Abstract

Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Statement of purpose 1 1.2 Glossary of relevant concepts 3 1.3 Methodology and precedents 7 1.4 Value versus virtue 8 1.4.1 The discovery of Filipino “values” 9 1.4.2 The problem with Filipino “values” 13 1.4.3 The philosophical advantage of “virtues” 20 1.4.4 The international revival of virtue ethics 25 Chapter 2: The Three Intellectual Traditions in the Philippines 28 2.1 Southeast Asian tribal and animist tradition 33 2.1.1 Tribalism 35 2.1.2 Animism 39 2.2 Spanish Catholic tradition 43 2.2.1 Textualization and translation 46 2.2.2 The medieval time warp 48 2.2.3. Thomism as philosophical canon 50 2.3 American modern tradition 55 2.3.1 American education and democracy 57 2.3.2 Exclusive individualism 61 2.3.3. Three traditions in confusion 65 2.4 Filipino virtue ethics as a synthesis of three traditions 69 Chapter 3: The Two Pillars of Filipino Virtue Ethics: Loób and Kapwa 72 3.1 Loób 73 3.1.1 The modern Cartesian confusion 75 3.1.2 Loób as voluntas ut potentia animae 78 3.1.3 The Filipino virtues as “habits” of the loób 85 3.1.4 The “holism” of loób 89 3.1.5 The “relationality” of loób towards the kapwa 92 3.2 Kapwa 96 3.2.1 What is kapwa? 97 3.2.2 Norris Clarke and a Thomistic metaphysics for kapwa 104 3.2.3 Kapwa in comparison to other ethical theories 110 3.3 Pagkakaisa: the goal of Filipino virtue ethics 115 Chapter 4: The Filipino Virtues 118 4.1 Thomist virtue ethics as the organizing framework 119 4.2 Kagandahang-loób 125 4.2.1 Kagandahang-loób actualizes the kapwa 125 4.2.2 The mother as the source and inspiration 129 4.2.3 Kagandahang-loób and Aquinas’ charity and benevolence 132 4.3 Utang-na-loób 137 4.3.1 Children towards their parents 144 4.3.2 Marcel Mauss and tribal gift exchange 146 4.3.3 Utang-na-loób and Aquinas’ justice 148 4.3.4 The exploitation of utang-na-loób in Philippine corruption 149 4.4 Pakikiramdam 152 4.4.1 Is pakikiramdam prudence or empathy? 152 4.4.2 Jokes, lambing and tampo 158 4.4.3 The problem with pakikiramdam 161 4.5 Hiya 163 4.5.1 The virtue of hiya versus the passion of hiya 163 4.5.2 Hiya and Aquinas’ temperance 169 4.5.3 Amor propio, pakikisama, and “crab mentality” 172 4.5.3.1 Amor propio 172 4.5.3.2 Pakikisama 174 4.5.3.3 “Crab mentality”/group amor propio 175 4.6 Lakas-ng-loób 178 4.6.1 Lakas-ng-loób and the bayani 178 4.6.2 Bahala na for the sake of the kapwa 181 4.6.3 Lakas-ng-loób and Aquinas’ courage and martyrdom 184 4.7 The Filipino virtues working together 186 Chapter 5: Conclusion 188 Bibliography 192.