the University of the

Philippines in cooperation with the Commission of Election and ABS-CBN

(Political Dynasties, 2013), 94% or 73 out of 80 of the provinces have political

dynasties. Almost 250 political families have dominated Philippine politics at the

national and local level. Of the political dynasties, 56% come from old political

elites while the 44% emerged after EDSA I in 1986. Six presidents will most likely

have relatives serving in the next Senate namely Osmeña, Magsaysay, Marcos, C.

Aquino, Estrada, and B. Aquino III. There are 15 out of 23 Senators in the 15th

Congress have relatives serving in elective positions; 11 out of 15 have relatives

in the House of the Representatives. This phenomenon can be described by our

family and political culture.

The Philippine society is characterized by diversity, complexity, and

ambiguity. Despite this diversity, there are important cultural norms and values

that are common to most Filipinos (Timberman, 1991, p. 15). Some of these

cultural factors influences on politics and economic affairs in the Philippines.

Lucian Pye has written that culture is unquestionably significant in some

undetermined degree, in shaping the aspirations and fears, the preferences and

prejudices, the priorities and expectations of a people as they confront the

challenges of social and political change. Political culture as an important aspect

in understanding the Philippine politics is defined as the pattern of individual

attitudes and orientations toward politics among the members of a political

system (p. 15). The subjectivity of this culture underlies and gives meaning to

individual political actions. It is also the reason why it is difficult to identify a

nation’s political culture supplementary to the problematic political behaviour of

leaders.

Any description of Philippine society must begin with an explanation of

the central role of the family. The extended family is the most important social

and economic unit in the Philippines. The primacy of the family is reinforced by

custom, embedded in Catholic teachings, and proclaimed in the 1987

Constitution (p. 16). Another evidence of state recognition to the primacy of the

family is the Artcle 216 of the Philippine Civil Code which says that ‚The family

is the basic social institution which public policy cherishes and protects‛

(McCoy, 2009, p. 8). Such institutions motivated more the Filipinos to set their

families as their priorities, if not one of their priorities in life from childhood to

adult stage. This may explain why politicians encourage their young family

members and relatives to run politics because they wanted not only to continue

the hold to the power but also to reward or to transfer their wealth and fame.

In addition to the extended families which are connected by blood is the

frequent use of compradazgo or ritual kinship which bonds unrelated families of

equal socio-economic status together (Timberman, 1991, p. 16). Political careers

of unfamiliar people actually emerge because of this connection. Even first

families use this to maintain their powers even after their title has been erased on

them.

Because of the influence of elite families, social, political, and economic

interactions are shaped. Interfamily relations can determine the personal

friendships and enemies, marriages, political, and economic alliances and

rivalries. The advent of media reveals the personal life of the first family as well

as their issues and controversies with their friends who turned to be their

political rivalry after some years.

The truest essence of value for family can really be seen in the conduct of

politics and government. Local politics traditionally have been dominated by

two or three land-owning families. These families’ landholdings give them the

wealth and political base. Pakikisama has also been blamed for contributing to a

brand of politics that values style more than substance. Philippine politics has

been known for its ‚showbiz‛ quality, its reliance on political rituals and the

indulgence of politicians in palabas or ostentatious show (p. 16). These political

cultures describe the first families and their political dynasties and how these

two invade even the media industry to promote and expose their social and

personal agenda.

Roles of the Elite Class

A family name is a valuable set in Philippine politics. Along with their

land and capital, elite families as Jeremy Beckett argues, are often thought to

transmit their character and characteristics to younger generations (McCoy, 2009,

p. 8). Every election, it cannot be denied that politicians with ‚good name‛

emerge and most of the times they win over those without prestige in their

names. Their exposures to media which either mold or damage their image are

part of their strategy to enter each household in the country. It is no doubt that a

Laurel in Batangas, an Osmeña in Cebu, a Conjuanco in Tarlac, or a Lopez in

Iloilo stands a good chance of polling strongly.

Once entrenched, influential politicians are often bequeath power and

position to their children, in effect seeking to transform the public office that they

have won into a private legacy of their family (McCoy, 2009, p. 24).

The Philippine historical experience shaped to varying degrees, its

contemporary social, economic, and political structures. Equally important,

history influences people’s values, beliefs, and attitudes about themselves, their

nation, and the world around them (Timberman, 1991, p. 6). The roles and

interests of elite class are defined by the history and changes in the country.

Economic changes in the nineteenth century, such as the opening of the

islands to foreign trade and capital investment, led to the rise of prosperous class

of mestizos and native elites or principales (Ileto, 1997, p. 3). The opportunity that

came allowed the elite class to send their sons to universities in Manila and

Europe. Educated Filipinos called ilustrados or the enlightened promoted radical

changes in the country. It goes to show that the elites at that point of the past

aimed to be treated equal with Spaniards to fight for the national freedom.

The patriotic roles of the elite class transformed from the rulers of freedom

into rulers of the lower class as they are being seen as landlords in the economic

arena. From elite heroes they became big bureaucrats mainly because of the

societal changes that the Philippines were no longer striving for independence

although Filipinos are not yet really free.

The big bureaucrats are characteristically big compradors and big

landlords themselves (Guerrero, 1970, p. 69). They treat their offices as private

entities and served as assistants of big bourgeoisie and landlord class to pursue

their self interest over the public.

They are also the helping mechanism to the liberal lie that a ‚poor boy can

become a president,‛ no one has ever reached the rank of even a congressman

without representing the exploiting class and without in the process of joining

them. By the time that someone has become president in the present system, he

shall have become not only the chief of political representative of the exploiters

but also one of the biggest among them (p. 69). The democracy is then ruled out

because an aspiring politician needs not only the charisma to the people but also

the power to control them when he won the election.

Because the bureaucracy is nothing but an instrument for facilitating the

exploitation of the broad masses of the people by the foreign and feudal interests

(Guerrero, 1970, p. 70), its people are coated with many controversies. The very

prominent which mushroom every election is the issue on the exchange interest

when imperialists, compreador, and lanlord masters support a political party or

an individual candidate, they in return become bound to the class interests of

their supporters.

Bureaucrat capitalists are also prone to get bribe money on the adoption of

laws, executive orders, and court decisions. Their pockets also benefit from the

enormous funds appropriated for public works (Guerrero, 1970, p. 70). From the

local to the national government offices, bureaucrat capitalists find ways to

directly support their interests in the most silent manner. One of the examples of

corruption was that of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s administration involvement

on the fertilizer deal in 2003 and NBN-ZTE in 2007 issue to name a few.

The elite class also venture directly into the most starkly illegitimate

activities. They are involved in smuggling, usury, plain extortion, gambling,

cattle-rustling, and prostitution. Bureaucrat capitalists enjoyed and developed

standard tricks for keeping their loot. They keep ‚petty cash‛ (in millions of

pesos) in their house vaults for immediate use, deposits under numbered

accounts in Swiss banks, strings of palatial houses and buildings, jewelry and all

kinds of luxuries, securities in profitable corporations, and land titles (Guerrero,

1970, p. 71). The former president Estrada faced the storm of gambling issues and

became the main ground for the second people power in EDSA which brought

the new administration in the scene.

The Marcos’ declaration of war against the Communist Party of the

Philippines, patriotic mass organizations, and the people in general gave more

confidence to the bureaucrat capitalists cliques and dynasties all over the country

to kill, burn, and loot (Guerrero, 1970, p. 74). The power of the first family most

especially the president is adomino effect to lower government units. Therefore,

the political actions of those at the top must always be in lline with the public

interest and social progress to achieve a national development through social,

political, and economic changes.

The Elites and The Other Class

It is through studying the discourse of historical power comes the

understanding of the mechanisms for social order and power structure in the

society (Gealogo, 1994, p. 33). In the Philippines, it turned out that the power of

elites, although known for masses especially those active in social education and

activism are still being equated to a weak nation-state. McCoy (2009) stated that

the country has a long history of strong families assuring social survival when

the nation-state is weak (p. 7).

Gealogo (1994) explains that it is important to look at the struggles as a

reflection of several dimensions of people’s perspectives in achieving social order

(p. 31). The contradicting class in the state, the elite and the revolutionary have

different views and principles in creating organizations for struggle. Ordinary

people belonging not in these groups also possess different standpoints about the

existing struggle. These three dimensions perpetuate a dynamic relationship

among catalysts of history.

Ang magkasalungat na layunin ng elite at ng kalaban nitong

‚rebolusyonaryo‛ ay kapwa nakasalalay sa mga simulain (at kontradiksyon sa

loob) ng sibilisasyong Kanluranin. Samakatuwid, kapwa ang mga nakaupo sa

kapangyarihan at yaong gustong magpatalsik sa kanila ay nakasanddal sa mga

kategoryang hiram o produkto ng kanilang pagiging xerox copy ng banyaga.

Walang orihinal na kaisipan ang dalawang direksyong ito ng tunggaliang sosyo-

pulitikal. Sa katunayan, ang dalawang magkatunggaling puwersa lamang ang

siyang nagkakaintindihan sa labanang ideolohikal na ito, sapagkat sa wika at sa

mga kategoryang banyaga lamang isinasagawa ang pingkian ng mga ideya

(Salazar, 1997, p.105; Guillermo R., 2009, p. 1).

The socio-economic backgrounds of the conflicting classes are totally

dissimilar and therefore their ideology differs too.

It is believed that the mentality of the elites is shaped by the foreign

culture and the reason for them to leave behind their own culture. The masses,

on the other hand symbolize the rest of the people who are living with the

national and original culture (Guillermo R., 2009, p. 15).

Added to the westernized culture that they have, elites primarily the state

officials, first families, and political dynasties have simply not gained the right

and ability to make rules they would like. Families and clans have the power to

change the order of the society to what they think best for the country and its

people.

Families and clans may seek to marry off children at ages quite different

from the minimum age of marriage set by the state law. Landlords and

shopkeepers may seek interest rates for loans at variance with those legislated by

the state. The major struggles in a society like Philippines, are over who has the

right and ability to make the countless rules that guide people’s social behaviour

(Migdal, 1988, pp. 30-31).

The rich people remained assisted by the colonizers during the Japanese

occupation in the Philippines. Novelists Lazaro Francisco added that many of the

elite families were related to the very government officials who were cooperating

with the Japanese. The elite families also benefited from being a friend of the

government authorities no matter what the government was. Furthermore, the

Japanese government gave elites no cause for alarm or opposition. It made no

threats against their property (Kerkvliet, 1977, pp. 65-66). The influence of rich

people to the government undeniably happened in the past and continues to

happen in the present from the local government to the national government.

Both the rich people and the government keep their relationship by maintaining

their loyalty and mutual benefits.

METHODOLOGY

The research to be undertaken will be qualitative in nature. The case study

as design will be utilized to capture the images of the Filipino first families and

their political dynasties in the Philippine print media. Two research methods will

be undertaken: content analysis for determining the news about the first families

and their political dynasties considering the topic, treatment, emphasis, and

exposure; and focus group discussion with different people from different

sectors regarding the image of first families and their political dynasties.

The study will be a good source of historical images of first families if it

will cover all the regimes but not all administrations have established political

dynasties. The primary consideration for the sample to be analyzed in the study

will be those first families with at least four (4) relatives who also took politics

and governance as their endeavours.

All first families which will fall on such criteria will be part of the study.

Primarily, the content analysis will be the first method to be done by analyzing

the leading broadsheet newspapers in the Philippines. A follow-up research

method will be done, the focus group discussions with representatives from the

academe, business, civil society, church, media, government, women, and youth.

The data gathered through the two research methods will be consolidated

and analyzed to determine the different images of first families and their political

dynasties in the print media.

PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

Family and media are two of the most important recipe of Filipino culture.

Filipino people are not Filipino people without great family culture within them.

While Filipinos always relate themselves to others, the media industry

propagates this Filipino trait resulting to a nation that is whole. In any form of

media, family stories really appeal to Filipinos, from drama, comedy, horror,

advertisement, and even in news.

First family represents what kind of family the Philippines has. It may

project an image to the international community and serve as an agent of

opportunity for tourism, economic, and cultural development. But how do

Filipino people especially those in print media help in shaping the image of the

first family? How do Filipino people especially the masses react on such media

material? And how such image change as regime changes.

Case 1. The Marcos Family

The educational and political track of former President Ferdinand E.

Marcos impressed the nation and gave a good reputation to the Marcoses. The

president’s phenomenal memory was aspired by all the types of people from the

top executives of businesses, academe, and even by the masses.

Marcos family became an icon during their stay at Malacañang. Imelda

Marcos, the first lady was widely covered by the local and international media.

She became a special envoy of his husband allowing her to travel to different

parts of the world such as China, the Soviet Union satellite states, the Middle

East and even the non-Soviet dominated communist state such as Yugoslavia

and Cuba. The public also witnessed her passion for arts and architecture as she

pushed the construction of many institutions in the country such as Cultural

Center of the Philippines, Philippine Heart Center, Lung Center of the

Philippines, Kidney Institute of the Philippines, Nayong Pilipino, Philippine

International Convention Center, Folk Arts Theater, Coconut Palace, and the

Manila Film Center. Ferdinand and Imelda’s children, Maria Imelda Josefa

Romualdez Marcos and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. became excellent in their

respective education. Imee happened to hooked on business and arts while

Bongbong took the path of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. The Marcos

family showed what an ideal Filipino family must possess.

However, U.S. imperialism, facism, and dictatorship under Marcos regime

became the highlights of the history. The irony of Marcos life and the ordinary

Filipino family life resulted into a national revolution led by different sectors of

the society. The challenge for the study is the conduct of content analysis

considering the effect of the Martial law.

Case 2. The Aquino Family

Three of the Aquinos became political icons: Benigno Aquino Jr., Corazon

Aquino, and the current president Benigno Aquino III. They projected the image

of a good governance, nationalism, and democracy. They became heroes for the

most because after his assassination, he instantly became an idol of democracy.

Her wife, Cory continued his legacy as she decided to run for presidency against

the dictator Marcos. Their son, Noynoy ran the presidency after her mother died,

the same moment when people clamour for a new leadership to change the

integrity and sincerity of the highest office in the Philippines due to the

controversies of the precedent administration.

On the other hand, the Aquino family from the time Cory seated as the

chief of the state to her son’s administration, mass organization who aimed for

social justice on the issue of Hacienda Luisita which Cory together with her

siblings inherited from her father Jose Cojaunco. Although the Aquinos were

positive change makers to most Filipinos, the family themselves can be

questioned on how they define political dynasties because they are obviously a

family of politicians.

In spite of the contribution of the Aquino family to the recovery of the

democracy in the country, and their role in gaining the attention of the

international community to admire the Filipinos, the media and the people like

in any other regime, saw the rooms for improvement and faults that militant

groups spotted and served as their alias to overthrow the leadership. The

dynamic reactions of people toward the Aquino family, their leadership, and

their monopoly power are important ingredient of the study to be undertaken. It

is significant to understand what image has been instilled in the minds of the

Filipino people.

Case 3. The Ejercito Family

President Joseph Ejercito Estrada made a history for being the first

president to be jailed because of graft and corruption. This misfortune

overshadowed the president’s effort to promote economic development and

agrarian reform in the country.

The Estrada administration allowed controversies to hit them each year.

Political issues on Subic Bay leadership dispute, Textbook Scam intervention,

The Philippine Daily Inquirer ads pullout, The Manila Times controversy, BW

Resources scandal, Philippine-Taiwan Air Agreement controversy, PCSO

Funding controversy, Midnight cabinet, Hot cars scandal, Building law violation,

Dacer-Corbito double murder case, Second envelop suppression, and even

personal issue on Estrada’s mistresses.

The corruption charges to the President made a bad impression in the

Filipino and non-Filipino communities all over the world. It is very interesting to

know what image/s were being portrayed by the print media about Estrada

family considering the excellent leadership record of the President himself and

the admirable political will of his family members in politics namely Loi

Pimentel-Ejercito, Jose Pimentel Ejercito, and Joseph Victor Ejercito. Aside from

their political careers, the Ejercito family became an image of the masses as Loi

became dubbed as the First Lady ng Masa and Doktora ng Masa, while the half-

brothers Jinggoy and JV became influential in movie industry.

To note, these three Ejercitos were elected in the national and local

elections after the presidency of Joseph. Although Filipinos know

generalizations, the victories of the Ejercitos are very exceptional. Remember that

even in the last presidential election, if not President Benigno Aquino III won, it

would be the former president. This made the Estrada family a very interesting

one to study.

Case 4. The Arroyo Family

One of the most controversial first families in the history of the

Philippines is the Arroyo family. When former President Gloria Macapagal-

Arroyo became the rising leader brought by the second people power in EDSA,

controversies on corruption and anomalies never left her and the rest of the

Arroyo family members.

The public and media recognized more the loopholes and mistakes of the

administration rather than its contribution to the nation. Gloria Macapagal-

Arroyo was involved in the political controversy Fertilizer Fund Scam where

P728 million fertilizer fund was diverted to 2004 election campaign fund of the

same president. The Hello Garci scandal damaged the credibility of the

administration as the president wanted to continue her presidency by

manipulating millions of votes. The Philippine National Broadband Network

(NBN) controversy was an issue of corruption involving COMELEC Chairman

Benjamin Abalos, First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, and the president herself. It was

regarding the proposed government-managed NBN for the Philippines and the

awarding of its construction to the Chinese firm Zhong Xing Telecommunication

Equipment Company Limited (ZTE), a telecommunication and networking

equipment provider. These issues affect the image of the Arroyos not only as a

political icon but a cultural icon as a family.

Although the general public’s perspectives toward the first family was not

pleasant, the first family and their political dynasties still get sympathies from

their political partners, relatives, and even to some mass organizations. It is also

interesting to look at the motivation of the president to continue her and family’s

political career.

The media industry including the print has supported the termination of

the Arroyo administration. In spite of the massive effort of the public and media,

the regime continued and was never overthrown from the palace. This made the

administration an important and interesting sample of the study.

SYNTHESIS AND CONCLUSION

Filipinos’ value for family is extensive up to the politics. The leadership

and governance of the Philippines reflects the type of family culture of its people.

Media, as the ‚fourth estate of the government‛ continue to look over all the

aspects of government to further influence people outlook. What news and

features media people creates about politics and what people think about it are

the composition of the image of the Philippine political system.

The first families of the Philippines have vital roles in shaping the nation

and in showing to the world the good qualities of a Filipino family. But like an

ordinary family, the first families underwent trials and disappointments which

may be the reason behind the anomalies and corruption during their stay at the

Malacañang Palace. It may also be a result not of challenges but of their

behaviour and way of thinking or worldview which were moulded by

institutions such as church, school, community, or home. It goes back again to

the home and family culture.

Therefore, it can be said that to understand politics is also to understand

the different aspects of life of the leaders. Decisions and actions of politicians are

not made overnight. It may be a result of the way he behave and think even

before he entered politics.

The media only reports the facts and its opinions are made in behalf of the

public. First families’ actions are very sensitive to the eyes of the press. It is

because they were treated like celebrities whose stories are interesting for the

public. Their political dynasties are part of their perspectives on power and

control.

This paper analyzed four (4) first families namely the Marcos family,

Aquino family, Ejercito family, and Arroyo family. These families consist of

people with the same orientation and career, the politics. Within the presidents’

families are younger generations of politicians. It is no ordinary because even

some of the presidents are the product of older generations of political icons in

the history. Political dynasties are also running through their bloods. It is very

ironic because as leaders of the country, they should follow the order of the

Constitution. No president in the Philippine history pushed to define the term

political dynasty in the Constitution mainly because majority of them are

considered the main violators. They are always raising the argument of their

right to equal chances to be elected and be in the position.

Newspapers especially those circulated nationwide allotted spaces for the

prominent families even after their reigns. That describes the extent of their

influence. Stories covered their political and personal actions and decisions. But

more spaces in the newspapers are allotted for negative issues such as graft,

corruption, and rivalries. These are the hottest issues which are also given

importance in the other parts of the newspaper such as the opinion and feature.

What balances this unpleasant news are the aspiration and determination of their

administration to fulfil its duty to perform for social, economic, cultural, and

other aspects of development.

The voices of the different sectors are also significant in drawing the

image of the first families and their dynasties. People from the academe,

business, civil society, church, media, government, women, and youth also have

their views and reactions on the content of the newspapers. It cannot be denied

that media also has the power to set agenda for the people. What is important is

the reflection of the ordinary and unheard people about the issues of the first

families. What remains in their minds and the lessons that it may contribute to

the history will constitute the image of the first families.

By understanding and processing the content of the media and

perspectives of the people, this paper can draw the image of each first family and

political dynasty. Various approaches and methods of Philippine studies are

very functional to the progress of this study. The use of multidisciplinary fields

such as culture, politics, sociology, media, and communication are needed to

describe the phenomena of this study. Family culture and background are the

basis of all the thoughts and actions of individuals. Politics and its system may

also affect a politician’s characteristics. The field of sociology can be used to

guide this study on the responsive action of people toward the government that

they are either admired or detested. The media analysis will be a useful

mechanism in understanding the role of media in projecting the first families and

their political dynasties. Communication patterns and concepts help the study in

defining what image is and its components.

This study will contribute to the disciplines stated above primarily on

political science, culture, and media. The intensive methods to be carried out in

the study and the theories, concepts, and literatures will suffice the whole study

particularly the presentation and analysis of the complete samples.

The same guide will be used to look into the neighbouring countries’

image of first families or royal families and their political dynasties. Print media

are also recommended to be the form to be studied because of its nature of

consistency, reliability, and availability. To this end, the researcher hopes for

public awareness of what constitute an image and how to look at it using the

allied fields.

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On the Philosophy of Labor: Marx’s

Concept of labor on the post-industrialist

society

Introduction

The basic premise that could be ascribed with such assumptions to the

reason why people are working would be the proposition of survival; the

necessity to eat, to have shelter, clothing and to reproduce so as to repeat the

needed cycle of such. This assumption is clearly identified with Marx notion of

the basic premise of all humans; Living, Conscious, Human individual. This

premise points out that man must first serve his animal functions before

achieving his human functions which is to think and to rationalize, an influence

from a Hegelian point of view. Since man has been exploited into working not

for human functions but for survival, man is reduced on his animal functions;

that the work that he does is not the extension of him but an object separated

from him. Most modern thinkers argue that such notion is applicable only on

material labor in the industrial age, not in the present post – industrial society.

One point is the argument that Marx’s philosophy on labor has been obsolete,

that such concept of productivist labor is applicable only on a given industrial

society of the past century. And since it is assumed that the modern society has

expanded labor into other forms aside from the crafts and the arts, Marx’s ideas

needed a reboot and expansion. This paper shall attempt, if possible, a discussion

on the post-Marxist movement and a counter argument on the assumption of

Marx’s ‚obsolete‛ philosophy with the new post-Marx philosophers, namely

Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt and to view the necessity of revising Marx’s

Concept of labour.

The Material Labor and Immaterial Labor

From the writings of Marx from the Economic and Political Manuscripts

of 1844, clearly it is pointed out that Marx was referring to the objections of

productions; that men produce materials as extensions of them, as a material

object in its formative stage with form. Most interpretation tend to reduce Marx’s

concept into a limited notion of labor; being only to point out material labor and

formative aspects of it. Since the idea was postulated in the last century, most

ideas of Marx are considered obsolete and needed revisions and expansion.

Although it is clear that such assumption on the theory is not conflicting to the

idea of Marx’s dialectical materialist system of knowledge, the idea should not be

considered as obsolete since the theory of Marx is considered the foundation of

all post Marx movement in society.

Say for example, the theory of Paulo Freire’s Liberation Pedagogy as a

formation of new thought with regards to utilizing Marx’s idea as the base. It is

clear that power struggle in the schools are discussed in a way that class struggle

in the whole society is elaborated. Education is seen as both a liberative force and

could also be tool for oppression, and it is in the student – teacher relation that

liberation be possible; that in order to be liberated, the teacher must also be a

student and a teacher. In this case Marx’s idea was merged with existential

notions and some radical philosophies yet still seeing Marx’s idea as a necessary

point to consider since his philosophy discusses oppression and liberation

comprehensively.

Society has changed drastically from the past centuries in terms of

political, economical and cultural aspects. The change also brought up

development in the economic sphere, wherein most industries in the present are

not just secluded in manufacturing and craftsmanship. What arose in the

industry is the birth of new kinds of profession that does not produce material

objects, and these are what Negri and Hardt assume as ‚Immaterial Labor‛

According to Hardt and Negri's book Empire, there is a regulating system

in society, which they called Biopower. Biopower is a form of power that

regulates social life from its interior, following it, interpreting it, absorbing it—

every individual embraces and reactivates this power of his or her own accord.

Its primary task is to administer life. Biopower thus refers to a situation in which

what is directly at stake in power is the production and reproduction of life itself.

All human labor is social and necessarily involves a communicative element; and

at the same time all human social relations are rooted in material labor.

In this assumption, the process wherein we take part in Biopower is the

participation of men into labor may it be material or immaterial labor.

Immaterial labor is a new form of labor that does not have formative

characteristics and does not produce objects materially, these are what Negri and

Hardt identified as separated into three:

1."Informaticized" industrial labor that has become a service to the market

2. Analytical and symbolic labor—knowledge work both creative and routine

3. Production and manipulation of affect labor. Involves human contact, and

includes bodily labor

These three contain services, communication, networking and actions

which does not produce any product at all; the individual itself is the

commodity, not the product of his skills. Since these kind of immaterial labor

does not have any form, the Marxist concept of labor now becomes obsolete,

although is should be understood that what Marx pointed out in his writing is

also a coverage of such labor. ‚All those things which labor merely separates

from immediate connection with their environment, are subjects [i.e., objects] of

labor spontaneously provided by nature, Such are fish which we catch and take

from their element, water, timber which we fell in the virgin forest and ores

which we extract from their veins‛ (Marx, 1961, 178).

It is also in such development that manufacturing and all around workers

has withered through the development of industry, the relation of worker to

product becomes increasingly mediated and distanced. The labor process ceases

to involve the direct transformation of the object on the part of the worker. The

craft element is almost entirely removed from the work activity itself. In the

production process, machines act on their own, nature acts upon itself. Human

purposes are realized through the use of science and technology and the

application of knowledge. (Sayers, 2007)

In these aspects, labor has been identified differently from what is

described by Marx, but it does not mean that the Marxist concept did not achieve

to identify such forms of labor, and, in addition, labor in those forms does not

seem immaterial although it offers services, communication and networking, it is

basically a mediation towards the individual and the subject. It does not follow

that if machines were built to build other machines, external forces for such act

are still present, which are the workers. Workers now serves multitude of task

and processes, and also such labor that covers the Immaterial aspect still has the

form which they follow; these form are the very processes they do to a specific

service, the uniform acts and the protocol of services. Such would be the second

type of immaterial labor that serves codes, symbols and analytical aspects of the

industry. Although considered immaterial, labor of this kind has form and takes

shapes in numbers and figures.

It should also be considered that the very reason men go into labor is

survival and extension of him to the process of objectification; with such

objectification, man can obtain social relation, which is the form of labor we have

in the post-industrialist society. Marx had pointed out such assumptions; the

detail-worker of to-day, crippled by one and the same trivial operation, and thus

reduced to the mere fragment of a man, [will be replaced] by the fully developed

individual, fit for a variety of labors . . . to whom the different social functions he

performs, are but so many modes of giving free scope to his own natural and

acquired powers. (Marx, 1961)

References:

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ReviewPress, New York and London, 1971

Blackburn, Simon, Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, Oxford University Press, New

York, 2005

Bottomore, T. B., Karl Marx Early Writings, McGraw – Hill Book Company, New

York, 1964

Freire, Paulo, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Continuum Publishing, New York, 1984

Fromm, Erich, Sane Society, Fawcett publications, inc., Greenwich Conn. 1955

Hardt, Michael and Antonio Negri, (2000), Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard

University Press.

Mandel, Ernest and Novak, George, The Marxist Theory of Alienation, Pathfinder

Press, New York, 1970

Martel, Harry and Selsam, Howard, Reader in Marxist Philosophy, New York,

International publisher, 1903 – 1970

Marx, Karl, and Hegel, Friederich, Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844,

Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1932

Meszaros, Istvan, The Marxist Theory of Alienation, Merlin Press, London, 1970

Reitz, Charles, Art, Alienation and the Humanities: a Critical Engagement with

Herbert Marcuse, New York Press, Albany, USA, 2000

Sayers, Sean, The Concept of Labor: Marx and His Critics, Science & Society, Vol. 71,

No. 4, October 2007, 431-454

Modern Humanism in Education

HUMANIZATION OF EDUCATION

Critics are saying that the school –or at least most schools are not fit places

for human beings.

“Many are not even decent places for the children. They damage, they stifle

children’s natural capacity to learn and grow healthy. (Charles Silberman)

Their hidden function is all too often “The destruction of the human spirit”.

(George Leonard)

They destroy the minds and hearts of children. The schools are inhumane, they do

not treat children as person. (Jonathan Kozol, the Destruction of the Hearts and Minds of

Negro Children in the Boston Public Schools.)

The schools are under the attack. They have been for more than a decade.

There have been two major focuses of this attack. The first criticizes the school

for lack of success in fostering high levels of academic achievement. The second,

more recent, says the schools are inhuman in their treatment of children, so they

are in many cases not fit for places for children to be. Because of these critics, a

new approach to education was proposed. Critics said there should be a

restriction of public education to development of the intellect. Instead of

preparation of ‚making a living‛, it should be ‚preparation for living‛ Interest in

the individual’s physical and mental condition as it influence by academic

performance was replaced by interest in the social and emotional development

to be upon preparing the student as a person. The focus as emphasis, however

tended to have upon preparing the student for responsible citizenship, rather

than the student’s development as an individual or a person.

Educators are more concerned about the development of the student as a

person, his growth and development as a free individual. This approach

emphasizes respect for the student as a person, with the rights of a person.

Patterson points out that ‚our most pressing educational problem involves

learning how to create and maintain a humane environment in our schools‛

All of these are characterized by humanistic approach to education. It is

concerned with psychological or emotional atmosphere of the classroom. It

conceives of teaching as essentially a good human relationship, but it goes

beyond this in not restricting its concern to cognitive learning’s as a goal of

education. It includes as goals the development of good attitudes and feelings –is

it the education of the emotions, the fostering of adequate emotional

development as a legitimate and desirable goal of education. It has been called

by some affective education, meaning the education of affect, involving more

than the concern with affective techniques in education.

Humanism is a school of thought that believes human beings are different

from other species and possess capacities not found in human. Humanists

therefore, give to the study of human needs and interests. A central assumption

is that human beings behave out of intentionality and values. . This is a contrast

of operant conditioning theorists who believe that all behavior is the result of the

application of consequences or to the beliefs of cognitive psychologists who hold

that the discovery of concepts of processing of information is a primary factor in

human learning. Humanists also believe that it is necessary to study the person

as a whole, especially as an individual grows and develops over the lifespan. The

study of self motivation and goal setting are also areas of special interest.

It is to counteract the dehumanizing effect of technology. According to the

old report titled No Need To Be of UNESCO. This is actually chaired by Former

Minister of Education of France who chaired the International Commission on

Education for UNESCO. The report produced in 1972 and the central idea of the

report is that due to technical progress, there has been a kind of risk. The young

generation of students and also the public are being animated or dehumanized in

the process of material progress (Zhou Nanzhou, 2006). So a major proposal was

made that the fundamental end of education shall not only be the cognitive or

intuitive development but the fulfillment of a complete process in all dimensions

of the richness of the personality.

The Fourth R-Human Relation

A child learns because he or she is inwardly driven, and derives his or her

reward from the sense of achievement that having learned something affords.

This would differ from the behaviorist view that would expect extrinsic rewards

to be more effective. Extrinsic rewards are rewards from the outside world, e.g.

praise, money, gold stars, etc. Intrinsic rewards are rewards from within oneself,

rather like a satisfaction of a need. These accords with the humanistic approach,

where education is really about creating a need within the child, or instilling

within the child self-motivation. Behaviorism is about rewards from others.

Humanism is about rewarding yourself!

An important aspect of personal development or self actualization in

interpersonal relationship. One can’t be self-actualizing in vacuum. Therefore

education, must as must all of society, become concerned with the development

of men not just as citizens, but as persons, as members of the community and as

members of the human race, ‚Where the actions of one can drastically affect the

lives of others from the distant, it will be crucially important that each person

master the skill of feeling what others feel. This skill more than new laws or new

politics is soon become crucial to survival of the race.

The emphasis of the education in this philosophy is upon human

relations. As Asheley Montagu has said: Our educational institution should be

train us in the ability of love, not the three R’s at the college level. Rather than

having the concern about human relations will be the focus of the curriculum.

The Aim of Education:

‚In the world which is already upon us, the aim of education must be

develop individuals who are open to change‛

Carl Rogers, Freedom to

learn

The modern humanities revolution in education involves change in the

goal of education. The problems of individual, of the nation, society of

civilization will not be solved by the development of intellect one. Of the many

problems facing man today, four major ones are: I feel, poverty, pollution,

population and personal (or interpersonal) relations. The first three are

essentially technical problems, but the fourth clearly requires more than

intelligence and technical know how.

We need not only men who can think, but men who can feel and who can

act, not only on the basis of intellect but of feeling as well, we need men who can

understand other men, who can accept and respect others, as well as themselves

and who are responsible.

The goal of education then is to produce human, or humane, beings,

whole beings not automatons or intellects, but thinking feeling, living or acting-

person, person who can love, feel deeply, expand their innerselves, create and

who continue the process of education.

Another aim of education is to foster the development of persons who can

live together as fully functioning human beings, It is not sufficient simply that

society be preserved under conditions which prevent the personal development

of individuals. If society is to change it can only be through changing

individuals. This is the function of education.

What kind of person, specifically necessary to form such a society? What

is the nature of a fully functioning person? Writers in the field of counseling or

psychotherapy have studied questions because of their concern about desirable

outcome or goal of counseling or psychotherapy. The work of psychologists or

psychotherapist seems to be converging on a definition or description of the fully

functioning person, a term introduces by Carl Rogers or other used to refer to the

same concept of: self-enhancement, self-realization, and self-actualization.

Perhaps the most common used terms is the ‚self-actualization‛ It becomes the

aim of education or more accurately, the purpose of education is to develop self

actualizing persons.

In adopting this aims, education is not at odds with other institutions in

society. The production of self-actualizing person is-or should be-goal of all our

social institutions- the family, the church, political institutions, the economic

system and other social institutions and organizations.

This goal is inherent in the human organism and in this respect is not only

a goal of the society, but the goal of the individual, the purpose of life. It is single,

basic, common, motivation of the individual.

An objection has been made to the concept to the concept of self

actualization on the grounds that it leads to selfish and self centered behavior;

this is a misunderstanding of its nature. Every individual lives in a society

composed of other individuals. He can only actualize himself. Interaction with

others. Selfish and self centered behavior would not lead to experiences which

would be self actualizing by nature. As Rogers states it, the self actualizing

person ‚will live with others in the maximum possible, harmony because of the

rewarding character of reciprocal positive regard. We don’t need to ask who will

socialize him, for one of his own deepest needs is for affiliation and

communication with other. As he becomes more fully himself, he more fully

himself, he will become more realistically socialized. He is more mature, more

socialized in terms ‚of the goal of social evolution‛ Tough he may not be

conventional or socially adjusted in confronting sense.

The Self-Actualizing Person

A major criticism of a broad, general goal such as self-actualization is that

it is too general and vague to be useful. The behaviorists ask for a specific,

objective or operational definition. The measurement of self actualization is in

principle possible. Here are some of the discussions of self actualization will help

us to understand its nature.

According to Snygg and Combs human beings are motivated by one basic

striving, the maintenance and enhancement of the self. Man seeks to develop an

adequate self. The adequate person perceives himself in positive ways: he has a

positive self concept, he accepts himself. The adequate person also accepts

others. He is also spontaneous and creative since being secure, he can take

chances, experiment and explore. Since the adequate person is secure and

accepting himself, he is capable of functioning independently; he finds that his

own feelings, beliefs and attitudes are adequate guides to behavior. Finally the

adequate person, according to them, being less defensive, he can relate closely

with others with concern rather than hostility or fear.

Carl Rogers describes three major characteristics of such fully a

functioning person (1) such a person to open to his experience, to all the external

and internal stimuli; he has no need for defensiveness or distortion. He aware of

himself and environment; he experiences both negative and positive feelings. (2)

He lives existentially. Each moment is new. Life is fluid not rigid. The person is

changing in process flexible and adaptable. (3) This person would find his

organism a trustworthy means of arriving at the most satisfying behavior in each

existential behavior.

Early Kelley describes the fully functioning person in terms similar to

Coms and Rogers. Such a person thinks well of himself, feeling able or

competent. Through being aware of his limitations. He also thinks well of others

and sees their importance to him as opportunities for self-development. He sees

himself as changing and developing. He recognizes the value of mistakes, since

in the process of changing and growing he can’t be right all the time. He sees

mistakes as a source of learning and profits from them.

Abraham Maslow has perhaps studied the nature of self-actualization to a

greater extent than anyone else. His description of the self-actualizing person

draws together the characteristics considered above, with others resulting from

his work, into a comprehensive picture of the highly self actualizing person.

Maslow defines self-actualization as ‚the full use and exploitation of talents,

capacities, potentialities. Such people seem to be fulfilling themselves and to be doing the

best that they are capable of doing. They are people who have developed or are developing

the full stature of which they are capable. “

Humanism would concentrate upon the development of the child's self-

concept. If the child feels good about him or herself then that is a positive start.

Feeling good about oneself would involve an understanding of one’s' strengths

and weaknesses, and a belief in one's ability to improve. Learning is not an end

in itself; It is the means to progress towards the pinnacle of self-development,

which Maslow terms 'Self-actualization'.

Curriculum:

Humanists believe that the function of the curriculum is to provide

each learner with intrinsically rewarding experiences that contribute to personal

liberation and development. To humanists, the goals of education are related to

the ideals of personal growth, integrity, and autonomy. Healthier attitudes

toward self, peers, and learning are among their expectations. The ideal of self-

actualization is at the heart of the humanistic curriculum. A person who exhibits

this quality is not only coolly cognitive but also developed in aesthetic and moral

ways, that is, a person who does good works and has good character. The

humanist views actualization growth as a basic need. Each learner has a self that

must be uncovered, built up, taught.

DIRECTIONS IN HUMANISTIC CURRICULUM

There has been prevalent form of humanistic curriculum, confluent.

Confluent education generally supports the existing subject matter curriculum.

Some applications, such as ‚a curriculum of concern,‛ take learners to be the

subject matter and their emotions, feelings, and thoughts are the basis for inquiry

and learning. Aspects of humanistic curriculum have been preempted by those

working with other curricular orientations. Both academic and social

reconstructionist orientations are introducing humanistic factors. Academicians

are beginning to realize that the emotional qualities of the humanistic curricula,

such as flow, are necessary for improving complex achievement. Social

reconstructionists who want to take advantage of the humanists’ success in

increasing student personal power and sensitivity to feelings (consciousness of

self) are building on self-awareness to develop critical awareness of patterns in the

society.

Rationale for Confluence:

The essence of confluent education is the integration of an affective

domain (emotions, attitudes, values) with the cognitive domain (intellectual

knowledge and abilities). It is an add-on curriculum, whereby emotional

dimensions are added to conventional subject matter so that there is personal

meaning to what is learned. The confluent teacher of English, for example, links

affective exercises to paragraphing, organization, and argumentative and other

discursive forms of writing. By beginning with the student’s personal,

imaginative, and emotional responses and working out from these, the

confluentist helps learners both to acquire language skills and to discover

themselves.

Their goal is to provide students with more alternatives to choose from in

terms of their own lives, to take responsibility for appreciating the choices

available, and to realize that they, the learners, can indeed make choices. A

confluent curriculum includes the following elements:

1. Participation. There is consent, power sharing, negotiation, and joint

responsibility by co participants. It is essentially no authoritarian and not

unilateral.

2. Integration. There is interaction, interpenetration, and integration of

thinking, feelings, and action.

3. Relevance. The subject matter is closely related to the basic needs and

lives of the participants and is significant to them, both emotionally and

intellectually.

4. Self. The self is a legitimate object of learning.

5. Goal. The social goal or purpose is to develop the whole person within a

human society.

Methods:

1. Co-operative Learning - Students are often in competition with each other or

have to work individually towards achieving their personal goals. Co-operative

Learning not only combines cognitive and affective aspects of learning, as well as

emphasizing participation and active engagement, But also stresses academic

achievement and clearly defined curricular goals.

Reasons for co-operative learning

Decreases dependence on teachers

Decreases divisiveness and prejudice.

Improves academic performance (Johnson et al, 1984)

Eradicates feelings of alienation, isolation, purposelessness and social

unease amongst students (Johnson et al, 1984).

Promotes positive attitudes to schools (Snow and Swanson, 1992)

Students prefer co-operative approaches (Huber et al, 1992).

Teaches personal skills and life skills.

Johnson et al (1984) outlines 4 components of co-operative learning:

1. Positive interdependence - students work towards a common goal and

share materials.

2. Individual accountability - every student must contribute to the final

outcome

3. Interpersonal and small-group skill development - The goal has an inbuilt

social skill component.

4. Face to face interactions - an essential part of this leaning strategy.

2 Student Teams - Achievement Division (STAD)- New material presented in

class in tradition manner. Following this group given material to study and

worksheets to complete. Encouraged to help each other. At the end that week’s

material, student answer quizzes individually. Team scores are calculated. Team

that has improved the most is given the most recognition. Slavin (1983) ‚students

see learning activities as social instead of isolated, fun instead of boring, under

their own control instead of the teachers. Help each other more; do not make fun

of those with learning difficulties.

Jigsaw - Each member gets separate parts of the whole. Must teach what they

have learned to other members of the group.

Group Investigation - Students select topic - then divided into sub-topics, based

on student's interests. Groups are formed to investigate each sub-topic. Each

group formulates a plan and assigns responsibilities. Members can work

individually or with others. At end group members meet to share information.

They then decide how to present this information to the rest of the class.

Teachers help with academic and social skills.

Reciprocal Teaching- Students taught specific procedures in questioning,

clarifying, summarizing and predicting. They then have to teach some of the

material to their teacher. (Palinsar and Brown, 1984)

Role of the Teacher

The teacher provides warmth and nurtures emotions while continuing to

function as a resource and facilitator. He or she should present materials

imaginatively and create challenging situations. Humanistic teachers motivate

their students through mutual trust. They encourage a positive student–teacher

relationship by teaching out of their own interests and commitments while

holding to the belief that each child can learn. Those who assume a leadership

role in affective approaches to learning get in touch with themselves and

students. Albert Einstein’s comment, ‚The supreme act of the teacher is to

awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge,‛ belies a humanistic

orientation.

The humanist teacher is a facilitator, not a disseminator, of knowledge.

Participatory and discovery methods would be favored instead of traditional

didacticism (i.e. learn parrot-fashion everything the teacher says). As well as the

child's academic needs the humanistic teacher is concerned with the child's

affective (or emotional) needs. Feeling and thinking are very much interlinked.

Feeling positive about oneself facilitates learning.

One of the models included in the humanistic teaching was facilitative

teaching developed by Carl Rogers (1975). Teachers who were highly facilitative

tented to provide more:

o response to student feeling

o use of student ideas in going instructional interactions

o Discussion with students (dialogue)

o Praise of students

o Smiling with students

Three essentials for the humanistic teacher as seen by students are the

following:

• Listens comprehensively to the student’s view of reality. (‚She cares

about my feelings and understands what I wish to say when I have difficulty in

expressing it.‛)

• Respects the student. (‚He used my idea in studying the problem.‛)

• Is natural and authentic, not putting on appearances. (‚She lets us know

what she feels and thinks and is not afraid to reveal her own doubts and

insecurities.‛)

Education Principle:

Lifelong Learning

According to Learning the Treasure Within (1996):

‚-it is the process of an aware, personal construction of the individual

through learning and education but also through existential experience to which

thought has been given, conditioned by multiple, interpersonal, social

relationships. Simple learning or the teaching-learning relationship, is no more

than the cognitive dimension on which the acquisition of explicit, practical,

learning is based, essential pillars for the development of the thought, reasoning,

logic, analysis, synthesis and questioning- all the cognitive skills that help the

individual to know how to learn, with the support of whoever is assisting or

alone.

Four Pillars of Education

The Report of the Commission in 1996 identifies the four pillars as

constituting the foundations of education, to provide a framework for how

societies might move towards learning throughout life- which was a focus of

commission and a ‚necessary utopia‛ in which all people’s talents (treasures that

lies buried within them) are realized.

1. Learning to Know

Broad general education with possible in depth study of selected subjects,

to provide a ‚passport‛ to lifelong education by laying educational foundations

and giving people a taste for lifelong learning.

2. Learning to do:

Learning to do a job of work and acquiring competence to deal with a

variety of situations and to work in terms, this can be sometimes best be acquired

by involving pupils and students in work experience and social schemes.

3. Learning to Live Together:

Learning to understand others and their history, traditions and spiritual

values, the aim being to encourage people to implement common projects and to

manage conflicts intelligently and peacefully; a necessary Utopia, wrote Delors, if

we are to escape a currently dangerous cycle sustained by cynicism and

resignation.

4. Learning To Be:

At its very first meeting, the commission firmly restated the fundamental

principle that education must contribute to the all-round development of each

individual- mind and body, intelligence, sensitivity, aesthetic sense, personal

responsibility and spiritual values. All human beings must be enabled to develop

independent, critical thinking and form their own judgment, in order to

determine for themselves what they believe they should do in the different

circumstance of life.

Conclusion

Listening, self-evaluation, creativity, openness to new experiences, and

goal setting are important curriculum goal areas. Learners have a real concern

about the meaning of life, and curriculum developers should be responsive to

that concern. Putting feelings and facts together makes good sense. It is alarming

that studies of classroom interaction show that only 1% of instructional time

assesses student feelings about what they are learning. We should also help

learners acquire different ways of knowing. Still, few persons would want the

humanistic curriculum to be the only one available or to be mandated for all.

We have much to learn before we can develop curricula that will help

students become self-directed. Our best thinking today suggests that self-

direction may follow from a climate of trust, student participation in decisions

about what and how to learn (typically students report 95% of instruction on the

what and only 5% on the how to learn), and efforts to foster confidence and self-

esteem. The obstacles to be overcome are a desire by some institutions and

persons to maintain power over others, a distrust of human nature, and a lack of

student experience in taking responsibility for their own learning.

A fruitful approach to improving humanistic curriculum has begun. It

includes focusing on the physical and emotional needs of learners and

attempting to design learning experiences that will help fulfill these needs. The

idea that curriculum standards and activities should match emotional issues that

are salient at particular times is powerful. Curriculum developers might ask how

a particular subject matter could be structured in order to help students with

developmental crises. Adolescents, for example, who are experiencing an

identity crisis and trying to reconcile conflicts with parents might study history

to illuminate the origins of parental attitudes and beliefs, considering the present

validity of these origins. Students might use the sciences in meeting their needs

for coherence and understanding the world rather than studying isolated

subjects. Or, they might use the arts to express their feelings and their natural

desire to be themselves.

Bibliography:

Clinical Education and the Doctor of Tomorrow. (1994). Humanistic

Curriculum New York: New York Academy of Medicine

Delors, Jacques. (1996). Learning the Treasures Within. Paris, France:

UNESCO

Moss, Donald. (2002).‛ The Roots and Genealogy of Humanistic

Psychology. Journal Humanistic Education

Paterson, C.H. (1973). Humanistic Education. New Jersey: Prentice Hall

Inc.

Harnessing Student Movements through Authentic Humanization

‚O Youth, illumined by the arts and letters,

Stride forth into the arena, break down the heavy

Fetters that bind your genius down, for in

These tropic regions were untortured darkness<

Hand bestows today a splendid crown

Upon the native of this Eastern land.‛

- Jose Rizal

Importance of Values in Student Movements

Values is broadly defined as a measure of goodness or desirability of an

action. From this definition, we can say that values must be a manifested attribute

of behavior. It is quite difficult to illustrate values unless it is keenly observed.

This rough definition of values poses more contentions than clarifications. Since

people could not always single-out which action is desirable or not (and

according to whose terms), let us situate this values concept in the language of

student movements.

Organizing values (or values employed in student organizations) is

referred to as ‘any perceived desirable decision and action taken by a group to

advance its cause’. Simply put, organizing values is ‘anything that we hold dear’

in the course of our actions as a member of a student organization. This values in

organizing is said to be the ‘culture- side’ or the ‘glue’ that binds members

together. Without this glue, the student movement will remain a loosely

confederation of individuals having no definite goals and authentic principles.

When we speak of organizing values, we are generally dealing with the set of

principles and/ or dogmatic beliefs of any student organization. These principles

hold its members into a cohesive force, sharing a common ‘frame-of-mind’ and

sentiments in the analysis of recurring social problems and dilemmas, and

choosing what, when and where opportunities may arise for student campaigns,

meaningful social

and scholastic reforms and /or visibility through photo-ops and interviews, as

they judge fit and advantageous for their organization.

Two Contrasting Values System among Student Movements

In the early years of student activism and social movements (1960s?),

organizational values is generally in the bastion of the elitist ‘brains of the

movement’ (Nemenzo 2000). They are the ones who decide and perpetuate the

kind of values they deem necessary for the advancement of the revolution (Nafisi

2004), dismissing any attempt towards a liberalist education (i.e. reading Western

literature that they brand as revisionist/ propaganda campaigns of the

Imperialist and engaging in what they call as anti- revolutionary actions-- like

watching The American Idol, etc...) and conservative traditions and customs (i.e.

practicing one’s religious and cultural beliefs). What this movement lacks is the

respect for individual dissent and creative imagination. For this movement,

values is fixed, unchangeable and encompassing. As Professor Nafisi of Iran

describes it:

‚ It is they who fashioned democratic centralism and exerted a

strong hold over their members’ lifestyles and social activities

(Nafisi 2004).‛

Those days are never gone. Rightly or wrongly, we can no longer survive in a

student organization that is hesitant of bureaucratic changes and non- party

political and economic scrutiny within and among its ranks (Burgess 1978). This

myopic view of collective voice’s supremacy over the individual’s choice is a

dismay, if not a shame for those who themselves ‘servants of the people’ and

‘liberators of the oppressed.’ Bertrand Russell, a Logician-Mathematician and

Critical Philosopher, gives us a more democratic and less bureaucratic means of

establishing relationships among (student) organizations:

1. Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.

2. Never try to discourage thinking.

3. When you meet with opposition, even if it should be from your

children, endeavor to overcome it by argument, and not by

authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and

illusory.

4. Do not use power to suppress opinion you think pernicious, for

if you do, the opinions will suppress you.

5. Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent than in passive

agreement, for if you value intelligence as you should, the

former implies deeper agreement than the latter (Russell 1950).

Bertie’s tenets are sound and simple, yet many organizations fall short in its

application. Since we all live in a macho culture wherein being strong and being

right is everything, while gentleness and uncertainty is failure; we will always

find Bertie’s creed struggling in the corner of our minds-- like a homunculus

trying to escape from its cell. I agree with Bertie’s tenets, but more than the

values of thinking and reflecting, it is urgent for student movements to establish

a set of values necessary to establish a breed of disciplined student activists. For

this reason, I believe that Authentic Humanization or Tunay na Pagpapakatao

(TPP) best fit this purpose.

The next relevant questions would be: What is this Authentic Humanization

principle? And how are we supposed to make- use of it in our organization--- as

a reform- seeker, democracy- builder and social critic youth organization within

our respective universities/ colleges and nation.

Relevance of Authentic Humanization

What I understand about Authentic Humanization is that this values set

gives a concrete and unified explanation on how we could possibly execute our

daily human activities, following the tenets of humanization. It attempts to

explain the process of humanization and answers the basic question of human

existence which has found its best translation in the Filipino language: ‘Madaling

maging tao, pero paano ba magpakatao?’ Again, it is the process of humanization

that is essential in AH. How to become truly human? Perhaps Paulo Freire’s

explanation on the contrasting modes of education-- the dehumanization and

humanization process, will give us a comprehensible analysis on the

assumptions underlying Authentic Humanization.

The Brazilian social critic and pedagogical reformer differentiates the

dehumanization from the humanization process in education:

‚Dehumanization is a concrete expression of alienation and

domination; humanistic education is a utopian project of the

dominated and oppressed. Obviously both imply action by

people in a social reality-- the first, in the sense of preserving the

status quo, the second in a radical transformation of the

oppressor’s world (Freire 1985).‛

He further distinguishes the two:

‚In essence, one of the radical differences between education as a

dominating and dehumanizing task and education as a humanistic

and liberating task is that the former is pure act of transference of

knowledge, whereas the latter is an act of knowledge (Freire 1985).‛

I believe that Freire’s elucidations are enough. What he is actually trying

to say is that most people around the world are either educated, with some

variations, to become the oppressor or the oppressed and/or the master or the

slave. Both, however, are victims of a dehumanizing education (Freire 1985).

Thus, the first step towards the humanization process would be the realization

that ours is a society of people besieged by the alienating forces of unrestricted

capitalism, bloated bureaucracy and massive apathy. The next step is deciding

upon actions for the creation of critical and appropriate knowledge in the crucial

formation of student movements. The last step, nonetheless the most difficult

one, would be the implication of actions in altering the status quo and

establishing a system suited for the peaceful co-existence of people, regardless of

their race, class, age, gender and cultural beliefs. This is, I think, what is meant by

Authentic Humanization. You can

call it Utopian. But in the words of Professor Randolf David, ‚it is far better to

construct new Utopias than engage in an endless debunking and degenerated

cynicism‛ (David 2004). Recalling his words: ‚ there is less and less room in the

modern universities that can inspire and move, that enable us to stand in the awe

of something, or to imagine better worlds... for the life of the mind have no

choice but to reinvent academe so that it may serve once more as a lively refuge

for dreamers and utopia-builders (David 2004).‛ The academe may be one

relevant institution for this project, but student and youth movements have their

own equal share of social responsibility in utopia-building.

Contextualizing Authentic Humanization in Student Movements

How are we going to make use of AH, as a value set, in our student and

youth organizations?

First, we must establish the self’s role in the cosmic cycle of interrelated

human relationships. The self is basically the decision- maker and action- taker.

S/he embodies the potential critico- prophetic individual who constantly shapes

himself/ herself in order to fulfill what Professor Francisco Nemenzo referred as,

‘the role of the intellectual as a social critic’ (Nemenzo 2000). However, the self is

much more complicated than it seems. It is not without any problem. One

problem is the reality of transience. The individual will sooner or later, face the

reality that his/hers is a transient organization. That what s/he has with it is only

impermanence. Thus, a lot of student organizations tend to gain and lose

members quickly. In the 1970s, the sociologist Alvin Toffler has foreseen this

phenomenon in the USA:

‚ Thus, we find the emergence of a new kind of organization man--

a man who, despite his many affiliations, remains basically

uncommitted to any organization. He is willing to employ his skills

and creative energies to solve problems with equipment provided

by the organization, and within temporary groups established by it.

But he does so only so long as the problems interest him. He is

committed to his career, his own self- fulfillment (Toffler 1970).‛

Though originally observed among the corporate organizations, this

phenomenon should be better understood as a ‚wake-up-call‛ (pardon me for

the cliché) for student movements to recreate and redefine its strategies in

dealing with the challenge of transience and the primacy of the individual, rather

than take this as an omen towards the death of student organizations.

Second, we must see ourselves as an integral part, like all other parts, of a

cosmic whole; wherein the self is constantly relating with the material world, the

physical environment and the Spiritual- Other. In this whole, whatever we do

could have a direct or indirect effect (either desirable or not) to other people,

including our physical world. This second tenet can be summed- up by the

Confucian maxim, ‚Do unto others, as you want others to do unto you.‛ Or by

the Christian ethics, ‚Love your neighbor, as you love yourself.‛ The concept of

loving and respecting others are not new. In fact, they have been readily

available since time immemorial and have been constantly interpreted and

employed in various human undertakings. Professor David goes further, not

only does he believes in such values, but also he advocates for virtues that can

assist people in facing the challenges of the modern, and others would argue--

post-modern society (David 2004).

In 1969, Professor Nemenzo dissected the student movements’

composition and posed a challenge to modern student organizations:

‚The student movement in the Philippines and elsewhere, is a

heterogeneous entity. In terms of social composition, it is very

difficult to define because the activists are recruited from various

social strata. This heterogeneous character of the movement

amounts for its lack of ideological coherence< (Nemenzo 2000)‛

What Professor Nemenzo posed as a problem in the late ‘60s vis-à-vis the

lack of ideological coherence among student movements has been responded by

Professor David’s ‚Ten Virtues for the New World‛ (David 2004) three decades

later. The ideological coherence could be reinstated by virtues linking our

understanding and appreciation of the conditions underlying our commitment to

generate social movements and mass actions. One particular virtue is solidarity.

Solidarity is ‘the capacity to feel the pain of others by an imaginative

identification with their situation (David 2004).’ With this description, we are

reminded of social strata amongst student activists as something that we should

not be anxious. For if someone ‘has the readiness to find common cause with

those who are struggling against oppression, exploitation and despair (David

2004)’; then be confident for half of the battle is won. However, it does not end

there. For an organization to succeed, much work should be put on planning

relevant activities, delivering what has been deliberated and reflecting on the

outcomes of the activities. Most youth organizations fail to reach the final route.

For any undertakings to be truly revolutionary, student movements should

never lack the courage to carry-out what is learned and unlearned (Velasco 2005/

Nemenzo 2000). Hence, the first word of this essay --‚harnessing‛, is simply a

memento for student activists, like a ‚tap-in-the-shoulder‛, to continue and

struggle.

Third, we are to take the environmental issues and the ethical use of our

natural resources and material environment, seriously (Al Gore 1992). Economics

really is a science of material use and wealth spending. And there lies the

problem; we allow environmental atrocities in the guise of economic

development. But how can we use economics without sacrificing our

environment. That puzzles everyone. However, AH proposes that we should

have that conscious effort to consider the effects of our economic and non-

economic activities in our material environment. I have seen several instances

where people does not regard environment as something we should also fight

for. And who are these culprits? Not the huge manufacturing industries or

mining companies, but the participants of mass mobilizations, mostly comprised

of social and political activist. With crumpled papers and scraped plastics left on

the street after each mobilizations, it is an indication of how ignorant and

irresponsible we are. We can fashion ourselves as socialists, nationalists,

progressives and revolutionaries-- yet we can never escape the fact that we are,

in one way or the other, contributors to the rapid degradation of our natural

environment. With Authentic Humanization in mind, treating environment as

though resources are never scarce is perilous; since we are, reiterate, part of that

cosmic cycle of interrelated human relationships. For this reason, let us

understand our enduring situation by looking back at some economic realities:

1. Economics tells us that resources available in the physical

environment are scarce. There is a limited supply for raw

materials so people should make use of it efficiently. Non-

renewable resources are not replaced once consumed (e.g. oil,

coal, gold, minerals, etc.)

2. Due to unrestricted capitalism and the unpredictable movement

of financial assets, derivatives and portfolio investments,

markets and governments usually fail in uplifting the living

conditions of its people (Bello 2006).

Finally, youth movements have an arduous task in this process of integrating,

employing and harnessing AH not only as an organizational values but also as

virtues necessary for the development of the ‘self’. There will always be hope

and a task to bring about meaningful social changes (Fabros, et al 2006) and

youth movements have a significant role in its realization. Toffler reiterates this

hope and task:

‚The responsibility for change, therefore, lies with us. We must

begin with ourselves not to close our minds prematurely to the

novel, the surprising, the seemingly radical< it means fighting for

freedom< (and) the right of people to voice their ideas, even if

heretical (Toffler 1970).‛

REFERENCES

Bello, Walden. Deglobalization: Ideas for a New World. Ateneo de Manila

University Press, Katipunan Avenue, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Philippines,

2006.

Burgess, Anthony. Bakunin’s Children, pp. 69- 82 (found in 1985. Arrow Books

Limited, London, Great Britain, 1978).

David, Randolf S. Ten Virtues of a New World, pp. 340- 342 (found in Nation,

Self, and Citizenship: An Invitation to Philippine Sociology. Anvil Publishing

Inc., Pasig City, Philippines, 2004).

Fabros, Aya, et al (eds.). Politics of Place and Identity, pp. 11- 45 (found in Social

Movements: Experiences from the Philippines. Raintree Trading and Publishing,

Inc., Institute for Popular Democracy, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, 2006).

Freire, Paulo. Humanistic Education, pp. 111- 120 (found in The Politics of

Education: Culture, Power, and Liberation. Bergin & Garvey Publishers, Inc.,

Massachusetts, USA, 1985).

Gore, Al. Eco- nomics: Truth or Consequences, pp. 182- 196 (found in Earth in the

Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit. New York, USA, 1992).

Nafisi, Azar. Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books. Random House Inc.,

New York, USA, 2004.

Nemenzo, Francisco. The Intellectual as Social Critic, pp. 91- 102 (found in U.P.

Into the 21st Century. University of the Philippines Press, Diliman, Quezon City,

Philippines, 2000).

_________________. The Student Movement and the Revolutionary Process, pp.

115- 126 (found in U.P. Into the 21st Century. University of the Philippines Press,

Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, 2000).

Russell, Bertrand. The Functions of a Teacher, 112- 123 (Unpopular Essays: 12

Adventures in Argument by the Winner of the 1950 Nobel Prize for Literature.

Simon & Schuster, New York, USA, 1950).

_________________. The Free Thinker’s Creed (undated)

Toffler, Alvin. The Concept of Transience, pp. 44- 45 (found in Future Shock.

Random House Inc., USA, 1970).

_________________. The Collapse of Hierarchy, pp. 137- 142 (found in Future

Shock. Random House Inc., USA, 1970).

Velasco, Djorina. Rejecting ‚Old Style‛ Politics? Youth Participation in the

Philippines, pp. 79- 122 (found in Go! Young Progressives in Southeast Asia.

Friedrich Ebert Stiftung , Manila, Philippines, 2005).

FINDING THE PUBLIC IN THE INTELLECTUAL

IN PHILIPPINE PHILOSOPHICAL DISCOURSES1

This paper shall examine the state of Philosophy in the

Philippines in terms of its demographics, pedagogy and

discourses produced from 2006-2012. The author shall argue

that for Philosophy programs to provide a significant

contribution to national development, it should strive to

produce public intellectuals capable of influencing public

opinion towards the realization of goals and ideals beneficial

for the common good.

This paper intends to be a continuation to Quito’s seminal work, The State of

Philosophy in the Philippines (1983). Quito’s work is probably the only work of its

kind which attempts to give a comprehensive assessment of the history, practice

and policy directions of Philosophy in the Philippines at the time. A more recent

work, Gripaldo’s (2004 and 2000) critical bibliographies provides an empirical

profile of the philosophical practice in the country in terms of publications

produced during the covered period. Studies of these sort provide posterity a

perspective of philosophical activities in the distant past and to reflect on the

progress and future directions the current generation will take in advancing

philosophical discourse and practice in the country.

An attempt to evaluate the state of Philosophy in the Philippines reuires that we

revisit the objectives as to the reasons for its being. Article 2, section 37 of the

1987 Philippine Constitution stipulates that the State shall give priority to

education<to foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social progress, and

promote total human liberation and development. Article 14, section 3 of the

Constitution also states that all educational institutions shall: (1) inculcate

patriotism and nationalism, (2) appreciate the role of national heroes in historical

development, (3) foster love for humanity. (4) teach the rights and duties of

citizenship. (5) strengthen ethical and spiritual values, (6) develop moral

character and personal discipline, (7) encourage critical and creative thinking, (8)

broaden scientific and technological knowledge and (9) promote vocational

efficiency.

It is worth noting that the state puts much emphasis on civic responsibility over

individual development. It presupposes that educational institutions are bound

and expected to teach students how to think and act with the public interest in

mind. This entails that students, as citizen should learn and aspire to be good

citizens to both enrich the country’s human capital and to contribute to the

collective good of the country.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) was created to oversee the

operations of both public and private higher education institutions (HEIs) to

ensure that academic programs being offered meet the prescribed standards and

policy directions. Since its inception the CHED embarked in reviewing and

prescribing applicable policies and standards for all academic programs through

the issuance of corresponding Memorandum Orders. Just recently the issuance of

CHED Memorandum Order No. 23 s. 2012 – Criteria and Implementing

Guidelines for the Identification, Support and Development of Centers of

Excellence and Centers of Development in Philosophy Program2provides the

criteria for the recognition of outstanding Philosophy programs in the country.

This issuance states that the philosophy programs are recognized for the

development of world-class scholarship, nation building and national

development. This objective reiterates the educational provisions stipulated in

the 1987 constitution to stress the importance of the academe and Philosophy’s

role in the collective good of the nation through the development of the country’s

intellectual capital.

How much has academic Philosophy programs in the attainment of these

objectives? In providing an impact assessment of the field, the author shall be

working with the assumption that Philosophy programs are intended to cultivate

in the creation of a mass of a reflective and critical minded citizenry capable of

questioning and articulating issues of paramount importance to the individual or

the collective good. As such, Philosophy graduates are expected to be well

versed in (1) interpretation and analysis, adept in (2) critical assessment of

arguments, ideas, and presuppositions, capable of (3) fluent application of

philosophical concepts, distinctions and methods addressing philosophical

problems, and (4) creatively developing and pursuing through effective oral and

written communication, a novel approach to a broad class of puzzling issues

(Rudisil 2011, 243). The development of such citizens is necessary for the

cultivation of a healthy and robust democratic society.

This paper has two goals: (1) To provide a profile of philosophical discourses in

Philippine HEIs via the theses and publications produced from 2007-20123, and

(2) to assess the extent to which Philosophy programs have attained the

educational objectives it was meant to accomplish stipulated in the country’s

legal statues. The author shall conclude this paper with recommendations

regarding possible directions Philosophy educations may adapt for it to become

a potent force in nation building and development. To do this it is best to

examine the structure of Philosophy education in the country.

PHILOSOPHY EDUCATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

The Philosophy Curriculum Past and Present

Philosophy education in the Philippines has changed substantially since it was

first offered in the country by the University of Santo Tomas (founded in 1611).

Changes are brought about not just by changes in the curriculum but also in the

social and technological climate as well. Now, more than any era in Philippine

history, Filipinos today enjoy a great deal of liberty in terms of freedom of

expression and access to information. The internet revolutionized the

dissemination as well as retrieval of information which made a whole gamut of

literature available to the public mostly for free thereby making data gathering

much easier.

It should be noted that specialized Philosophy courses in the Bachelor of Arts in

Philosophy Degree (please see Table 2) has doubled since its original design in

the 1940s. The curriculum at the time seems to have a bent towards metaphysics,

religious education, Greek and Spanish language5. Perhaps the popular

perception that philosophy graduates are meant to pursue careers in law or the

clergy may be rooted in the curriculum design of the 1940s. This and the

University of Santo Tomas’ (founded in 1611) distinction of having the longest

running philosophy and a strong Thomistic tradition may have contributed to

this perception.

BACHELOR OF ARTS IN PHILOSOPHY DEGREE PROGRAM

1940s* 1997 to present**

First Year – 1st Semester

Philosophy 1 (Principle of

Logic)

3 units

Sub Total 3 units Sub Total 0 units

First Year - 2nd Semester

Philosophy 2 (Principles of

Ethics)

3 units

Sub Total 3 units Sub Total 0 units

Second Year – 1st Semester

Logic 3 units

Sub Total 0

Units

Sub Total 3

Units

Second Year – 2nd Semester

Philosophy of the

Human Person

3 units

Philosophy Elective 3 units

Sub Total 0

Units

Sub Total 6

Units

Third Year – 1st Semester

Philosophy 3 (Cosmology) 3 units History of Philosophy I 3 units

Chinese Philosophy 3 units

Metaphysics 3 units

Sub Total 3 units Sub Total 9 units

Third Year – 2nd Semester

Philosophy 4 (Natural

Theology)

3 units History of Philosophy II 3 units

Social Philosophy 3 units

Epistemology 3 units

Sub Total 3 units Sub Total 9 units

Fourth Year – 1st Semester

Philosophy 9 (Metaphysics) 3 units Ethics 3 units

Philosophy of Religion 3 units

Philosophy Electives 6 units

Sub Total 3 units Sub Total 12

units

Fourth Year – 2nd Semester

Philosophy 5 (History of

Philosophy)

3 units Philosophy of Science 3 units

Philosophy Electives 6 units

Sub Total 3 units Sub Total 9 units

TOTAL 18

units

TOTAL 48

units

Table 2. Standard Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy program major subjects

*from Quito (1983, 16-18)

**Based on CHED Memorandum Order No. 44 s. 1997

Philosophy students and scholars today enjoy a wide variety of specialized

philosophy courses offered in the undergraduate curriculum. The design may

have been intended to provide students with a panoramic understanding and

appreciation of the various fields of philosophy with the hope that some students

may be inclined to pursue graduate education and do research on specialized

interests.

An examination of the current curriculum design would also suggest that the

constitutional provisions regarding the role of education in propagating civic

virtues is also incorporated. A healthy balance of mandatory courses such as five

(5) specialized courses (e.g. Logic, History and Philosophy 1 and 2,

Epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Science), three (3) civic-oriented

courses (e.g. Ethics, Social Philosophy, Chinese Philosophy) and two (2) self-

introspective courses (e.g. Philosophy of the Human Person, Philosophy of

Religion) has been built-in the curriculum design.

It may be inferred that the state intended to produce graduates who can practice

intelligibly on public socio-political discourses and perhaps inspire good civic

virtues individually and collectively. Among the philosophical areas Ethics,

Social Philosophy deal with the appropriate norms one should adopt when

dealing with others and society as a whole. It articulates the general principles to

be observed for the cultivation of harmonious and productive relations with one

another which is necessary for the economic and cultural advancement of any

society.

Judging from the curriculum design, philosophy graduates in the Philippines are

expected to possess a degree of socio-political and moral sensitivity. This entails

the acquisition and cultivation of competencies mentioned by Rudisil (2011)

necessary for the critical assessment and articulation of issues as well as its

resolution. An effective civic education should be able to cultivate among

students socio-political emotions such as anger over what is deemed social

injustices and to discern sides taken by political actors in in a number of socio-

political disputes/issues (White 2012, 10).

This is in contrast to western-oriented curriculum such as the one used by the

University of Cambridge which mandates just two (2) civic oriented courses (e.g.

Ethics and political philosophy) in its tripos system and the rest devoted to

specialized courses. Though it can be argued that civic and introspective courses

may be pursued as electives, however such design is left to the student’s own

volition and personal interest independent of any collective ideal.

Unlike western countries in the United States and Europe which offers several

elective courses delivered as public lectures which students may choose as

electives. Should there be insufficient enrolees, electives may be offered as

‘tutorials’ where classes may be held in smaller rooms instead of lecture halls.

The Philippines does not have such a luxury. With limited budget, elective

courses are generally offered when there are sufficient students enrolled in order

to cover expenses for the professor’s salary, electricity and other operating

expenses.

Within the context of limited resources, the beauty of prescribing mandatory

courses is brought to light. It allows the state to subtly influence students to

follow sound civil norms to become good citizens contributory to the economic

progress and development of the nation. This is perhaps the academe’s greatest

contribution to nation building – the cultivation of public intellectuals broadly

defined as persons with or without academic background who influence large

publics for a duration of time (Elieason and Kalleberg 2008, 1-2).

Public intellectuals like politicians enjoy a popular following among citizens at

large. Though it is difficult to say why such personalities have such a strong hold

on the public’s attention and patronage, it may be safe to assume that more than

their charisma, politicians and public intellectuals are able to communicate to lay

citizens issues of general interest and their proposed vision on how such issues

can be resolved. The ability to communicate ideas, visions and possible worlds in

an simple and engaging manner easily understandable to lay citizens is perhaps

one of the most effective means how to influence people. Being able to delineate

issues and allowing the fellow citizens to understand the intricacies of positions

being taken and articulating the best course of action for fellow citizens to

consider and follow is perhaps one of the strongest contributions philosophy

programs and graduates to nation building.

How much have philosophy programs and graduates have achieved so far? To

give a picture of the ways, means and issues being articulated by philosophy

students and scholars in the Philippines, it is worth exploring the context and

mechanism shaping philosophical discourses in the country.

Examining the Philosophical Landscape: Student Statistics and Infrastructure

Today HEIs offering Philosophy programs has almost quadrupled since 1976

(please see Annex A). Records show that 28 HEIs were said to offer Philosophy

programs. Now a total of 104 HEIs have been authorized by CHED to offer

Philosophy degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It is also worth

noting that the geographic location of Philosophy offering HEIs have also

increased. Before only a select few regions have HEIs with Philosophy programs.

Now all regions in the country have their respective HEIs granted authority by

CHED to Philosophy programs thereby democratizing the access to philosophy

education.

On the average the National Capital Region (NCR) alone has 1/3 of the total

population of all philosophy enrolees and graduates across all regions. The NCR

is also home to the three HEIs with CHED Centers of Excellence in Philosophy

which may partially contribute to the promotion of Philosophy degrees among

prospective students. It is also worth noting that the major publishers who from

time to time publish philosophy books are also based in the NCR such as the

Ateneo de Manila University, University of Santo Tomas Publishing House, De

La Salle University in partnership with C&E Publishing and Anvil, among

others.

Given the exposure in terms of the presence of HEIs with excellent philosophy

programs, the existence of substantial philosophy library collections as well as

the ready availability of philosophy texts in Metro Manila bookstores, it is

understandable why the NCR has the biggest share of the pie in terms of student

enrolees and graduates. The availability of such infrastructure across the country

is necessary for Philosophy to flourish. Unfortunately, resources in philosophy

are rarely available and difficult to obtain in many provinces and regions in the

country. Despite this, the internet and the availability of open access materials

and literature makes up for the perceived unavailability of NCR produced

literature. Today almost all major texts in philosophy can be downloaded at no

cost. Efficient use of the internet can bridge the geographic divide in the

promotion of philosophical resources and the discipline itself.

Despite the substantially enhanced access to philosophy education and academic

materials, Philosophy programs does not seem to be the course of choice for

many students all over the country. Today Philosophy programs generally enjoy

a good number of enrolees from Academic Year 2005-2011. CHED (Dilidili 2013)

statistics show that enrolees from the said period have a slight growth in

enrolment or an average of 1.90% increment for the six (6) year period (please see

Table 1).

E G E G E G E G E G E G

01 88 18 100 19 88 21 79 20 87 13 98 13

02 105 24 199 11 154 18 159 51 235 31 256 24

03 146 9 157 22 248 38 528 46 362 30 469 51

04 492 122 562 102 491 66 478 56 422 60 410 48

05 363 83 422 112 474 73 473 60 647 92 505 69

06 349 56 436 60 425 55 422 62 384 61 357 144

07 833 107 718 153 776 319 1,707 194 663 118 678 288

08 43 5 201 37 171 35 181 39 168 36 159 35

09 74 19 79 26 61 27 57 24 88 11 72 31

10 151 21 252 30 268 30 235 34 239 37 230 75

11 162 32 244 23 235 22 332 29 356 27 362 26

12 170 34 97 10 158 20 200 25 193 31 183 25

13 136 39 347 59 288 53 288 53 309 30 284 48

NCR 1,685 421 1,940 326 2,433 339 1,851 375 1,675 331 1,591 359

CAR 268 66 305 61 413 64 337 58 218 30 218 30

ARMM 25 5 25 5 25 5 25 5 25 5 32 5

TOTAL 5,090 1,061 6,084 1,056 6,708 1,185 7,352 1,131 6,071 943 5,904 1,271

Egr 994 624 644 -1,281 -167

Egr% 16% 9% 9% -21% -3%

AEgr 1.90%

Ggr -5 129 -54 -188 328

Ggr% -0.47% 10.89% -4.77% -19.94% 25.81%

AGgr -1.84%

E:G 20.84% 17.36% 17.67% 15.38% 15.53% 21.53%

AE:G 20.95%

Reg.2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11

Table 1. Statistics on Philosophy enrolment (E) and graduation (G) from SY 2005-

20114

Legend:

Egr - Enrolment growth Ggr – Graduation growth E:G = Enrolment to

graduation ratio

Egr % - Enrolment growth

percentage

Ggr% - Graduation growth

percentage

AE:G – Average enrolment

to

graduation ratio AEgr - Average enrolment

growth

AGgr – Average graduation

growth

The slight increase in graduation is offset by the decline in average graduation

rate of 1.84%. More alarming is the average enrolment to graduation ratio of

20.95%. This translates to roughly only two (2) out of ten (10) enrolees manage to

graduate and obtain a degree in Philosophy for both the graduate and

undergraduate levels. This suggests that many students at one point in time do

not feel the urge to pursue their degree in philosophy. Though a study on the

reasons why former philosophy students opt not to finish their degrees has yet to

be published it is worth examining some of the possible reasons why philosophy

remains far from being the degree of choice among prospective students in the

country.

ISSUES IN THE PROFESSION

NOTES

1 I wish to extend my gratitude to the Philippine National Research Society

(PNPRS) and to my sister, Anna Monica M. Esguerra for providing me a grant as

well as the support to proceed with this study. Special thanks also goes to Ms.

Xenia Romero and Ms. AizaDilidili of CHED for providing supplementary

materials for this paper. 2 The official CHED Memorandum Order prescribing the standards for

Philosophy programs has not been issued as of this writing. At the moment

pending the issuance of each discipline’s prescribed standards, all humanities,

social science and communication disciplines follow the standards prescribed by

CHED MO No. 44 s. 1997

3Readers are advised that the materials to be examined in this paper are only

those available from: CHED records, the National Library online catalogue, as

well as the online public access catalogues (OPAC) of PhD in Philosophy

granting institutions. 4 CHED states that their enrolment statistics is consolidated for both the graduate

and undergraduate levels. Segregated data is not available at this moment. 5 For the complete curriculum and course descriptions, please see Quito 1983, p.

16-18.

REFERENCES

Co, Alfredo P. 2004. Doing philosophy in the Philippines: 50 years ago and 50

years from now.Karunungan a Journal of Philosophy. 21.

Commission on Higher Education.Memorandum order no. 23 s. 1997 – policies

and standards for humanities, social sciences and communication education.

Dilidili, Aiza. E-mail to James Victor M. Esguerra. 15 January 2013.

Eliaeson, Sven and Kalleberg, Ragnvald. 2008. Academics as public intellectuals.

Newcastle, Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Gripaldo, Rolando M. 2007. Filipino philosophy, western tradition and nation

building.Φιλοσοφία: International Journal of Philosophy. 36(1).

__________________. 2004. An update 1998-2002 [of Filipino philosophy: A critical

bibliography] Available

athttp://ia600305.us.archive.org24/items/PhilippineStudiesMaterials_258/Filipino

PhilosohyACriticalBibliography1998. Accesed: 1 February 2013.

__________________. 2001. Filipino philosophy: A critical bibliography, 2nd edition.

Manila: De La Salle University Press. Also available at

http://ia600309.us.archive.org/30/items/PhilippineStudiesMaterials/FilipinoPhilos

ophyACriticalBibliography1774-1997.pdf.Accessed: 1 February 2013.

Quito, Emerita S. 1990. Teaching and research of Philosophy in the Philippines.

In A life of philosophy selected works (1965-1988) of Emerita S. Quito. Manila: De La

Salle University Press.

__________________. 1983. The state of Philosophy in the Philippines. Manila: De La

Salle University Press.

Rudisil, John. 2011. The transition from studying philosophy to doing

philosophy. Teaching Philosophy.34(3).

University of Cambridge.Undergraduate prospectus 2014 entry.Cambridge,

University of Cambrisge. 2013. Availabe at

http://www.study.cam.ac.uk/undergraduate/publications/prospectus/docs/UGP2

014.pdf. Accesed 2 February 2013.

The 1987 constitution of the Republic of the Philippines.Available at

http://www.gov.ph/the-philippine-constitutions/the-1987-constitution-of-the-

republic-of-the-philippines/.Accessed 1 February 2013.

White, Patricia. 2012. Making political anger possible: A task for civic education.

Journal of Philosophy of Education.46(1).

ANNEX A

HEIa AUTHORIZED BY CHED TO OFFER PHILOSOPHY PROGRAMS

19791 2012-Present2

National Capital Region (NCR)

1. University of the Philippines 1. University of the Philippines-Diliman**

2. University of Santo Tomas 2. University of Santo Tomas**

3. Ateneo de Manila University 3. Ateneo de Manila University**

4. De La Salle University 4. De La Salle University**

5. Adamson University 5. Adamson University

6. Our Lady of Angels Seminary 6. Our Lady of Angels Seminary

7. San Carlos Seminary 7. San Carlos Seminary

8. San Jose Seminary 8. Polytechnic University of the Philippines

9. St. Paul Seminary 9. Philippine Christian University

10. Christ the King Mission Seminary 10. San Beda College**

11. Sacred Heart Novitiate 11. St. Paul University-Manila

12. University of Manila 12. Divine Word Mission Seminary

13. Trinity College 13. Philippine Dominican Center for Institutional Studies

14. Lyceum of the Philippines

(Manila)

15. Rogationist Seminary College

16. Saint Anthony Mary Claret College

17. St. Camillus College Seminary

18. Centro Escolar University-Manila**

Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)

1. St. Louis University 1. St. Louis University*

2. San Pablo Major Seminary

3. University of Baguio**

Region 1 (Ilocos Region)

1. University of Pangasinan 1. Colegio de San Jose Alominos

2. Mary Help of Christians College Seminary

3. University of Luzon**

4. Urdaneta City University

Region 2 (Cagayan Valley)

1. Our Lady of the Pillar College - Cauayan

2. Saint Mary’s University

3. St. Ferdinand College-Iligan

4. University of St. Louis-Tuguegarao

5. Lyceum of Aparri*

6. Isabela Colleges**

7. Isabela State University-Cabagan**

8. Northeastern College**

9. University of La Salette**

Region 3 (Central Luzon)

1. Mater Redemptorist College of San Jose City

2. Mother of Good Counsel Seminary

3. Mount Carmel College-Baler

4. Our Lady of Peace College Seminary

5. Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology-

Main**

6. PamantasanngAraullo**

Region 4-A and B (CALABARZON and MIMAROPA)

1. Divine Word Seminary 1. Divine Word Seminary

2. St. Francis de Sales Major

Seminary

2. Batangas State University-Main

3. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Seminary 3. De La Salle University-Dasmariñas

4. Don Bosco College-Canlubang

5. International Peace Leadership College

6. Laguna Northwestern College

7. Maryhill College

8. Oblates of Saint Joseph

9. Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Seminary

10. Saint Paul Seminary Foundation

11. Saint Peter’s Colleges Seminary

12. San Pablo Colleges

13. University of the Philippines-Los Baños

14. Cavite State University-Main**

Region 5 (Bicol Region)

1. Aquinas University 1. Aquinas University

2. Ateneo de Naga University

3. Bicol University-Daraga Campus

4. Holy Family Center of Studies Foundation

5. Holy Rosary Minor Seminary

6. Mater Salutis College Seminary

7. Our Lady of Peñsfrancia Seminary

8. Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity College Seminary

9. Southern Bicol Colleges

10. Bicol College**

Region 6 (Western Visayas)

1. St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary 1. St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary

2. Central Philippine University 2. Colegio de Sta. Rita

3. Kabankalan Catholic College

4. Sacred Heart Seminary School

5. Saint Anthony’s College-Antique

6. Sancta Maria, Mater et Regina, Seminarium

7. Santo Niño Seminary

8. St. John Mary Vianney Seminary

9. Colegio de la Purisima Concepcion

10. University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos

11. University of San Agustin

12. Iloilo State College of Fisheries-Main**

13. University of Antique-Main**

Region 7 (Central Visayas)

1. San Carlos Seminary College 1. San Carlos Seminary College

2. University of San Carlos 2. University of San Carlos**

3. Colegio de San Jose-Recoletos 3. University of San Jose-Recoletos*

4. Siliman University 4. Siliman University

5. ColegiumSocietasAngeliPacis

6. Holy Name University

7. Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary

8. Mary’s Children Formation College

9. Rogationist Seminary College

10. Saint Joseph Seminary College

Region 8 (Eastern Visayas)

1. Sacred Heart Seminary 1. Sacred Heart Seminary

Legend:

* - Authorized to grant Master’s degree in Philosophy

** - Authorized to grant Doctoral degree in Philosophy

2. Christ the King College-Calbayog City

3. Saint Joseph College

4. Saint Mary’s College of Borongan

5. St. Vincent de Paul College Seminary

Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula)

1. Ateneo de Zamboanga University

2. Immaculate Concepcion Archdiocesan School

3. Saint Columban College

4. Saint Vincent’s College

5. Universidad de Zamboanga**

Region 10 (Northern Mindanao)

1. Saint Michael’s College of Iligan

2. San Isidro College

3. Xavier University

Region 11 (Davao Region)

1. Ateneo de Davao University*

2. Saint Francis Xavier College Seminary

3. University of Mindanao Tagum College

4. University of Southeaster Philippines-Main**

Region 12 (SOCKSARGEN)

1. Notre Dame University 1. Notre Dame University

2. Notre Dame of Kidapawan College

3. Notre Dame of Marbel University

Region 13 (CARAGA)

1. Saint Peter College Seminary

2. St. Paul University Surigao

3. Saint Augustine Seminary

4. Saint Joseph Seminary College

5. San Lorenzo Ruiz Seminary

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)

1. Mindanao State University-Marawi

TOTAL: 28 TOTAL: 104

Notes:

1 Based on the 1976 Fund for Assistance to Private Higher Education College Handbook in

Quito (1983, 44-45) 2 Based on email to the author from Ms. AizaDilidili of Ched dated 15 January 2013.

TRACING A VIRTUE OF CONTENTMENT IN LEVINAS

“Thesis discussed is No. 3 “Levinas' fascinating insight on the urgency to escape il y a

helps us appreciate the coming to being of existents. In existing, however, there is still the

solitude of being from which I have to be delivered by the Other.”

From il y a to jouissance and the solitude of being

In an early work On Escape (De l’evasion) (2003), Emmanuel Levinas hints an

attempt to go beyond Western thinking, wherein anything that threatens the

central place of the I or the same is approached with hostility. But the egonomy

of Western thought reverts to another problem – the always already given

position of being even before thinking. At the time though, recent literature

seems to signal a break from a thinking always already engaged in the

dichotomy of being and nothingness (p. 51) Levinas agrees and suggests an

escape from this (p. 56).

The point of the said work was extensively given figure in Existence and

Existents (1995). To break free from being, Levinas examines what is before being

and calls this the il y a or the there is. For the lack of language, Levinas resorts to

fleeting and even vague themes such as vertigo, light, insomnia, lethargy, nausea

to characterize the there is. Lingis in his note (1995) says Levinas examines ‚a

relationship with the terrestrial<prior to every relationship with things. In such

preobjective relationships the analysis discovers a process of auto-position in our

existence, by which the domain of inwardness and privacy is established‛ (p. 9).

Levinas is proposing a new way.

Because Levinas examines the emergence of being from il y a, being is

emancipated from the definition as foremost a thinking thing. Being is not

immediately rational, but is rather seen as sensibility, as living from< the fruits

of the earth (Levinas, 1969, p. 110). In this state called jouissance, being is like an

empty stomach taking its fill from the bountiful world and even happy for its

needs like hunger and thirst. Here, nothing is a tool, but everything is an end, to

be consummated with. This is the experience of the first alter. While in the height

of enjoyment, the I seem to take life as giving a promise of fulfillment of being.

However, the objects that are enjoyed are located in the elements that

cannot be possessed like the sea, air, or light, which separate being from the

infinite (p. 132). These elements delineate the future, which threatens jouissance.

But the future or tomorrow is mastered, suspended and postponed by possession

through labor. ‚The hand both brings the elemental qualities to enjoyment, and

takes and keeps them for future enjoyment‛ (p. 161). With this, the mode of

living is no longer sensibility, but possession and domination. (But to posses

anything means one must first be at-home (chez-soi) and has a dwelling, because

the separated being, the atheist needs a place to fill itself with the fruits of life.)

The face of the Other decenters the I

Since Levinas describes man’s existence after emerging from the there is as

sensibility and then atheist, separated, chez-soi, the entry of the Other is thus a

surprising experience. This is because the Other, unlike the first alter (vegetable,

scenery) cannot be taken in at-home and enjoyed. Instead, it is even this Other

that displaces the I and takes it away from itself to the otherwise (hors-de-soi). The

I, by the entry of this irreducible Other, comes in contact with something

untranslatable to one’s self and understanding, with something from the

dimension of height that suggests that it is both a master or a teacher but at the

same time the dispossessed, the powerless, the vulnerable, the placeless.

But while the Other is truly alter, it could still be encountered because of

the access it provides through its face. In speaking of the face, Levinas is not

referring to a metaphor, but is literally referring to the flesh of the face, if not

even the fragility of the Others’ whole body. While this piece of flesh may seem

akin to the first alter, this only proves the complete alterity of the Other, because

in the case of murder for instance, the Other escapes the power of the I after the I

had annihilated the body (p. 199). Thus, the Other cannot be contained in terms,

locked in categories, and limited based on her historical existence.

Mistaking the Other for the first alter

In Levinas, the problem begins when the I confuses the alterity of the Other into

a first alter (a piece of bread, visual art). This non-acceptability of the otherness of

the Other, which is also called totalization, can take various forms such as the

largest genocide in history, murder, transformation of a person as tool for a

selfish end, and racism, among others. But it is not limited in such events.

Mistaking the Other for something consumable could also be seen in the every

day. For instance, in bullying, in threatening, in punning, in creating schemes,

even in ‚diplomacy<brainwashing, pestering, intimidation or bribery‛

(Burggraeve, 2009, p. 17). In fact, forgetfulness that there is a life beyond the face

and flesh of the Other can be seen during the rush hour at the Metro Rail Transit

(MRT) station in Cubao during weekdays. The commuters, almost all going to

work, would push one another just to get inside a train’s cabin that resembles a

can of sardines, if not Holocaust.

This attempt to reduce the Other into a thing or a food for consumption

and tool may signal that one cannot accept that reality is more vast and complex

than what can a single mind conceive. Instead of listening to the other side of the

story from the others who are part of it, one would opt to construct a plot. The I

who cannot accept the intersubjectivity of space is egocentric par excellence. He

will try to reduce the Other’s dimension of height, and at the same time the

Other’s placelessness into the level of his own space. There will be no ears for

discourse, no room for correction, the other would be placed under a light and

under scrutiny of the eyes. There will be no trial, because the Other is accused

even before facing the court (Levinas, 1998, p. 34).

Accommodating the other and the virtue of contentment

And yet, no matter how the I try to reduce the Other into categories and heaps of

terms, the Other is always fleeing and is always more than names. No matter

how the insecure I fashion reality after one’s own image, micromanage persons,

prepare schemes to control the Other, the Other would always ‚exceed the

grasp‛ and even when stripped, can never be transformed into the same. For

instance, modern organizations that access every information exchange passing

in their employees’ computer units (the Foucauldian shade of Panopticon) could

still not read the individuals’ minds.

Thus, in Levinas, it appears that the key to peaceful co-existence is to

disregard the initial promise of jouissance and to look away from the approach to

life as living from<the fruits of the earth. Disregarding this preliminary promise

of fulfillment of being gives way to the attitude of consideration and tolerance.

Consideration for the Other (after you, thank you) whom I have no power over,

and tolerance for the simple cultural or moral differences. The I, knowing that

the Other is coming from a strange land, will no longer be irritated by simple

variations in intonations, diction, or accent and instead would listen to the real

speech.

In any case, the I can never be satisfied again after it has escaped its

immersion in life as living from< The satisfaction of need that can still be

fulfilled by consummating with the first alterity, is forever altered by the entry of

the Other, which is approached in the unquenchable Desire. The Other is truly

other, and with her the I exists in an intersubjective space wherein not only

intentions, but also dreams, ambitions, goals, acquisition of pleasure are not

guaranteed as these intermingle with all the others’ acts and the events they

shape.

However, Levinas clarifies that his philosophy does not cultivate slavish

values of the Nietzschean herd by explaining that by the entry of the third party,

the I is also made an Other infront of an Other, making oneself responsible for

oneself. Lingis writes, ‚the very structure of concern for oneself<is from the first

an ethical obligation. The sense that one is answerable for one’s own being too‛

(1998, p. xlx.)

Thus, the virtue of contentment, in the Levinasian sense, would not mean

abandonment of a life project and of one’s potentials and goals. However, it

would mean a reconsideration of one’s ambitions in face of an Other. It would

mean acceptance of perpetual discontent in the intersubjective space and the

priority of ethics before the fulfillment of being. The I then would have to

reconsider if his accumulated wealth or recognition is still desirable if these

would entail sacrifices from others around. At the heart of this call for

contentment is not the voice of mediocrity, but a fear to generate violence and a

fear to take another’s space. Levinas says:

My being-in-the-world or my ‘place in the sun’<, have these not

also been the usurpation of the other man whom I have already

oppressed or starved, or driven out into the third world<? Pascal’s

‘my place in the sun’ marks the beginning of the image of the

usurpation of the whole earth. A fear for all the violence and

murder my existing might generate, in spite of its conscious and

intentional innocence (1989, p. 72).

Speaking of contentment and space, in the business district Makati,

vertical architecture (office buildings, condominiums) is most rational

because of lack of space for horizontal development. But of course, this

does not explain the utter contrast of the structures’ co-existence with the

homeless and the lost around the area. Perhaps height in this sense could

also mean the capability of first receiving the new wealth of the country’s

anticipated tiger economy, which would unlikely trickle below. But to face

this gap is the task of institutions, which to Levinas also reverts to the

philosophy of the face.

References

Burggraeve, R. (2009). Proximity with the Other: A Multidimensional Ethic of

Responsibility in Levinas. India: Dharmaram Publications.

Levinas, E. (1969). Totality and Infinity: An Essay on Exteriority. (A. Lingis, Trans.).

Pennsylvania, PA: Duquesne University Press.

Levinas, E. (1989). Ethics as First Philosophy. In S. Hand (Ed.), The Levinas Reader

(75-87). Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell

Levinas, E. (1998). The I and the Totality. Entre Nous: On-thinking-of-the-other. (M.

B. Smith & B. Harshaw, Trans.). New York, NY: Columbia University

Press.

Levinas, E. (2003). On Escape (De l’evasion). (B. Bergo, Trans.). California, CA:

Stanford University Press.

Lingis, A. (1998). Translator’s Introduction. In E. Levinas, Otherwise than Being or

beyond essence. (A. Lingis, Trans.) Pennsylvania, PA: Duquesne University

Press.

Does Emotional ‘Grey Matter’ matters in Management Competencies?

Implications of emotional attributes in managerial skills among academic

managers

Introduction

True intelligence is having the capacity to balance information from

the emotional side of the brain as well as the rational side of the brain and deal

with that information appropriately. Traditionally, philosophers have defined

emotions to be interruptions to otherwise logical states of being (Smith & Kirby,

2000). The recent resurgence of research in the emotional realm in both

psychology and cognitive science agrees with the view developed by the late

Charles Darwin who, in the late 1800s, conceived that emotions play an

important part in our cognition and serve to provide us with the mechanisms for

adaptive behavior in a dynamically complex world (Smith & Ellsworth, 1985).

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is a phrase that has only become popular in the

1990s, yet this quotation shows that we have been aware of the power of it for

many decades. John Mayer and Peter Salovey in 1990 first coined the phrase

'emotional intelligence' (Mayer and Solovey, 1997). Since then Daniel

Goleman raised awareness of the nature of EQ and its influence on success in life.

Starting with his first publication Emotional Intelligence in 1995, he has been

adamant that EQ has more to contribute to success than IQ and he has argued

convincingly that high IQ does not correlate highly with success in the job.

Goleman states that IQ contributes about only 20 per cent to the factors that

govern success, while EQ accounts for the remaining 80 percent. Undeniably, it

helps to have brainpower, but this is not enough for success in leading change.

Emotions are the driving force behind all human behavior. David Mead, Chief

Operating Officer, First Direct says:

For me the emotional side of the Customer Experience is the

essence of First Direct. All the other things, the physical things,

are what a customer is entitled to get from any bank. The

emotional piece is what will make First Direct successful over

the next ten years. For a customer to put the phone down, or

click off the Internet and not only know that something has been

sorted, but feel good about it means the customer would not

want to go anywhere else.

Vice President of Marketing for IBM, Buck Rodgers said: 'People buy emotionally

and then justify with logic'.

An example of the development of EQ at work is the way it has been

instrumental in helping lawyers deal with emotionally charged situations.

Following recommendations from the Macpherson report into the death of

Stephen Lawrence, changes have been made in the way victims of crimes are

informed about whether the case against their perpetrator will proceed to court

or not. This was a role originally dealt with by the police. The Crown Prosecution

Service (CPS) now has to contact victims of crime. They have direct dealings with

them when they write or see them in person to tell them of the decision to

prosecute. Over an 18-month period the CPS' 2,000 lawyers took part in a tailor-

made training course based on EQ intelligence in order better to handle this

difficult process. It was identified early on that given the rational, logical

thinking style of lawyers, the change of role required them to think about how

their decisions would make people feel and how best to deal with the subsequent

potentially distressing discussions.

Education is considered one of the integral tools and indispensable mechanisms

of society for continuous nation-building and holistic development of its society

for the greater good; hence, educational institutions in the Philippines hire

qualified and knowledgeable Academic Managers (e.g. Deans, Department

Heads, and Directors) in providing quality and excellent educational system and

approach to their studentry. Schools are considered one of the busiest industries

of human development as well as work ground for anyone, where experiences

such as pleasures, jealousy, rage, guilt and love are displayed but researchers in

work psychology have been slow to incorporate emotion into their analysis

(Cassell, 1999). Fineman (1966) says good organizations are places where feelings

are managed, designed out or removed. It is believed that determining the link

between the emotional intelligence and management competencies (i.e. factors

that can predict the job success through the ability of doing something efficient

and effective or superior performance, McClelland, 1973) may help the higher

academic management in choosing or assigning certain positions to most capable

people in relation to their emotions that has something to do with their

management competencies. The aim of this study is to determine the links

between emotional intelligence and management competencies of the middle

management academic managers of educational institutions.

Topic:

Emotional Intelligence and its link with Managerial Competencies

Main Goal:

Increased understanding of the role of emotional intelligence in developing

managerial competencies

Specific Objectives:

a. To determine the levels of emotional attributes and managerial

competencies of top and middle management personnel;

b. To establish the link between the emotional attributes and

management competencies among top and middle management

personnel;

c. Basing on the outcome of the study, to predict the managerial

performance of top and middle level managers given a range of

emotional attributes; and

d. To suggest a framework for appointment of potential top and middle

managers.

Problem Statement:

There is an apparent deficiency in understanding of the role of emotional

intelligence in a person’s academic managerial competencies. There seems to be a

dearth of studies in the field of work psychology focusing on establishing the

link between emotional intelligence and managerial competence. This may have

caused the slow incorporation of emotions in studies analyzing management

competency issues, as claimed by authorities working in industrial and

organizational psychology (Cassell, 1999). This study will look into the

significant links between the emotional intelligence and management

competencies among academic managers. Furthermore, it aims to examine the

levels of emotional factors that may affect managerial competencies and lead to

better performance among top and middle management personnel of academic

institutions. This study argues that emotional intelligence plays a significant role

in management skills identification and development.

Research Method:

This research will utilize Methodological Triangulation wherein the researcher will

use Interview and Standardized Questionnaires (i.e. WPQei-Work Personality

Questionnaire emotional intelligence and MDQ-Management Development

Questionnaire). The WPQei is based on a conceptual model of emotional

intelligence that has seven components. An overall score for emotional

intelligence is generated in addition to a score on each of the seven competencies.

A narrative report then describes each area in more detail. In addition, the report

advises on areas for development, and also identifies respondents’ preferred

team role using the Belbin model. While, MDQ is is a tool for assessing the skills

and competencies of managers and professional staff. It is based upon extensive

research exploring the skills required to be a successful manager in today's

economy and business climate. Because of its unique feedback report, it is

especially suited for coaching and training executives and managers. One major

use of the MDQ is for staff development because it is designed to help managers

better understand their strengths and weaknesses and identify areas for self-

improvement.

On the other hand, the data will be process using Structural equation modeling

(SEM). SEM is a statistical technique for testing and estimating causal relations

using a combination of statistical data and qualitative causal assumptions based

on the data that will be gathered thru conducting interviews and administering

questionnaires. This definition of SEM was articulated by the geneticist Sewall

Wright (1921), the economist Trygve Haavelmo (1943) and the cognitive

scientist Herbert A. Simon (1953), and formally defined by Judea Pearl (2000)

using a calculus of counterfactuals. Structural equation models (SEM) allow both

confirmatory and exploratory modeling, meaning they are suited to both theory

testing and theory development. Confirmatory modeling usually starts out with

a hypothesis that gets represented in a causal model. The concepts used in the

model must then be operationalized to allow testing of the relationships between

the concepts in the model whether significant links really exist between the

competencies of emotional intelligence and management among academic

managers. The model is tested against the obtained measurement data to

determine how well the model fits the data. Hence, the theoretical

framework/model of emotional intelligence and management competencies

among academic managers will be realized.

References:

Baillie-de Byl, P., & Toleman, M. (2005). Engineering Emotionally Intelligent

Agents. In M. Khosrow-Pour (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Information Science and

Technology (Vol. 2, pp. 1052-1056). Hershey, PA: Idea Group Reference.

Retrieved from http://goo.gl/7RfOq

What Is EQ and How Can It Help During Change? (2004). In S. Cook, S.

Macaulay, & H. Coldicott, Change Management Excellence (pp. 164-176).

London: Kogan Page. Retrieved from http://goo.gl/k4jH7

Wright, Sewall S. (1921). "Correlation and causation". Journal of Agricultural

Research 20: 557–85.

Simon, Herbert (1953). "Causal ordering and identifiability". In Hood, W.C.;

Koopmans, T.C. Studies in Econometric Method. New York: Wiley. pp. 49–74

Pearl, Judea (2000). Causality: Models, Reasoning, and Inference. Cambridge

University Press. ISBN 0-521-77362-8.

Bollen, K A, and Long, S J (1993) Testing Structural Equation Models. SAGE Focus

Edition, vol. 154, ISBN 0-8039-4507-8

Sharing Values, Shaping Worldviews:

The Essence and Dynamics of Filipinos’ Spaces for Interactions

Filipinos have a long history of communal experience that leads to a wide

and complex range of interpersonal relations. This has been initially studied by

psychologists Enriquez and Santiago through their proposed eight-level

classification of interaction – from the relatively uninvolved civility (pakikitungo)

to the total sense of identification (pakikiisa). All these are part of the

conceptualization of kapwa, the recognition of shared identity or the inner self

shared with others, as a Filipino core value. This is the primary reason why

Filipinos are very fond of mingling with each other thus creating a particular

space for that purpose.

In the initial collection of data, the researcher found out different terms used

to identify these spaces – dap-ayan in Ilocos, tongtong among the Ibalois, ator in

Bontoc, pergula in Isabela, balawa among the Tinguians, alulong in Pangasinan,

papag in Pampanga at Bicol, ungkutan in Batangas, talantangan in Laguna, balay-

balay in Albay, payag-payag in Romblon, payag in Aklan, pajag in Leyte,

kamalig/tambayanan in Cebu, lagkaw in Negros Oriental, casita in Zamboanga,

payag-payag in Misamis Oriental, tambayanan in Bukidnon, and lantay in Davao.

This shows how Filipino people value the spaces wherein they can share stories

and ideas as part of intensifying their relationship with the community – its

environment and its people.

As preliminary, the research will focus on the spaces for interaction in Metro

Manila. One of which is the salamyaan of Marikina. Florendo-Imao (2002)

defined salamyaan as:

...a romanticized Tagalog word used to describe a

modest shed where Marikeños, mostly senior citizens,

gathers and spend their leisure time engaged in lively

discourse about absolutely anything under the sun, as

well as eat, rest, or just simply hang out. (12)

In a fast-paced lifestyle of urban centers like Metro Manila, one can question

how these traditional spaces like the salamyaan survive through the years. Many

of these have actually disappeared because of reasons like sidewalk

improvement, land utilization, and lack of interest to continue the tradition from

the younger generation. On the other hand, even if these spaces have been

physically lost, the practice continues in places like sari-sari stores, theme parks,

malls, and waiting sheds. Therefore, it is important to see these spaces not just as

physical structures but also cultural traditions that cannot be easily

denied/eradicated to the people. For this reason, the place for interaction can be

considered as a ‚battlefield‛ of tradition and urbanization that will eventually

lead to the idea of a community/nation in present times.

Objectives:

From the discussion above, it can be said that more than just being a place

for recreation, the space is, in effect, a home where kinship and a deep sense of

community among the people are continually nurtured and strengthened. In line

with this, the proposed research attempts to look into these spaces for interaction

in the Philippines and its vital role in passing the values and shaping the

worldviews of Filipinos. It tries to investigate the kinds of talastasang-bayan

(cultural discourse) created in these places through the dynamics of sharing

stories and opinions on wide array of topics and issues. It also highlights the

politics of space imposed by urbanization and how this affects the sense of

community of the people and the idea of a nation based from the relationships of

people to the environment and to each other.

Approach and Method:

The proposed research highlights the interdisciplinary approach of

Philippine Studies, particularly the fields of humanities and social sciences. It

gives value on oral literature – stories created by the people– and the indigenous

methods of Filipino psychology and anthropology (ethnography) to fully

understand the tradition of these spaces that eventually lead to the recognition of

Filipino consciousness, experience, and heritage.

Preliminary References:

Alegre, Edilberto N. 1993. Pinoy Forever: Essays on Culture and Language. Pasig:

Anvil Publishing, Inc.

Florendo-Imao, Cielo. 2002. ‚See you at the Salamyaan.‛ Ka-Angkan 2002:

Salamyaan sa Ilog. Edited by Melvin Cruz, et al. Marikina City.

Maggay, Melba P. 2002. Pahiwatig: Kagawiang Pangkomunikasyon ng Filipino.

Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.

Mojares, Resil B. 1997. House of Memory. Pasig: Anvil Publishing, Inc.

Navarro, Atoy M. and Flordeliza Lagbao-Bolante, eds. 2007. Mga Babasahin sa

Agham Panlipunang Pilipino: Sikolohiyang Pilipino, Pilipinolohiya, at

Pantayong Pananaw. Quezon City: C&E Publishing, Inc.

Petras, Jayson D. 2010. Salamyaan: Isang Pag-aaral sa Talastasang Marikenyo. M.A.

thesis in Philippine Studies, University of the Philippines.

Rodriguez-Tatel, Mary Jane B. 2005. ‚Ang Dalumat ng Bayan sa Kamalayan at

Kasaysayang Pilipino.‛ Bagong Kasaysayan, blg. 15. Quezon City:

Palimbagan ng Lahi.

Santiago, Carmen E. and Virgilio G. Enriquez. 1982. ‚Tungo sa Makapilipinong

Pananaliksik.‛ In Sikolohiyang Pilipino: Teorya, Metodo, at Gamit, ed. Rogelia

Pe-Pua, 155-160. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press.

Veneracion, Jaime B. 1987. Agos ng Dugong Kayumanggi: Isang Kasaysayan ng

Pilipinas. Quezon City: Abiva Publishing.

Tales of Rizal Province as Socio-Cultural Resources of the

Rizaleños

Objectives of the Study

Generally, this study aims to gather the various kwentong bayan in the

province of Rizal and use these as cultural resources to study the cultural

practices and beliefs of the Rizaleños. Specifically, it has the following

objectives:

1. to determine the particular cultural practices and beliefs of the Rizaleños

that are reflected from the kwentong bayan;

2. to unfold other untold kwentong bayan through oral history;

3. to determine the inconsistencies of what was written and what was

researched; and

4. to identify the cultural beliefs and practices that are still observed by the

Rizalenos.

Introduction

Few years after the Spanish arrived in the Philippines, the

predominant value of literature for the Filipinos is as instrumental as sword

to fight against the invaders. But alongside this sole purpose of literature

during that time, folk tales or the kwentong bayan is one of the forms of

literature that is less accounted for it is only just used by the Filipinos as a

form of entertainment.

Until such time this form of literature was noticed by people

indulge in studying the Philippines because of its relevance in the country.

From there, kwentong bayan were started being used by the anthropologists,

historians, linguists and other scholars to study the history and cultural

heritage of the country. According to Damian Eugenio, of the University of

the Philippines, these scholars would have seen that, ‚(kwentong bayan)

reflected the geographical location, the archipelagic nature of the country, the

numerous ethnolinguistics group to be found in it, and the various historical

forces, that have shaped the destiny of its people.‛

This move of the scholars opened more opportunity for the

kwentong bayan. One of which is the publishing of the collected stories.

Eugenio said that there was no published collection during the three

centuries Spanish rule except for Dr. Jose Rizal’s ‘The Tortoise and the

Monkey’ which was published in 1889.

Additionally, as cited by Lumbera & Lumbera (2004), ‚prose

narratives in pre-historic Philippines consisted largely of origins, myths, hero

tales, fables and legends. Their function in the community was to explain

natural phenomenon, past events, and contemporary beliefs in order to make

the environment less fearsome by making it more comprehensible and, in

more instances, to make idle hours less tedious by filling them with humor

and fantasy.‛

From these citations, it only manifests the relevance of reading

and studying kwentong bayan not only just for the scholars’ purpose of

knowing, but for the many Filipinos to learn their past and the way of life

they live in, and to better understand culture as a pivotal force that drives the

people together within the society.

The researcher had also seen this significance to the Rizaleños

that is why this research is conducted. This study is an attempt to have an in-

depth study about the culture of Rizal province using kwentong bayan as

cultural resources.

Background of the Study

Literature as one of the bases of history is not only used to

recount the experiences of the people of the past and to continuously record

events. It is also used for specific purpose—that is in historical and cultural

analysis of a certain society.

Kwentong bayan would have considered as one of the oldest forms

of literature, together with the lullaby, chant and maxims among other. These

stories had passed already the test of time, though proofs of their roots were

not yet established. However, one thing is for sure for the scholars who used

kwentong bayan in their researches; this form of literature is a manifestation on

how people of the past lived. Besides, kwentong bayan are stories from the

mouth of the people during the early years. This is where these people

expressed their social consciousness, and the norms that they believed and

practiced. Hence, historical and cultural implications are likely more probable

in the kwentong bayan.

From this posit, this study attempted to study culture based on

literature perspective. The researcher sees that aside from observing how do

people in a certain society behaves and interacts, culture can be understood

through studying literary works. By doing this, cultural resources are taking

into consideration.

Cultural resources are defined as the collective evidence of the

past activities and accomplishments of people (retrieved from

www.nysm.nysed.gov on October 21, 2012). Using cultural resources as

instrument of research is proven to be scientific. Most of the anthropologist,

historians, social scientists and other scholars used these resources in

supporting their claim. Relative to this, culture is the way of life of a

particular society or group of people, including patterns of thought, beliefs,

behavior, customs, traditions, rituals, dress, and language, as well as art,

music, and literature (Webster’s New World Encyclopedia, 1992).

The main objective of this study is to gather the kwentong bayan in

the Province of Rizal and used this as cultural resources to study the culture

of the province. In achieving this objective, Qualitative Research Design

utilizing document analysis and oral history will be used.

Kwentong bayan is not just an instrument of this study; it is also

instrumental for the Filipinos to learn of their culture, particularly for the

Rizaleños.

Rizaleños do have culture that is as colorful as their arts and

festivities, and as rich as their historicity. Historical data proves that Rizal

Province became the battle ground of Spanish-Filipino war, but more to that

is the richness of their folktales that are left untouched by many.

Only few of the stories are being documented, like those of the

stories in Angono, Rizal such as the ‘Myth of Buwaya’, various ‘Legends

about the name of Angono’, and the ‘Myth of Mermaid’ to name few. These

stories were gathered and published by Prof. Ligaya Tiamson-Rubin, who

was named as the ‘Diwata ng Angono’ and a professor emeritus of the

University of the Philippines. Other stories were being told orally, like ‘the

story about a child crying at the middle of the rice field’ in Teresa, the myth

about the Pulong Dyablo in Binangonan, and the story about ‘the Image of

Mama Mary at the Tipulo tree’ and the ‘myth about the bell in Hinulugang

Taktak’ in Antipolo City; the ‘myth about Bernardo Carpio in Motalban’; the

‘legend of Ka Inta’ in Cainta among others. However, there is no available

document pertaining to the numbers of folktales and their names in the

province, hence, in-depth research of those stories are indeed necessary for

the purpose of this study.

Relevance of this study is not only to lead understanding of the

culture of the Rizal Province, but this is also considered as a niche to provide

essential way to preserve the kwentong bayan of the province that are little by

little has a fear to be forgotten in the succeeding years.

The setting of the study is the Rizal province, which is comprised

of a city, and thirteen towns, to name these are: Antipolo City, Teresa,

Morong, Baras, Tanay, Pililla, Jala-jala, Cardona, Binangonan, Angono,

Taytay, Cainta, Rodriguez, and San Mateo. Each part of Rizal has their

folktales that are worth to tell because of their implications to the culture of

the province.

Dealing on this study is pivotal to the needs of not only just for

the Rizaleños but also to every Filipinos to understand purely the heritage

that they have at present, since those that they have in this modern time are

the by-products of the development of the culture of the Philippines.

They might learn of the past events that being recounted from the

centuries of torture from the invaders, from the rise and fall of the country’s

economic, political and social state, and from the disappointments, they felt

from the leaders of the country, but there is nothing more encompassing than

to learn of the culture of the country. For culture manifests ‘Filipinism’ among

the Filipinos. It made Filipinos to be identified as ‘Filipinos’ outside the

country. It made the Filipinos of the past, molded the Filipinos of the present,

and will nurture the Filipinos of the future. Besides, of all the things that

country had right now, cultural beliefs and practices are at once— inevitable.

Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored on Discourse Theory (DT) by Ernesto

Laclau and Chantal Mouffe. The theoretical starting point of Laclau and

Mouffe’s DT is the proposition that all social phenomena and objects obtain

their meaning(s) through discourse, which is defined as ‚a structure in which

meaning is constantly negotiated and constructed‛ (Laclau 1988: 254).

The concept of discourse is also described as a structured entity,

which is the result of articulation (Laclau and Mouffe 1985), which in turn is

viewed as ‚any practice establishing a relation among elements such that

their identity is modified as a result of the articulatory practice‛.

Nodal points are constructed on the basis of articulation:

‚The practice of articulation consists in the construction of

nodal points which partially fix meaning; and the partial character

of this fixation proceeds from the openness of the social, a result, in

its turn, of the constant overflowing of every discourse by the

infinitude of the field of discursivity‛. (Laclau and Mouffe 1985:

113)

Additionally, the term discourse refers precisely to the capacity of

meaning-making resources to constitute social reality, forms of knowledge

and identity within specific social contexts and power relations (Hall, 1997).

As Fairclough’s list of meanings illustrates, the field of discourse

studies always has had to come to terms with a diversity of meanings that are

attributed to the signifier discourse. Discourse can for instance be defined as

‚‘samples of spoken dialogue, in contrast with written text’; ‘spoken and

written language’; ‘situational context of language usage’; ‘interaction

between reader writer and text’; ‘notion of genre’ (for example newspaper

discourse)‛ (Fairclough 1992: 3). Using Van Dijk’s (1997) definition of

discourse studies as the study of ‚talk and text in context‛ as a starting point,

this significatory diversity can be structured — and the difference between

Critical Discourse Analysis and Discourse Theoretical Analysis explained —

by distinguishing between micro and macro approaches towards both text

and context. These approaches were illustrated in the next figure.

Figure 1 shows (see next page) that those in micro-textual

approaches the definitions of text (or discourse) are closely related to

language. Again, Van Dijk’s (1997) definition provides us with a helpful

illustration: ‚Although many discourse analysts specifically focus on spoken

language or talk, it is *<+ useful to include also written texts in the concept of

discourse‛.

Macro-textual approaches use a broader definition of text, much

in congruence with Barthes (1975), seeing texts as materializations of meaning

and/or ideology. In these macro-textual approaches the focus is placed on the

meanings, representations or ideologies embedded in the text, and not so

much on the language used. Secondly, whilst in micro-contextual approaches

the context remains confined to specific social settings (such as a

conversation), macro-contextual approaches refer to the social as the realm

where the processes of the generation of meaning are situated.

Figure 1

The paradigm showing the micro-textual and macro-textual

approaches of CDA and DTA

Discourse analysis is part of applied linguistics but does not

belong exclusively to it; it is a multi-disciplinary field, and hugely diverse in

the range of its interests (Lomax).

The study of culture coincides with the study of linguistic

communication (or specifically the literature) in a way that in the historical

horizon of tradition, an analysis of texts from within the limits of tradition

always involves. This constitutive link between literature and culture, has led

to the use of Discourse Analysis that equates culture with meaning, and

literature which used text as symbols of culture.

It also happen quite the same with some anthropologists,

ethnographers of communication, and ethnomethodologists. Their analysis of

discourse has to do with a more general cultural analysis and the defense of

specific cultural identities and worldviews. These approaches go from

ethnography to ethnolinguistics through some major trends in anthropology.

What is remarkable here is that they collect a huge number of empirical data

(discourses), but at the end there is no theoretical analysis –explanation- of

them (Garfinkel 1967, Sacks et al 1974, Sacks 1992).

Conceptual Framework

This research, Tales of Folks: Kwentong Bayan as Cultural Resources

of the Rizaleños aimed to gather the kwentong bayan from Rizal Province and

to identify the cultural beliefs and practices of the province that are reflected

from the stories. Figure 2 on the next page presents the concepts of the

process of achieving the objectives of this study.

The framework begins with ‘culture’ which is being pointed by the

‘beliefs’ and ‘practices’. It signifies the scope of culture to be investigated in

the research. In this research, the scope of cultural practices are the practices

on courting, on marriage, on birth, on baptism, on burial, and on feast; and

the scope of cultural beliefs are the beliefs on body marks; on omens; on

ghost; on spirits; on witches; on after life; on gods and goddesses; and on

gruesome creatures like Manananggal, Tikbalang, Aswang, Tiyanak, Pugot,

Nuno sa Punso, Kapre, Mangkukulam, Wak-wak, and Sigbin.

The variable ‘culture’ is placed inside the circle bearing the variable

‘Experiences of Rizaleños’ which is pointing ‘Kwentong Bayan’. This only

implicates that those kwentong bayan that are told by the Rizaleños are based

from their experiences while following the cultural practices and beliefs.

These stories are further extended in ‘written form’ since these were

documented by historians, writers, anthropologists, and others who showed

interest in preserving these; obviously these stories were once told ‘orally’.

Finally, orally transmitted documents, which are gathered through Oral

History, and written document will be analyzed to identify the cultural

practices and beliefs that are reflected from the kwentong bayan.

Fig

ure

2

A C

once

ptu

al F

ram

ew

ork

on th

e s

tudy “

Tale

s o

f F

olk

s:

Kw

en

ton

g B

ay

an

as C

ult

ura

l R

eso

urc

es

of

Riz

ale

ño

s

Assumptions

The researcher assumes the following notions:

1. Rizal Province has its own distinct cultural practices and beliefs that

can be reflected from the kwentong bayan.

2. There are inconsistencies between the documented and the researched

kwentong bayan in the province of Rizal.

Scope and Limitation

This study will examine the cultural practices and beliefs of Rizal

province through using kwentong bayan as cultural resources. Cultural

practices include the practice of courting, marriage, birth, baptism, burial, and

feast; and cultural beliefs include the beliefs on body marks; on omens; on

ghost; on spirits; on witches; on after life; on gods and goddesses; and on

gruesome creatures like Manananggal, Tikbalang, Aswang, Tiyanak, Pugot,

Nuno sa Punso, Kapre, Mangkukulam, Wak-wak, and Sigbin. This study

limits itself to the selected kwentong bayan from the towns and the city of the

Rizal Province. Kwentong bayan, as operationally used in this research, is

exclusively explicit to stories on province’s anecdotes, myth, legend, epic,

fables and parables, which are expressed either orally or written in a form of

either prose or poetry.

Significance of the Study

This study is significant in several ways.

The country/Rizal Province – identifying the cultural practices

and beliefs of the Rizal province can enrich not only the culture of the

Philippines, but also the Philippine history and literature. This will help the

country/province to generate projects in consonance to the preservation of the

culture of the country/province. Also, this will serve as their basis in finding

solutions to present-day societal maladies specifically the deteriorating

Filipinos values. More importantly, this research can enhance the

country’s/province’s heritage.

Higher Educational Institutions/Education Sectors – New

concepts may be generated from this study, for one, this research can be a rich

source of educational and cultural materials in explaining lessons or topics

related herein. This can also be used as basis of the possible revisions and

modifications of syllabus on culture and literature.

Students – this will give them knowledge on the cultural

accounts of the Philippines, and of the Rizal province in particular. Also, this

will make them appreciate the culture and literature of Rizal province. The

output of this study is to produce a compilation of the kwentong bayan, where

students can use this compilation as reference to their study.

Researcher – conducting this research will likewise enlighten the

researcher on the present condition of the cultural preservation in Rizal

province. This research will also enhance the knowledge of the researcher

about culture and literature; since he is a teacher by profession, he can share

the results of this study to his students.

Research Method

To achieve the fundamental thrust of the study, the researcher will

employ the Descriptive-Qualitative Research Design utilizing Document

Analysis and Oral History as methods. These methods will determine the

cultural practices and beliefs of the Rizaleños using kwentong bayan of the Rizal

Province as cultural resources.

As defined in ‚The Handbook of Research for Educational

Communication and Technology‛: Descriptive research can be either

quantitative or qualitative. It involves collections of quantitative information

that can be tabulated along a continuum in numerical form, such as scores on a

test or the number of times a person chooses to use a-certain feature of a

multimedia program, or it can describe categories of information such as

gender or patterns of interaction when using technology in a group situation.

Document Analysis is a social research method and is an important

research tool in its own right and is an invaluable part of most schemes of

triangulation. Chris Wharton in his article defined this analysis as: ‚detailed

examination of documents produced across a wide range of social practices,

taking a variety of forms from the written word to the visual image. The

significance of documents may be located in the historical circumstances of

production, in their circulation and reception of the item and also the social

functions, interpretations, effects and used that may be associated with them.‛

Oral History is the collection and study of historical information

about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using

audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These

interviews are conducted with people who participated in or observed past

events and whose memories and perceptions of these are to be preserved as an

aural record for future generations. Oral history strives to obtain information

from different perspectives, and most of these cannot be found in written

sources. Oral history also refers to information gathered in this manner to a

written work (published or unpublished) based on such data, often preserved

in archives and large libraries. (Wikipedia)

Document analysis will be executed to the available written

documents that are gathered during the field research and the personal copy of

the researcher. However, due to some unavailability of written documents, the

research will be applying the method of Oral History to gather orally

transmitted materials. Those people who are knowledgeable on the history,

culture and literature of Rizal, and those who witnessed the particular event in

the past which involves the birth of a certain kwentong bayan are the prospective

respondents of this research. The gathered data will be using an in-depth

analysis utilizing the Discourse Analysis approach. This approach is more

appropriate since this involve the making of meaning for both text (the

language itself) and context (the implicated culture from the word for instance)

‚to constitute social reality, forms of knowledge and identity within specific

social contexts and power relations (Hall, 1997).‛

Research Participants

Participants of this research are those knowledgeable on the

kwentong bayan of the Rizal Province. Since there is no recorded data or facts

identifying the numbers of people knowledgeable on kwentong bayan in Rizal

Province. They will be identified through linkages from personal contacts, and

the tourism, culture and the arts organizations, and offices of the municipalities

and the province. They are those who can retell the kwentong bayan from the

province of Rizal, they should be from of any refutable organization, such as

the cultural and arts group in Rizal like ACTCA, Neo-Angono, municipal and

city tourism and cultural offices, and the office of culture and the arts of the

Provincial government. They are also individuals whose course of work are

related to history, culture, arts, folklore, and anthropology who will be

identified through linkages. They could be the oldest person alive, or anyone

related to that person in terms of sanguinity, who had witnessed the past

events, which concern the kwentong bayan.

Instrumentation

The researcher will be using the kwentong bayan in identifying the

cultural practices and beliefs that are followed by the Rizaleños. These stories

will be gathered using the resources, which are readily available from the

researcher including the other kwentong bayan to be gathered from each town

and municipality through interview and document research. Interview guide

will be used for oral history.

Data Gathering Procedure

Data are what research is searching for and which are subjected to

analysis, statistical procedures, and interpretation so that inferences, principles,

or generalizations are drawn (Calderon & Gonzales, 1993).

Gathering stories like kwentong bayan is critical as doing historical

research. These old stories require validation of their authenticity to achieve

accuracy in the interpretation of data. To achieve this, respondents to be

interviewed using oral history approach will be carefully selected. They will be

identified through personal contacts and linkages from each town and the city

of the province of Rizal. Besides, each Municipality and the City has

Municipal/City Tourism, Culture and the Arts Office was employed with

people who knew of the culture and the arts of their municipality and city.

These employees can also be useful to locate other prospective respondents of

this research.

Definition of Terms

For further understanding of the terminologies used in this study,

the following terms are defined:

Anecdotes. Conceptually, involving actual persons, whether

famous or not, usually in an identifiable place. However, over time,

modification in reuse may convert a particular anecdote to a fictional piece,

one that is retold but is "too good to be true". Sometimes humorous because

their primary purpose is not simply to evoke laughter, but to reveal a truth

more general than the brief tale itself, or to delineate a character trait in such a

light that it strikes in a flash of insight to its very essence.

Cultural Beliefs. Conceptually, these are assumptions that are

held to be true by an individual or a group regarding concepts, events,

people, and things. Specifically, the research will investigate on the beliefs on

body marks; on omens; on ghost; on spirits; on witches; on after life; on gods

and goddesses; and on gruesome creatures like Manananggal, Tikbalang,

Aswang, Tiyanak, Pugot, Nuno sa Punso, Kapre, Mangkukulam, Wak-wak,

and Sigbin.

Cultural Practices. Operationally, refers to the manifestation of

culture or sub-culture especially in regard to the traditional and customary

practices of a particular ethnic or other cultural or other. Specifically, this

research will investigate practice of courting, marriage, birth, baptism, burial,

and feast.

Cultural Preservation. Operationally, recognizes the many

strands of culture: language, stories, songs, dances, practical skills; buildings;

sacred sites; artifacts; arts and crafts; relationships to the land; and form of

subsitence.

Cultural Resources. Conceptually, defines as the collective

evidence of the past activities and accomplishments of people.

Documented Kwentong Bayan. Operationally, refers to the

kwentong bayan that are told orally which are written or published for the

purpose of preservation.

Epic. Conceptually, this is an extended narrative about heroic

exploits often under supernatural control. It may deal with heroes and gods.

Fables. Conceptually, is a succinct fictional story, in prose or

verse that features animals, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature

which are anthropomorphized (given human qualities such as verbal

communication), and that illustrates or leads to an interpretation of a moral

lesson.

Kwentong Bayan. Operationally, generally refers to a prose or

poetry that deals with any of these genre— anecdotes, myth, legend, epic,

fables and parables.

Legend. Conceptually, these are fictitious narratives, usually

about origins.

Myths. Conceptually, an ancient story dealing with supernatural

beings, ancestors, or heroes like gods and goddesses that serves as a

fundamental type in the worldview of a people, as by explaining aspects of

the natural world.

Parable. Conceptually, it illustrates one or more instructive

principles or lessons or a normative principle, which generally feature human

characteristics.

Rizaleños. Operationally, is the name used to refer to the people

residing at Rizal Province.

Undocumented Kwentong Bayan. Operationally, refers to the

kwentong bayan that are told orally which are neither written nor published

for the purpose of preservation.

Testimonial Therapy: Bridging the Psychological and Legal

Aspects of Interventions in Attaining Healing and Access to Justice

of Torture Survivors

I. Purpose: This paper describes an evolving conceptual model of the

contribution of testimonial therapy in linking the therapeutic value of the legal

aspect of BALAY’s work among torture survivors in attaining rehabilitation and

facilitating access to justice of the same through the therapeutic activity.

In undertaking its psychosocial rehabilitation work among survivors of torture

utilizes the multi-disciplinary approach seeing that a continuum of service and

advocacy/legal and psychosocial components are essential in achieving

rehabilitation.

There are various forms and wide ranges of legal interventions for survivors of

torture such as advocacy to work with the law (advocacy of enactment of laws

such as Anti Torture Law, OPCAT), creating a pool of legal experts, monitoring

of the implementation of the laws and coming up with analysis and challenges,

educating survivors about legal rights, legal representation in court and

pursuing test cases to seek redress. It cannot be denied that that there are

psychosocial benefits in the various forms of legal interventions and advocacy to

the survivors. However, it is noted that psychological interventions have not

been used extensively to complement or contribute to the legal battle of the

survivors especially in helping to strengthen the resolve of the victim to pursue

justice or so if it is done it always as a result of the whole package of the

psychosocial interventions aimed to help survivors move on to functionality and

help in easing out some traumatic experience and symptoms.

These are helpful prerequisites in enhancing the capacity of the person to fully

achieve fullness in life, needless to say, detained torture survivors would rather

see themselves out of the jail than spend most of the times undergoing

therapeutic sessions within the confines of an institution where source of stress is

never ending.

The psycho-legal relationship of the survivor to the lawyer, social worker,

counsellor and doctor is a way therapeutic as it gives them the hope that they

need.

Testimonial Therapy

The Testimonial Therapy (TT) as an approach confirms and documents a reality

of what the people had experienced, in BALAY’s case, the tortured ; it creates a

document so as to avoid retraumatization by repetitive telling and at the same

time, provide symptomatic relief by catharsis. Unlike in the usual counseling

and brief therapy sessions wherein secrecy is the code that exists between the

survivor and the therapists, in Testimonial Therapy, the therapy itself can be

used as a public document to seek redress. It has therefore a psycho-legal

characteristics, both the process and the output of the TT is potentially helpful in

healing at the same that it can be used to prepare the victim for litigation.

II. Method: In a span of fifteen months from April 2010 until September 2011,

twenty-two persons who are political prisoners, wives of political prisoners,

former children in conflict with the law and Martial Law survivors - all of whom

are survivors of torture of state perpetrated violence - underwent testimonial

therapy sessions under Balay. Prior to the four therapy sessions, Monitoring and

Evaluation tools (WHO-5 Well Being Checklist and Participation Scale) are

accomplished for each participant to identify their state of well-being. A new set

The testimonial therapy is a psycho-legal approach offered to victims of torture

and organized violence. It has the objective of transforming the trauma story

from an account of ‚shame and humiliation‛ to one about ‚dignity and virtue‛.

It also intends to provide relief from emotional distress and improve the

functions of the person who underwent the therapy. This therapeutic approach

is most suitable for survivors of injustice or human rights violations, for

survivors who want to break the ‚conspiracies of silence and avoidance‛.

Testimonial Therapy is in itself a ‚mobilizing‛ therapy which aims to support

survivors towards their empowerment.

This therapy has four sessions:

Session one: Opening the story, the first draft of the testimony is written

and an M&E questionnaire is filled in.

Session two: Closing the story: arriving at a written statement that the

survivor can approve

Session three: A symbolic delivery ceremony which honours the survivor

(can be done in many variations)

Session four: Follow-up – including a repetition of the M&E questionnaire

to assess changes in the well-being and participation of the survivor after

three months.

III. Result: From among the twenty-two survivors who underwent Testimonial

Therapy, all of them manifested improvement in their well-being immediately

after the sessions. However, its efficacy in terms of being used for litigation

purposes is now being considered for pilot testing including looking into TT’s

potential to draw public attention and that of authorities on the need to redress,

compensation, restitution, non repetition and of course rehabilitation as outlined

in Article 14 of the UNCAT.

IV. Conclusion: The Testimonial Therapy approach is effective as a brief

therapeutic modality for survivors of torture and organized violence. It is a

potent tool for access to justice especially due to the fact that the process has

enabled the person to be empowered while the output can be utilized for

litigation and advocacy purposes.

Bibliography:

Agger, I, Raghuvanshi L, Shabana S, Polatin, Peter, L Laursen. Testimonial

Therapy: A Pilot Project to Improve Wellbeing among Survivors of Torture in

India. Torture: Journal on rehabilitation of torture victims and prevention of

torture; Vol 19 no 3, 2009 pp 204 – 217

Agger, I, Ansari, F, Suresh, S, Pulitkuthiyil, G. Justice as a Healing Factor:

Psycho-legal Counseling for Torture Survivors in an Indian Context. Peace &

Conflict: journal of peace psychology vol 14 no3, 2008 pp 315 – 333

Agger, I et al. Testimony Ceremonies in Asia: Integrating spirituality in

Testimony Therapy for Torture Survivors in India, Sri Lanka, Camboadia and the

Philippines. Transcultural Psychiatry vol 49 no 3-4 2012 pp 568 – 589

R. Germalin, Velez, L. Legal Services: Best, Promising, and Emerging Practices.

Torture vol 21 no 1 2011 pp 56 – 60.

B. Glaser. Therapeutic Jurisrudence: an Ethical Paradigm for Therapists in Sex

Offender Treatment Programs. Western Criminology Review vol 2 no 2 2003 pp

143 – 154

Kapardis, A. Psycholegal Research: An Introduction, Psychology and Law: A

Critical Introduction, 2nd Edition. Cambridge University Press

Drogin, E. In Search of Psychology: A Jurisprudent Therapy Perspective on

Sexual Offender Ris Assessment Mental Health and Experts Manual

www.dpa.state.ky.us/library/manuals/mental/Ch11.html

The Year of Desiring Dangerously

…First step is the negation of capitalism as the untranscendable horizon of our time.

-Benjamin Noys

The Persistence of the Negative

The shattering events of 2011 map the attempt to transform each private cause

into desired privy effects: from the efforts to overthrow dictatorships among

Arab nations, UK student riots contra government policies on education reforms,

and up to the camping scenes on the Zucotti Park in New York to worship the

brazen bull of the 99 percent movement.

The question: are these efforts worth fighting for?

The cognitive mapping of social change failed to occur when these efforts

remained on a ‚fixed point‛—a characterization of Jean-Pierre Dupuy as the

‚dystopian zero-point of the ecological breakdown of global economic and social

chaos‛17 from a resistance that disintegrates in the process. However, this fixity

should be altered; instead one must make a move to dissolve this static nature of

the situation. This differing voice can be found on the short-piece Declaration of

Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt: ‚that the task is not to codify social relations

in a fixed order, but instead to create a constituent process (<) the movements

have declared a new independence and a constituent power must carry that

forward.‛18 What is this constituent process or power? What will it contribute to

the movement that desired the emergence of new social power? Do the Zuccoti

Park campers and Tahrir Square goers resemble this very constitution of power?

I

17 Slavoj Žižek, The Year of Dreaming Dangerously (London/New York: Verso, 2012), 125.

18 Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt, Declaration (New York: Argo Navis Author Services,

2012) [pagination not applicable].

Before regulating the ‚cunning of reason‛ it is apropos to examine first the

mechanism of those social movements that created uproar in the socio-economic

and political global situation. As what these events shown, there were two major

axes that shaped these protests, one is tyranny of the government rulers and the

other is the introduction of neo-liberal programs that traps humanitarian

policies. But these two things often intertwined that builds the major problem

today: the phenomena of global capitalism.

What is global capitalism?

As dominant ideological theory, capitalism proves to be the maximal

source of power in the society where it tends to control everything—from the

universities, markets and so on. As for Žižek in his book, The Year of Dreaming

Dangerously, he embodied capitalism as,

<a social formation *that+ is characterized by a structural

imbalance: the antagonism between forces and relations is present

from the very beginning, and it is this very antagonism which

pushes capitalism towards permanent self-revolutionizing and self-

expansion—capitalism thrives because it avoids its fetters by

escaping into the future.19

The ‚structural imbalance‛ brought by social unrest in terms of monarchical

excesses (e.g. the tyranny of the Absolute Monarchy that catered the French

Revolution and eventually resulted in giving importance to the rise of the middle

class that converted the Old Regime into free and equal citizens of the country,

that is, the fruitful labor of initial democracy) brings capitalism into its new

identity: a perfect persona of liberation by means of its latter neo-liberal

democratic essence. However, it does not cater a long period to keep capitalism

into its ‚zero-point‛20 edifice. Another imbalance in terms of antagonism

emerged when capitalism gears into self-revolution and expansion in which its

way is to elude the future of decline because for the antagonists ‚there is no way 19 Žižek, Dreaming Dangerously, 8

20 Quoted by Žižek in his video The Year of Dreaming Dangerously Panel Discussion, 2 hrs., 2

min., Columbia University, 2012, Video recording. The ‚Zero-point‛ is the primordial or the

original form of capitalism. It is capitalism without capitalism, or capitalism without the elements

of democracy. Communism, according to Žižek, is the ideal form of Capitalism (akin to the

Platonic Republic as the ideal framework of the existing Greek Society) which is ‚capitalism

without capitalism‛ a mechanism wherein there is ‚expanded self-reproduction without profit

and exploitation‛ *Žižek, Dreaming Dangerously, 134+. The problem, Žižek writes, is that we treat

communism (might as well as the Republic) as too utopic, meaning in light of futurism [Ibid.].

out‛ and the ‚ruling elite is clearly losing its ability to rule.‛21 Capitalists then

learned to adapt to their postmodern environment and adhere themselves to the

invention of ‚multiple worlds.‛22 They understood the logic of evolution. What

arose is the new breed of class in terms of ‚salaried bourgeoisie.‛23 This is how

they revolutionized their own mechanism.

This is the new face of capital theory. High productivity brought by this

class tends to depict the formation of contemporary capitalism, that is, corporate

capitalism in terms of ‚socialism within capitalism.‛24 This is a socialization of

capitalism, upbringing to distribute the labor of capitalism to the common,

exactly how one supposed to radicalize Marx in Capital. However, Hardt and

Negri, says Žižek, found the limitation to this radicalization of Marx in terms of

historically constraining a centralized and hierarchically-organized form of labor

that acts as the ‚general intellect‛ or for a more Western image, a central

planning agency.25 What we need, according to Žižek, is to revolutionize Marx in

terms of engaging his ideal society in a ‚subjective standpoint‛ where his

communism will be ‚objectively possible.‛

This is a timely call also for Marxism to evolve as what Virgilio Rivas

wrote in his paper on Marx and Philosophy:

As dictated by evolutionary laws under which human life and

existence may be said to be determining its yet undefined future,

Marxism needs to evolve in order to survive, a challenge that it is in

the right position to take on given its intellectual bias in favour of

evolution. But, granting its relative success in making itself

evolve—we have seen too many ideological wars between and

among Marxists the result of which is the almost quixotic

sharpening of differences between orthodox and heterodox

(roughly the same ideological rupture that has descended upon all

religions of the world, Eastern or Western), between classical and

modernist, between modernist and postmodernist—the question

whether it is viable still to call it Marxism or some form of a new

21 Ibid., 127.

22 Slavoj Žižek, The Parallax View, (Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2006), 35. This

multiplicity of worlds clearly enunciates the rise of the postmodernity together with cultural

relativism and subjectivity.

23 Ibid., 8. Quoted by Žižek from Jean-Claude Milner, Clartes de tout (Paris: Verdier, 2011).

24 Ibid.

25 Ibid.

breed becomes a tall order for any serious Marxist who clings to a

distinct tradition of theory that has evolved out of Marx’s

engagement with the historical problems of his own time.26

Do the present social movements favor the call for engagement from a

subjective standpoint as what Žižek analyzed? Or do these social movements

exhibits another ‚quixotic sharpening‛ of differences between ideological

formations whether ethnic, gender or religious instances that causes these

movements to occur in the platform of subjectivity (relativism)? One thing is

pure from Zizek to Rivas: return the original Marx to his time and its now the

hiatus to radicalize Marx from our subjective standpoint in the current

interesting times.

II

Going back to mechanism of capitalism, in today’s condition where

‚immaterial labor‛ is quite hegemonic, a form of ‚general intellect‛ permits it

eccentric rise to the side of these capitalists. They radicalized the theory to cope

to the globalizing world. In Marxism’s veins, contemporary social capitalism is

strict in making changes as compared to the old system of physical and manual

labor. Today, immaterial labor allows ‚intellectual labors‛27 such as codes,

figures, ideas, software, and so on, and also ‚affective labors‛ which involves

bodily affects like surgeons, flight attendants and baby-sitters.28 With such kind

of change in forces of production, there is also a corresponding shift from

material into symbolic products. To quote Žižek,

What thereby emerges is a vast new domain of the ‚common‛:

shared knowledge, forms of cooperation and communication, etc.,

which can no longer be contained by the form of private property.

For, in immaterial production, the products are no longer material

objects, but new social (interpersonal) relations themselves—in

short, immaterial production is directly biopolitical, it is the

production of social life.29

26 See Virgilio A. Rivas, ‚Marx and Philosophy,” In Marx Festival 2012-Philippines,

Polytechnic University of the Philippines, March 6-7, 2012, (unpublished/pagination not

applicable).

27 Ibid.

28 Ibid., 9.

29 Ibid.

Materiality is not anymore the finality of capitalistic machinery, but the vast

shared knowledge of each social institution like what Althusser named as state

apparatuses or Foucault’s biopolitics became products of this newest mode of

production. The central planning agency, as what Marx envisioned on the other

hand, is greatly possible today, not in terms of the Party politics that hinges

communism but to the contrary—that what vanguards our society is a

monolithic totem of social cooperation of institutions that maintain the

production at whatever costs, in terms of corporations, church, universities, the

government and so on. What happened is that, for Žižek’s analysis of Negri and

Hardt’s theory, contemporary capitalism sought to privatize what supposed to

be a ‚common or shared knowledge‛ of individuals.

In these veins, Communist regimes fell under the pressure of neo-

capitalist framework. A ‚common shared knowledge economy‛ driving a

symbolic product came not to the expectation of Communist-attempting to

mimic the Marxian ‚general intellect‛ paradigm by establishing a central

planning agency and so on. Capitalism today, as Žižek wrote, is completely

frictionless.30 What lacks communism is the incapability to control or regulate the

‚information knowledge‛ which is immaterial and far more symbolic. The old

communist system, hence, failed to adapt to the rapid development and auto-

expansion of capitalist machineries.

With this new paradigm, capitalist (old bourgeoisie) tends to re-

functionalize as a salaried one: like those managers who runs the company, and

not anymore the old-type of entrepreneurs who manage their own businesses.

CEOs hire intellectual workers so as to run their corporations. All the more those

franchisers hire branch managers for the management of their franchise like

McDonalds. Salary then in terms of ‚surplus-wages‛ binds the social relation of

each and every bourgeoisie and their shared knowledge as cream of the crop

managerial know-how gang, thus is privatized. According to Žižek, this

maintains the power and ideology, that is, for political purposes let there be a

middle-class that manages the society at hand and promotes social stability.31

However, this terminal of the middle-class in power may serve not only balance

that is exclusive for managers or CEOs of the corporation that runs the global

playing field of stocks and bonds; remember politics is also an alter ego. The

possible threat of social imbalance may find its trace from the middle-class itself

since they are the ones who are responsible for the inflows and outflows of the

knowledge economy.

30 Ibid.

31 Ibid., 11.

Žižek gave a good example. In China, the goal of Chinese capitalism is to

promote ‚capitalism without bourgeoisie‛ (since it is already in the middle class

that originates the possible resistance from the subjective standpoint since they

are the foci of politico-economic order). Chinese leaders are fully aware that

instability might be brought by the middle class bourgeoisie and ex-Communists

themselves begun to re-functionalize as efficient managers of Capitalism.32

III

The framework of social movements little by little came to the spotlight.

Hence, the resistance is solely molded from middle-class who is being exploited

by this biopolitical relation in powerful social institutions by low-salaries, wages

and non-security of economic future. That is why, the corporate capitalism per se

promotes a precarious social instability that anytime may decenter the political

power from leaders who are re-emerged as capitalists themselves. This marks the

involvement of the middle-class with proletarians in political protests though the

real spirit of the movement is against the brutal logic of the market and what the

bourgeoisie wants is to regain their non-gaining economic position, increasing

their wages for example so as to secure their privilege status in the future.

Bourgeoisie then becomes proletarianized, in a sense that they want to

humanize capitalism at least or as what Žižek frequently alludes, ‚a capitalism

with a human face.‛ It is like Marx saying that Plato’s Republic is not ‚too

utopian‛33 but it is just a mere idealization of the existing Greek politico-

economic society. Like that of today, communism is not a utopia but an ideal

equivalent of capitalist society. Communism is the ‚human face‛ of capitalism:

the fair and equal distribution of resources and wealth of the society. Welfare

state, thus, regained. This concept of Welfare State pertains to the Eurocentric

idea of what constitute a State. As Žižek says in is recent public lecture entitled A

Reply to my Critics, ‚ongoing political situation in Europe converts a series of

demands which are Epistemological Obstacles<people know what they want.‛

These ‚epistemological obstacles‛ are demands of what should a welfare state

looks like a far from what the dominating ideology dictates.

32 Ibid.

33 Ibid., 15.

He gave two paradoxical theses of how to find the roots of this obstacle:

first, large majority of people wants to be passive and just rely to a state

apparatus; and second, people know what they really want when they are

engage<the true battle of the left should be on the domain of citizen facility.

But, today, the global monster of capitalist machinery continues to persist

like a ghost and haunt the world as to what they appear yet without a body. This

ghost transforms people into natural beasts who enjoy the pleasures of life

brought by the capitalist themselves in partnership with democratic machinery

of the state. In Seminar XVIII, Lacan produced the discourse of the Capitalist in

which,

The connecting lines remain the same as in the Master’s

discourse ($—a, S1—S2), but they run diagonally: while the agent is

the same as in the discourse of the Hysteric, the (divided) subject, it

does not address itself to the Master, but to the surplus-enjoyment,

the ‚product‛ of capitalist circulation. As in the discourse of the

Master, the ‚other‛ is here the Servant’s Knowledge (or,

increasingly, scientific knowledge), dominated by the true Master,

capital itself.34

Hence what is being generated by the capitalist ideology is the impossible

object-loss (a), the immaterial labor or the conspiracy of the agents of social

institution which is workers’ and slaves’ knowledge on the other side (S2/a). Isn’t

this worship of the object-loss the very same predicament of social resistance

efforts like the Occupy Movements and the Arab Spring? Yes, that behind their

dangerous occupations, they have nothing in their causes but to overthrow a

dictatorial regime and the recognition of their privileged economic position?

Well said then, that they have nothing but empty signifiers of themselves which

is basically the product of the social relation. This hegemonic encounter of

contemporary capitalism thus proved two things: that the impossible is Real and

there is only an auto-production of capitalism itself. What lies is that as long as

there is resistance, there will be capitalist because what they are is not

revolutionary subjective engagements but mere recognitions of their function. As

34 Found on Žižek, Dreaming Dangerously, 56. Originally on Nestor Braunstein, ‚Le

discours capitaliste, ‘cinquieme discours’?‛ in Savoirs et Clinique 14 (2011), 94-100. The Seminar

XVIII of Lacan is entitled The Savoir [knowledge] of Psychoanalysts which remained unpublished

today in English but already a part of Lacan’s posthumous book Autres Ecrits.

what Lacan famously said as his critic against the 1968 student uprising: If you

demand new Masters, you will surely get one!‛35

IV

Social movements are products of how a particular society is structured.

However, what differs in reality is that people tend to react as vanguard to their

personal interest of this ‚absent-cause.‛36 The event of the 1968 in France and its

waves that spread to the entire world that time is thus repeated in the

contemporary end times. The Occupy Wall Street, for an instance, is a social

movement participated by the middle-class that are proletarianized in high hopes

of negating their present conditions of being in the brink of unemployment, low

income and depravity of social, educational and health care services. The

negation of their current state is a social struggle, an emancipatory attempt

towards self-fulfillment. What are being solved in the process are their personal

problems, or more specifically their interests. Similarly, the Arab Spring is no

different to campers of the Zucotti Park that worships the power of the brazen

bull or the inanimate symbol of their force that desires in universalizing freedom

from economic control and also politico-social dyslexic position in US. The

indignados of Barcelona and Puerta de Sol in Madrid led an upsurge that benefits

only their cause of ousting the socialist-led government of José Luis Rodriguez

Zapatero.37 Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian vendor, set himself on fire to protest

the injustices, poverty and corruption in Tunisia that raised the first baton to

Cairo’s Tahrir Square and other Arab nations against the repressive regime of a

certain Hosni Mubarak and other dictators. In Athens, people encamped to

Syntagma Square to protest the austerity measure to Greece by the European

Union

This non-privy interest of 2011 social unrest delays the cause of making

the communism as ‚objectively possible.‛ What we need, as Žižek stipulated in

the Introduction of his book, is the Kantian spirit of enlightenment, that is, the

outflow of ‚public use of reason.‛ The ‚public use of reason‛ stands from the

perspective of true subjective engagement and when we say this kind of

35 See Jacques Lacan, ‚Analyticon‛ in The Seminars of Jacques Lacan, Book XVII: The Other

Side of Psychoanalysis, ed. Jacques Alain-Miller; trans. Russell Grigg (New York: W.W. Norton &

Company, 2007), 198-208.

36See Louis Althusser, The Future Lasts Forever, trans. Richard Veasy, eds. Olivier Corpet

and Yann Moulier Boutang (New York: The New Press, 1992). ‚Absent-cause‛ notably was his

reaction to the 1968 student protest in France namely; they were struggling with an absent cause.

37 See Slavoj Žižek, Violence: Six Sideways Reflections (New York: Picador, 2008), 102-4.

engagement one is absolutely pertaining to a ‚shared-cause‛ which is also

equipollent to capability of the public to know. To know is not only a marketable

place for us to buy Metaphysics (or the old Philosophy) in which Aristotle

popularized the notion that ‚All men desire to know.‛ What we need, from the

spirit of anti-capitalism, is the courage from the public sphere to dare the poly-

institutional capitalistic framework, to criticize and eventually change. This step

towards change immediately warns the enemies of its presence. This should be

the attitude of Occupy Movements, UK Student Revolts, Arab Spring and others.

The same line remains consistent to his recent public lecture, ‚From a

pyramid to a pluralistic rhizomatic system, Europe’s protests have no central

agency or committee. There are plural protests to meet and debate. In today’s

capitalism, however, power works in a post oedipal way. Today’s power is a

multitude of power.‛38 In the present times, there is already a decline of the

father, since the post-oedipality permits the invention of multiple worlds that is,

the power to generate multiple frameworks that results to relativism as what

capitalism in postmodern times exhibits. What clashes this postmodern frame of

capitalism is on the contrary the power of the multitude, exceptionally, with a

central axis of control. Žižek offered a solution: ‚there is only a possibility of self-

organization/discipline collective action that is not framed in the figure of the

Master (Father). If you reject this, the only alternative is postmodernism.‛39

The future-world is not simply futurism but the exact perspective of an

unknown-future, that is, l avenir.40 The present social resistance is evidently a

warning from the unknown-future, the apocalyptic event (that is, apokalypsis—to

unveil). That there is something that we need to avoid in the present, that the

cause of these resistances has something to do for the publication of the future

run and this cause will establish the immediate effect in lieu of the time un-given.

This apocalyptic event marks the search for a Pascaline deus absconditus,41 or a

hidden god, not on the image of the brazen bull and lavish palace of the Arab

dictators but a god who gives warning from the future (that is to come). The

desperate plea of Žižek is to believe; that is, to strengthen the faith that some

unknown time in the future, as a community of believers,42 that this god of

38 Slavoj Žižek, A Reply to my Critics.,Public Lecture by Slavoj Žižek and Panel Discussion

led by Coustas Douzinas, Birkbeck Institute for Humanities, University of London, 2013, sound

recording.

39 Ibid.

40 Žižek, Dreaming Dangerously, 134.

41 Ibid., 129.

42 Slavoj Žižek, The Puppet and the Dwarf, (Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2003), 110.

whom we are toiling our sweat would come and welcomes us to the present

anew. This community suspends all ethnic divisions.43 The lesson of Hegel, as

Žižek reflexively defined, is that the struggle for freedom should go on and

accept its danger. We have to learn how to act without an ontological guarantee.

Lastly, Žižek invokes as that we should fully accept this openness,

guiding ourselves on nothing more than ambiguous signs from the future.44

Echoing the same reason,

The least we can do is to look for traces of the new communist

collective in already existing social or even artistic movements.

What is therefore needed today is refined search for ‚signs coming

from the future,‛ for indications of this new radical questioning of

the system.45

References

Books & Journals

Althusser, Louis. The Future Lasts Forever. Translated by Richard Veasy. Edited

by Olivier Corpet and Yann Moulier Boutang. New York: The New Press,

1992.

Braunstein, Nestor. ‚Le discours capitaliste, ‘cinquieme discours’?‛ In Savoirs et

Clinique 14 (2011): 94-100.

Lacan, Jacques. ‚Analyticon.‛ In The Seminars of Jacques Lacan, Book XVII: The

Other Side of Psychoanalysis. Edited by Jacques Alain-Miller. Translated by

Russell Grigg. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007: 198-208.

Milner, Jean-Claude. Clartes de tout. Paris: Verdier, 2011.

Negri, Antonio and Michael Hardt. Declaration. New York: Argo Navis Author

Services, 2012.

Žižek, Slavoj. The Year of Dreaming Dangerously. London/New York: Verso, 2012.

43 Ibid., 139.

44 Žižek, Dreaming Dangerously, 135.

45 Slavoj Žižek, Living in the End Times, (London/New York: Verso, 2011), 363.

________. Living in the End Times. London/New York: Verso, 2011.

________. Violence: Six Sideways Reflections. New York: Picador, 2008.

________. The Parallax View. Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2006.

________., The Puppet and the Dwarf. Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2003.

Video and Sound Recordings

Žižek, Slavoj. A Reply to my Critics. Public Lecture by Slavoj Žižek and Panel

Discussion led by Coustas Douzinas. Birkbeck Institute for Humanities,

University of London, 2013. Sound recording.

________. The Year of Dreaming Dangerously Panel Discussion. 2 hr, 2 min..

Columbia University, 2012. Video recording.

Unpublished Manuscripts

Rivas, Virgilio A. ‚Marx and Philosophy.‛ In Marx Festival 2012-Philippines.

Polytechnic University of the Philippines, March 6-7, 2012. Pagination not

applicable.

SAN JUAN’S FOOD HERITAGE

INTRODUCTION

Cultural heritage is not only limited to material evidences such as

monuments and objects that have been preserved over the period of time.

Heritage also include certain practices, beliefs, rituals, memoirs, foods, and

others that provide a sense of meaning and identity to a particular community or

locality and is worthy to be preserved and inherited by the future generations.

According to UNESCO, ‚The importance of intangible cultural heritage is

not the cultural manifestation itself but rather the wealth of knowledge and skills

that is transmitted through it from one generation to the next. The social and

economic value of this transmission of knowledge is relevant for minority groups

and for mainstream social groups within a State, and is as important for

developing States as for developed ones.‛46 Since intangible heritage is important

to different societies, a well-documented collection of a living heritage is

essential in safeguarding particular languages, practices, and rituals that are

deeply threatened by the pervasiveness of globalization.

In line with this objective, this paper aims to provide vital and substantial

information about San Juan Del Monte’s intangible heritage in order to help the

city preserve its distinct cultural expressions for the benefit of its future

generations.

Food and Man

‚Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es.‛ (Tell me what you eat and I

shall tell you what you are.) - Anthelme Brillat-Savarin in Physiologie

du Gout, ou Meditations de Gastronomie Transcendante, 1826

There is a common maxim that goes ‚You are what you eat‛, and this

probably holds true if we look at how people consume different types of food

everyday. If you see someone getting all stuffed with dishes that are high on fats,

calories, and preservatives, we often associate this consumption to a mental

46

What is Intangible Heritage? http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?lg=en&pg=00002

assumption of a person’s lifestyle. Through our personal lenses, we look at

people who indulge with these types of food as those who will most likely have a

detrimental and sedentary way of life. More often than not, one’s value of which

food to consume is a reflection of how a person values his or her well – being, in

a holistic sense.

Though food choices may suggest a glimpse on an individual’s

personality, taste, class, and stature, dishes and cuisines in different parts of the

globe have been strongly linked with vast changes that occurred in man’s daily

life. Rather than it only being a means to an end, food consumption, preparation,

preference, and taboos were interwoven with man’s struggles within the

ecological system and the changes in man’s complex social life. Indeed, some of

these dishes are constantly renewed throughout history and are encapsulated

and embedded with every bit of man’s experiences and memoirs. Food is a

meaningful medium connecting every man to his past and his future, and it

resembles a particular identity – be it local, national, or global.

The same perspective is also applicable when we examine the food

consumption patterns, preferences, taboos, and choices throughout different

societies. For example, one can determine a particular ethnicity based on the taste

of different dishes. Indian cuisine has been known to be spicy, full of flavor, and

pungent in smell as compared to American food, which is a bit mild in taste and

insipid. The consumption of rice has been associated with people residing in

Asian regions, while bread has been a main course in Western dishes. The same

logic goes when we examine religious differences and taboos. Hindus are known

to exclude cow meat in their protein diet, and a logically parallel taboo is known

with Jews and Moslems, when it comes to devouring pork meat.

Food consumption patterns maybe a response to maintain an ecological

equilibrium or a symbol of a community’s distinct identity and of its collective

representation, but nonetheless, it speaks much about man’s culture. The

explanations for food consumption may differ in various perspectives, but it is a

given fact that man’s association with food has molded and cultivated the life of

the individual as well as different societies.

Food as an Intangible Heritage

Aside from being a reflection of a community’s particular culture,

practices that are related to food – consumption, preparation, rituals, and others

can provide us relevant explanations regarding a community’s particular

identity. According to Peter Howard, ‚Indeed, the deepest cultural identity

seems often to be inherent not in objects which can be preserved but in more

personal features and cultural traits‛ (2003:88). And this personal features and

cultural traits are well manifested through food consumption and preparation.

Along with other ephemeral heritages, food consumption patterns and other

activities associated with it are considered as links to a community’s particular

historical roots. Understanding the dishes of a particular community can provide

a glimpse of what life was before and what things and practices are meaningful

then and now.

The need to preserve a particular recipe or dish is essential in building a

social heritage. A concise and well-documented list of foods available to a

particular locality serves as an indicator of a community’s rich culture, taste and

food preference, and a reflection of its individual’s personal traits and distinct

cultural features.

The Foods of San Juan

Since the city of San Juan is rich in cultural traditions and historical

significance, a deeper understanding of what sort of dishes are available to it is

important. It will provide us relevant information that will help us understand

San Juan’s community life. This purpose of this paper is to document the most

popular dishes available exclusively to San Juan. It will tackle about the history

of these dishes, its unique features, and its cultural significance to the

community.

a. Leonardo’s Lechon Gallina

Brief History:

Soon after the war, Leonardo’s Lechon gained popularity all over the

residents of San Juan. Leonardo’s Lechon roasted its first ‚lechon‛ in the humble

home of Leonardo (Totoy) and Josefina (Pinay) Aquino. During fiestas and

special occasions, friends and relatives would ask the couple to cook for them

and their specialty dishes became a hit on community gatherings. Hence, with

their small capital acquired from selling various products in San Juan public

market, Totoy decided to earn his living and invest in selling his special lechons

to various clients within the municipality. Due to his hardwork and brilliant skill

in roasting pigs, Leonardo ‚Totoy‛ Aquino created an empire based on

perseverance and the love for food. Soon after, he started to expand his business

and built a house with the lechonan at its backyard. He also invested in delivery

vans to be able to deliver to various customers and cover a broader market.

Since then, Leonardo’s lechon reached various cities within the Metro and it was

enjoyed in different occassions by different sorts of people – both meek and

powerful. Up to this day, the legacy of Totoy and Pinay’s special lechon still

lives on and its exquisite taste became one of San Juan’s true heritage.

Why is it different?

Compared to other lechon houses that sell pigs coming from hog farms,

Leonardo’s lechon has been known to roast native lechons which were directly

acquired from home-based raisers in Pangasinan. Leonardo’s lechon also takes

pride in their Lechon Gallina – a roasted pig stuffed with a raw chicken inside.

The practice of Lechon Gallina started when one of Totoy’s son, Sonny , decided

to try new ways to make lechon. The Lechon Gallina was an offspring born out

of different experiments and researches by Sonny. Aside from this distinct way

of roasting, Leonardo’s lechon is also known to be very tasty because of the

signature recipe of unique herbs and spices which are passed on through

generations. This ‚sinful‛ treat has been one of the most sought after delicacies of

San Juan.

b. Aling Banang’s Halo-halo

Brief History:

Aling Banang’s halo halo was first introduced inside the San Juan public

market. Mother and daughter Urbana ‚Banang‛ Silva Santiago and Adoracion

Santiago started selling this lovely treat in the 1930’s and has gained popularity

all over San Juan ever since. Even before commercial halo-halo’s started putting

ice cream toppings for the native dessert, Aling Banang’s halo-halo takes pride to

reinvent the normal leche flan topping style.

Originally, Aling Banang’s halo-halo packaging is a result of a creative

idea – it was served using used milk tin cans which gives the treat itself a native

and cozy feel.

Why is it different?

Aling Banang’s halo – halo has been known to put fresh native ingredients

on their halo – halo. According to Rolando Mendoza, the successor of the

original Aling Banang, from the beginning up to the present, Aling Banang staff

make it a point to use homemade ingredientsto give the halo – halo an authentic

and uncompromised lutong bahay taste.

Aside from the homemade ice cream topping, one original ingredient that

gives the treat a full flavor was the leche flan made from duck eggs place at the

top of the halo – halo. Contrary to the traditional leche flan made from chicken

eggs, Aling Banang’s duck egg leche flan is tastier and it has a more thicker and

gummier crust.

c. Aling Banang’s Pancit Bihon

Brief History:

After the San Juan public market was burned, Adoracion, together with

her son Rolando was able to acquire a small stall at the newly established Agora

Market. Since the setting of the Agora Market is very different from the previous

San Juan public market, Adoracion and Rolando decided to include other

products in their menu in order to sustain their livelihood.

Since the young Rolando was then new into cooking other dishes,

Adoracion decided to commision a cook for their stall. As years pass by, Rolando

was paired with different cooks and he harnessed a relevant amount of

experience to cook custom dishes for the restaurant. One dish which particularly

stood out was his lechon kawali. His unique style of cooking lechon kawali

became so popular within the community that he and his mother tried

incorporating it into other dishes.

With Rolando’s lechon kawali being the prime edge of Aling Banang’s

food empire, Rolando then decided to make a traditional pancit bihon with a

different kind of twist – adding his famous lechon kawali as a topping for the

pancit, Aling Banang’s lechon kawali gained popularity all over San Juan and in

adjacent cities within its vicinity.

Why is it different?

Unlike the traditional pancit bihon, Aling Banang’s variation makes pancit

bihon a festive dish. Plus the fact that Rolando’s excellent lechon kawali is a

standout dish in itself, the collaboration of the traditional pancit bihon and the

lechon kawali is a truly inviting and sumptuous meal.

d. Allan’s Maki-mi

Brief History:

Allan’s Maki – mi is one of the most popular ‚informal economies‛ that

emerged in San Juan. Started in the early 80’s by a Chinese-Mestizo Owa Arnaiz,

the food Maki-mi was originally served as a late night snack for drunk workers

at the Arnaiz’s motor shop. Since then, Owa’s Maki-mi became a hit after

drinking sessions and the news of a special dish spread out like a wild fire. The

father and son tandem then decided to make a profit out of the food and it

attracted all sorts of customers particularly those who came from late night

drinking sessions, tricycle and jeepney drivers, barangay tanods, police officers

taking the graveyard shift and others. After Owa died, his son Allan took over

the small enterprise and it still caters to different customers up to present.

Allan’s maki –mi is served with Kiampong, a chinese style fried rice.

Why is it different?

Though Allan’s Maki – mi is not far different from other Maki – mi’s,

what’s special is its peculiar store hours. During daytime, the place is a

motorshop and it transforms into a noodle house at night. It opens around 2 in

the morning and closes by 6 am. Also, a factor that gives this special dish a native

feel is that it is cooked as early as 4pm for the process of cooking this is

traditional – big amounts of soup are cooked over low fire using coal as a fuel.

e. Tita Lulu’s Pancit Palabok

Brief History:

Over the last decade, one of the most sought after foods in San Juan can be

found in front of Puregold Shopping Center (the former Agora Mall), known as

Tita Lulu’s. Along with other stalls, Ms. Lulu Gavino’s store stood out. It offered

a dish that genuinely follows the traditional San Juan flavor. Simple traditional

dishes modified to fit the cravings of a community that is known to love festive

foods. In the mid-90’s, Lulu, or Tita Lulu as the community calls her, decided to

cut into San Juan’s competitive and conservative food market. Since Tita Lulu

has been a native of San Juan, she knew that the only way to establish her own

food empire was to create a dish that would particularly embed into the

community’s scrutinizing and highly critical taste buds and at the same time

something that would capture their hearts.

Armed with her passionate love for cooking, Lulu decided to open a small

stall in Brgy. San Perfecto. Right there and then, her dishes became a hit in the

community, particularly her Pancit Palabok. Though she modestly admits that

her Pancit Palabok is one of the best dishes that San Juan has to offer, she said

that her method was cultivated due to a continuing process of trial and error. As

a native of San Juan, she knew that the only way to captivate her customer’s

hearts and to keep them engrossed on her dishes is to carefully craft her cooking

skills and to ask the individuals in the community for their opinions regarding

her food. She also makes sure that she only use the freshest ingredients in her

food, which makes her dishes tight and full of flavor.

Why is it different?

Tita Lulu’s Pancit Palabok is also topped with Lechon Kawali. Like Aling

Banang’s Pancit Bihon, her pancit palabok boasts San Juan’s style of making

traditional dishes festive while keeping it inexpensive. The success of her Pancit

Palabok also kept her name at San Juan’s food industry. Her modesty and

congeniality also helped her in gaining a huge amount of patronage and this trait

continuously contributes to her success.

San Juan local recipes are symbols and representations of familiarity and

social bond within the community. These social bonds transcend even different

classes based on socio-economic status. According to Rolando Mendoza, owner

of Aling Banang’s F. Blumentritt Branch, ‚Dito sa San Juan, lahat ng tao mahilig

kumain. Dati sa may palengke, kahit nakapangopisina pumapasok pa sa loob para

kumain.”

With this statement, it is evident that when it comes to eating, upper

status individuals and people with professional backgrounds mingle with people

from the working class and lower professions. The possibility of this

phenomenon is due to the fact that, for the people of San Juan their preference on

food is based on a taste familiar to them and their mutual bond with the people

who prepare it. In an interview with Leonard Aquino, a third generation heir of

Leonardo’s Lechon, he stated, “The people of San Juan always prefer the food that they

are familiar with. Our business is successful because the people of San Juan are

guaranteed that we will provide them great tasting lechon.” And because of the strong

social bond within the community, even the people who prepare the food keeps

in mind that in order for their businesses to continuously flourish, they must

gain the community’s approval not only in taste, but also in trust. They make it a

point to maintain the warm, homey, native San Juan style to retain their patrons

and gain new customers.

It is also remarkable to cite that the most successful food businesses in the

city are local restaurants that built their menu from original homemade recipes.

These recipes were served in local fiestas, family occasions and gatherings.

Examples of this continuing heritage are Leonardo’s Lechon, Aling Banang’s,

Tita Lulu’s and Allan’s Maki–mi. All these dishes became small enterprises due

to the demand of the community. These food traditions are decades old, and are

passed on from generation to generation.

Another interesting fact about the dishes of San Juan is that they prepare

traditional and native dishes with a different twist. That’s why their food always

appears to be festive and extravagant. The type of pancit available in San Juan is

a little different compared to nearby cities and municipalities: instead of the

normal chicharon toppings, at Tita Lulu’s and Aling Banang’s, they use lechon

kawali. The same goes with others, and each of these featured dish offer a

surprising element in its preparation and presentation.

The people of San Juan take pride on these dishes and they associate their

local identity with it. One statement that suggests this example clearly is “Kung

hindi mo kilala ang Aling Banang, hindi ka taga San Juan”. It is an impression, which

shows that one’s familiarity with the iconic Aling Banang is actually an indicator

of one’s acknowledgement of local identity.

This strong food heritage in San Juan reflects their strong sense of community

life and awareness. They treat these homegrown dishes as part of their family

and community tradition, and they put all their effort to consciously have it

protected and preserved.

APPENDIX A

DATA CAPTURE SHEET FOR

LEONARDO’S LECHON GALLINA

Address/ Location: J. Basa St., San Juan City, Philippines

Food: Lechon (Roasted Pig)

Owner/ Proprietor: Leonard Aquino (Aquino Family)

Origin of Food:

Ingredients Used: Whole pig, traditional herbs and

spices, dressed chicken (Lechon

Gallina)

Distinct Feature: Lechon Gallina (Lechon stuffed with

Whole chicken)

Photo credit: John Dalisay Date taken: May 5, 2011

DATA CAPTURE SHEET FOR

ALING BANANG’S HALO-HALO

Address/ Location: F. Blumentritt St., San Juan City, Philippines

Food: Halo Halo (From tagalog word halo,

‚mix‛)

Owner/ Proprietor: Aling Banang (Mendoza Family)

Origin of Food: Filipino dessert

Ingredients Used: Various traditional sweets and root

crops, kidney beans, young rice

(pinipig), shaved ice, topped with

Leche Flan and/or ice cream

Distinct Feature: Home made Ice cream on top;

originally used duck eggs for leche

flan

Photo credit: John Dalisay Date taken: May 5, 2011

DATA CAPTURE SHEET FOR

ALING BANANG’S PANCIT BIHON

Address/ Location: F. Blumentritt St., San Juan City, Philippines

Food: Pancit Bihon

Owner/ Proprietor: Aling Banang (Mendoza Family)

Origin of Food: Philippines (Derived from Chinese

food Hokkien or “pian-i-sit”)

Ingredients Used: Bihon, soy sauce, vegetables, etc.

Distinct Feature: Topped with Lechon Kawali

Photo credit: John Dalisay Date taken: May 5, 2011

DATA CAPTURE SHEET FOR

ALLAN’S MAKI-MI

Address/ Location: F. Manalo St., San Juan City

Food: Maki – mi and Kiampong

Owner/ Proprietor: Allan Arnaiz

Origin of Food: Chinese dish

Ingredients Used: Noodles, cornstarch, spices, meat (pig

and beef)

Distinct Feature: Store hours (2 am to 6 am)

Photo credit: Web Date taken: Unknown

DATA CAPTURE SHEET FOR

TITA LULU’S PANCIT PALABOK

Address/ Location: N. Domingo St., San Juan City, Philippines

Food: Pancit Palabok

Owner/ Proprietor: Lulu Gavino

Origin of Food: Philippines (Derived from Chinese

food Hokkien or “pian-i-sit”)

Ingredients Used: Noodles, shrimp sauce, chicaron.

smoked fish (tinapa), Philippine

lemon (kalamansi)

Distinct Feature: Topped with Lechon Kawali

Photo credit: Ariel De Leon Date taken: May 11, 2011

APPENDIX B

TITA LULU’S PANCIT PALABOK

Lulu Gavino, the owner of Tita Lulu’s Pancit Palabok, partly shared with

us the recipe of her famous palabok. She maintained that it the ‚secret

ingredient‛ that makes her palabok famous but she refused to disclose it to us for

obvious reasons. So, the recipe below is based on our own interpretation of how

it tasted, plated and served. The recipe is also a modification from a recipe in the

book: Kulinarya a guide to Philippine cuisine. The measurements and the

ingredients, especially the toppings, are only approximation based on the

inventory of the palabok we ate.

(Serves 6)

Ingredients:

500 g thick rice noodles (pansit

luglug)

Water for soaking noodles

2 cloves / 10 g garlic

200 g shrimps (fresh suahe shrimp)

salt

4 tbps / 60 ml annatto (achuete) oil

4 tbsp / 60 g all-purpose flour

4 cups / 960 ml chicken/pork/beef

stock

1 tbsp / 20 ml fish sauce

¼ tsp / .75 g white pepper

Preparation:

1. Soak the rice noodles in water for 3 – 4 hours.

2. Crush, peel and mince the garlic.

3. Bring 1 cup of water to boil. Add the shrimps and a pinch of salt. Remove

from the heat as soon as the shrimps turn pink.

4. Peel and devein the shrimp. Strain and reserve the broth.

5. Pull the heads and boil together with the shell trimmings and make a

stock (1 cup/240 ml) to flavour the sauce.

6. Grind the shrimp until it has a paste like consistency. Add the shrimp

paste to make a shrimp stock.

Cooking:

1. In a pot, heat the annatto oil and sauté garlic for 1 minute.

2. Add the flour, whisking continuously. Cook for another minute.

3. Add the shrimp stock and chicken (pork or beef) stock and cook for about

15 minutes, stirring continuously.

4. Season the resulting sauce with fish sauce and pepper. Set aside and keep

warm. Then you have the palabok (luglog) sauce.

5. Boil the noodles for 2 – 3 minutes, then drain. Cooked noodles will expand

to approximately 1.2 kg.

6. Prepare the toppings.

Toppings:

1. Pork crackling (chicharon)

2. Smoked fish flakes (tinapa)

3. Powdered fish crackers

(yellow in colour)

4. Slices of lechon kawali

5. Hard-boiled egg cut into

wedges

6. Palabok (luglog) sauce

7. Squid rings/bits

8. Chopped lechon kawali

9. Spring onions

10. Toasted garlic

Pancit Palabok Toppings:

5 cloves / 25 g garlic

1 / 80 g onion

250 g squid

100 g smoked fish (tinapa)

50 g pork cracklings (chicharon)

2 sprigs / 10 g spring onions

4 tbsp / 60 ml annatto oil

A morsel of lechon kawali good for

six persons

A packet of fish crackers

3 eggs

2 bay leaves

Salt and pepper

Calamansi

Fish sauce

Preparation:

1. Crush, peel and mince the garlic. Divide equally into 3 portions.

2. Peel and chop the onion. Divide equally into 2 portions.

3. Wash squid and remove tentacles. Peel off skin from the body and slice

into rings. Remove beak and ink sac from tentacles. Wash to clean.

4. Flake the smoke fish and wrap in aluminium foil.

5. Coarsely chop the pork cracklings.

6. Ground the fish cracker to powder consistency

7. Slice the lechon kawali

8. Chop the coriander leaves.

9. Chop the spring onions.

10. Divide annatto oil into 2 portions of 2 tbsp / 30 ml each.

Cooking:

1. Hard boil the eggs. When done, peel and slice into wedges and set aside.

While the eggs are cooking do the next procedure.

2. To make squid topping: preheat the same pan once more with the

remaining portion of the annatto oil. Sauté 1 portion of the garlic and the

remaining portion of the onion and 1 bay leaf. Add the squid rings and

tentacles and cook until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

3. In the same pan, fry the remaining chopped garlic. Set aside.

4. Roast wrapped flaked smoked fish on the stove.

Assembly:

Place cooked noodles on a plate then pour sauce over the noodles and then

generously pour the following (in order) powdered fish crackers, pork

cracklings, and smoked flaked tinapa. Arrange the following toppings over the

sauce: squid, lechon kawali and wedged eggs. Sprinkle on top the chopped

spring onions, and fried garlic. Serve with sliced calamansi and fish sauce.

APPENDIX C

KEY INFORMANTS (SAN JUAN’S FOOD HERITAGE)

Ms. Loreta Sicat

(Secretary Leonardo’s Lechon)

Mr. Rolando Mendoza

(Owner, Aling Banang, F. Blumentritt)

Ms. Lulu Gavino

(Owner, Tita Lulu’s)

208

References:

Ferraro, Gary. 2008. Cultural anthropology: an applied perspective. 7th ed. US: Thomson

Wadsworth.

Harris, Marvin and Orna Johnson. 2003. Cultural anthropology. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson

Education, Inc.

Haviland, William A. 1999. Cultural anthropology. 10th ed. Forth Worth: Harcourt

College Publishers.

Niera, Fr. Eladio OP. 1994. Glimpses into the history of San Juan, Metro Manila. San

Juan, Metro Manila: Life Today Publication.

Pertierra, Raul. 1988. Religion, politics, and rationality in a Philippine community.

Quezon City: Ateneo De Manila University Press.

Schultz, Emily A and Robert H. Lavenda. 2005. Cultural anthropology: a perspective on

the human condition. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.

209

Ang Pagdalumat sa Konsepto ng Bayani ng

Makabagong Panahon

Outline

I- Panimula- pagpapakilala ng konsepto ng bayani, kahulugan o depinisyon at

pagbabanyuhay ng konsepto mula prehistorikong pagpapakahulugan hanggang

sumapit sa kasalukuyan.

II- Ang bayani sa Modernong konsepto

a. Makabagong pagpapakahulugan

b. Papel at suliranin

c. Layunin at misyon para sa pagbabago

d. Ang bayaning makabago bilang tagapagbasag ng makalumang konsepto.

III- Mga uri ng bayani sa modernong panahon

a. Bayaning nagtataglay ng kakaibang kapangyarihan (Fantastic hero)

b. Mga taong itinuring na bayani dahil sa makabuluhang Gawain at pinasikat ng

medya (Mediatised hero)

c. Bayaning sumibol dala ng poot sa politika (Political hero)

IV- Pamantayan sa kasaalukuyang panahon sa pagpili ng bayaani

V- Konklusyon

VI- Mga Pinagkunang batis

210

Abstract

Mahalaga ang konsepto ng bayan para sa isang bansa. Ang mga bayani ay nagsisilbing

inspirasyon para sa isang lupon ng tao. Inspirasyong hindi lamang upang gayahin ngunit mas higit ang

pagbibigay ng pag-asa sa mga tao na may lulutas ng kanilang suliranin at may magbubuklod sa kanila

tungo sa pagkakaisa. Madalas ang mga bayani ay nakapagbibigay ng saya, katuparan, inspirasyon at pag-

asa sa karamihan at minsan ito na rin ang nagiging sandigan ng lakas upang ipagpatuloy ang pakikibaka

sa buhay. Tunay ngang malaki epekto ng konsepto ng bayani sa nakararami ngunit sa panahon natin

ngayon ano na nga ba ang konsepto natin ng bayani?

Sa aming pag-aaral na ito, nais naming dalumatin ang kasalukuyang konsepto ng mga pilipino sa

bayani. Pag-uugat kung ano na nga ba ang tingin at pamantayan ng lipunang pilipino sa konseptong ito at

muling pagbabanyuhay ng depinisyon ng bayani mula sa protopilipinong pagpapakahulugan hanggang sa

kasalukuyang panahon.mula sa konsepto ng bayan sa unang panahonbilang mga taong nagmula at

gumagawa para sa bayan-matatapang at sinasabing walang takot, lider mandirigma na mabisang ugatin sa

pamamagitan ng pagkatas ng depinisyon at konsepto gtamit ang mga akdang pangliteratura katulad ng

alamat, kwntong bayan at epiko ay masasabing kalat ang konsepto ngbayani.

Nais sagutin ng aming papel na ito na mula sa mga depinisyong nasa itaas ay paano at ano na nga

ba ang konsepto ng bayani sa ating kasalukuyang panahon. Nag bago ba o nanatili?, nadagdagan ang

pagpapakahulugan o dili naman kaya’y nabawasan?, ilan lamang ito sa mga tanong na nais naming

sagutin at ipabatid ang paglalahad ng modernong konsepto ng bayani para sa ikabubuti ng ating lipunan

kinabibilangan at ng iba.

211

I – Panimula

Mahalaga ang papel ng konsepto ng bayani sa isang bansa. Ang bayani ay nagbibigay ng

inspirasyon, lakas, kasiguraduhan at pag-asa sa lupon ng tao o sa isang lipunan.

Isang mabisang paraan upang mapag-isa ang ating lahi ay sa pamamagitan ng

pagpapabatid ng konsepto ng bayani. Bago pa man sumapit ang mga kanluraning mananakop sa

ating kapuluan ay masasabing mayroon na tayong konsepto ng kagitingan, katapangan, at

pagmamalasakit sa bayan. Ang mga magagandang katangian na nasa itaas ay isinasatao ng isang

bayani, Ayon sa boxer codex (1590) ang bayani ay isang lider mandirigma, walang takot, at

nagbibigay ng tulong na walang kapalit. At ito rin umano ang mga magigiting na lalaki na

palaban at may mataas na katayuan o dignidad. Noong ika labing anim o ika labing pitong

dantaon, ang bayani ay isang taong may tapang at ito ay ayon kay Pedro San Buenaventura.

Nabuo naman nila Juan de Noceda at Pedro san Licar ang ibat-ibang anyo ng salitang bayani,

tulad ng magbayani, ipabayani, at bayanihan. Ang magbayani ay nangangahulugan ng

pagpapanggap bilang isang bayani samantalang ang dalawang nahuling salita ay ukol sa

paggawa ng walang kapalit. Makikita ang protopilipinong pagpapakahulugan na ito sa ating

bayani sa mga matataandang akdang pangliteratura n gating lahi na siyang mabisang pagkunang

batis sa makalumang konsepto ng bayani.

Sa panahon ng krisis, ang panahon kung saan ay sinakop ang mga Pilipino ng mga

espanyol (1565-1896) masasabing isang bayani ang isang tao kung mapanatili niya ang kaayusan

at maipagtanggol nya ang bayan. Dito nagbigay ng pakahulugan sa Atoy Navasero- ang bayani

ayon sa kanya, ay ang tagapagtanggol hindi lamang ng bayan ngunit maging ng santinakpan.

212

Ang bayani rin daw ang nagpapanatili ng kaayusan sa isang bayan. At bayani rin ang turing

samga taong magtatangkang maibalik ang bayan sa dati nitong ningning o/at kabuuan o kaya

namaý magtatangkang bumuo ng bagong kabuuan. Hanggang dumating ang mga mananakop na

amerikano at hapon nananatiling ganito ang tingin at pamantayan sa isang bayani ngunit nang

sumapit ang 1896 hanggang sa kasalukuyan at hinaharap, ang bayaning maituturing ay isang tao

na kayang mapag-isa at mapagbuklod ang inang bayan, bansa, at sambayanan.

II- Ang bayani sa Modernong Panahon

Makikitang pagsapit ng panahon mula 1896 hanggang sa kasalukuyan at maging ang

hinaharap, bayaning maituturing ang isang tao kung mapag-iisa niya ang inang bayan, bansa, at

sambayanan.

Sa harap ng pagtalaakay nitong paksa, marapat lamang na ugatin nating mga Pilipino

kung bakit ganito ang pagpapasa konsepto natin sa bayani. Mahihinuha marahil na matapos ang

sigwang nalasap n gating lahi mula sa kamay ng mga mananakop ay nawala an gating sariling

pagtingin at pagkakakilanlan. Ayon sa isang batikang mamahayag na Amerikanong si James

Fallows, Ang Pilipinas di umano ay isang bansang may sirang kultura.47

Matapos ang panahon ng pananakop ay tila nagbagong bihis ang liping kayumanggi at

animo’y nawalan ng pagkakaisa.Ito marahil ay implikasyon ng negatibong epektong ating

kakayahang makiangkop (adopt) at tumanggap ng kulturang labas. Ang panahong ito rin ang

47

James Fallows, The Atlantic Monthly: November, 1987

213

panahon kung saan naipagwawalang bahala na ng mga Pilipino ang tunguhing mapagkaisa ang

bansa at tila nagkakanya kanya na nga ba tayo at tumutupad na lang sa ating mga pansariling

layunin? Ito lahat marahil ay dahil wala na sa loob ng mga Pilipino ang banta ng pananakop.

Sa hiblang ito makikita ang dahilan sa pagkilos na isinakatuparan ni Claro M. Recto.

Ginamit ni Recto ang konsepto ng pambansang bayani sa mga nararapat na iasal at gawin ng

mga tao at upang maging instrumento sa pagbuo ng kaisipang nasyonalista at pagkakabuklod-

buklod ng mga Pilipino. Ito ang dahilan ng pagkakapasa ng RA 1425 o mas kilala bilang Batas

Rizal na kasalukuyang ipinapatupad sa ating pambansang konstitusyon ng maraming Pilipino

lalo na ang mga kabataan na hindi nababatidang dahilan kung bakit itinuturo ang kursong Rizal

sa kolehiyo.

Mula sa kasaysayan, mahihinuhang ang konsepto ng bayani sa makabagong Panahon ay

yaong mga taong makapag-iisa sa isang bayan, sa bansa, at sa sambayanan at nakagagawa ng

mga makabuluhang bagay.buhat sa lumang konsepto ng bayani, ito ay lumabas at masasabing

nagkaroon ng ilang pagbabago sa mga gawi, pag-iisip, at pagkakakilanlan ng bayaning turing.

Malaki rin ang epekto ng panahong moderno sa pagbabago ng konsepto ng bayani sapagkat dala

ng Panahong “modern” o “global” nagkaroon ngayon ng pagbabago na tilang nakikiakma sa

kasalukuyang panahon. Ang mga pagbabagong ito ay dala ng teknolohiya, modernisasyon, social

media, at marami pang iba na naging batayan ng mga tao sa pagpili ng bayani. Dito ay tinuring

ng mga taong bayani ang hero at savior na masasabing mali sapagkat dayuhan ang mga sumunod

na salita.

214

Gayunpaman, ibinigay niZeus Salazar ang pagkakaiba ng dalawang uri ng taong may

nagawang mahalaga para sa bansa. Ang Heroe (salitang para sa hero) at bayani. Ayon kay

Salazar, ang salitang Heroe ay banyagang konsepto ng pagiging martir at ang ibig sabihin ay

isang tao na may kakaibang katapangan, lakas at pakikipagtulungan sapagkat kailangan. Mariing

na pinagdidiinan ni Salazar ang puntong walang nakalagay na “bayan” o dapat na kasama ang

bayan. Na kaiba ika nya sa ating katutubong konsepto ng “bayani” o bagani. Ito marahil ang

pinagkaiba ng dalawa sapagkatangating katutubong konsepto ay hindi kailangang maging martir

o mag-isa sapagkat siya’y lumalaban o kumikilos kaisa ang bayan.Sa mata ni Salazar ang

pagkakaiba ng Heroe at bayani ay mas mapapaliwanag ng paghahambing kay Rizal at Bonifacio-

si Rizal bilang Heroe at si Bonifacio bilang bayani na kung saan kanyang sinabing si Rizal ay

isang tunay na Heroe sapagkat isa itong “bayaning” may kamalayan na kanluranin at may

pansariling misyon. Samantalang ang mga tunay na bayani kagaya ni bonifacio ay kumikilos

para sa grupo at hindi nahihiwalay sa bayan. Isa pang napagkakamalan ng lipunang kasing

kahulugan ng bayani ay ang konsepto ng tagapagligtas o savior na isang banyagang salita at

kung saan ang pakahulugan ay ang mga taong nakapagligtas o nakapagbigay ng mabilisang

tulong ay itinuturing nabayani. Ayon sa ilang pag-aaral ay dala lamang ng ilang dahilan katulad

na lamang ng “Social media” at iba pa.

Sa mga naitala, mahihinuhang mula sa lumang pagpapakahulugan ng katutubong

konsepto ng bayani ay kumawala ang agos ng pagbabago sa konsepto at depinisyon dahil sa

panahon at ilang pangyayari sa kasaysayan.

215

II- Mga uri ng bayani sa modernong panahon.

Mahalaga ang konsepto ng bayani sa isang bansa. Ang mga bayani ay nagpipinta ng pag-

asa, inspirasyon at katuparan sa mata ng mga taong naniniwala sa mga ito. Kaya naman

napakahalagang ugatin kung ano na nga ba ang kasalukuyang konsepto ng bayani ng liping

kinabibilangan upang ating malaman ang mga salik at dahilan ng paglitaw ng mga uri ng

bayaning ito at maiangkop ang kanilang tunay na pwesto at epekto sa ating buhay. At sa

pangkalahatang perspektiba bilang isang lipunan.

Larawan na nagpapakita ng ibat-ibang mga super hero

na inidolo ng mga Pilipino. Karamihan ng kuha ay mula

sa Goggle Images.

216

1.1 Bayaning nagtataglay ng kakaibang kapangyarihan (Fantastic hero)

Bayaning maituturing sa mata ng iba ang mga taong nagtataglay ng kakaibang

kapangyarihan. Ang mga taong ito ay sumisimbolo ng kalakasan, kagitingan, katalinuhan at

kakaibang kapangyarihan na maituturing na kakaiba at katangi-tangi.

Sa hiblang ito masasabing malaki ang epekto ng mga napapanood, nababasa at naririnig

ng mga tao. Sa aspeto ng pagiisip, kadalasan ang mga tao partikular na ang mga bata ay

nagkakaroon ng konsepto ng bayani sa katauhan ng mga ng mga karakter katulad na lamang nila

“Captain Barbell, Darna, Jouquin Bordado, Lastikman at marami pang iba. Ito ay dala ng mga

kakaibang katangiang tinataglay ng mga karakter naito nanagbibigay ng inspirasyon at pag-asa

para sa mga tao at kung minsan, humahantong pa ito sa mga pangarap na silaý maging katulad

ng kanilang mga iniidolo. Malaki rin ang epekto ng mga karakter na ito sa mga taal na

tagatangkilik. Halimbawa, nagiging modelo ang mga bayaning ito at nais kaparisan ng iba Ang

mga tagatangkilik din ng mga bayaning ito ang nagtatakda upang gawin silang tunay na ehemplo

ng pagkatao.

Ayon kay Dr. Marilou Doronillana asawa ng batikang kolumnista sa pahayagan na si

Amando Doronilla, sa kanyang Disertasyong pang Doktorado sa Pamantasan ng Pilipinas, ang

konsepto ng bayani ng karamihan partikular na sa kabataan ngayon ay impluwensya ng

kulturanglabas na kung saan ang mga konsepto ng “superhero” na nagmula sa bansang banyaga

ay bayani para sa mga tao ngayon. Dakila rin ang tingin ng mga nakararami sa mga karakter na

nagtataglay ng mga kakaibang abilidad na tila nakuha at minana ang ganitong konsepto sa unang

tingin sa isang bayani bilang Malakas at kakaiba. Dahilan din ito ng pagkakaroon ng tatak ng

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mga bayaning ito sa mga Pilipino bilang mga kilalang tao na dapat ay sinusunod at iniidolo na

kung saan ay nakapagbibigay sa kanila ng inspirasyon at lakas sa pagpapatuloy at paglaban para

sa bayan. Ang mga salik din ito ang nagpapabuhay kung bakit ang mga kinikilalang personahe o

karakter kagaya nina Darna, Captain Barbell, Lastikman at marami pang iba ay nagiiwan ng

malaking marka sa katauhan ng isang tao. Mistulang walang kamatayan din ang turing ng

lipunan sa mga karakter na ito sapagkat nagkakaroon ng pag-unlad o ”Inovation” sa wikang

banyaga sa mga tauhang ito.mistulang panapanahon ay nagkakaroon ng pagbabago sa dating ng

ilan sa mga karakter na ito sapagkat nais palitawin ng lipunan ang esensya ng mga karakter na

superhero at fantastiko sa ating buhay. Masasabi ngang sila ay mga likhang isip lamang ngunit

ang epekto at ang dulot nito sa ating lipunan at araw-araw na pag-iisip ay malaki at tunay na iba.

(larawan blng 1.- si Efren Florida habang tinatanggap ang Parangal

Bilang CNN Hero of the Year sa bansang Estados Unidos,(kaliwa)

at si dating DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo. (kanan)

.(kuha mula sa Goggle image)

1.2 Mga taong itinuturing na bayani dahil sa makabuluhang gawain at pinasikat ng midya

(Mediatised hero)

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Pamilyar ka basa kabayanihang ginawa ni Efren Penaflorida at Janella lelis? Kilala ang

mga kabayanihang ginawa ng mga taong ito sa kasalukuyang panahon. Sila ang mga indibidwal

na nagpamalas ng isang makabuluhang gawain kaya itinuring na huwaran o bayani. sa panahon

ngayon, naging madali na/o mabilis ang pagkalat ng kabayanihan ng mga taong ito dahil sa

inpormasyong dala ng “Social media”. Ang teknolohiyang ito ang naging daan kung bakit ang

pagtuturo ni kua Efren sa lansangan ng libre na naging daan upang masungkit niya ang “CNN

hero of the Year award” at pagligtas ng batang si janella Lelis ng naga sa isa sa pambansang

sagisag n gating bansa ay mabilisang kumalat at /o malaman ng nakararami. Ito rin ang dahilan

kung bakit ang tulad nila Efren at iba pang malalaking personalida ay pinag-uusapan at

gumagawa ng ingay sa ating lipunan.

Masasabing nakagawa ang mga ito ng mga makabuluhang gawain ngunit sapat na ba ito

upang bigyan sila ng malaking pagkilala, hindi sapagkat dinala ang mga pangalan ng mga ito ng

social media kung saan ang isang maliit na boses ay nagiging malaki o dumadami sa

pamamagitan ng mga makabagong instrumento ng pagkakalat ng impormasyon. Matatandaang

kumalat ang kabayanihan ni Janella Lelis ang batang taga Bicol na sa harap ng sakuna ay

sinagip o iniligtas ang Pambansang simbolo ng Pilipinas.sa pamamagitan ng pag-aupload ng

kanyang imahe na tangan-tangan niya ang pambansang simbolo ng ating bansa sa mga social

network sites kagaya ng FB at Twitter. Samantalang midya at telibisyon naman ang kay Efren

Penaflorid,. Mahihinuhang kumakalat sa nakararami ang mga nagawa ng mga bayaning ito sa

pamamagitan ng progresibong pag-unlad ng teknolohiya. Ngunit masasabing makakapagkatas

din tayo ng mga katangian ng isang bayani mula sa lumang konsepto sa mga pilipinong ito na

tunay na nakatulong sa lipunang ating kinabibilangan sapagkat tumayo rin naman sa harap ng

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kagipitan ang mga nasabing personalidad na tunay na nakatulong at nakpagbigay ng liwanag sa

iba at nakapag hikayat na lumagay sa tama ang lipunan., ngunit an gating |”punto de bista” rito

ay ang malaking back-up o dulot ng makabagong teknolohiya sa pagiimpluwensya sa iba ng

konsepto ng kabayanihan na mula sa pagpapakilala sa isang maliit na boses ay lumalaki at

nagbibigay ng pagkakataon na ikalat sa mas malaking kaganapan.

Ayon saSikolohiya, malaki ang epekto ng Social media sa isang lipunan. Malaki ang

ginagampanan nito sa pang araw-araw na buhay ng mga indibidwal at grupo ng tao48

. Sa isang

pag-aaral na isinagawa ng kagawaran ng komunikasyon ng pamantasan ng pilipinas (UP

Masscom) nalaman na sa patuloy na pag unlad ng Social media ay patuloy ang pag apekto nito

ng malaki sa isang lipunan. At malaki rin di umano ang epekto nito sa kaisipan ng mga tao

sapagkat nahihimok ng sinasabing mga propaganda. Dala ng mga midyang ito ay ang pagiging

bayani ng mga OFW, Bagamat sinabi ni Zeus Salazar na tugma ang pagtawag sa mga OFW

bilang “Modern Bayani49

. Sapagkat kahit umano delikadong mangibang bansa ay sumigi pa rin

upang makapagbigay ng tulong sa bayan. Di ganap na masasabing sa ganitong paraan ay

masasabi nang mga bayani ang mga OFW sapagkat nadadala lamang ng Social media ang mga

ito. Masasabing sa pamamagitan ng social media ay nakikintal sa isipan ng marami ang

pagkabayani ng mga OFW at napapasigi ang pagpapakalat ng mga ganitong adbokasiya sapagkat

ganap ang pagkalat sa pamamagitan ng Social Media. Masasabi rin na sa panahon ngayon,

possible sa ating henerasyon na mapag isa ang lahat dahilan na rin sa pagkakaroon ng Social

48

Social Psychology and its Effect to the Society, University of chicago 49

Papel na binasa sa isang sangpaksaan sa NTC

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Media. Ito marahil ay isa nanamang malaking pag aaral sapagkat napakadelikado ng

impluwensya ng midya sa iba.

(larawan blng II, mga tumayong whistle blower’s

sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas. Kuha mula sa

Google Pictures)

1.3 bayaning sumibol dahil sa poot sa loob ng politika (Political hero)

Sinasabing isa ang bansang pilipinas sa mga bansang may magulong sistema pagdating sa

politika. Isa rin di umano ang bansang ito sa mga pinakamaraming korupt na namumuno. Ito

marahil ang dahilan kung bakit sumibol ang mga bayaning naninindigan upang isiwalat ang mga

katiwalaan at gulo sa likod ng politika sa bansang ito. Ilan lamang sa mga ito ay ang mga

“whistleblowers” na nagsalita ukol sa mga maling gawain o/at sistema sa pamahalan. At

(Larawan bilang 2)

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nagpamalas ng katapangan at paninindigan sa pagsisiwalat ng ilang dumi ng politika sa ating

bansa. Naging mainit ang pagtanggap ng lipunang Pilipino sa mga bayaning ito. Nagkaroon ng

mga susog na aksyon kung saan dumarating sa pagkakataon na napagiisa ang sambayanan.

Sa antas ng indibidwal, malaki ang kontribusyon ni Jun lozada sa lipunanan ng isiniwalat niya

ang anomalya sa mga maling pamamalakad ni dating pangulong Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Nakapagpababa ng imahe ng dating pangulo ang aksyong isinagawa ni Jun Lozada. Tunay ngang

nagpamalas ng katapangan ang huli sa pagsiwalat sa maduming administrasyon ni pangulong

Arroyo. kahit na nakasalalay dito ang kanyang buhay at pamilya boung tapang pa ring lumaban

si Jun Lozada, siyaý nagsagawa ng krusada upang gisingin ang sambayanan upang mamulat ang

kanilang mata sa mga maling gawain ng kasalukuyang administrasyon ng panahon na iyon. Sa

kanyang paglipat-lipat sa ibat-ibang parte ng bansa nilayon niyang mapagkasundo ang buong

bansa na labanan ang katiwalian ngunit masasabing siyaý hindi nagiisa sapagkat siya ay lumapit

sa Kalinga ng simbahan. Sa mga pari at madre at sa bayan na uhaw sa pagbabago upang siya ay

samahan sa kanyang laban para sa isang tuwid na landas, para sa ating bayan ngunit ang tanong

ay bakit hindi kaya gawing “campaign rally” ni Jun Lozada ang kanyang krusada upang

mapagisa ang sambayanang Pilipino?

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IV- Pamantayan ng kasalukuyang panahon sa pagpili ng bayani

Sa kasalukuyang panahon kung saan tayo ay masasabing Malaya na dahil wala nang sumasakop

at nagpapahirap sa ating lahi, anon a nga ba ang pakahulugan ng iba at tingin sa isang bayani?,

narito ang ilang kwalipikasyon ng isang bayani ayon sa aming pag-aaral.

Gumagawa o umaaksyon

Matapang

Matalino,kritikal

May kamalayang panlipunan

Handang magsakripisyo

Maimpluwensya

makamasa

lider

malakas ang loob at may paninindigan

Larawan blng 3, Isang aklat na naglalaman ng

mga siniwalat na dumi sa rehimeng marcos ni

Primitivo Mijares (kuha mula sa Goggle image)

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V- Konklusyon

Mga bayaning maituturing ang isang tao na kayang mapag-isa at mapagbuklod ang inang

bayan, bansa, at sambayanan. Ganito ang hinihingi ng kasalukuyang panahon upang hirangin

bilang isang modernong bayani, Tunay ngang masasabing ang konsepto ng bayani ay kalat

sapagkat ang bawat panahon ay may napoprodyus na uri o isang bayani. Sa kasalukuyang

pagtingin, makikita na nagkaroon ng makabagong tingin ang lipunan sa konsepto ng isang

bayani, ngunit masasabi rin naman nating malaki ang impluwensya ng kahapon o nakaraan sa

kasalukuyan at hinaharap sapagkat malaki ang impluwensya ng unang konsepto ng bayani sa

kasalukuyang pagtingin sa isang bayani. Sapagkat tayo ay nabibilang sa makabagong panahon,

malaki ang epekto ng mga makabagong teknolohiya at pamamaraan sa konsepto ng isang bayani

na kung saan sa pamamagitan ng “Media” naiimpluwensyahan ng malaki ang isang lipunan.

Mula sa taas, mahihinuhang ang mga super hero sa telibisyon, magazine at mga

babasahin, mga whistleblower’s at ang mga taong laman palagi ng mga pahayagan at medya ay

tinuturing ngayon bilang “modern heroes” ng ating panahon. Bagamat masasabing iba ang mga

katangian at kakanyahan ng mga ito kumpara sa ibang mga bayani masasabi pa rin na may

makakatas na katangian sa mga ito na katulad o mayroon din ang mga naunang

bayani.mapapansin din na kung susuriin ang konsepto ng pagpapakabayani ng labas ay

makikitang hindi nalalayo ang kasalukuyang konsepto sapagkat dala na ito ng kasalukuyang

takbo ng panahon. Malaki rin ang impluwensya ng mga makabagong bayaning ito sa pang araw-

araw na buhay ng mga Pilipino na kung saan ay malaki ang epekto sa kanilang pagkatao. Ito ang

dahilan kung bakit mahalagang ugatin ang kasalukuyang konsepto ng bayani sa lipunang ito.

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Ergo, delikado ang ating panahon sapagkat mabilis ang pag-unlad ng mga bagay-bagay. Ang

social media na isang produkto ng makabagong panahon ay tunay na malaki ang ginagampanan

sa pagpapakalat at pagbabanyuhay ng konsepto ng bayani sa kasalukuyang lipunang Pilipino.

Mabubuod na sa ating panahon ngayon ay wala pang pumapantay o nakagagawa ng mga

Gawain o kabayanihang katulad ng mga nagawa nila Gat Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio at

marami pang mga kilalang bayani ng lumang panahon. Dahil nga ito siguro na silang mga

pambansang bayani ay mayroong sariling panahon ng pagpapakabayani at ang pagpapakabayani

sa panahong makabago ay lumabas na sa makalumang konsepto na dapat ay patay na at

nakagawa ng kagitingan para sa bayan. Sa ating panahon ngayon, ang pagsasakonsepto ng

bayani n gating lipunan ay lumabas sa kahon ng pagtingin mula sa lumang kwalipikasyon ay

masasabing nagkaroon na tayo ng sariling pamantayan. Ang bayani sa kasalukuyan ay ang mga

taong gumagawa ng maaliliit na bagay na makatutulong ng malaki kapag pinag sama-sama.

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Sanggunian

Zimbardo, Philip. Heroic Imagination Project.

Salazar Zeus A. Si Andres Bonifacio at kabayanihang Pilipino. Lungsod

Mandaluyong: Palimbagang Kalawakan.1997

_____________. Heroe at Bayani diskusyon ukol kay Rizal at Bonifacio.

Trillana, Pablo S. Rizal and heroic traditions: a sense of national destiny

other essays and home town stories. Lungsod Quezon: new day Pub_2005

Mga Indibidwal na aming kinapanayam:

Prof. Virgilio Rivas, Institute of Cultural studies

Dr. Guillermo T. Bungato

Prof. Bucks Amorillo

Prof. Mary joy Castillo

Prof. Perla Carpio

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Ang Ugat at Dulot ng Haraya:

Isang Eksploratoryong Papel at mga Tala tungo sa

Ginintuang Panahon ng Panitikang Pambata sa Pilipinas

Introduksyon

Bilang pambungad ng papel na ito, marapat na tingnan ang introduksyon ni Jack

Zipes sa kanyang aklat na The Fairy Tale and the Art of Subversion:

Even though the fairy tale may be the most

important cultural ang social event in most children's

lives, critics and scholars have failed to study its

historical development as a genre. There are chapters on

the fairy tale for adults, in-depth psychological

explorations of the fairy tale's effect on children, and

structuralist and formalist studies of individual tales

galore. But no history of fairy tale for children, in

particular, no social history. Just a gap.

Ang Panitikang Pambata sa Pilipinas (o PPP) ay maituturing na napakabata pa

kung ikukumpara sa mga bansa kung saan lumaganap ang mga fairy tale, young adult

literature at iba pang akdang pambata, partikular na sa kanluran. Kung malalaman ang

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kasaysayan nito (Panitikang Pambata sa Pilipinas), malalaman na lampas lamang ng

tatlong dekada o tatlumpung (30) taon nang sumulpot ang pabliser at industriya ng

nakatutok sa mga storybook o kuwentong pambata tulad ng Adarna House, Lampara

Books, Tahanan Books for Young Readers at iba pa. Kung pagtatambisin ang naging

pahayag sa itaas sa ating napakabatang literatura, ano kaya ang ating nito?

Ayon kay Dr. Eugene Y. Evasco sa kanyang papel na ‚Ang Ikatlong Dekada,

binasa noong Ikalawang Kumperensiya sa Panitikang Pambata noong 2009 sa

Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Diliman,

Depenisyon ng Termino

Panitikang Pambata --- ayon sa CCP Encylopedia of Philippine Art: ‚Ayon sa

tradisyon, ang panitikang pambata ay ang mga picture books, tula, maikling kuwento,

dula o

nobela na isinulat para sa mga bata. The pag-unlad ng iba pang porma ng midya tulad

ng pelikula, radyo at telebisyon at ang pagiging populat ng mga ito sa mga bata, ang

nagpalawak ng orihinal nitong depenisyon. Sa kasalukuyan, ang panitikang pambata

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ay tumutukoy sa anumang isinulat o ginawa upang tumugon sa partikular na

pangangailangan ng batang audience.‛50 [Sa akin ang salin] (Traditionally, childrens's

literature includes picture books, poems, short stories, plays, or novels written for

children. The development of other media such as film, radio, and television, and their

popularity with children, has expanded this original definition. Today, children's

literature refers to anything written or produced to suit the particular needs of a child

audience.) Dagdag pa rito, ayon kay Pambansang Alagad ng Sining Virgilio Almario, sa

Pilandokan: ‚May isang naiibang katangian ang panitikang pambata. May tiyak itong

mambabasa: mga bata o kabataan‛.51

Ang bata na tinutukoy sa itaas ay ayon at mula sa depenisyon ng United Nations

Childrens Fund o UNICEF. Ito ay ang mga nasa edad labingwalong (18) taong gulang

pababa. Ginamit rin ito ni Villanueva sa kanyang lektura sa UP Institute of Creative

Writing na pinamagatang ‚Saan Nagpupunta ang Araw kapag Umuulan?‛ noong

Pebrero 2006.

Ang panitikang pambata na ituturing at tatalakayin para sa pag-aaral na ito ay

ang mga akdang pampanitikan na ginawa para sa bata na may layunin na magbigay

50 “Children's Literature”, historikal na sanaysay sa Tiongson, Nicanor, et al (mga editor), CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art, Volume 9: Philippine Literature, (Manila: Cultural Center of the Philippines, 1994), p. 112. 51 Almario, Virgilio S. “Mga Gampanin Para sa Kaunlaran ng Panitikang Pambata” nasa Torres-Yu, Rosario, Pilandokan: Konteksto at Kritisismo ng Panitikang Pambata sa Pilipinas, ekperimental na edisyon, (Quezon City, Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Diliman, 2010), p. 19.

229

aliw o magbigay ng aral sa kanilang mga natatanging mambabasa. Ito man ay

anumang uri na nabanggit sa itaas at isinulat ito ng mga Pilipino sa wikang Filipino.

Tulad ng nauna sa itaas, ang pinaiksing inisyal na PP ay gagamitin sa pananaliksik na

ito.

Kahalagahan ng Pag-aaral

Update sa

Rebyu ng Kaugnay na Literatura

Ang Personal: Mga Sanaysay sa Lupalop ng Gunita na nilathala noong 1999 sa ilalim

ng Anvil Publishing ay mahigit na apatnapung (40) na mga non-fiction o sanaysay na

isinulat ni Rene O. Villanueva na pinapaksa ang samu't saring tagpo sa unang

dalawampung taon ng kanyang buhay --- mula sa pagkakakilala ng kanyang mga

magulang hanggang sa kanyang pagtatapos ng kolehiyo. Matutunghayan sa aklat na

ito ang buhay at karanasan ni Villanueva mula pagkabata sa kanyang kinalakihan sa La

Loma. Maaari pa sanang ituloy ito at magkaroon ng kasunod o karugtong ang aklat ito

kung hindi lamang sa biglaang pagpanaw ng awtor. Kung susubok ang mananaliksik

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ng tesis na gumawa ng isang biograhical sketch ni ROV, ang Personal ay isang mayamang

primaryang batis para sa pananaliksik na ito na maaaring kuhaan ng impormasyon

tungkol sa buhay ng may-akda tulad ng kung paano siya nagiya sa pagsusulat, atbp.

Bagamat hindi pinamagatang Personal Dos (dahil ayaw ni ROV na gumawa ng

sequel), ang (Im)personal: Gabay sa Panulat at Pagkamanunulat na inilathala ng Anvil

Publishing noong 2006 ang tinukoy na pangalawang bahagi ng Personal ani Villanueva.

Dagdag pa niya: ‚Binalangkas ko ang (Im)Personal bilang katipunan ng mga sanaysay

tungkol sa pagsusulat at pagiging manunulat.‛52 Nahahati sa tatlong bahagi, bawat

isang sanaysay o artikulo rito ay kumakatawan sa isang yugto tungkol ng kanyang

buhay at pagiging manunulat, Tampok rin dito ang ilang mga personal na listahan o

tala ng kanyang mga hilig bilang isang manunulat. Tulad ng naunang aklat sa itaas,

ang (Im)personal ay isang mahalagang akda mula kay Rene O. Villanueva na

mapaghahalawan ng kuwento at kaalaman sa sinumang nais na pag-aralan siya.

Kasama si Rene O. Villanueva sa mga manunulat na ininterbyu sa aklat na

Sarilaysay: Danas at Dalumat ng Lalaking Manunulat sa Filipino nina Dr. Rosario Torres-Yu

at Alwin C. Aguirre noong 2004. Dito ay kinapanayam si Villanueva tungkol sa

kanyang buhay at karanasan bilang lalaking manunulat. Mga bahagi ng buhay bilang

52 Villanueva, Rene O., (Im)personal: Gabay sa Panulat at Pagkamanunulat (Pasig: Anvil Publishing, 2009), (Introduksyon) viii-x.

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manunulat naman ang pinapakita ni Prop. Ligaya Tiamson-Rubin sa artikulong ‚Rene

O. Villanueva: Tagpi-taping Kabanata sa Buhay ng Isang Premyadong Manunulat” sa

Diliman Review noong 2004. Ang dalawang ito ay mga natatangi at iilan pa lamang na

mga artikulo na naisulat tungkol sa paksang manunulat.

Ang personal na blog ng paksang manunulat (ROV), ang

http://www.renevillanueva.blogspot.com, na makikita sa internet ay sari-saring mga

sulatin ng awtor sa huling tatlong buwan ng kanyang buhay mula Setyembre hanggang

Nobyembre 2007.

Naglalaman naman ng mga piniling papel mula sa iba't ibang iskolar ng

panitikang pambata na itinanghal sa nakaraang dalawang Pambansang Kumperensiya

sa Panitikang Pambata ang Pilandokan: Konteksto at Kritisismo ng Panitikang Pambata sa

Pilipinas ni Dr. Rosario Torres-Yu. Sa mga papel na iyon ay may mga pagtatangi at

pagpapahalaga sa mga gawa ni Rene O. Villanueva tulad ng natalakay na sa naunang

bahagi sa itaas. Nagsilbing teksbuk ito ng mananaliksik sa kursong Panitikan ng

Pilipinas 165 (Panitikang Pambata) ang eksperimental na edisyon ng aklat na ito.

May mga tesis at mga papel na nakalap ang mananaliksik mula sa aklatan na

tumalakay kay ROV, sa kanyang mga akda at sa panitikang pambata sa kabuuan. Una,

ang di-gradwadong tesis ni Eilene Antoinette Narvaez (BA Araling Pilpino) na

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pinamagatang ‚Baboy, Papel at Dagat bilang Simbolo ng Pagpapalaganap ng

Pagpapahalagang Pilipino: Isang Pagsusuri sa mga Kuwentong Pambata ni Rene O.

Villanueva‛ noong 2003. Sa pag-aaral na ito sinuri ni Narvaez ang ilang kuwentong

pambata ni Villanueva (tatlo bilang eksakto – Ang Unang Baboy sa Langit, Nemo, Ang

Batang Papel at Dagat sa Kama ni Troy) ayon sa lente ng istrukturalismo at/o semiyotika.

May bahagi rin rito ng pagtalakay sa buhay ni ROV sa konteksto ng pag-unlad ng

pantikang pambata. Nagawa pa ito noong nabubuhay pa ang manunulat at may

panayam rito. May ginawang paglilista ng mga kuwentong pambata ni ROV, ngunit

mga akdang nalathala lamang sa Adarna Books ang naitala nito. May pagkakahawig

rito ang nais na tesis ng mag-aaral ngunit sa mas komprehensibong paraan. May

magkahawig at magkakawing ding pag-aaral ang tesis ni Elisa S. Cabarubias (BA

Araling Pilipino) na ‚Pagsusuri sa Tatlong Dekada ng Aklat Pambata sa Adarna Books

Services, Inc.‛ (2001) at papel pananaliksik ni Gonzalo Campoamor II (ngayo'y

propesor sa Departamento ng Filipino at Panitikan ng Pilipinas at Katuwang na Dekano

ng Kolehiyo ng Arte at Literatura) na ‚Dokumentasyon at Pagsusuri ng Kuwentong

Pambata sa Pilipinas Partikular sa mga Aklat Adarna‛ noong 1994. Kapwa tinutukan

ng pansin ng dalawang pag-aaral ang Adarna Books bilang pangunahing pabliser ng

mga aklat pambata na siyang pinagmulan ng mga unang akda ni ROV sa larangang ito.

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Mahuhusay na batis ang mga ito sa nagtatangka na magsagawa ng pagtalakay sa

kasaysayan ng panitikang pambata.

Konklusyon

234

Sanggunian

Almario, Virgilio. Panitikang Pambata sa Filipinas: Mga Gunita, Tala, Puna't Pansin sa

Kasaysayan. Pasig: Anvil Publishing, 2010.

Evasco, Eugene. ‚Pag-akda at Pagkabata: Ang Namamayaning Tunguhin at Estetika sa

Panitikan Pambata sa Pilipinas‛ nasa Humanities Review 51 (3), 2004.

Iñigo, Eliezar. Si Rene O. Villanueva at ang Panitikang Pambata: Isang Preliminaryong Pag-

aaral at Anotasyong Bibliyograpikal. Di-gradwadong thesis, BA Araling Pilipino:

Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Diliman, Abril 2013.

Torres-Yu, Rosario. Pilandokan: Konteksto at Kritisismo ng Panitikang Pambata sa Pilipinas.

Textbook. Eksperimental na Edisyon. Quezon City: Unibersidad ng Pilipinas

Diliman, 2010.

Zipes, Jack. Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion: The Classical Genre for Children and the of

Civilization. New York: Routledge, 1988.

235

Ang Drama nga Kinantahan ni Iluminado Garcia Lucente:

Talaban ng Dulaan at Bayograpikal/Pampook na Konteksto

Abstrak

Isa sa kinikilalang mahusay na makata at mandudula sa panitikang Waray si

Iluminado G. Lucente (1883-1960). Tinatayang nakapagsulat siya ng tatlompung drama

nga kinantahan at lahat ay naitanghal. Hindi lamang sa mga kapistahan itinatanghal

ang kanyang mga drama nga kinantahan, kundi maging sa mga pampublikong

aktibidad tulad ng pagbubukas ng paaralan at pagtitipon ng mga kaguruan.

Bagama’t maraming katawagan si Lucente sa kanyang mga akda tulad ng drama

nga kinantahan, melodrama nga binisaya, melodrama, drama nga kinantahan, comediahay nga

kinantahan, at haliput nga kalingawan; sa pag-aaral na ito ay aangkupin ang ‘drama nga

kinantahan’ bilang katawagan sa mga dula ni Lucente bunga ng konsiderasyon na mas

madalas niya itong gamitin. Umaangkop sa katangian ng mga dula ni Lucente.

Binubuo ng dalawa o apat na yugto ang mga drama nga kinantahan ni Lucente.

Karaniwang may apat hanggang anim na eksena ang bawat yugto. Kadalasan, ang

drama ay nagsisimula sa isang kanta/awit. Karamihan sa mga kanta ay solo o duet at

paminsan-minsan ay mayroong koro. Ang mga kanta na nakapaloob sa drama nga

kinantahan ay nasa apat hanggang anim na kanta. Ang mga kanta ay maaring halaw sa

236

mga awiting-bayan sa Leyte at Samar o di kaya’y sinulat mismo ng awtor para sa

naturang drama. Ngunit, kadalasan batay sa mga awiting-bayan ng Leyte at Samar ang

ipinapaloob na mga himig.

237

Bukod sa pagsusulat ng mga drama nga kinantahan ay isa rin siyang mamamahayag.

Katunayan, siya ang nagtatag ng kauna-unahang dyaryo sa wikang Waray, ang ‚An

Kaadlawon.‛ Pinasok din ni Lucente, maging ang larangan ng pulitika at naglingkod sa

publiko. Natalaga siya sa ilang posisyon sa pamahalaan tulad ng pagiging kinatawan

ng ika-apat na distrito ng probinsya ng Leyte at naging alkalde ng Tacloban.

Bunsod na rin sa haba ng panahon na sinaklaw ng kanyang buhay, na mula

panahon ng Katipunan hanggang sa pumasok ang Amerikano, at nang pagdating ng

mga Hapon hanggang sa panahon ng Liberasyon at Komonwelt, naging saksi siya sa

mga pagbabagong naganap sa loob mismo ng kanyang lipunan. Kaya sa mga drama

nga kinantahan, mahahalaw ang ilang mga pagbabagong naganap sa lipunan ni

Lucente noon na kanyang tinalakay sa mga akda, partikular ang mga kagawian, ugali at

pananamit ng mga tao.

Sa pag-aaral na ito, nais kong salungguhitan ang mga sumusunod: 1. paglalatag

sa drama nga kinantahan bilang katawagan na aangkupin ng pag-aaral; 2. datos sa

pagsasaentablado ng mga drama nga kinantahan noon at ang mga manonood nito;

3.pagdalumat ng talaban ng drama nga kinantahan at ang bayograpikal/pampook na

konteksto ni Lucente; 4. bilang pagtugon sa layon at suliraning kinakaharap ng mga

panitikang mula sa etnolinggwistikong-pangkat tulad ng panitikang Waray, ilalahad ng

pahapyaw ang muling pagsasaentablado nito sa naganap na lektura/tanghal.

238

Bagamat ang pangunahing kaabalahan pa rin ng pag-aaral ay ang bulto ng datos

mula sa mga 21 drama nga kinantahan na nakalap ko, partikular ang pagsilip dito

bilang anyong pandulaan sa kultura at lipunanang Waray. Inaasahan ang talaban sa

pagitan ng tatlong saray na natukoy sa taas at ang bulto ng tekstual na datos mula sa

nakalap.

Layon nito na maitampok ang panitikang Waray, partikular ang mga drama nga

kinantahan na sa danas ko sa unibersidad ay tila naisasantabi ang mga panitikang

nagmumula sa iba’t ibang etnolinggwistikong-pangkat sa Pilipinas, partikular ang

panitikang Waray.

Gayumpaman, ang marjinalisasyon ng panitikang Waray ay maaring maugat na rin

natin sa kadahupan ng mga pananaliksik bunga na rin ng kahirapan/kawalan ng mga

primaryang batis tulad ng mga manuskrito at ang kakulangan ng salin sa mga ito.

239

Pagsipat sa mga Pangunahing Tauhan ng Antolohiyang Gerilyero:

Mga Kuwento ng Pakikibaka ni Cesario Yakat Torres

Unang Burador

Paksa/Keywords

Cesario Yakat Torres

Gerilyero: Mga Kuwento ng Pakikibaka

Kasaysayang Pampanitikan

Tesis na pangungusap

Mahalaga ang naging ambag ni Cesario Y. Torres sa larangan ng panitikan at lipunang

Pilipino. Pinatutunayan ito ng kanyang mga naisulat at pakikisangkot sa iba’t-ibang

organisasyong pampolitika at Kultural.

Sisiyasatin ng papel na ito ang walong kuwento ni Cesario Torres. Sa pamamagitan ng

kanyang mga kuwento ay kakapain ang personal na danas ng awtor at pangkasaysayang

konteksto ng kanyang mga akda. Maaring makalkal din ang batis ng karanasan ng awtor sa

kanyang mga kuwento. Matutukoy ang kaligiran ng awtor na nakaepekto sa malikhaing

proseso ng pagsulat ng kanyang mga akda.

Maikling Prebyu:

Pamagat: Gerilyero: Mga Kuwento ng Pakikibaka

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Awtor: Cesario Yakat Torres

Palimbagan: Kalikasan Press, Manila

Ilustrador: Sophie Guillermo

Si Cesario Y. Torres ay isa sa mga natatanging manunulat sa panitikan ng Pilipinas.

Nagtapos siya sa kursong Bachelor of Science in Commerce major in Economics noong 1974 sa

Philippine College of Commerce (ngayon ay Polytechnic University of the Philippines ). Siya ay

naging kasapi ng Hukbalahap ( Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon) noong 1942. Nabilanggo

siya ng halos dalawang dekada sa kasong ‚ rebellion complex and other crimes‛, lumaya noong

1970.

Siya ang tagapagtatag ng PANDAYLIPI, Ink. Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (

UMPIL), Pambansang Lupon ng mga Manunulat ( PLUMA), Pambansang Unyon ng

mga Manunulat (PANULAT), Galian sa Arte at Tula( GAT) at Poets, Essayist, Novelists

( PEN) International, Philippine chapter.

Nakasulat siya ng tinatayang 7,000 tula, mga 50 maikling kuwento, mga sanaysay, 5

dula, isang nobela, at salin buhat sa ng Ingles ng Noli me Tangere ni Leon Ma. Guerrero.

Paglalahad ng Suliranin

Napapanahon nang suriin at pag-aralan ang kasaysayan ni Cesario Torres bilang isa sa

mga natatanging manunulat na Pilipino. At ang kanyang ginampanang papel sa panitikan at

lipunang Pilipino.

Nais kong magsagawa ng preliminaryong pag-aaral sa mga akda ni Cesario Y. Torres.

Layunin

1. Suriin ang antolohiyang Gerilyero: Mga kuwento ng Pakikibaka

2. Maglikom ng mga panimulang materyal upang mabigyan ng hugis ang naratibo o

talambuhay ni Cesario Y. Torres kasabay ng konteksto nito sa kasaysayan

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Kahalagahan ng Pag-aaral

Mahalaga ang pag-aaral sa pag-aambag ng iskolarsyip sa panitikan ng Hukbalahap.

Mahalaga ang pagkalap ng lahat ng kanyang mga akda upang magsilbing batis ang

pinaplanong pananaliksik. Pagbibigay ng pagkilala sa naging ambag ni Cesario Y. Torres

bilang isa sa mgan natatanging manunulat sa panitikang Pilipino.

Metodolohiya

Maaring pagkuhaan ng datos sa pananaliksik ang mga sumusunod: mga libro at

artikulo na may kinalaman sa paksa, sa wikang Filipino at wikang Ingles, mula sa mga aklatan,

mga interbyu sa mga indibidwal na naging malapit sa awtor, at ibang awtoridad na may

kinalaman sa buhay ni Cesario Yakat Torres.

Saklaw at Limitasyon

Sinasaklaw nang pag-aaral na ito ang buhay ni Cesario Y. Torres. Malabayograpi ang

magiging pagtalakay sa unang bahagi. Nakatuon lamang sa isang antolohiyang ng mga

kuwentong nailimbag ang lunsaran ng pagsusuri. Sisikapang gawan ng tekstwal na analisis ang

bawat kuwento.

242

The Double-bind of Modern Technology

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

–Albert Einstein

Every double bind is a tragedy in itself. A double bind is a distressful dilemma

wherein the person in question is put up between two choices that negates one

another but both needs to be done. A paradox, as the logician would have said,

where the problem seems to have no logical and real solution or in other words, a

no-win situation. Modern Technology, as it is today, is caught up in such a paradox.

And this is what makes the question concerning technology one of the most, if not

the most, thought provoking problems of the present age. So what really is the

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problem with modern technology? And what exactly is the question concerning it

interrogates about?

The problems that technology created can only be solved through technological

means, by furthering and improving the technical aspects of manufacturing,

innovating, and so forth. And yet even if the said problems were to be solved a

different problem of the same, if not greater, magnitude will eventually occur due to

the furthering of the technological way of thinking. The double bind of modern

technology presents itself in this way, a vicious cycle that operates at a very

aggressive pace.

But before anything else, the author wishes to clarify that this paper is neither

anti-technology in any perceivable light nor does it support any attempt to

antagonize technology in any possible way. Like this paper that you now hold in

your hands, Technology is neither good nor evil. It has no intentions by itself; it is

outside the bounds of morals as it is with most things. As was shown in the

discussions in the second division of chapter two, technology may possibly be

considered evil only if it is under the control or caretaking of a human being inclined

to do evil.

244

The current mode of technology today, though cannot be totally said to be of an

evil nature, creates the possibility for the occurrence of evil. The evils and dangers of

a technologically advance but technologically blind society who is totally oblivious

to the dangers that technology posses, a society that threats everything as mere

commodity, where the age old contradiction of master and slave still persists, from

which the current societies of today is not far from being if not already one. But

technology was not always in this mode, the genuine mode of bringing-forth of pre-

modern technology attests to this fact. Thus, for clarification’s sake the author would

wish to emphasize that, today even in the age of modern technology, not everything

technological or relating to technology should be seen as evil. The thing things, but it

lies outside of the bounds of human morality. Thus, as much as this thesis is

concerned with the technological it is also deeply focused in the study of the human.

Dasein and Technology

To be sure, the current problems of technology are one way or the other,

technological by nature. And yes, because they threaten Dasein physically they

demand urgent solutions that must be thought up by people who are at home with the

realm of the technological; by specialists, technicians, and engineers. However, as these

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solutions are thought up by technologically thinking specialists within a strictly

technological paradigm, it fails to see the real problem with modern technology.

A deeper reflection on the current trend operating within modern technological

systems brings thought face to face with a problem of modern technology that cannot

be left solely into the hands of technologically masterful people. Keeping this in mind as

the directive of any subsequent thinking about the problem of technology, it becomes

obvious that although most, if not all, of the problems of technology, whether ancient or

modern, is by all means technological by nature—the fact that it is still firmly grounded

and deeply rooted in yet another problem holds true; the problem concerning the

essential mode of being of Human Dasein which is by no means technological.

This can easily be seen if one is to analyze the workings of modern technological

society. As was stated in the earlier chapters, the life of modern Dasein is always-

already entrenched in the technological. He makes use of technology in almost all of his

daily dealings with life. From the moment he opens his eyes early in the morning with

the help of his alarm clock to the moment he closes it again late at night after watching

his favourite late night T.V. show. Everything he consumes to sustain and make his

existence in this earth not just possible but a worthwhile passing is either a direct

product of a technological device or the indirect making of a technological system. This

246

is particularly true of the food and water that nourishes his body, the fabric that clothes

his body, and the dwelling place that protects him from the elements – the most basic of

all his material needs.

During the pre-technological eras, the constant search for food and water

preoccupies the daily life of primitive men. He hunts and gathers for food, again and

still with the help of primitive technologies, the same way that he searches for potable

drinking water. The discovery of agriculture and animal rearing enabled him to put up

permanent settlements, which also paved the way for the development of disciplines

that are not solely concerned with day to day survival.

Nowadays, in the current era of supermarkets and malls, food and water is very

much abundant not in the natural meaning of the term, but in a very sinisterly

convenient and scientific way. Such that a large majority of Daseins no longer need to

produce their own means of survival. Food, water, clothing, and shelter are available

for the ordering. Systematic and commercial farming and fishing enables man to

produce food more than what the population needs, deliver it to remote places by the

use of delivery trucks and highly systematic webs of highways, and perpetuate it

almost limitlessly with the help of advance methods of preservation and refrigeration.

At surface level, it can be argued that there is nothing wrong with all these things. Who

247

would contest the fact that modern technology has helped Human civilization

flourished and made Human life infinitely more convenient over the centuries? As

Heidegger pronounced in the essay ‚Building Dwelling Thinking‛53, the essence of

building is that of dwelling. Humans build for them to be able to dwell, it makes human

dwelling possible. The farm is cultivated to produce a stable source of nourishment. The

river is dammed, not only to provide a constant supply of potable drinking water but

also to unlock the power it possesses by means of the turning of hydroelectric turbines.

It enables man to live the way he lives today. Modern medicine is also a testament to

this relationship between technology and human dwelling. With the help of modern

techniques in medicine Dasein was able to drastically extend his lifespan and prevent

untimely deaths from formerly fatal and incurable diseases. The current advancements

in stem-cell research holds such great promise in even further prolongation of human

life by employing cell level treatment and the unending rejuvenation of old and dying

cells. So far, it has been shown again and again how technology aids man in his quest

for immortality.

But what exactly is the problem with modern technology? If it helps man to

survive and makes his life much easier, why even try to problematize it? The obvious

53

See Martin Heidegger, Building Dwelling Thinking, in Poetry, Language, Thought, Trans. Albert

Hofstadter (New York:Harper & Row, INC., 2001)

248

answer to both of these questions would be, as the mainstream environmentalist avidly

protests, is the negative effects of technological advancements with the natural

harmony of nature. The accumulation of pollutants both in land, water, and air, the

destruction of natural rainforests due to the ever expanding project of human

settlements, the untimely extinction of countless species of plants and animals, and the

impending threat of a nuclear war. It is undeniable that all these problems are

somewhat technological because they can be traced, one way or another, on some

project that employs the use of technological systems, techniques, and devices. But once

again the questions that must be asked is this, is it purely the fault of technology that

these problems occur? Or is technology merely an accessory that made these problems

possible? And furthermore, are these physical threats of technology the only problem or

is there a more vital problem that is left undiagnosed thus becoming ultimately more

threatening?

The problem with modern technology, as was repeatedly hinted in the above

discussions, is actually rooted in the fact that it is treated as something purely

technological; that it is a problem exclusive within the realm of technology thus can

only be solved from within. It has already been shown how all technological

advancements are done by man purely for the sake of man, which brings us back to the

249

Instrumental and Anthropological definition of technology, that it is a mean employed

by humans towards an end projected by humans. All these technological devices,

systems, and techniques makes man’s dwelling possible. If technology is for man by

man according to this definition, wouldn’t it at least be of good measure to try and

analyze the relation of the problems of technology with the problem of human

existence?

In Being and Time, Heidegger shows the distinction between the two modes of

existence of Human Dasein, the authentic and inauthentic. In the ‚Question Concerning

Technology‛, Heidegger gives a similar distinction between the two types of

technological revealing, the technological revealing of genuine bringing-forth as it was

found in ancient technologies and that of an aggressive challenging-forth as it is found

in modern technologies. The author doesn’t think that this striking similarity in the

formulations of these concepts is of an accidental nature. And so he asks, would an

authentic mode of Dasein’s existence, his being Da-sein (a Dasein that has realized his

being-in-the-world thus capable of standing outside), warrant his support or atleast a

preference for a technological revealing in the mode of a genuine bringing forth? If so,

wouldn’t the origin of all subsequent problems of technology be traced towards the

distinction of Dasein’s authentic and inauthentic mode of being?

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Dasein and the Challenging character of Modern Technological Systems

An inauthentic Dasein who is always busy with the things of his care and

preoccupied with the urgencies and immediacy of the everyday seldom finds time to

think of his potentialities apart from what the anonymous they prescribes, thus

rendering him incapable of realizing and materializing these other potentialities. He

lives his life like as they live theirs. All his aspirations and potential ways of being are

levelled down and lost in this ocean of the same. His way of life, his taste, his choices,

even the very way he thinks conforms to what the anonymous they approve of. One

look at the current state of modern societies seems to testify for this. Modern humans

are living their lives according to some trend set by an invisible force, by the holding

sway of the anonymous they.

In direct relation to the social problems of modern societies, Modern technology

thrives in the mode of an aggressive challenging-forth of nature. With everything

levelled down into mere orderable reserves, things lose their value in the face of being

enframed. Everything is available yet nothing is truly accessible. As was touched upon

in the essay ‚The Thing‛, enframing makes Dasein’s understanding of the thing lose its

contact with the thingly character of the thing. Up to some point even the relationship

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between man to man becomes distorted into this enframed understanding of being so

that man to man relations becomes almost impossible and humans treats his fellow

human the same way that he treats an orderable thing. Everything is just mere stock.

From the water he drinks, the food he eats, the clothes he wear, the books he read, to the

services of other human beings< orderable stock reserves that is always available for

the ordering of the orderer.

In a society such as this the possibility of a genuine bringing-forth of technology

is lost. So is the potential to live an authentic life. With everything levelled down

according to the prescription of the anonymous. But who is this anonymous they to

whom the everyday Dasein is much a slave? The term was used numerous times above

but was still never truly discussed. So who is ‚anonymous they‛? The anonymous they is

actually the summation of traditions, and common place beliefs, that has come to

harden out of time, it also includes the hegemonic ideology of that time and the class

that benefits from such hegemony, which is most of the time an elite ruling class.

The Ruling Elite and the Turning of the Technological Machine

It cannot be contested that the schematics of modern economic systems are very

much under the control by the elite ruling class. But how does this scheme exactly

work? In the previous chapter, it has already been shown how modern economic

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systems, if it aims for continuity, must succeed in reproducing the preconditions of its

existence. On the same note an elite ruling class wants to protect the status quo so as to

remain seated at the seat of power. How? By reproducing the preconditions of their

being seated as such, first by maintaining the traditions and beliefs that favours their

hold to power, and second by controlling the RSA’s and ISA’s of a particular society.

With the physical threat of the RSA’s and the, ultimately more subtle and grave,

intellectual control that the ISA’s provide the elite ruling class succumbs the majority of

the population. By their almost absolute control of the material condition of the majority

of the population, the power of the media and educational institutions; the elite ruling

class was able to subjugate the masses and dictate how they should view things, think,

and aspire. This is how Capitalism mastered the schematics of modern technology. By

adapting itself to the mysterious essence of technology it was able to influence the mode

of revealing that technology inclines into and like an invisible hand, sway the masses

according to their wishes. What’s a better market than a society that buys what it does

not need and for the mere sake of being `in’, where everything is but mere stock and

orderable reserves available always at hand in time of the ordering, with value and

possible profit always in mind? It challenges nature through the endless process of

unlocking power, collecting new material, consumption, and building up waste, which

in turn hurt the ecological balance of planet Earth. This is the turning of the

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technological machine that now thrives in modern technological economies. A turning

that have been so aggressive and vicious that it have became a problem that can no

longer be put aside because it endangers the ecological balance of nature, and the

survival of the Human species. The current trend in the turning of this technological

machine shows how, through techno-capitalistic systems, Human beings have

railroaded their selves towards extinction.

Da-sein, Flat Ontology and the Return to a Genuine Technological Revealing

An authentic Dasein or Da-sein is a Dasein that have realized his primordial

being as being-in-the-world. He also have discovered that what lies in front of his

accidental birth which he did not ask nor want is the inevitable possibility of his

eventual cessation, his death which is just as absurd as his birth. His acceptance of these

absurdities enables him to embrace them with open arms thus transforming his being

into a being-towards-death. Being-toward-death frees the said Da-sein from his being

entangled with the things of his caring, of the urgencies and petty demands of the

everyday, thus enabling him to stand outside himself and perform some sort of

stepping back, as was shown by the hyphen. This standing outside one’s self gives Da-

sein wider perspectives about life, the world, things, and other Daseins. He realizes that

he is not the sole benefactors of all beings, and that actually the cosmos barely cares

254

about him and the little blue planet he calls home. This experience of the call of

conscience humbles and urges him to live life in a much slower pace and practice more

prudence in future dealings with life. And only through the perspective of this Da-sein,

an ecstatic being capable of standing outside of himself can the Ontological Difference

be properly approached.

In the second chapter of this study, Heidegger’s concept of ‚Ontological

Difference‛ and how it is only possible when approached from the sole perspective of

Da-sein have been touched upon, although very lightly and lacking depth. Now the

author wishes to return to this very important part of Heideggerian philosophy in an

attempt to answer the set of problematic that have been laid by the above discussions.

So what is this ‚Ontological Difference‛ whose forgetfulness of, is what Heidegger

deem as the primordial source of all the subsequent problems of western philosophy

and human thinking? As was stated in the second chapter of this study, there lies a

fundamental distinction between being (das Sein) and beings (das Seiende). Rivas views

this distinction this way , “Being is ‚the originary foundational source of disclosed and

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discoverable knowledge‛ while beings are, ‚the ordinary conception of what makes a

thing as it is, or that of which it is understood as something with a positive value‛54‛.

Throughout the history of modern Humanity, Human beings, together with all

the sciences, have become too obsessed with beings that they fail to see the fundamental

difference between Being and being. The failure to see the difference between Being and

beings leads them to treat all beings as if they are mere resource just waiting for the

taking, which lead to the flourishing of techno-capitalistic systems, which in turn

destroys the ecological balance of nature due to the unreasonable demand it puts into it

that opens up the possible extinction of different species of plants and animals, with

Human Beings as no exception. Viewed from this perspective it appears that Heidegger

is correct when he claimed that the failure to acknowledge the Ontological Difference

between Being and beings is the source for all subsequent problems of not just

Philosophy but the whole façade of disciplines that Humanity devised. From this

realization the author thought that, if this is the source of the problem then why don’t

we begin to address the multitude of problems of the current techno-capitalistic systems

by first returning to this source? And this is where the need for a Flat Ontology or an

Object Oriented Ontology emerges.

54 Virgilio Rivas, Heidegger and the Paradox of Human Decision, in Philosophy: A History of Man. (Manila:

Unlad Publishing Company, 2010), 173.

256

Heidegger defines ontology as, ‚the study of being as such‛, derived from the

two Greek words onto which means ‚to be‛ and logia or ‚to study‛. But for the majority

of the history of Philosophy, ontology failed to view and study beings as such. Instead

of a presuppositionless and unprejudiced view of beings, ontology became; due to its

being oblivious of the Ontological Difference—a study of being from the stand point of

the Human subject. That is why perhaps Edmund Husserl was right when he

proclaimed with the famous slogan of Phenomenology that we should go ‚back to the

things themselves‛. This is why Heidegger calls for the ‚destruktion‛ of the history of

Philosophy in order to be able to retrieve it from these traditional blunders. This

destructive retrieval of the history of Philosophy will eventually lead to the founding of

a new ontological position, a position that is unbiased, free of prejudices and

presuppositions, a flat ontology that doesn’t put man in the centre of the ontological

picture, an ontology that is object-oriented. For only after such can the current problems

of techno-capitalist societies and systems be properly addressed in their core. And only

then can the return to a genuine mode of technological revealing be possible.

Conclusion

257

The problem of technology is not the same with the problems with the workings

of machines and technological systems. It cannot be solved by improving a particular

technology to rid itself of the problems of it precursor. The problem of technology is

something more than what the current schema of techno-capitalistic economies and

systems makes them out to be. It is not a problem of nut and bolts, gears and shaft that

the technician or any other technically masterful individual or group of individuals may

solve by tweaking something here and there. The problem of technology is deeply

rooted in the problem of the very rarely traversed field of human thinking and its

relation with beings.

The mode of technological revealing present and operating within a particular

society, be it that of a genuine bringing-forth or that of an aggressive challenging-forth,

directly stems from the prevalent mode of existence that thrives in its citizens. So the

solution to the present technological problems of our time lies not in the belief that

through further and constant technological advancements we can somehow solve all

the problems of current technologies, but in the fact that technology adheres to its

definition of being both anthropological and equipmental in character. It is deeply

grounded in Humans, in the very core of their existence, their very essence and way of

thinking. Technology is like a mirror that shows how man sees the world around him

258

and at the same time a tool that enables him to change what he sees according to what

he thinks he needs.

Any attempt to reverse, arrest, or derail the turning of the technological trend

operating today can only be done through a similar turn in the ontological schema. This

turning also requires the conscious effort of everyone, in direct relation to the

individual, to live a life that is as close as possible to the authentic. Authenticity doesn’t

only mean the full realization of Dasein’s potentialities; it also means an authentic

relationship of Human Da-sein with non-human Daseins or what we more commonly

refer to as things.

Nowadays, we cannot see the true danger in technology because we are the very

product of a system wherein that danger thrives and it has already affected us in our

beings. The saving power that lies dormant within the mysterious essence of technology

becomes ever more concealed under such circumstances.

The ruling class, having possession and most access of technology, the

educational institutions, and the mass media was able to dictate the trajectory of

Human civilization. By controlling the type of thinking that operates within a particular

society, the ruling elite was able dictate the type of technological revealing that will

thrive within that society. They, through their control of the educational systems, turn

259

masses into technological professionals, such as technicians, engineers, and other

technologically masterful people to further the development of the technology that

gives them profit, the vicious turning of the technological machine which harms the

ecological balance of Nature. They, with the help of the mass media, turn the majority

of the population into people that can only think within a strictly technological and

calculated paradigm where the occurrence of self emancipation is tantamount to nada.

And it is here where the greatest danger with modern technology lies, when it affects

Dasein in his core, in his very way of thinking. The danger of modern technology is that

it perverts human thinking and holds it hostage into a purely technological rationality.

Thus, to solve the current problems of technology together with all its

peripheries (i.e. ecological threat, depletion of natural resources, extinction of the

species, possible nuclear fallout, etc...) it needs to retrace its origin back to where it is

but a mere periphery, in the problem of human thinking; on how we, as human beings,

look at things and the long forgotten Ontological Difference between Being and beings.

The saving power of technology cannot be truly harnessed as long as Human

thinking continues to be held hostage by technological rationality and is dominated by

a thinking that is both manipulative and calculative—not until it transcends these

entrapments will the being and thinking of the being that thinks be ever free again.

260

Bibliography

Althusser, Louise. Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses (Trans. by Ben Brewster), in

Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays. Monthly Review Press, 1971.

Dreyfus, Hubert. Heidegger on Gaining a Free Relationship with Technology, in Heidegger

Re-examined vol. 3 (Ed. by Hubert Dreyfus and Mark Wrathall). Routlegde, 2002.

Heidegger, Martin. Being and Time (Trans. by Joan Staubaugh). State University of New

York Press (SUNY Press), 1927.

________.The Question Concerning Technology, in The Question Concerning Technology

and Other Essays, (Trans. William Lovitt). State Garland Publishing, INC., 1977.

________.The Turning, in The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays,

(Trans. by William Lovitt). State Garland Publishing, INC., 1977.

________. Building Dwelling Thinking, in Poetry, Language, Thought (Trans. by Albert

Hofstadter). Harper & Row, INC., 2001.

________. The Thing, in Poetry, Language, Thought (Trans. by Albert Hofstadter).

Harper & Row, INC., 2001.

Marcuse, Herbert. One Dimensional Man. Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1964.

Rivas, Virgilio. Heidegger and the Paradox of Human Decision, in Philosophy: A History of

Man. Unlad Publishing Company, 2008

________. What is Object Oriented Ecology?, available at http://veraqivas.wordpress.com/

(Accessed on October 2012)

261

I. Title or Provisional Title of the work:

‚Exploring the Grammar of Oppression Using Freire’s Concept of

Education as Liberation‛

262

II. Bibliography

A. Primary Sources

Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of Freedom: Ethics, Democracy, and Civic Courage.

Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2001.

________. Pedagogy of Hope: Reliving Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New

York: Continuum, 1994.

________. Education for Critical Consciousness. New York: Continuum,

1993.

________. The Politics of Education: Culture, Power, and Liberation.

Massachusetts: Bergin & Garvey Publishers, Inc., 1985.

________. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum, 1984.

________. Education as a Practice of Freedom (1967, 1974).

________. Cultural action for freedom (1968, 1970).

________. Pedagogy in Process: The Letters to Guinea Bissau (1977, 1978).

________. Teachers as Cultural Workers: Letters to those who dare teach

(1993, 1998).

Freire, Paulo and Antonio Foundez. Learning to Question: A Pedagogy of

Liberation. Geneva: WCC Publications, 1989.

Shor, Ira and Paulo Freire. A Pedagogy for Liberation: Dialogues on

Transforming Education. Massachusetts: Bergin & Garvey Publishers,

Inc., 1987.

263

B. Other Sources

Dewey, John. Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of

Education. New York: The Free Press, 1966.

Estioko, Leonardo R., SVD. History of Education: A Filipino Perspective.

Manila: LOGOS Publications, Inc., 1998.

Giroux, Henry A. Schooling and the Struggle for Public Life: Critical Pedagogy

in the Modern Age. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1988.

Illich, Ivan D. Deschooling Society. New York: Harrow Books, 1972.

Illich, Ivan D. Celebration of Awareness: A Call for Institutional Revolution.

New York: Anchor Books, 1971.

Marcuse, Herbert. An Essay on Liberation. London: The Penguin Press, 1969.

Sartre, Jean-Paul. Essays in Existentialism. New York: Citadel Press, 1993.

Whitehead, A.N. The Aims of Education and Other Essays. New York: The

Macmillan Company, 1966.

THE ‚I‛ IN THE ‚WE‛

264

It seems only yesterday that man was anything but forced by the iron fist of the

different elements of the society to follow the divine will and/or majority of the populace

otherwise suffer the consequences afterward. Man was not allowed to get away without

conceding to this will I have mentioned.

Culture and tradition are the topmost influential elements in a society which

dictates what is to be considered right or wrong. By these, an individual automatically

begets a predetermined code of conduct, ethics, which solidifies as time goes on. One

may be able to break free from the imposed ethics by discovering the inappropriateness

of the virtues applied, but the chances are very slim for man is a social being.55

In the course of time, two words emerged that are mostly encountered in ethics:

egoism and altruism. These two concepts highly challenge each other and due these

inversely related ethical concepts, man was left with varying options with how to live

his life morally. In a gist, should man choose egoism, he by all means is allowed to do

anything he wish to other beings so long as it is for his happiness, for his sake, even if it

would mean the destruction or compromise of the other. On the other hand, altruism

exactly advises man the opposite. In altruism, man should see to it that his attention is

focused to his neighbors, other people and even strangers; and that these people he

should serve even if it would mean sacrificing himself in doing so.

This paradigm suggests a strong sense of competition. An ordinary person can

even deduce that neither one (concept) exists while the other does. The existence of

them both implies a catastrophe. Is this a question then of elimination? Is this a matter

of which is better? Obviously not. To escape or deal away with these dominating ethical

concepts, one must be able to realize that there is another means of pursuing happiness

without committing the flaw in these two.

What is offered in these two paradigms is either a) the destruction of the others

in egoism and b) the sacrifice of the self in lieu of taking care of the others. In both cases,

there is a drawback in the apparently master plan towards living a good society. Is man

left with no choice but to be a mere puppet for goodness or a tyrant who regards other

people as a medium for whatever goals he may have? My answer is no. There is a way.

There is still a means where man can still recognize the ‚I‛ amidst the ‚WE‛ and vice

versa without losing himself and the others in the process.

In the succeeding paragraphs, I will present the possibility of an ethics which is

based on the philosophy of Objectivism. A discussion of egoism and altruism will be

55 Social being here may mean two things. One is the prevalent interpretation that an individual is

situated in a society where interaction simply cannot be avoided. The other interpretation (which I

believe is the more appropriate interpretation in the context this term was used) means an individual is a

being for the society – a being that is controlled and dictated by the society.

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presented hereon. I will also expose the stand of Ayn Rand in egoism and altruism. And

in the later part, eventually by using the concepts formulated by Ayn Rand on her

Objectivist Ethics, I will have been able to draw the bridge that will allow me to present

the possibility of her philosophy; that her way of egoism is in effect a transcendental

form of altruism.

EGOISM

...the concept of greatness entails being noble, wanting to be by oneself, being able to be different,

standing alone and having to live independently.

-Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

Men have been taught that the ego is the synonym of evil<

-Ayn Rand, For the New Intellectual

For the longest time, egoism has been assimilated with the word evil. And every egoist

was automatically branded a pest in any thriving society. Of course this is a very strong

statement; nonetheless, its credibility is valid. Taking a brief glance at history proves the

point.

There are egoists worth the mention to get things started. And in this section, I

will present the ideas presented by certain philosophers whom egoism they upheld. I

will show how such ideas affected and contributed to the development of the word

egoism as commonly understood. To start with the presentation, I will pose a question

that will serve as a guideline to the reader: what made Rand different from the known egoists

of the time? With this question on mind, the presentation commences.

Etymologically, the word egoism can be traced to the Latin word ego meaning

‚I‛. In the course of time, ego, in the context of egoism, would be more associated with

the word ‚self‛. And given this etymological background of the word, a rough

interpretation of egoism would be the doctrine focusing on the self.56 Later, more

interpretations would appear promulgated by various philosophers.

Many will agree that egoism can be traced as far back as the Greek philosophy:

hedonism. Normative hedonism is the claim that all and only pleasure has worth or value,

and all and only pain has disvalue (Moore). The Greeks’ strongly believe that what is

pleasurable is moral.57 It is in the hedonists’ belief that that which is pleasurable is good

56 It should be noted that the word being analyzed here is egoism and should not be interchanged

with egotism as it would make the presentation vague. 57 We shall later utilize this concept in par with Rand’s belief.

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to the body; and that which is good to the body is life-sustaining. In contrast, hedonists

considered pain to be the ultimate warning that something wrong is happening. This

however presents various loopholes. A classic example is the false belief that all that is

pleasurable is always desirable for an individual. That in most aspect is incorrect.

Another philosopher whose philosophy was celebrated in his time both with

praises and criticisms contributed to the development of the word egoism the way it is

known in the present times. Some considered his philosophy more relevant than his

personality; others considered his insanity the greatest flaw in his ethics. His name was

Friedrich Nietzsche.

Despite issues on his psychological capacity, one cannot deny the brightness of

the ideas contained in his lonely and tormented soul. I will not discuss in great detail

the Nietzschean ethical egoism for there is a dedicated chapter for such discussion; I

will however try to establish the fact that Nietzschean ethics has affected the

formulation of Rand’s concept of egoism.

I will take my point of departure from Nietzsche’s death of god. I have mentioned

already that man heavily relied to the thought that should everything go wrong there is

this ultimate entity that would assure him of the rightness or wrongness of an act. Man

made God an excuse by covering any particular act to be doing His Will. Almost

virtually everything lies in the hands of God. According to Nietzsche, this is not the

case; hence, the death of god.

But with the death of god was the birth of another being. With all courage,

Nietzsche challenges humanity: So where, asks Nietzsche, are the men of courage? Who is

willing to stare into the abyss? Who can stand alone on the icy mountaintop? Who can look a

tiger in the eye without flinching? (Hicks, 2009) And thus, man was reborn.

At this point, I would like to present a varied interpretation of the death of god.

There are some individuals who have another conception of this term. According to

them, this may mean that may the existence of this god be proven or not, the challenge

is to make your existence on earth tolerable and/or bearable. In any case, this

interpretation still goes along the mainstream. It only means that with or without this

ultimate being, man must strive to better his existence.

So, Nietzsche says that egoism is an effort to better man’s existence without –

most of the time – the external help of any benefactors. With the arguments presented

by Nietzsche, some interpreters have come up with the understanding that man should

expect help only from himself; and eventually developed the idea that the weak are of

no particular importance. A question is asked: Why should man bother taking care of

the weak? So, the argument is raised saying that other individuals are no more than

objects for one’s utilization. And the dark background of egoism is drawn.

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In the present term of the word, egoism means to be self-centered. Egoism means

to have one’s own self the focus in whatever aspirations and ideals may be pursued.

And with the help of the brief history of thought presented in the previous paragraphs,

the individual deducted that egoism gives the exclusive right for any individual to be a

sadist.58 With this notion, there is a transformation and automatic understanding that an

individual being the center of everything around him may manipulate, control and/or

use another individual for the former’s convenience – whether or not justifiable. It will

be helpful to note the usage of the word convenience. The very fact that man used

another being to the very point of exploitation, for his own selfish convenience, is

considered to be moral. The reasoning that since that particular individual only

practiced what he believed to be beneficial for him justifies the act; thus, this is

perpetuated in the form of malicious rulers and ill-willed influential individuals

scattered in the course of history.

Here, I present egoism as is normally conceived at the present time; the kind of

egoism that developed in the course of time. While egoism is being challenged left and

right by a diverse audience, there is another ethical system that is being proposed that

would balance the equation.

ALTRUISM

Altruists offer you a choice between sadism and masochism: either you torture other or you

torture yourself.

-Ayn Rand, Objectively Speaking: Ayn Rand Interviewed

In an attempt to counterbalance the egoism and its possible effects, altruism

sprang. It has been a constant that altruism is the counterpart of egoism. So long as

altruists continually oppose the egoists will I concede to the fact that altruism is

inversely related with egoism. But as for other aspects, they are no more different from

each other.

This section will present in a gist the concept of altruism, its variety and the

persons that will be tackled in this study. A deeper analysis will be conducted later. The

following paragraph will talk of the basic premise altruism presents and an altruist

practices especially those of that will be used in the course of this paper.

58 The usage of the word is not out of context. It is evident that Rand in one of her interviews

coined the term to give a description of the altruists. Objectively Speaking: Ayn Rand Interviewed, p. 156

268

With the desire to deal away with the so-called evils of egoism and/or ‚selfish-

ness‛, people were more than happy to follow any alternatives that would prove to be

better than the values of egoism. Since altruism promised a better tomorrow than what

egoism may have offered, more people were attracted to this system. Their attraction

was rather automatic, without scrutiny.

Allow me to present a simple history of altruism and by doing so expose two

facets of altruism. First is the birth of altruism and how its procreator originally meant

to use the word. In the progress of the presentation, I will be able to show the changes

in the usage and understanding of the term – as is with egoism. The other phase, with

the help of the first, would focus on the current understanding and practice of altruism.

This may be considered as the most common form of altruism, nonetheless as effective

and worth-mentioning as its primitive original formal.

Altruism just like any other ethical system wanted to bring man to the right track

so as to live a morally upright life – to attain the highest possible mode of living. The

objective is clear and remarkable, but as to the question of the how, one is left to guess.

Since most people have accepted by default that altruism is the most - if not the

only - plausible way of making existence on earth bearable, it has already been taken for

granted that altruism is the right solution for the maladies plaguing humanity. Without

further ado, the panacea was conjured out of thin air. And what is the term they use of

it? Right. Just like magic.

Let us take a look at the magical proposal the altruists have to offer humanity.

Assuming the fact that this is indeed the long-sought panacea, the most obvious

question is why is the world no better off from the time this ethics has been practiced?

Why is the world - truth be told - in more chaos amid the advancements of evolution

and technology, and despite the fact that altruism has already been practiced for the

past decades? Does this not suggest something else than it being the actual solution to

the problem? Or does it put the blame on to another element?

Though altruism nowadays has various meanings, it all can be traced and

tracked down to Auguste Comte’s altruism. The philosopher here is a collectivist

without doubt. In his works, the pavement of an idea for a new religion that would

eventually uplift mankind is evident. And it is in these works – particularly System of

Positive Polity – that his concept of altruism is evident and clearly manifest. Campbell

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outlines Comte’s notion of altruism as ‚living for other‛ (vivre pur autrui).59 The

following quote will make his concept of altruism clearer.

The individual must subordinate himself to an Existence outside himself in order

to find in it the source of his stability. And this condition cannot be effectually realized

except under the impulse of propensities prompting him to live for others. The being,

whether man or animal, who loves nothing outside himself, and really lives for himself

alone, is by that very fact condemned to spend his life in a

miserable alternation of ignoble torpor and uncontrolled excitement. Evidently the

principal feature of Progress in living things is that the general consensus which we

have seen to be the essential attribute of vitality should become more perfect. It follows

that happiness and worth, as well in individuals as in societies, depend on adequate

ascendancy o f the sympathetic instincts. Thus the expression, Live for Others, is the

simplest summary of the whole moral code of Positivism.60

The picture is that Comte rejects individualism by establishing the fact that an

individual’s personality is the least trustworthy. And as a means of checking, there

must be an external element that would constantly balance the question. By his

deduction, this context allowed the conclusion that man must live for others. So, the basic

premise by which altruism operates is vivre pur autrui.

Live for others. This is a very strong statement. Comte is actually saying that

man is a being for others; that, his very existence is for the others; that, when man,

alone, will not survive due his inability to ‚control‛; and that the external factor is

man’s ‚source of stability‛. Comte’s argument is on the radical and extreme side. It is a

yes or no situation without the gray area. This type of altruism is perfectly refuted by

Rand.

To-date, preachers of various organizations has developed a notion of altruism,

quite different from the original. It will be more crystal clear if I cite for example one of

the major religions I am familiar of, Roman Catholic. It is their dogma that man was born

to serve not to be served. If my years of being acquainted with the church would not

wrong me, this means that man’s sole purpose on earth is to recognize the presence of

the we in the society. To support this argument:

59 CITATION Campbell, Robert A. ‚Altruism in Auguste Comte and Ayn Rand‛. The Journaly of

Ayn Rand Studies 7, no. 2 (Spring 2006). 359 60

270

The Judeo-Christian tradition says this is a world of sin, in which the weak suffer at the

hands of the strong, that we should all be selfless and serve God and others, especially

the sick and helpless, and that in a future ideal world—Heaven—the lion will lie down

with lamb, and the inescapable power of God will bring salvation to the meek and

judgment to the wicked.61

This point alone shows the variance or departure from the original concept of

altruism. For reference, other stereotype definitions of altruism would be: loving others

as oneself (1) behavior that promotes the survival chances of others at a cost to one’s

own (2) and self-sacrifice for the benefit of others (3).62 So from a being originally

created for the others, altruism is presented here as the use of an individual for the

benefit of the other. What better way than for the preachers of morality to instill into

man that the best way for salvation is to contribute to making the world a better place

through the practice of altruism?

So, the common theme in a religious group is working your way to salvation by

random acts of benevolence (e.g. alms, donation, voluntary and charitable acts). At first

glance, this is good and ideal; thus, to be pursued. But there is one grave mistake

presented here – and is also with other altruistic groups: it is the notion that committing

these beneficial acts by self-sacrifice is a must, that in the act of doing so, it is an

obligation to uphold first the others before yourself. A further discussion will be

presented on this argument later. It will be sufficient to establish the fact that in

altruism every action is directed to the others until eventually the word ego is drowned

by the multitude of we. As quoted earlier, in altruism you are expected to torture

yourself.

A HYBRID

With the basic premise of egoism and altruism presented, I pose the question. Is it

possible that a particular concept of egoism be a transcendental form of altruism?

Would it be possible that Rand, a champion of egoism be associated with altruism? I

daresay there is a possibility.

In the following pages to follow is the presentation of an idea that claims the

possibility of a reinterpretation of Rand’s rational egoism (viewed in the lens of

altruism). Since there is already a variety of altruism from the original to contemporary,

61 INSERT CITATION 62‚What is Altruism‛. Helping Others: Altruists International. Accessed at http://bit.ly/9XdACq

last February 2011.

271

I will make a distinction on what grounds will the practice of rational egoism be

considered altruistic, and if so considered, will answer why it should still be considered

egoism.

RRRooorrrtttyyy’’’sss CCClllaaassssssrrroooooommm

Education is beyond the four corners of classroom.

Rorty’s methodology in presenting his ideas is through an anti-foundationalist

approach. What he does, he will work or create his own without depending on

traditional philosophy. One can say that he is anti-philosopher, but he is doing the same

thing. He insisted from the books that he has written that he encourage the

conversation. Students may start from being critical from what they learn from the past

and what is very evident to the present to be able to create a new culture through being

272

creative in one vocabulary. What best describe Rorty’s Philosophy is this statement of

Robert Brandon:

The best that the journey can accomplish is to cement the freedom to speak our

minds, and to usher in ever-renewable vocabularies expressing new adventures in

self-understanding. For words are tools, and the point of our utterances is not to

answer to the Forms or to represent the intrinsic nature of reality, it is to meet

our needs. Words are Darwinian adaptations, not for copying but for coping. i

Word is power isn’t it?

The idea of Rorty’s education can be extracted from his own conception of

Liberal rooted from John Dewey’s philosophy of education, which was hotly debated

for the past years and still a topic for philosophical discussion. Along with that line, is

the discussion of truth whether it is found or created, or external or internal? Truth

became a doubtful and center of discussion among the universities which for some a

poisonous to youth’s mind. But if take to account that truth may be relative to different

people, because of their behavior, belief, norms, culture, and standards.

What Rorty wants is not to talk argue about these difference but to talk about it

to see how they differ are but also the commonalty to cultures. ‛.

‚What is true to me might be wrong for you.‛ It is the saying that considers that

truth is relative to different people considering cultural variations. We may think that if

truth establishes if most of the people believe that that ‚truth‛ is true and ‚good‛ or

‚beneficial.‛

273

Here’s the scenario there are two worlds in a university. One is the science

technical courses and the other concerns with arts. Let’s imagine a student name John

whose taking an engineering course may observe that his subjects for one semesters

contains a technical subject and his minors contains philosophical subjects like ethics

and humanities. Normally he will focus his study for his major subjects and take for

granted his minors. One may think that ‚why should I spend my time and knowledge

in studying the minor subjects,‛ added the parental and societal pressure that he must

graduate to be able to find a job. Colleges and universities is a platform for ideology

that society wants to imposed, explicitly and implicitly. What supposedly the problem?

1. The university was unable to conduct an orientation regarding the

significance of Philosophical subjects for all the courses.

2. The professors of the university were unable to apply humanistic

significance even to technical subjects.

3. Everybody in the university sees a solid line between the technical and

philosophical subjects.

What if a professor named Richard Rorty comes in to John’s university?

He would suggest putting some humanistic/critical touch of technical subjects in

curriculums. Yes he would agree that it is necessary to produce graduates from these

technical courses, nursing, law, engineering, business management, etc. and yes it has

societal values it produces manpower that is crucial to economy. But are these people

who graduated from these colleges and universities know the real value of having a

job? Is it only to make a living? Is it really the goal in their life? Then they would end up

slaves of the society. They would end up like a robot that will just follow what is being

274

programmed to them. If these simple questions cannot be answered, then Rorty will not

further ask.

What will be the future of the society? But Rorty still hopes for a society starting

from the universities to encourage students to have a conversation, to be a critic to past,

to hope for the future and be creative to one’s vocabulary. What is missing to these

ingredients is some actions, to do beyond professions, beyond what they learn, to leave

the classroom and do something useful.

275

i Robert Brandom. Reading Rorty. Retrieved April 17, 2013 from

http://www.phil.cam.ac.uk/~swb24/reviews/Rorty.htm