Filipino as a Moral Agent from another country or culture for the first time,

perhaps it is best to begin with a short glossary of

concepts so that one can survey the landscape. Later
on, we will discuss each concept in detail.
Loob and Kapwa: An Introduction to a
Loob
Filipino Virtue Ethics
(Pronounced as two syllables with short o’s,
The concepts to be discussed are the result lo-ob.) This word is literally translated into English
of the unique history of the Philippines, namely a as ‘inside’. It is used to describe the inside of
Southeast Asian tribal and animist tradition mixed physical objects such as a house or a jar. However,
with a Spanish Catholic tradition for over 300 years. when it talks about a person, it talks about the
Filipino virtue ethics is based on two foundational person’s ‘relational will’, that is his will towards his
concepts in Filipino culture. The first is loób, which kapwa. This concept is fundamental because the
can easily be misunderstood when literally Filipino virtues are mostly compound words which
translated into English as ‘inside’ but which is say something about the kind of loób that a person
better translated as ‘relational will’, and the second has.
is kapwa, which is literally translated as ‘other
person’ but is better understood as ‘together with Kapwa
the person’. These serve as pillars for a special
collection of virtues (kagandahang-loób, utang-na- This word is literally translated as ‘other’ or
loób, pakikiramdam, hiya, lakas-ng-loób/bahala na) ‘other person’ but it is in a way untranslatable into
which are not individualistic virtues in the same English. This is because it is embedded in an
way as most of the cardinal virtues of the Western entirely different worldview and web of meanings
tradition (i.e. prudence, justice, temperance and unique to Philippine culture and history—namely, a
fortitude) but are all directed towards the Southeast Asian tribal and animist culture mixed
preservation and strengthening of human with Spanish Catholicism. It is tribal and Christian
relationships. This introduction to a Filipino virtue at the same time. Kapwa has therefore been
ethics is articulated and organized through a translated by local scholars as ‘shared self’, ‘shared
dialogue with Aristotelian-Thomistic virtue ethics. identity’, or ‘self-in-the-other’. I use ‘together with
the person’.
This is an introduction to a Filipino virtue
ethics which is a thoroughly relationship-oriented Kagandahang-Loob
virtue ethics. In contrast with the popular scheme of
This word is literally translated as ‘beauty-
Filipino ‘values’ inherited from twentieth century
of-will’. The beauty of the will in this context is
American scholarship; this introduction presents a
determined by one’s relationship towards the
revised interpretation of those ‘values’ through a
kapwa. Someone who has an affective concern for
dialogue with Aristotelian-Thomistic virtue ethics.
others and the willingness to help them in times of
Filipino virtue ethics is the result of the mixing of
need is a person with kagandahang-loób. It is best
two traditions—the Southeast Asian tribal and
understood through the paradigmatic example of a
animist tradition and the Spanish Catholic tradition
mother’s love and concern for her child, most
—for over 300 years. It has two main concepts:
especially during the child’s weakness in infancy.
loób and kapwa, which serve as pillars that support
a special collection of virtues dedicated to Utang-na-Loob
strengthening and preserving human relationships.
This word is literally translated as ‘debt-of-will’. It
Glossary of Terms is the natural response to kagandahang-loób. It is
the self-imposed obligation to give back the same
Since one can easily get overwhelmed by
kind of kagandahangloób to the person who has
the foreign vocabulary when encountering ideas
shown it to you. When utang-na-loób is returned
‘with interest’, that is more than what is due, it to understanding this virtue and the ideal Philippine
can bring about a circular dynamic between two hero (bayani).
persons where the one who previously showed
kagandahang-loób is now the one with utang-na- A Brief Philippine History
loób, and then vice versa; it continues to alternate Before the explorer Ferdinand Magellan
and strengthen the relationship in the process. This arrived in the islands in 1521, and was killed by the
is where kapwa naturally develops into mutually tribal warrior Lapu-Lapu, the Philippines was
sacrificial friendships. composed of many different tribes and chiefdoms
scattered across the archipelago. Based on the
Pakikiramdam
artifact called the Laguna Copperplate Inscription,
The closest translation might be ‘relational we know that Indian influences were already
sensitivity’ or ‘empathy’. It is about being skilled in present in the islands since 900 AD and this is
reading the other person’s feelings and correctly verified by the many Sanskrit-based words found in
guessing his inner state. It requires receptivity to the Tagalog language (Francisco, 1964). Manila
many non-verbal cues, such as subtle facial was also at the heart of the trade network in the
expressions, tones of voice and bodily gestures. region, and had extensive trade dealings with the
This indirect communication, though it might seem Chinese. In the fourteenth century, Arab traders
tedious or frustrating to the foreigner, is a way of arrived in the southern islands of the Philippines
practicing a kind of ‘emotional intelligence’, a way and spread Islam (Majul, 1999). One can imagine
of evaluating and deepening the relationship with that if the Spanish had not arrived, the Philippines
the other person. would have become like its Islamic neighbours
Malaysia and Indonesia. However, in 1565 Miguel
Hiya Lopez de Legazpi arrived following Magellan’s
Hiya has been variously translated as Pacific route. Miguel Lopez de Legazpi was
‘embarrassment’ or ‘shame’. It has often been appointed by King Philip II as the first governor
negatively criticized when studied in isolation, general of the Philippines (the islands were
especially for the Filipino tendency to be previously named Las Islas Filipinas by Ruy Lopez
roundabout and not direct to the point. But it is a de Villalobos, in honour of Philip II). This began
virtue when it controls and restrains selfish desires 333 years of Spanish colonization only to end in
for the welfare of the other (kapwa). One of the 1898 when the Philippine revolutionaries declared
most common manifestations is withholding a direct independence and when the Americans acquired the
verbal confrontation that could embarrass the other, Philippines through the Treaty of Paris.
especially in public. After attempts at modernization and
democratization, the Americans finally granted the
Lakas-ng-loob o Bahala na Philippines its national independence in 1946. A
Lakas-ng-loób is literally translated as significant fact for us is that the words we are going
‘courage’, bahala na is sometimes translated as to discuss (e.g. loób and kapwa) were present in the
‘fatalism’ or ‘resignation’, but it is translated more Tagalog language before the Spanish arrived and
positively as ‘courage to face uncertainty’. Like were words used in a tribal and animist context. The
hiya, these two can degenerate into negative basic structure of society was the barangay, a group
concepts if separated from the principle of kapwa. of people ruled by one datu or chief (Scott, 1994),
The unique history of the Philippines must also be and the animist religion was led by a priestess class
taken into account in order to see that this is not just called babaylan who served as bridges to the spirit
any kind of courage, but a courage for self-sacrifice world and also as the prime culture bearers (Salazar,
for the kinship group. As we will see later, the 1999). The word kapwa in this older context would
Tagalog Pasyon (Passion of Christ) play is the key have naturally referred to someone from the tribe.
Someone outside the tribe would not have been
considered kapwa. The idea of loób meanwhile was University of the Philippines. Renato Constantino
woven into a spiritual animist worldview. Benedict lamented this as the ‘mis-education’ of the Filipino
Anderson has described the concept of power in (Constantino, 1970), but a distinction must be made
Javanese culture as an ‘intangible, mysterious, and between the Western values that the Americans
divine energy which animates the universe’ tried to inculcate, and the educational system and
(Anderson, 1972, p. 7). Reynaldo Ileto has drawn resources that they set in place. Although values
parallels with this and the notion of loób (Ileto, such as liberal individualism were inimical to older
1979, p. 32). But when the Spanish missionaries family values and the concept of kapwa, the
arrived, the concept kapwa was impregnated and educational training the Americans provided
enlarged by the Christian precept to ‘love your allowed Filipinos to eventually criticize certain
fellow man just like your own body’. Tribal Western ideas as being incongruent with Filipino
boundaries were stretched outward towards culture. Frank Lynch, the first pioneer in Filipino
humanity in general. Vicente Rafael describes how values, was an American Jesuit. The Sikolohiyang
the Spanish chose to adopt a different strategy from Pilipino (Filipino psychology) movement was born
what they implemented in South America (Rafael, in the American-founded University of the
1993). Instead of forcing the native population to Philippines, and leading Filipino scholars such as
learn Spanish, they retained the native language and Virgilio Enriquez and F. Landa Jocano obtained
translated the Christian doctrine into those their doctorates in the United States. Despite the
languages. Rafael contends that many Filipino prominent anti-colonial rhetoric, there is still a
words and concepts (e.g. utang-na-loób) were significant debt (utang-na-loób) to the American
exploited as mechanisms for control, and other tradition. And so, though the matter of Filipino
meanings were simply lost in translation. virtue ethics comes from the two older traditions,
the capacity for theorization comes from the
This may be true to a certain degree; but on
American tradition. Before the Americans arrived
the other hand, it was advantageous for the concepts
however, the Philippines was largely insulated from
per se because they were preserved rather than
the modern developments in the West. The ideas of
discarded, and then they were conceptually
Protestantism, Cartesian philosophy and the French
enlarged. The two traditions, Southeast Asian and
Revolution reached the Philippines only towards the
Spanish, interacted, warred and mixed in various
end of the nineteenth century. It entered in trickles
ways for more than 300 years. And even until today
through the ilustrado class (wealthy Filipinos who
one can still feel the impact and influence of these
studied in Europe) and then in a flood through the
traditions in Philippine culture and society. The
American public-school system. For the longest
tribal datu was transformed into the principales or
time, the only Western philosophical system in the
landed class during the Spanish occupation, and
Philippines was Thomism. The University of Santo
they have kept their status as powerful family
Tomas was founded by the Dominicans in 1611 and
dynasties in Philippine politics (McCoy, 1994).
is the oldest existing university in Asia. It was
Roman Catholicism was heavily syncretized with
patterned after the University of Salamanca in
native beliefs and practices producing in a distinct
Spain. The curriculum was pure scholasticism (i.e.
brand of folk Catholicism (Bulatao, 1992). Filipino
Aristotle, Aquinas, Peter of Lombard), and most of
virtue ethics must also be seen as a synthesis of
the priests and clergy in the country were trained
these two traditions as far as its matter and content
there (Villarroel, 2012). One can make a case for a
goes. However, when it comes to theory and
pure scholastic age in the Philippines lasting from
explanation, a third tradition, the American
the seventeenth century to the nineteenth century.
tradition, plays a significant role. In order to achieve
what President McKinley called the ‘benevolent There is justification in the use of Thomism
assimilation’ of the Philippines, the Americans in the exploration of Filipino virtue ethics because it
taught Filipinos the English language and is a historical ‘insider’ so to speak. Thomism is a
established the public-school system including the part of the Catholic tradition in the Philippines, and
is not wholly incompatible with the earlier animist to introduce a ‘bifurcation’ or ‘dichotomy’ on loób,
one (e.g. both share an adherence to spiritual between the inner person and the outside world,
realities which are dismissed by modern between subjectivity and objectivity, a trap that
materialism and secularism). As I will explain, several Filipino scholars have fallen into. Regarding
grave errors can arise when loób is interpreted this ‘dichotomizing’ tendency, one of the pioneers
through modern post-Cartesian philosophy. There is of Filipino philosophy, Leonardo Mercado,
a kind of anachronism in using the values comments:
orientation theory of Kluckholn or the
But the Filipino does not think in either–or
phenomenology of Max Scheler—both of which
categories. His is both/and in his spirit of harmony.
subscribe to a subjective–objective dichotomy
We said that since loob (and buot, as well as
which is not present in the two earlier traditions. As
nakem) has a holistic concept of the body, there is
one Filipino philosopher claims, such a dichotomy
no dichotomy between the inside and the outside of
did not exist in the Filipino worldview (Mercado,
the person. (Mercado, 1994, p. 37).
1994, p. 53). The advantage of using the virtue
ethics of Aristotle or Aquinas as a main dialogue Loób is not a disembodied, subjective view
partner is that they have more similarities with of the self, such as in Descartes, but it is a will
Filipino concepts from a historical and intellectual always directed towards something, especially
point of view. And now that we have provided all towards other people. It not only presupposes an
the preliminaries for understanding Filipino virtue objectively real world (based on the two traditions it
ethics, we can discuss each concept one by one. can only be classified as ‘realist’), it even
presupposes a world dense with spiritual entities
Loob and spiritual connections. Loób is what it is only
The literal translation of the word loób is insofar as it is completely embedded and integrated
‘inside’. The word loób can mean the inside of inside this web of connectivity. Jose de Mesa
physical objects like houses or pots. But the literal recognized this relational nature of loób when he
translation can easily confuse when we talk about said: ‘Loób apart from referring to the core of
the loób of persons. It certainly does not mean the personhood, also states what kind of core that is in
physical insides of persons, such as their bodily relationship. Loób, one may say, is a relational
organs which are called lamang-loób, but the ‘will’ understanding of the person in the lowland Filipino
of the person. The confusion starts when people context’ (De Mesa, 1987, p. 46). And Dionisio
latch on to this literal translation of loób as ‘inside’ Miranda agrees when he says: ‘Loob needs kapwa
and use all sorts of twentieth-century Western even to be loob: its continued responding to kapwa
philosophical and psychological theories to explain is the condition for its own existence and
loób, with the subjective–objective dichotomy of authenticity as loob’ (Miranda, 1992, p. 84). The
Descartes or Kant looming in the background. This term loób should therefore not be investigated in
leads to a serious distortion of loób because as we isolation. An isolated and separated loób—
have already mentioned, the concept of loób was something like a monad—is vacuous and has no
born and developed in traditions which were meaning. Rather, loób must be understood in
basically pre-modern, insulated from the Western tandem with the concept of kapwa and the Filipino
subjective turn in philosophy. In fact, the virtues that move in between them.
discrepancy can be even more glaring when we Leonardo de Castro has previously
realize that the tribal and animist tradition in the translated loób as ‘will’ (De Castro, 1998). The
Philippines is not just pre-modern, it is in fact ‘pre- older Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala also
rational’, more similar to the time of the Homeric translated it as voluntad or will (De Noceda & De
epics before the birth of philosophy than any other Sanlucar, 1860, p. 193).9 This is accurate, but I
period of Western history. Using modern theories to would prefer to nuance the translation as ‘relational
explain loób can therefore easily result in a gross will’ if only to emphasize its thoroughly relational
caricature of it. One of the dangerous tendencies is
character and to differentiate it from something like conversely, I know the other person most when I am
the autonomous will of Kant. This will be always in on the receiving end of his own actions. As Wojtyla
relationship to something, either to the world, to says: ‘Action reveals the person… Action gives us
spiritual entities, or most of all to other people the best insight into the inherent essence of the
called kapwa. person and allows us to understand the person most
fully’ (Wojtyla, 1979, p. 11). De Castro basically
We can account for how loób is connected
says the same thing about loób when he says:
to the word ‘inside’ and yet is not the ‘inside’ of
modern subjectivity by resorting to the concept of It is part of the meaning of loob—of what
potentia from Arisotelian-Thomistic philosophy. A lies within—that it must be ventilated. The
seed has the potency (potentia) to become a tree. kalooban lies inside but it must not be kept inside.
When it finally becomes a tree, this potency is In a way, it is ‘what-lieswithin-that- lives-without.’
actualized. A block of stone has the potency to It can only be manifested and perceived externally.
become a statue of David, but it requires a sculptor (De Castro, 2000, p. 52).
to turn this into an actual statue. In a sense one can
In other words, the loób is known only
say that a tree is ‘inside’ the seed, or a statue of
through relationship and interaction. Even your own
David is ‘inside’ the block of stone, but it has yet to
loób cannot be determined by yourself in isolation,
be actualized. When it is finally actualized, this
instead it is determined by how you relate and act
serves as conclusive proof that it was its hidden
towards your kapwa.
potentia all along. Potency manifests itself through
act. Kapwa
The will too, according to Aquinas, is a We mentioned earlier that Frank Lynch
potentia of the soul (Summa Theologiae I, Q. 77). It proposed ‘smooth interpersonal relationship’ (SIR)
is a ‘power’ that operates in act. It is the same as the highest value of Filipinos in the 1960s. This
power as free choice (liberum arbitrium), the power inaugurated scholarly interest in Filipino ‘values’
to choose (Summa Theologiae I, Q. 83, A. 4). When and provoked intense debate amongst Filipino
we choose, we bring this potency into act? The scholars because of the apparent superficiality of
potency is always there, but it needs to manifest SIR. Was the greatest Filipino value just about
itself through choices and the concrete actions preserving harmony and getting along well? Surely,
brought about by those choices. Aquinas also there must be something deeper involved.
indicates that the virtues of this power of the will Eventually Virgilio Enriquez, the founder of the
are the ones directed towards others (Disputed Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino psychology)
Questions on Virtue, Q.1, A. 5). Similarly, we can movement, challenged SIR by identifying kapwa as
also consider loób as a potentia or power rather than the core value of Filipinos and describing it in this
think of it in terms of spatial or subjective way:
interiority. The virtues of the loób are also directed
towards others (kapwa). For Aquinas there are When asked for the closest English
several powers of the soul, such as reason, the will equivalent of kapwa, one word that comes to mind
and the sensitive powers, but for Filipino virtue is the English word ‘others.’ However, the Filipino
ethics there is only one, the loób, because this is word kapwa is very different from the English word
what concerns relationships, and relationships are ‘others.’ In Filipino, kapwa is the unity of the ‘self’
the most important thing in this ethics. and ‘others.’ The English ‘others’ is actually used in
opposition to the ‘self,’ and implies the recognition
Loób as a potency that manifests itself of the self as a separate identity. In contrast, kapwa
through action makes sense in ordinary life. Loób is is a recognition of shared identity, an inner self
not so much known through reflection more than by shared with others. (Enriquez, 1992, p. 52)
living in relationship with others. How I treat others
reveals who I am and what my loób is. And And later Enriquez also says:
 The ako (ego) and the iba-sa-akin (others) able to say that kapwa endorses ‘the deeper
are one and the same in kapwa psychology: Hindi experiences of mankind, akin to an ancient animist
ako iba sa aking kapwa (I am no different from connectedness of feeling one with all creation’ (De
others). Once ako starts thinking of himself as Guia, 2005, p. 173). On the other hand, the
separate from kapwa, the Filipino ‘self’ gets to be Christian tradition moves it towards a communio
individuated in the Western sense and, in effect, personarum, a communion of persons, which
denies the status of kapwa to the other. By the same Filipinos call oneness or pagkakaisa — ‘the highest
token, the status of kapwa is also denied to the self. level of interpersonal interaction possible’ and ‘the
(Enriquez, 1992, p. 54). full realization’ of a relationship with the kapwa
(Enriquez, 1992, p. 64).
Katrin de Guia, a prominent student of
Enriquez, also writes: Of course, the translation is not as important
as being aware of the traditions where kapwa was
The core of Filipino personhood is kapwa.
born, and how at variance those traditions are with
This notion of a ‘shared Self’ extends the I to
the Western modern tradition. If one keeps this in
include the Other. It bridges the deepest individual
mind, one can just import the word kapwa into
recess of a person with anyone outside him or
English without a translation.
herself, even total strangers. (De Guia, 2005, p. 28).
(L’autre) of Levinas, or the I and Thou (Ich
The very title of de Guia’s book, Kapwa:
und Du) of Martin Buber. An interesting trend in
The Self in the Other, also seems to be a succinct
twentieth century was that philosophers tried to
definition of the concept. But what does ‘self in the
bring back the relational aspect to an intellectual
other’ mean? Is it a mere sentiment? Is it figurative
climate which has forgotten it. This was after the
imagination? As I have said, it translates to action
complete negation of the other experienced in the
within a relationship. To say that one is your kapwa
Holocaust of World War II (Levinas and Buber
means to interact with him or her in a particular
were both Jews). However, for Levinas the Other is
way, defined by the virtues which we will expound
completely different from the Self, like the concept
below. My preferred translation of kapwa is
of infinity (Levinas, 1961). And for Levinas, there
‘together with the person’. I prefer this over the
is no hope for anything like oneness in the same
definitions of Enriquez and De Guia which mention
sense as the Filipino pagkakaisa. Jaime Guevara has
a ‘self’. They have the right idea, but their starting
made a preliminary comparison between kapwa and
point is one where the self and other have already
the philosophy of Levinas:
been opposed, it is the ‘modern’ starting point so to
speak, and they wish to retrieve kapwa from such For Levinas, the other is infinitely
conditions. The English word ‘self’ is loaded; it has irreducible. This is why the relationship between the
been sculpted by a long and complex history of two is not about a unity of similarities. Rather,
ideas and upheavals in modern times as Charles Levinas describes the relationship as one of
Taylor has shown (Taylor, 1989). It is closely asymmetry. Since, there is no essential similarity,
bound to concepts such as subjectivity, autonomy but only an essential difference between the self and
and independence. But if you want to define kapwa the other, the other cannot be said to be like the self
on its own, there is no ‘self’. There is loób to be and vice versa. The other is merely different… For
sure, but loób as we have already pointed out is a Levinas, there is nothing ‘shared’ between the self
relational will. The starting point of kapwa is and the other. The notion of ‘shared identity’ does
‘together’. In fact, if we could use only the word not fit in his philosophy. Yet, Filipinos do
‘together’ as the translation that would be better, experience ‘shared identity.’ (Guevara, 2005, p. 13).
were there no need to indicate its specifically
Here, there is an insurmountable gulf
human context. It comes first before you break it
between the self and the other. The same is the case,
apart into separate ‘selves. The animist tradition
in a milder way, for Martin Buber. This can be
hangs in the background, which is why De Guia is
explained by the philosophical traditions that they
inhabited. But for kapwa, relationship is the given, What we aim to do—besides expounding the
it is taken for granted. It is the starting point, not Filipino virtues themselves—is to roughly compare
something to be retrieved. More similar is the the Filipino virtues with the Western cardinal
Thomist Personalism of Norris Clarke and Karol virtues (prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude)
Wojtyla, which at least talks about the communio and at least one theological virtue (charity). This
personarum. A philosophical basis is provided by immediately provides us a structure and order for
Norris Clarke’s explanation of Thomistic the virtues which offers improvements over the
philosophy as substance-inrelation. Unlike the ‘self- arbitrary schemes proposed by some Filipino
enclosed substance of Descartes’ or the ‘inert, scholars.
unknowable substance of Locke’, to be a substance
Aquinas mentions only two virtues in his
in the universe is to be ipso facto in relation with a
system which are properly in the will: charity and
host of other things through the act of being and
justice (Disputed Questions on Virtue, Q.1, A. 5).
through secondary acts (Clarke, 1994). Everything
These virtues are properly directed towards another,
is caught up in this dynamic web of activity, with
either towards God or towards other people. He
God as its source, both as pure act (actus purus) and
conceives of the other virtues as being properly
pure existence (ipsum esse subsistens). This has
individual. These are prudence in the reason, and
clear affinities with the animist world view, which
temperance and fortitude in the sensitive appetites.
sees the world dense and alive with spiritual
Now when it comes to the Filipino virtues, they are
connections. But Clarke goes a step further and
all in the will, in the loób, because that is the only
applies this concept specifically to the sphere of
part of the soul that Filipino virtue ethics is
persons:
concerned with. Perhaps one can say that the
To be an authentic person, in a word, is to be Filipino idea of the soul is still compact and holistic,
a lover, to live a life of inter-personal self- giving in that the faculty of reason has not yet been
and receiving. Person is essentially a ‘we’ term. extracted or separated. It is in this sense ‘pre-
Person exists in its fullness only in the plural. rational’.
(Clarke, 1993, p. 218).
However, there is a compatibility because
This orientation is congruent with kapwa. insofar as all the Filipino virtues are found in the
Karol Wojtyla also comes close when he talks about loób, they are also all relational and directed
‘participation’ (Wojtyla, 1993) and Norris Clarke towards others (kapwa), which Aquinas would hold
acknowledges his debt to Wojtyla (Clarke, 2009). for virtues whose subject is the will. In addition,
However, Wojtyla has a stronger emphasis on the Aquinas introduces the idea of potential virtues, that
subjective ‘I’ than what would be naturally found in is virtues which are somehow connected to the
kapwa, and it is not surprising because he cardinal virtues but directed to ‘secondary’ matters,
acknowledges his debt to the phenomenology of and which fall short of the whole power of the
Max Scheler and to the ethics of Immanuel Kant cardinal virtue (Summa Theologiae II-II, Q. 48 and
(Wojtyla, 1979, p. 302). But the end goal for him is Q. 80; Disputed Questions on Virtue, Q. 5, A. 1, ad.
still the same, that is a unity and oneness between 12). There is therefore room to annex these Filipino
acting persons. virtues to the cardinal virtues of Aquinas while fully
respecting their difference.
Now that we have explained both loób and
kapwa, it is time to take a look at the virtues which We now begin with the Filipino virtues
bring this whole dynamic to life, the virtues which which are counterparts to those two virtues properly
must be practiced within a relationship. Otherwise in the will according to Aquinas (charity and
everything would only remain as mere theory. justice): kagandahang-loób and utang-na-loób. The
dynamic of these two virtues presents us with the
The Filipino Virtues ‘beating heart’ of the Filipino system.

Kagandahang-Loob
 Kagandahang-loób is literally translated as need to help someone in the family— you do it
‘beauty-of-will’ and is synonymous with another simply because he or she is a blood-relation, that is
term kabutihang-loób or ‘goodness-of-will’. enough reason in itself. Kagandahangloób towards
According to Virgilio Enriquez: the kapwa is about treating him or her as part of
your ‘primal group’, that is your family, clan or
The concept [kagandahang-loób] is
tribe. It is urgently manifested when the kapwa is
manifested through an act of generosity or
weak or in need. The greatest paradigm is the
kabutihan. Thus, one sees kagandahang-loób in the
mother’s love for her weak and needy child. The
act of lending utensils to neighbors or graciously
mother loves, protects and nourishes her child
accommodating a guest. But to qualify as
without asking for anything in return. It is,
kagandahangloób, such acts of generosity must
especially in the earliest stages, a unilateral giving.
spring spontaneously from the person’s goodness of
As Dionisio Miranda says:
heart or kabaitan. A display of kagandahang-loób
must have no motive save that of kindness and Maternal love is unconditional, or
inherent graciousness. (Enriquez, 1992, p. 57). gratuitous. The mother loves her child as her
creature. It has not done anything to merit this love;
Consider the act of giving money to
in fact, there is nothing that the child can do to
someone because her father is in the hospital and
obtain this love. All that it can ‘do’ is to be, to be
they can’t pay the bills. The act of buying a take-out
her child. (Miranda, 1987, p. 72).
meal and giving it to a beggar sleeping on a
sidewalk. The act of taking an extra effort to help an The new-born infant needs his/her mother
unemployed friend find a job in the company you’re simply to survive. Likewise, the purest form of
working in. These are all examples of kagandahang-loób is shown when the kapwa is in
kagandahangloób, but it is not only the act that desperate weakness and need. Disasters, illness and
counts but also the motivation. The act of kindness extreme poverty provoke the need and the occasion
must not be guided by an ulterior motive to be paid for showing kagandahang-loób. Of course, even
back. As De Castro explains: when the child is already grown up and is less
dependent on his mother, he is still the recipient of
An act can be considered to convey
generous acts of love and kindness, though it is no
kagandahang loób only if it is done out of kusang
longer a matter of life and death. And so
loób (roughly, free will); and can only be
kagandahang-loób manifests itself in various other
considered to have been done out of kusang loób if
minor gifts and services, like those mentioned by
the agent (1) is not acting under external
Enriquez.
compulsion, (2) is motivated by positive feelings
(e.g. charity, love or sympathy) towards the Presumably you are able to show
beneficiary, and (3) is not motivated by the kagandahang-loób to someone because you already
anticipation of reward. These conditions entail debt- experienced kagandahang-loób yourself. The
of-good-will relationships where the benefactor has natural place to learn kagandahang-loób is within
no right to demand reciprocity but the beneficiary the family— from the parents, especially the
has a ‘self-imposed’ obligation to repay mother, and then practiced towards siblings, and
kagandahang loób with kagandahang loób. (De then towards cousins and relatives. As Miranda
Castro, 1998). says: ‘Maternal love means to ensure that the
child’s love also becomes ‘maternal’. ‘… It means
Kagandahang-loób might seem just like any
to develop the love of the child so that it becomes
act of kindness or altruism. But this is where the
itself a source of life’ (Miranda, 1987, p. 72). One
importance of the two background traditions comes
common practice of kagandahang-loób within the
into play. There is a tribal and familial element
family is for the eldest sibling to postpone marriage
involved. We help members of the tribe or clan for
and starting his or her own family in order to
the sake of the survival of the tribe or clan. When it
financially support the younger siblings until they
comes to family, we hardly question at all why we
have finished college. Another contemporary someone in need. God is to be loved by us but not
manifestation is the Overseas Filipino Worker with kagandahang-loób. Rather, God shows
(OFW), usually a parent, but sometimes one of the kagandahang-loób to us. Kagandahang-loób comes
children, who faces uncertain prospects to get a job from someone in better condition to help someone
abroad in order to support the family back home. who is in an inferior condition. In this sense, it is
more like a certain aspect of charity called
In the past generations, Filipino families
benevolence (benevolentia) and its exterior act of
usually had more than seven children, with a wide
beneficence (beneficentia), as it involves a
circle of cousins and relatives, plus ritual kinship
movement from the superior to the inferior, like in
relations as well (e.g. godfathers and godmothers)
the giving of gifts (Summa Theologiae II-II, Q. 31,
(Jocano, 1998). This would certainly have provided
A. 1). However, Aquinas adds that among men, he
a lot of practice, forging one’s behaviour before he
who is superior in one respect may be inferior in
or she interacts with the society at large. As Guthrie
another, and so two people may still end up
says: ‘The family pattern becomes, in many ways,
showing kagandahang-loób to each other. Since a
the prototype of interpersonal patterns… The
human being can be better off compared to other
tranquillity and unanimity cherished within the
human beings (but not to God), then kagandahang-
nuclear family is also cherished and idealized in
loób can be seen as a very human virtue in terms of
nonfamily contacts’ (Guthrie & Jacobs, 1966, p.
its application.
194).
Like we said, the Christian tradition is what Utang na Loob
was supposed to widen this exclusive family Kagandahang-loób inspires the reverse
instinct towards those who are not blood-related, current of this dynamic which is called utangna-
and so religion obviously plays an important role. loób. Utang means ‘debt’, and so utang-na-loób
As Modesto De Castro (1938) says in Urbana at means a ‘debt of will (loób)’. It can be understood
Feliza: ‘the love for the kapwa is the fruit of a love once more by the parent–child relationship, most
for God, so those who love God know how to be especially the relationship with the mother. The
kapwa’ (De Castro, 1938, p. 3). But nevertheless, mother has given the child his very existence,
the natural starting point is the devotion and loyalty carried him in her womb for 9 months, and
given towards family, clan or tribe. nourished and protected him into adulthood. The
Because of the ‘maternal’ element, it is not child should acknowledge this and be grateful, and
surprising that Leonardo de Castro has called must strive to repay her back somehow.
kagandahang-loób a ‘feminine’ concept and Children are expected to be everlastingly
identified similarities with the feminist ethics of grateful to their parents not only for all the latter
care of Nel Noddings (De Castro, 2000). But he have done for them in the process of raising them
also warns that one should not reduce kagandahang- but more fundamentally for giving them life itself.
loób to a mere subclass of feminist thought, and this The children should recognize, in particular, that
is important because as we have stressed, this ethics their mother risked her life to enable each child to
was born in a unique cultural and historical context exist. Thus, a child’s utang na loób to its parents is
and is properly understood only through that immeasurable and eternal. Nothing he can do during
context. his lifetime can make up for what they have done
Is kagandahang-loób the same as the for him. (Holnsteiner, 1973, pp. 75–76).
theological virtue of charitas? Charitas according to Therefore, in Filipino society it is common
Aquinas is foremost towards God and then loving for children to take care of their parents when they
the neighbour for God’s sake (Summa Theologiae are old and infirm. To send them to a ‘home for the
II-II, Q. 25, A. 1). And as we have said, elderly’ is considered a kind of negligence, and
kagandahangloób certainly has a Christian element. besides it is financially costly and not an option for
However, kagandahang-loób is usually shown to many households.
 As an example of utang-na-loób outside the above example, I knew just how much I needed to
family context, say I lack money to pay my tuition pay back to my friend for the tuition), but the
for a semester in college. A friend hears about my situation of need makes it much more than that
situation and insists that he lend me money rather (Holnsteiner, 1973, p. 79). My friend is not an
than I postpone my studies. I gratefully accept his official ‘money lender’, but he is just someone who
offer. After the semester, I save enough money to saw my need and offered to help me. And therefore,
repay him back. However, I do not consider my it is not the money but rather the person behind the
utang-na-loób finished, but I am still open to help money—and my relationship with him—that is the
him should the opportunity arise. Years later, as primary focus. In this way, it is different from the
professionals, it does come. He loses his job and has commutative justice that Aquinas speaks of. For
difficulties finding another one to support his large Aquinas, commutative justice is only about the
family. Being a manager in my own company, I go ‘arithmetical mean’ between individuals (Summa
the extra mile to secure him a good position, pulling Theologiae II-II, Q. 61, A. 2). If two people have 5,
some strings along the way. He ends up with a and one of them gives 1 to the other so that the
better job than the one he lost. My utang-na-loób other now has 6 and the other 4, justice will be done
has translated into a significant kagandahang-loób if the one who has 6 gives 1 to the one who has 4,
for him, such that now—given the gravity of his so that the mean is restored. In terms of goods and
situation—he is the one with an utang-na-loób services, it is a bit like ‘I scratch your back and you
towards me. scratch mine’. Utang-na-loób may also involve a
‘mean’, but ideally it is not only about restoring the
This example is one where there is a cyclical
mean but also cycling the debt, in order to
or alternating dynamic between kagandahang-loób
strengthen the relationship and inter-dependence.
and utang-na-loób. It is a kind of repayment with
interest, a kind of ‘one-upmanship’, as Holnsteiner Some scholars have compared utang-na-loób
would say (1973, p. 73). Our exchange could with Marcel Mauss’ thoughts on giftexchange in
continue even further, and I could end up once more tribal societies, where gift-giving serves as a kind of
having a greater utangna-loób to my friend. cohesive process for relationships within the
tribe.15 This is probably true, but one should not
As they constitute one dynamic, utang-na-
conclude that the utang-na-loób now is exactly the
loób is expected to possess many of the same
same as its tribal version, given the 300-year
characteristics as kagandahang-loób, namely (1) its
influence of Christianity. The tribal gift-giving, as
personal and sympathetic character and (2) being
Mauss describes it, requires a return. But the
free from external compulsion. As De Castro says
dynamic of kagandahang-loób and utang-na-loób
‘the obligation to pay the debt is a self-imposed
has something ‘altruistic’ about it, in that the return
one’ (1998) and Miranda also concurs that it is
is hoped for, but cannot be and should not be
‘self-binding’ (1987, p. 37). One does not have
demanded,
utang-na-loób because it is required by the other
person (though they could hope for it), but rather it Finally, one of the worst things to be called
should come from one’s self. To have utang-na-loób in Filipino society is to be called ‘walang utang-na-
means that one values kapwa relationships and loób’, that is having no utang-na-loób. This is when
seeks to prolong and strengthen these relationships. someone has been shown significant kagandahang-
For Filipino virtue ethics, healthy kapwa loób but does not acknowledge or repay it. A child
relationships are ends in themselves and sources of who has been brought up in comfortable
happiness. circumstances by his parents but who ends up
neglecting them in their old age is walang utang-na-
As scholars have pointed out, utang-na-loób
loób. Someone who has been given a job when he
should not be equated with mere commercial
needed it, but who ends up stealing from their
transaction (Kaut, 1961, p. 260). It can perhaps
company is walang utang-na-loób. It is related to
involve some kind of monetary contract (in the
another derogative expression called walang hiya concept for it is ‘empathy’. Edith Stein would
(without hiya) which we will mention later. define empathy as ‘how human beings comprehend
the psychic life of their fellows’ (Stein, 1989, p.
Pakikiramdam 11). It is the capacity of decentring yourself and
Pakikiramdam is the closest counterpart to being able to replace it with the inner state of
‘prudence’ in Filipino virtue ethics. In the another, in this case, the kapwa.
Aristotelian-Thomistic system, prudence is the Pakikiramdam [is] a way of reconstructing
virtue that enables one to find the ‘mean’ or ‘middle another person’s feeling state or state of being.
way’ according to right reason (Summa Theologiae Apart from being a mere sensitivity to nonverbal
II-II, Q. 46, A. 7). The prudent person should be cues, pakikiramdam is also the active attempt to
able to find ‘a mean between two vices, one of reconstruct the speaker’s internal state. The
excess and one of deficiency’ (Nicomachean Ethics sensitivity to cues, therefore, has as its goal the
II.7, 1107a). Pakikiramdam also looks for a kind of appreciation for, and the understanding of, the other
‘mean’, but it is a mean within the relationship. The person’s state of being. It is an act akin to empathy.
most literal translation would be simply ‘feeling’, What is constructed in pakikiramdam, however,
but perhaps it is better to call it ‘relational cannot be put into words. (Mansukhani, 2005, pp.
sensitivity’ or ‘empathy’ towards the kapwa. 187–188).
Prudence in Aristotle and Aquinas is based on the
faculty of reason, but since reason is not a Someone tries to read the other person’s
segregated faculty from the loób, then it makes inner state without the help of words or direct
sense that ‘pakikiramdam is not so much cognitive communication. Perhaps one of the easiest ways to
but affective’ (Mataragnon, 1987, p. 479). understand pakikiramdam is through jokes. Not all
Nevertheless, it seems to require the most jokes are funny to all people. The same joke may be
‘cognition’ (still tied with feeling) than the other funny for some, dull or obscure for others and even
Filipino virtues. Rita Mataragnon was the first to do offensive for some. It depends on a lot of things. I
a pioneering study of the concept: could deliver a joke about former Philippine
President Erap Estrada, the action star who became
In Filipino social interaction, a concern for president and who is described as being dull, but I
feelings and preference for indirect expression gives should know a little bit about my audience—do they
rise to the phenomenon of pakikiramdam, a covert know about Erap? Are they willing to have fun at
individual process by which a person tries to feel his expense? Would they consider such jokes too
and understand the feelings and intentions of ‘cheap’?
another. (Mataragnon, 1987, p. 479).
The person telling a joke must know enough
For example, in the dynamic between about his audience or else the joke could fail. As
kagandahang-loób and utang-na-loób, what should I Ted Cohen says, executing a joke requires a certain
do or how much should I give back in order to fulfil ‘intimacy’ between speaker and audience—a
my utang-na-loób? Sometimes there is no way of knowledge of the audiences’ backgrounds and inner
quantifying or calculating my utang-na-loób. I need states— to make them laugh (Cohen, 1999). And
to feel or guess if I have repaid my debt to the other when the joke is successful, it strengthens that
person, and this is accomplished by knowing him intimacy because it confirms a shared background.
and being sensitive to his behaviour and to the They understand each other beyond the level of
wider context. This ‘feeling’ or ‘groping’ around is indicative statements to a level that allows them to
part of pakikiramdam. manifest humor and laugh together. The more
As Masunkhani says, ‘pakikiramdam is obscure the joke, the greater the intimacy involved.
good training for emotional intelligence’ But you know that something has gone awry when
(Mansukhani, 2005, p. 200). Or perhaps it itself the speaker ends up having to ‘explain’ the joke to
constitutes emotional intelligence. Another related his audience.
 Jokes are filled with other communication not encouraged to voice out their sentiments and
cues: tones of voice, facial expressions, gestures opinions, this tradition of receptivity to indirect
and the perfect timing to deliver the punchline. communication could have continued. In any case,
Some jokes, as good as they are, will flop when pakikiramdam also features prominently in our next
delivered in monotone or in an uncertain voice. This virtue called hiya which involves, among other
whole experience of jokes is a good introduction to things, making sure you do not hurt the feelings of
pakikiramdam. Jokes, laughing and teasing are a others.
huge part of Filipino culture, especially around the
dining table or during feasts and celebrations. Hiya
We mention jokes because it is something Hiya is often translated as ‘shame’ or
that is universal, but there are other forms of ‘embarrassment’, but this translation does not make
behaviour that are more unique to Filipino culture. a distinction between the hiya that is suffered (let’s
Lambing is showing exaggerated forms of affection call this the ‘passion’ of hiya, from the Latin pati, to
(which to an outsider might look nauseous) to either have something done unto you) and the hiya that is
test or reconfirm the relationship. Tampo is the a virtue. The virtue of hiya is a kind of ‘self-control’
reverse of that, it is a show of sulkiness when that prevents someone from making another person
someone close has disappointed your expectations. suffer the passion of hiya. Let us use one of the
However, one usually does not tell the other more extreme examples of Bulatao:
directly, but expects him to discover and understand Two men are drinking tuba in a sari-sari
it on his own (because figuring it out shows that store. One of them jokingly pulls up the back of
he’s sensitive and aware of your own inner state). other one’s undershirt and rubs the back with his
Both forms are often reserved for very close palm. The other pulls out a knife and kills him.
relationships such as family and romantic Later, the lawyer in court justifies the killing by
relationships. But for both forms to work requires a saying, ‘Napahahiyâ siya e [He suffered hiya]’.
culture that is familiar with, and maybe even (Bulatao, 1964, pp. 424–425).
encourages, both lambing and tampo. The
phenomenon of pakikiramdam thrives because of The first person wanted to have a laugh at
certain inarticulate elements in the culture itself. As the second person’s expense. This led to the other
Maggay says: person suffering hiya (embarrassment) in public.
But if the first person only had the virtue of hiya, it
The meaning of our movements and actions would have kept him in check, and he would not
are imbedded in the culture and are not indicated in have made the other person suffer the passion of
an orderly, succinct, and written explanation. Its hiya. It would have also saved his life. The passion
definition and grammar are learned through of hiya is negative. Bulatao identifies this when he
unconscious observation as we grow and are shaped says that ‘hiyâ is a painful emotion. It is something
by the culture.16 (Maggay, 2002, p. 135). like fear or a sense of inadequacy and anxiety in an
Pakikiramdam, like the other Filipino uncontrolled and threatening situation’ (Bulatao,
virtues, is supposed to be learned within the family 1964, p. 426). This corresponds to what Aquinas
through the years. It is a virtue in a culture that would call verecundia (shame), which is not a virtue
values sensitivity that goes beyond direct and but a passion. According to him, it is a species of
spoken communication. Perhaps one can trace this ‘fear’ (Summa Theologiae II-II, Q. 144, A. 1).17
to the native tradition which also thrived on But the virtue of hiya is something like temperance.
metaphors (talinhaga) and riddles (bugtong) For Aquinas temperance enables one to control the
(Lumbera, 2001). As Ted Cohen proposed, natural desires (especially food, drink and sex) and
metaphors too, just like jokes, can be thought of in make it subject to the rule of reason. The virtue of
terms of a ‘cultivation of intimacy’ (Cohen, 1978). hiya also involves a certain restraint, only it
Under Spanish colonization, where Filipinos were restrains the person from selfish impulses that
would embarrass others or make them feel
uncomfortable. As Francis Senden, a Belgian priest, food— ‘huwag ka nang mahiya (come on don’t be
comments: shy)’.
You have the hiya, which is again very To be called walang hiya (without hiya)
beautiful. The hiya means sensitivity. Every human means that you are only thinking of yourself, of
being is sensitive, but there are degrees of how to satisfy your impulses and desires, even at
sensitivity. And my experience is that the Filipinos the cost of your kapwa. It can be when you do not
are very sensitive. But this is not a defect—it is a control your tongue and bluntly say what you feel,
virtue… You don’t insult people in public and you or when you try to always squeeze in in order to be
expect that nobody will insult you in public. If you first in line. You are willing to ignore others, or
call a Filipino to your office and you are alone with worse, take advantage of them when it suits you. It
him, you may tell him everything; he will not resent is a violation of the spirit of kapwa. A person
it. But if you do it in public, he cuts off relations without hiya is ‘one who has flagrantly violated
with you. If you call somebody in public loko, he socially approved norms of conduct’ (Lynch, 1962,
severs relations with you. But because he himself is p. 97) through an action that ‘involves a crassness
so sensitive, he will avoid insulting others. He will, and insensibility to the feelings of others’ (Bulatao,
as a rule, not insult people in public. (Senden, 1974, 1964, p. 429). But the one who has hiya sacrifices
p. 50). himself for others, and this is also the same spirit
that informs the next virtue.
Certain complications arise when the
Filipino is ‘overly’ cautious or tactful, which can Lakas ng Loob o Bahala na
confuse the Western foreigner who values direct
communication and being straight to the point. A debate began when Lynn Bostrom (1968)
Jocano recounts the frustration of one foreign equated the Filipino phrase bahala na with
executive who told him: ‘Sometimes they American fatalism. Her initial article was countered
(Filipinos) say “yes” to whatever you say. by Alfred Lagmay who argued that bahala na was
Oftentimes, they do not tell you exactly what they instead ‘a functionally positive response to
think or how they feel. They just remain silent, and uncertainty’ (1993, p. 35). Michael Tan (2013)
you have to read their true feelings in the way they agrees with Lagmay when he says that: ‘[Bahala na]
smile’ (Jocano, 1997, p. 73). In general, saying ‘no’ isn’t automatic resignation but a way to embolden
directly is avoided as it might offend another, and it oneself, almost like “I’m going to do what I can”’.
causes the Filipino to ‘beat around the bush’. Miranda also says something similar:

Hiya goes beyond verbal situations. In When the Filipino says ‘Bahala na’, several
general, the virtue of hiya is a quality of one’s loób things are implied: (a) he does not know at that
that makes him control or sacrifice an individual point how things will turn out, (b) he assumes
desire for the sake of the kapwa’s welfare. Consider responsibility nonetheless to try and do something
another very common expression of hiya. Imagine a to influence events, (c) he assumes such
dinner gathering where a last piece of fried chicken responsibility knowing well that the case looks
is left on the serving plate on the table. Even though hopeless, (d) he hopes that luck will help when
one wants to eat that last piece of chicken, hiya other things fail. (Miranda, 1992, p. 218).
dictates that you should leave that for others. When the Filipino says ‘Bahala na’, several
Someone else might want it. To get that last piece things are implied: (a) he does not know at that
of chicken reveals to the people around you that you point how things will turn out, (b) he assumes
are thinking primarily of yourself. Of course, if responsibility nonetheless to try and do something
everyone had hiya then the last piece of chicken to influence events, (c) he assumes such
might remain there for good. The standstill is responsibility knowing well that the case looks
usually resolved when the host insists that a hopeless, (d) he hopes that luck will help when
particular guest take the last piece and finish the other things fail. (Miranda, 1992, p. 218).
 Bahala na, taken in its own right, is quite attitude which led to their martyrdom. They both
simply a positive confrontation of uncertainty. But knew that their return to the Philippines could cost
it has been given a negative reputation because it them their lives, but their courage (lakas-ng-loób)
can also be said in cases of indifference or was for the sake of nation. Both were killed, Rizal
irresponsibility. It can become similar to the English by the Spanish authorities in 1896, and Aquino by
expressions ‘whatever’ or ‘who cares’. But its the orders of the dictator Marcos in 1983. But their
virtuous element is revealed when it is not taken in deaths were not in vain. Rizal’s death provoked the
isolation but is put in its proper place within Philippine Revolution and Aquino’s death led to the
Filipino virtue ethics. It plays a very strong role in famous EDSA People Power of 1986. Similarly, the
the virtue of lakas-ng-loób. OFW are often hailed as Filipino ‘heroes’ because
they also possess this bahala na for others, many of
Lakas-ng-loób is literally ‘strength of will’
them leaving for abroad with uncertain prospects in
and corresponds to the cardinal virtue of courage or
order to provide for their family back home. It is the
fortitude. But to say that it is simply ‘courage’
same pattern, though on a smaller scale.
might be misleading. Again, knowledge of the older
traditions helps here. The tribal tradition considered Lakas-ng-loób and bahala na should
courage primarily in the form of the tribal warrior therefore be understood in the context of a complete
hero, such as those found in the epics.18 The epics Filipino virtue ethics which values the sacrifice of
depict a heroic age similar to the time of Homer, self for the kapwa. Lakasng-loób is not merely
and as MacIntyre says, in this heroic age ‘courage is courage and bahala na is not merely fatalism. Their
important, not simply as a quality of individuals, but ideal manifestations are kapwa-oriented. As De
as the quality necessary to sustain a household and a Mesa says: ‘Bahala na without active concern for
community’ (MacIntyre, 1999, p. 122). In other others is a superficial kind of risk-taking, but with
words, courage was about the survival of the tribe, malasakit [concern for the other] it becomes a
or about those exploits which would benefit the Christian risk-taking after the example of Jesus
tribe and the community as a whole. himself. We find this in Jesus when he dares to risk
his person out of concern for another’ (De Mesa,
This tribal form of courage was eventually
1987, p. 168).
transformed by the Pasyon (Passion of Christ) play.
The first Tagalog Pasyon play was written in 1703 We have now finished an introductory
by Gaspar Aquino de Belen. A newer version in overview of a Filipino virtue ethics based on loób
1814, called the Pasyon Pilapil, became the most and kapwa. To summarize, the defining feature of
popular version of the play. In a population with this virtue ethics is that it seeks to preserve and
very low literacy this play was a tremendous strengthen human relationships. It is a unique blend
influence, and in fact, as Reynaldo Ileto has pointed of East and West, the result of two different
out, the Pasyon was what shaped the sentiments of traditions which have mixed together for more than
the masses who joined the Philippine revolution (in 300 years. The use of Aristotelian-Thomistic
contrast with the ilustrado or ‘enlightened’ class philosophy (which is an ‘insider’ in one of the
who studied in Europe) (Ileto, 1979). The suffering traditions) helps us to more properly understand
Christ became the new tribal hero. But instead of these concepts. First, it provides us the resources to
killing and pillaging, he won through suffering and explain loób as a potentia of the soul, namely the
self-sacrifice. Nevertheless, it was a sacrifice for the ‘will’, and then the virtues as qualities of this loób.
collective, this time represented by Mother Country Second, it allows us to organize the Filipino virtues
(Inang Bayan). in rough comparison with the cardinal virtues of the
West so that we can note their similarities and
In the pantheon of Filipino national heroes,
differences. This approach is a significant
Jose Rizal and Ninoy Aquino are given a privileged
improvement over the previous interpretation of
place because they both closely fulfil the criteria for
‘values’, which was philosophically vague. The
a Christ-like hero; they both possessed a bahala na
dialogue with Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophy
provides a good starting point from where other
philosophical approaches can build upon.
One can identify the goal or telos of this
virtue ethics as ‘oneness’ or in Filipino, pagkakaisa.
As Enriquez says, ‘Pagkakaisa is also the highest
level of interpersonal interaction possible. It can be
said that being one with another is a full realization
of pakikipagkapwa’ (Enriquez, 1992, p. 64). Such a
oneness is not theoretical but practical, played out
in daily life from within the most intimate setting of
the family, outward towards the kapwa—and then
towards the greater body called the bayan (country).
One of the ideal manifestations of this pagkakaisa is
what happened during the events of the 1986 EDSA
Revolution, when millions of Filipino people came
together to peacefully overthrow the dictator
Marcos.
How is this Filipino virtue ethics relevant
for the global ethical conversation? In a world that
is becoming increasingly individualist, where
people are still looking for ethical options that
emphasize human relationships, Filipino virtue
ethics presents a unique and interesting viewpoint.
And though this viewpoint is one which was
fashioned by a specific culture and particular
historical and geographical circumstances, there are
elements here which can go beyond those confines
and speak to what is universally human. Just as
Enriquez envisioned Filipino psychology
contributing to a universal psychology (Pe-Pua &
Protacio-Marcelino, 2000, p. 50), we also envision
Filipino virtue ethics contributing to the wider
conversation on ethics