Pilosopiyang Filipino

FILIPINO
PHILOSOPHY
“Pilosopiyang
Pilipino”
PHILOSOPHY OF THE
HUMAN PERSON

How the Filipino looks at
himself as an individual?
 This can be investigated from two viewpoints:
 LOOB
 THE BODY
Both converge on the same
philosophy of man.

I. LOOB
 No single English word can translate loob, the
Tagalog word for buot in Visayan and nakem
in Ilocano.
Metalinguistic Analysis
“A nation’s soul was its language because a
genuine national pride is anchored on one’s
native language.”
 The Philippine languages, as everyone knows,
can build hundreds of words from a single
stem by means of AFFIXATION.

Table 1 - INTELLECTUAL THEME
VISAYAN TAGALOG ILOCANO COMMON ENGLISH MEANING
Buot (motive, intention)
Kapin nga buot (ulterior motive)
Isaloob (to bear something in
mind)
Nakem (motive, intention) (motive, intention)
Buot (thoughts, mind, reason)
Wala sa buot
(not in the mind)
Nakem (mind, reason)
Nadadael ti nakem
(to be crazy)
(mind, reason)
Walay buot ka (You are stupid)
Kabuot (understanding,
perception, mental discernment)
Awan ti nakemmo (You are
stupid)
Nakem (understanding,
perception, judgment)
(understanding, perception)
Pagbuot (judgment, decision) Pagkakaloob (judgment,
decision, adjudication)
Nakem (judgment, decision) (judgment, decision)
Magbuot (to decide, to dictate)
Ikaw ang magbuot kon pila
(You decide how much)
Loob sa saklawin (to
comprehend, to understand)
Mapasaloob (to occur to one’s
mind)
Saloobin (attitude)
Salooban, isaloob, magsaloob
(to distrust, to suspect)
Saloob (suspicion)
Magpasaloob (suspicious,
malicious)

VISAYAN TAGALOG ILOCANO COMMON ENGLISH MEANING
Buot, panimuot, kalibutan
(consciousness, conscience,
awareness, degree of
intelligence)
Walay buot kay bata pa siya (He
has not yet reached the age of
discretion because he is still a
child)
Nakem (consciousness, conscience, awareness)
Awan ti nakemna gapu ta ubing pay (He has not yet
reached the age of discretion because he is still a child)
(consciousness, conscience,
awareness)
Tigmaan ug buot (regain
consciousness)
Ang iyang panimuot sama sa
batang tulo ka tuig (His mental
age is like a three-year old
child’s)
But-an (possessing reason, sese)
But-an ba siya o buang? (Is he
sane or mad?)
Makinakem (to follow advice)
Patien ti nakem [ti sabali]
(literally, to believe in another, i. e., to follow advice)
But-on (to expect)
Mabuot (civic-minded,
considerate)
Kabut-an, kamabuot (prudence,
sensibleness, smartness)
Kabut-an (controllable,
manageable, tractable)
Table 1 - INTELLECTUAL THEME

VISAYAN TAGALOG ILOCANO COMMON ENGLISH
MEANING
Buot (wish, desire will)
Ituman ang buot mo (Your will
be done)
Pagbuot (will)
Pagbuot sa Ginoo (the Lord’s
will)
Loob (wish, desire, will)
Sundin ang loob mo (Your will
be done)
Nakem (wish, desire, will)
Matungpal koma ti nakemmo
(Your will be done)
wish, desire, will
Buot (state of mind, disposition,
mood)
Maglain ang iyang buot ug
mapildi sa sugal (He gets into a
bad mood if he loses in
gambling)
Loob (state of mind, disposition,
mood)
Ano ang nasa loob mo? (What
is in your state of mind?)
Nakem (state of mind, disposition,
mood)
Ania ti adda ti nakemmo? (What
is in your state of mind?)
State of mind, disposition, mood
Pabuot (to allow some to have
the say, to allow, to permit)
Ug pabut-on ako nimo (if you
allow me)
Loobin (to allow, to permit) Bay-an nga agnakem (to allow, to
permit)
Bay-an nga agnakem nga agtalaw
(Let him escape)
To allow, to permit
Buta-a, but-on (to accept freely
without restraint)
But-anay (to impose each other‘s
will on one another)
Buotbuot (to act without
permission to presume, to take
on oneself to do something)
Kusang loob (voluntary,
initiative)
Wala sa loob, laban sa kalooban
(involuntary)
Hilig sa loob (liking, preference,
impulse of the heart)
Kabubut-on (will, volition)
Mga tawo nga maayog
kabubut-on (Men of good will)
Kalooban (will, volition)
Mga taong may mabuting
kalooban (men of good will)
Pakinakem, panagnaknakem (will,
volition)
Tattao ti naimbag a panag-
naknakem (men of good will)
Will,
Volition
Table 2 - VOLITIONAL THEME

MEANING
Mausab ang buot (to change
attitude or feeling)
Magbago ang loob (to change
Matigas/malakas ang loob (to
feel brave or courageous,
animated)
Buong buo ang loob
(courageous, convinced,
decided)
Sumigla ang kalooban (to be
revived in spirit, to be lively or
enthusiastic)
Buhay ang loob (liveliness,
courage, spirit, state of being
hopeful)
Pabaruen ti pakinakem (to change
Napigsa ti nakem (to feel brave or
courageous)
Napigsa ti pagnaknakem
(courageous)
Pumigsa ti nakemna (to be lively
or enthusiastic)
To change attitude or feeling
(to feel brave or courageous)
(courageous)
(to be revived in spirit, to be
lively or enthusiastic)
Himuot (to be pleased)
Wala niya kahimut-i ang imong
gibuhat (He was not pleased
with what you did)
Laki ng loob (pride)
Kahimuot (pleasure)
Kahimut-anan (at which one can
take pleasure)
Maham-uton, mahimut-on,
mahimut-anon (feeling great
pleasure)
Muot (funny, extremely
laughable)
Table 3 – EMOTIONAL THEME

MEANING
Madaut ang buot (to be
discouraged, to lose
confidence)
Masira ang loob (to be discouraged, to lose
confidence)
Madadael ti pakinakem (to be
discouraged, to lose confidence)
To be discouraged, to lose confidence
Mangingitngit ang kalooban (to feel annoyed)
Pagtatanim sa loob (hate, resentment)
Magaan/malu-ag ug buot (in a
good mood, having a light
disposition, gay, carefree at
ease)
Maluwag/magaan ang kalooban (to feel
appeased, gay, carefree at ease)
Nalag-an ti nakem (to feel appeased, gay,
carefree, at ease)
Gay, carefree, at ease
Palagay loob (to be in rapport)
Kapalagayang loob (one with whom another is
emotionally at ease)
Pukawin/gisingin ang loob (to inspire) Tignay ti nakem, paregtaen ti nakem (to
inspire)
Paregtaen ti nakemna tapno agadal
(Inspire/motivate him to study)
(to inspire)
Nakapupukaw ng loob (inspirational)
Kabuhusan ng loob (falling in love)
Makapatignay/makaparegta iti nakem
(inspirational)
(inspirational)
Mabagabag ang kalooban (to give a sigh, to
pity)
Matignay ti nakem (to give a sigh, to pity) (to give a sight, to pity)
Malain ang buot (short-
tempered, of the sort that gets
easily angered)
Mainit ang buot (hot-
tempered)
Mainit ang kalooban (hot-tempered)
Ipahalata ang nasa loob (to show one’s feelings)
Maglihim/magkubli ng nasa loob (to hide one’s
feelings)
Napudot ti nakem (hot-tempered)
Ipagriknam iti adda ti paki-nakem (to
show one’s feelings)
Illem-men ti sakit ti nakem (to hide one’s
feelings)
Hot-tempered
(to show one’s feelings)
(to hide one’s feelings)
Table 3 – EMOTIONAL THEME

MEANING
Loob (courage,valor)
Lakas ng loob (courage, valor)
Pakinakem (courage,valor)
Tao a napigsa ti pakinakemna (a man
of courage)
(courage, valor)
May loob (brave, courageous)
Tigas ng loob (hardiness in valor, bravery)
Pagkalooban (to give something)
Pagkalooban mo ako ng tubig (Give me
some water)
Kaloob (gift, donation, favor, benevolence) Sagut gapu’t naimbag a pakinakem
(literally, gift because of good will;
gift, donation, favor, benevolence)
(gift, donation, favor, benevolence)
Nagkakaloob (giver, donor) Ti nangted ti sagut gaput’naimbag a
pakinakem (giver, donor)
(giver, donor)
Pinagkakalooban (receiver, donee) Ti naikkan ti sagut gapu’t’naimbag a
pakinakem (receiver, donee)
(receiver,donee)
Utang-buot/utang nga
kabubut-on (debt of
volition, “gratitude”)
Utang na loob (debt of volition;”gratitude”) Utang na naimbag a nakem (debt of
volition, “”gratitude”)
Debt of volition, “gratitude”
Utang-buot (please)
Utang buot, ayaw pagsulti
niana (Please don’t say that)
Utang na loob (please)
utang na loob, huwag mong sabihin iyan
(Please don’t say that)
(please)
Dunay buot (attentive,
courteous, obliging)
May loob (attentive, courteous, obliging)
Walang loob (inattentive, vile, unpleasant,
low)
Adda nakemna (attentive, courteous,
obliging)
Awan nakemna (inattentive, vile,
unpleasant, low)
Attentive, courteous, obliging
(inattentive, vile, unpleasant, low)
Walay buot (‘innocent’
when applied to children.
But it means ‘ignorant’
‘irresponsible’ when applied
to adults)
Table 4 – ETHICAL THEME

VISAYAN TAGALOG ILOCAN
O
COMMON ENGLISH
MEANING
Loob, kalooban, kaloob (internal part, inside,
within)
Sa loob ng bahay (inside the house)
Sa loob ng isang linggo (within a week’s time)
Paloob (to enter, to penetrate)
Saloobin (to interiorize, to internalize)
kaloob-looban (innermost)
Taimtim sa loob (intimate)
Pagpaloob (introduction, becoming an intern)
Pangloob (undergarments)
Looban (orchard, a piece of fenced land or yard
around the house planted with a variety of trees
and plants)
Loob, panloloob, looban (robbery, attack,
invasion)
Mga masasamang-loob (robbers, criminals)
Table 5 – MISCELLANEOUS

Filipino Behavior
 Considering loob as ‘debt of volition’ or utang na loob.
The Tagalog proverb “Ang utang na loob ay hindi mababayaran
ng salapi” (a debt of volition cannot be repaid by money).
 Utang na loob makes no condition
e. g. If Norman saves Joseph’s life from drowning, Joseph has an
everlasting ‘debt of volition’ to Norman.
Norman does not give any terms. But out of his own will
(kusang loob) Joseph tries to show his goodness to Norman
whenever he can and at his own discretion.
 Loob becomes an interior law which tells Joseph to behave
generously and amiably to Norman even for a lifetime.

Filipino Behavior
 Anybody without the sense of ‘debt of volition’ is considered
‘shameless’ (walang hiya) – an expression which most
Filipinos resent, as Jaime C. Bulatao stated in his study “Hiya,”
Philippine Studes and F. Landa Jocano in Growing Up in a
Philippine Barrio
 Likewise, to reject a ‘debt of volition’ leads to hiya, which may
be an expression of interiority. At any rate the Filipino is quite
sensitive to his treatment as a person. He wants to keep his self-
respect even to the point of sacrifice.
 Loob then has much to do with the Filipino’s notion of
selfhood. One often hears the saying “Better to die than to
suffer insult.” The Filipino is sensitive to the slightest insult.
“Kung gumaling ang isang sugat, di kumukupas ang masamang
pangungusap” (A wound may heal, but an offensive word never
fades away.)

Filipino Behavior
The Filipino may forgive an
insult but he carries the wound
for a long time.
That is why when Filipinos
disagree, they would prefer to
use intermediaries or exchange
indirect remarks rather than be
frank with each other.

Loob and the Filipino Philosophy of
Man
 The metalinguistic considerations on LOOB have exceeded their
boundaries. Such is the nature of language, for it is a mental
window which leads to a bigger world.
 The manifold aspects of loob requires a wider concept. This
concept would be self as viewed from within.
 While it is true that there are other words for ‘self’
(kaugalingon, sarili, ti bagi met laeng), these expressions are
superficial and do not express the essence of the Filipino.
 Loob would therefore characterized as:
(1) holistic and (2) as interior

(1) Holistic
 Western man compartmentalizes himself. This way of thinking is
evident in expressions like ‘not letting emotions influence
reason’ or ‘the heart having reasons which the head does not
know’. Some of their philosophers have been debating on
whether the intellect is superior to the will or not. Likewise
Western philosophy looks at knowledge as an intellectual
apprehension of reality.
 But the Filipino, like his Oriental neighbors, has a total way of
thinking which is non-compartmentalized. The varied use of
loob attest to this fact
‘masakit ang loob’/’nasakit ti nakem’ involves sorrow and pain
of one’s whole being
 Furthermore, this holistic view extends also to the Filipino’s
non-dualistic world view. LIFE also is not
compartmentalized.

(1) Holistic
According to Abegg, 1952 on the paper The Mind of East Asia
“. . .mention should be made of the far-reaching
identification of concepts in East Asia; these with
slight differences in meaning, apply equally to all
East Asians. Politics, ethics, and religion are for
them one. Politics, for which there is no precisely
corresponding expression in East Asia, is really a
Western invention which, in the last resort, is
connected with the differentiation of psychic
functions. In East Asia there was in earlier times
no separation of Church and State, and hence
the conception of pure politics could not arise.”

(2) Interior
 In the Parable of Ox Mountain, Mencius, a disciple of Confucius,
teaches that man is naturally good and that evil comes from
man’s environment. He therefore identifies jen (human-
heartedness, love, man) with man.
 Jen has its Filipino version in kaluoy/awa/kaasi which is
translated in English variously as: mercy, charity, clemency,
leniency, benevolence, generosity, kindness, tolerance
 These meanings can be summed up in the expression ‘human-
heartedness’. To appeal then to one’s human-heartedness is to
ask the Filipino to share his inner goodness.
 Human-heartedness is therefore an interior part of loob.

(2) Interior
Interiority manifests itself in freedom.
The early Filipinos always resisted being
subdued by their colonizers. They had no
political unity because they loved their
freedom.
Loob as moral conscience.
‘conscience’ is budhi in Tagalog, which can
also mean ‘understanding’, ‘will’, or the faculty
of intuitive discernment. Nevertheless, moral
conscience is still buot in Visayan and nakem
in Ilocano.

(2) Interior
Loob therefore as ethical is inseparable from
thinking, willing, and feeling.
This again demonstrates its non-
compartmentalization as well as its interiority.

II. THE BODY
“Physiology teaches that the brain is really
the center of emotions but the heart serves as
symbol of love and sorrow.”
 Although loob is totally connected with
emotions, other parts of the body are
associated with feelings.

 The nose – as in the expression ‘mataas ang ilong’ (having a
high nose) – is an expression having reference to pride.
 To say that something causes one’s liver to contract
(‘makapakulo sa atay’ in Visayan) indicates fear whereas to say
something causes one’s liver to enlarge (‘makapadako’/
‘makapabukad sa atay’) indicates elation.
 The genitals have to do with courage. Thus ‘parang walang
bayag’ / ‘awan ti lateg’ (having no balls), ‘puti’g itlog’ (having
white balls), ‘lamang abo ang bayag’ (ash-containing balls),
‘urong ang bayag’ (shrunken balls) are said of cowards.
 ‘kaututang dila’ (licking something together) are intimates in
the gossipy sense; people referred to as ‘kadungulang siko’
(rubbing elbows) or ‘kadaupang-kamay’ (clasping hands) are
friends.

 ‘Blood’ is as variedly used as loob. The physiological sense is
obvious in expressions like ‘having low blood pressure’ (‘kulang
ug dugo’/’kulang sa dugo’/’kulang ti dara’).
Feelings – as in English – are also associated with blood.
Courage is said of ‘strong blood’ (‘isog ug dugo’/’matapang
ang dugo’). Temper is connected with ‘hot blood’ (‘init ug
dugo’/’mainit ang dugo’) or ‘boiling blood’ (‘mubukal ang
dugo’/’kumukulo ang dugo’). To hate is to have ‘heavy blood’
(‘bug-at ang dugo’/’mabigat ang dugo’). Liveliness is having
‘live blood’ (‘buhi ug dugo’/’buhay ang dugo’).
Sex is also associated with blood. Besides menstruation which is
also called blood, the sperm is sometimes called blood as in the
Visayan ‘dugong puti’ (white blood) or ‘dugo sa laki’ (male
blood). In Western Visayan the generic (male and female) for
sperm is ‘dugo nga sinara’ (distilled human blood), which –
according to Jocano – “is one reason why the people maintain
that ‘blood is thicker than water’”.

 Since blood is connected with sex, it follows then
that blood is also related to kinship. Relatives are
called ‘having the same blood’ (kadugo, karugo,
kadardara) and a blood compact makes two non-
relatives’ one blood’ (sandugo, sanduguan).
 The various parts of the body associated with
feelings are by no means uniquely Filipino. They
probably arose because emotions – which affect the
entire person – are specially localized in the parts
mentioned.
 The usages of ‘blood’ – as in the case of loob –
shows the Filipino holistic view of the body. The
phenomenon of Filipino behavior will throw more
light on the concepts of blood and the body in
general.

Behavior
 The Tagalogs in Bay, Laguna, believe that the blood must be in
the state of right harmony for the sake of health. In other
words, health is a matter of maintaining a harmony between
heat and cold.
There are four types of blood known to the people: malapot
(thick), malabnaw (thin), dilaw (yellowish), and buhay
(crimson). When the body is overexposed to heat or cold, the
blood becomes thick and it causes illness like mataas ang dugo
(high blood) and sakit sa puso (heart illness). Because of its
thickness, the blood circulates very slowly and part of it sticks to
the wall of the ugat (veins), thereby slowly causing further
malfunctioning of body mechanisms. People suffering from
insomnia (hindi makatulog), or anemia (maputla) and weak
bodily resistance (sakitin) have thin or malabnaw blood. –
Jocano, 1972

Behavior
 The “pan-Philippine” concept of hot and cold “permeates all
facets of Filipino peasant life. The terms hot and cold have no
reference to the presence or absence of temperature. Rather,
the syndrome refers to the quality of elements of nature and to
the reactions of the human body to these elements.
Functionally, this binary system of opposition defines the
relationship between man and nature or between man and
woman.”
 Health is not only a matter of physical equilibrium but also a
psychosomatic balance since “a man may look healthy (or in
fact be healthy), but if he easily loses his temper, does not keep
his word, or is engaged in activities contrary to the moral values
of the group, he is not considered healthy. Sera-sera (a kook,
defective) is the term used to describe him. One is cautioned
not to mind him because he is not matino (not good, does not
have a healthy attitude).”
 Sickness then is looked upon as a matter of disequilibrium.

PHILOSOPHY Ø
The principle of harmony which the
Filipino tries to maintain is an another
dimension besides from the previous
considerations on the Filipino philosophy of
man.
The Filipino does not have a dichotomous
philosophy of man in contrast to the
Greeks’ matter (body) and form (soul).
Man for the Filipino is holistic. “soul”
(kalag/kaluluwa/kararuwa) connotes a
disembodied spirit of ghost. The soul for the
living man is different.

PHILOSOPHY Ø on the Soul
(dreams and death)
The formation of man includes both the development of
the physical body and birth of its “double”
(kakambal). The double is conceived as a gaseous
substance which later becomes “the tiny voice” in
man (locally known as malay; hence, the term malay
tao meaning consciousness), which is responsible for
the individual’s capacity to think, to reason, to learn,
and to have will-power. This double becomes the soul
(kalulua) when the person dies. During his lifetime,
however, the kakambal functions as the “guardian
spirit.” During the night, the double may transform
itself into any form: leave the body, and travel around
the neighborhood. It encounters during this time
constitute what a man dreams about. If the couple is
in trouble, the physical body suffers – this is why
people die in their sleep or have had dreams and
nightmares (the bangungut).

PHILOSOPHY Ø on the Soul
(dreams and death)
The Visayan expression “maghilak ang
imong kalag” (your soul will weep)
confirms the Tagalog kakambal as
“guardian angel”.
Loob as moral conscience seems to
coincide with ‘malay tao’. A person
‘without soul’ (walang kaluluwa) is one
without moral qualities, especially mercy.
Likewise, ‘habang ang kanyang
kaluluwa’ (literally, his soul is merciful)
again implies loob as ethical.

Filipino PHILOSOPHY Ø in Conclusion
Filipino as individual looks at himself as
holistic from the interior dimension
under the principle of harmony. This
is evident especially in the Filipino
concept of body.

Filipino PHILOSOPHY Ø in Conclusion
“The Filipino looks at himself as
a self, as one who feels, as one
who wills, as one who thinks, as
one who acts; as a total
whole – as a ‘person,’
conscious of his freedom,
proud of his human
dignity, and sensitive to the
violation of these two.”

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