REVIEW: "Elements of Filipino Philosophy" by Leonardo N. Mercado, SVD

Is there a Filipino philosophy?

  This has been the question Fr. Leonardo Merado, SVD contemplated in his journey throughout his philosophical mien. In his search for a Filipino philosophy, language became the basis for the existence for such discipline.

    Using the findings of linguistic philosophy, Fr. Mercado embarked on a journey of understanding the Philippine languages in rationalizing the meaning of being Filipino. Using the findings of the Western philosophers on the importance of language in expressing philosophical depth, he explored the thoughts of Merleau - Ponty, Wittgenstein, Wilhelm Von Humboldt and Heidegger.

  With these philosophers expounding on the possibility of philosophy through a linguistic perspective, the author made a distinction of the wholeness of philosophy by centering the Filipino as a man, the Filipino in relation to the World of Things, the Filipino and the other world. The Filipino as man tackles the Filipino as an individual. Filipino and the World of Things focuses on the relationship of man with the cosmos. on the other hand, the Filipino and the other world focuses on the relationship of the Filipino with the Divine.

    In a chapter dedicated in exploring the Filipino as a man, he focused on the nature of the loob. However, this concept of loob is a Tagalog conception. To include the other languages in the Philippines, the author included buot, a Visayan word for loob and nakem, an Ilocano version of the same word. After creating a table of specified meanings for loob, the author underscored the holistic nature of the Filipino which is different from the mindset of a Western individual used to compartmentalizing knowledge. More than this, the body is not a dualistic concept for the Filipino since the loob is connected with emotions.

      Continuing with the identity of the Filipino, the author used metalinguistic analysis to understand the nature of the Filipino as a thinker. With the results garnered on the analysis of language, the author explained philosophically the mindset of the Filipinos as intuitive through the use of symbols and the inductive nature of processing in Filipinos.

        Continuing with the nature of the Filipino as a social being, the behavior of the Filipino is anchored on the family ties. In this tie, the term sakop becomes important. Sakop connotes a behavior seeking personal alliance differentiated from the family ties that a person makes. Examples of this term are the gangs in Manila. Another specific social norm for the Filipino is to contact an intermediary person to gain an upper hand in the transactions done whether personal or not.

       Continuing with the work of the author, the Filipino and his/her relation with the world of things was explored. One important aspect of the concept is the philosophy of time through a linguistic analysis. This concept of time is deemed more dominant in rural areas which follows a cosmic cycle  rather than the urbanized set up of cities of the Philippines which follows a highly Westernized progression of time. Another important concept in Filipino philosophy is the concept of space which is non-dualistic since the Filipino measures space (like time) through his/her existence. For the concept of causality, the Filipino shares the same view with his/her Asian neighbors like China and India by which the harmony with nature is fostered.

    Concerning the Filipino and the Other World, the author emphasized the profane and the sacred for the Filipino. The existence of folk Catholicism in the Philippines is an interesting event for the author. A good example is the panata of many Filipinos for a wish being asked or for a gratitude on a granted wish. Adding on this is the everyday fact of a living God for many Filipinos. In the act of creation, the presence of a God is already a presupposition.

     Concluding the book, the author agreed with Merleau - Ponty regarding the inter-subjectivity of perception and truth. Technically, the Filipinos have a different set of values compared to the Western people since the culture of the Filipino is different from them. On the other hand, the book simply posits "elements". It is just the tip of the iceberg. A lot can still be covered on the tracks the author provided for his countrymen to look upon.

REVIEW: "Philosophy of Education: A Filipino Perspective" by Leonardo Estioko, SVD

  The crucial point of identity is a knowledge of the self. Once we have a knowledge of the self, we start to acknowledge our strengths and weaknesses. This is also the same with the work of Leonardo Estioko, SVD. Education for the Filipino should understand the Filipino perspective.

     For the author, the primary goal of a Filipino philosophy of education is to address the ills of the present Philippine Education system. However the search for the authentic Filipino is construed by the bureaucratic temperament affecting the realistic display of knowledge. Once the identity is established, the ideal is now sought. The whole hierarchy of the educational system is analysed. From the compulsory education up to general education and specializations, the Filipino must find the ideal in the world. Once the ideal is established, freedom is now recognized. The freedom to learn should be inculcated in children and not to impose them. The freedom to learn should be inculcated in children to elicit the natural learning which stems from home and the self.

    From the natural, we go to the economical. The nature of education as a right is slowly becoming a privilege in the world. Once capitalism enters the learning system, inequality is produced. Rather capitalism, patriotism should be the founding value of a learning system especially in the Philippines. Patriotism is unity in diversity as the book goes. Besides these, the harmony of religious and liberal education was explored by the author by which the two subjects can give a whole encounter of the person of Jesus Christ. In erecting democracy in education, a process should be established in the society. Once the process is ensured, the role of education as a liberating force begins.

     The book was a good introduction to the idea of a Filipino Education philosophy. Though the book is less than hundred pages, the density of the work in expressing short but solid ideas is remarkable. Recommending this book to philosophers of education is a must.

REVIEW: "The Black Interior: Essays" by Elizabeth Alexander

What is a concept of black aesthetics?

   For Elizabeth Alexander, this is a pressing question in the identification of a Negro in America. In this anthology, the author sought the aesthetical concept of African Americans.

1. Toward the Black Interior

    The book borrowed its title from the first essay of the anthology. In this essay, an analysis of the interior designs of African Americans in their homes was made. In this interior design, the social identity of a person is revealed - including gender, race, class and sexuality. With this identification, people outside of the interior self can misrepresent the nature of such interior. For example, the struggle of black Americans in their presentation in the arts is a product of the gaze of the white people thinking them as savages.

    With the misrepresentation of the black people in the media and arts, the resort is to present themselves in space. Space, after all, is a presentation of one's being. A good example is the living room of the black Americans. For the Black Americans, the living room is both a social yet private presentation of themselves which is an honest assessment for themselves and not what the people see them to be.

2.The Black Poet as a Canon Maker

   Poetry has been an instrument of presenting a genre of people. With this description of poetry, poetry becomes as power in people's mind and hearts. This is the story of Langston Hughes in his publication of the poetry of Black Americans. However, with the publication and the problems that went along the way, the work of American Negroes were dismissed as farcical or immature works. On the other hand, the development of Negro poetry from protest literature to the traditional formation of poetry is a magnificent feat that the American Negroes can join the ranks of poets from the beginning.

3. Meditations on "Mecca"

  This is the story of Gwendolyn Brooks and the responsibility of the black poet. Against the attack of racism in America, the Black poet is now a force for his/her brethren. This is the part where Gwendolyn Brooks enter with the work "In the Mecca". This work offers the role of the artist and art during turbulent times. Exploring the work of Gwendolyn Brooks, the importance of uniting the communities of African Americans should be underscored. After all, the role of the artist is to free the subject and this applies to black people whose aspirations and dreams should be realized.

4. I am; I'm a black man; / I am

   With the publication of poetry concerning Black Americans, the identity and identities in the African American communities began emerging. It was a continuous boom not just in the identity of a black man but a black woman and black queer. The movement reached a golden period during the sixties with the idea of “Black Power”. 5. World According to Jet Jet is Black American magazine focusing on the good and the bad moments in the life of Black people. Jet became an organ of race pride for many African Americans. It is the magazine that recorded the abuses occurring in black communities so that appropriate help can get to the victims. Jet became a uniting work among black communities.

6. Turn of the Century “Aframerican Intellectual”

     In this essay, the importance of Anna Julia Cooper in the African American society was established. Anna Julia Cooper was a well known black feminist in the American society. She established herself as an African American female intellectual in 19th century. She expounded on the need not on the binary relationship between a man and a woman or relationship between the white and black but on the need of a voice to be heard in the society.

7. A Black man says “sorbet”

   In this essay, the position of the black man in different advertisements was explored. The chance of giving the black person a voice and freedom in the society was slowly advocated by companies. Besides the advertisements, the rise of movies exposing black people was explored.

Conclusion:

    There are still chapters that covered the life of the Black American in different media. But one idea that dominates the whole work is Cartesian rendition of "I think; therefore I am". For the Black person, : "I write, therefore, I am". This only shows the importance of literature in the expression of being an African American today. This is the arching concept of an African American aesthetics. Over all, the book was excellent in the exploration of the different literary and visual pieces showing the life of black person in a society he/she is adapting with.

REVIEW: "Art, Alienation, and the Humanities: A Critical Engagement with Herbert Marcuse" by Charles Reitz

What is Art?

          Art was first used to understand the meaning of being. Through the arts, we recognize and realize our being. However, this is not just the sole function of art. Art is a means for and against alienation. For Charles Reitz, this is just the beginning of the iceberg.

          In his book, Art, Alienation, and the Humanities: A Critical Engagement with Herbert Marcuse, the idea of the arts, especially literature, the role of the arts as an answer to alienation was highlighted. Using the idea of Herbert Marcuse, alienation is neither just a seizure of profit of the capitalists from the laborers nor the fetishization of a loss in society but a return to being by be-ing.

           In the contemporary period, the relevance of the arts relies on the return to being. The arts became a cause for an advocacy that is for or against being. Interestingly, Charles Reitz explores the idea of the arts as against alienation and as alienation.

               In treating the arts as against alienation, Charles Reitz used a very controversial term in the canon of Herbert Marcuse. This idea is the Lebensphilosophie or The Great Refusal. For Herbert Marcuse, art is a disclosure of truth present in the society and calling the “absent” in the society. It is a protest against unnecessary repression by living without anxiety (p. 183). A good example of this is the creation of feminist literature and paintings in forwarding the place of the woman in the society. Another example is the booming presence of LGBTQ+ in literature, paintings and movies.

          In treating the arts as alienation, the identity of the arts in relation to the higher society cannot be removed. After all, the origin of art is alienating in nature with the artist distancing himself/herself from the society. The artist provides a new image of reality through his or her work. Going back to the example of feminist literature and paintings, the position of feminism is also alienating for them since they begin to turn some beliefs and practices in favor for their being to reach a holistic behavior in humanity.

          Since art is treated as alienation and against alienation, we come to a conflicting nature of the arts. This is why the book claims that the movement of the arts to amplify being is simply a promise. The act of revolution itself depends on another platform but not on the arts. The arts act as a promise of liberation that has been putting being into the grasp of structures in the society. The Arts become a hope in the society. Capping this idea from the work of Herbert Marcuse, he wrote that, “art cannot redeem its promise, and reality offers no promises, only chances”.

          Over all, the book maintained its clear stand on the nature of the arts as freeing and repressing. The relation of the arts to the Truth is still a problem to ponder on. Why is art essential for humans? Can we live without the arts? More than these questions, the book’s exposition of the history of the arts is commendable. I recommend this book though it was published way back 2000 since the history of the philosophy of the arts from the ancient period to the contemporary period is a gem that everyone should read.