CHAPTER IV

The Filipino
As Thinker

H OW the Filipino looks at

is also mirrored in his
himself
way of
thinking which is predominantly "psychological" and intuitive.

I. METALINGUISTIC ANALYSIS

The following linguistic evidences indicate the

Filipino's
psychological' way of thinking-- in contrast to the Westerner's
iogical way.

Focuses
Liamzon's study of Tagalog describes its focuses as quite
different from English. In English, the focus of the
speaker-
hearer's attention is directed to different parts of an utterance
by the use of semtence stress. Thus, one can say:

1 (a) The wóman cooked fish in the kitchen for the child.

(b) The woman cóoked fish in the kitchen for the child.
(c) the woman cooked físh in the kitchen for the child.
(d) The woman cooked fish in the kitchen for the child.
(e) The woman cooked fish in the kitehen for the child.
in (1) (a), the focus of the speaker-hearer's attention is
on the
CtOr (1.e., woman) ; in (1)(b), it is on the action (i.e., cooked);

73
 in (1) .
the goal (1.e., fish ); ), it is
(e)'is
(di
on
in (1) (c),
it is on
(i.e., chen);
kitchen); in (1)
(1)(e), it is the
the action on
location of action (i.e., the child). the
of the
beneficiary
alone will no+

In Tagalog.
the sentence
attention
a
stress

t t e n t i o n from act
ange
actor to change the
focus of the
speaker-hearer's

location o r
action. Instead, ead, one must
one must action,
ange
o r from goal
to
the case marko e the
the
structure of the sentence by changing
affixes of the verbs
of markers of the
the
noun
and the
phrases
(focus) Thus cor-
above is:
responding to (1) (a)
babae ang naglutó ng
isdå sa kusina
sina para sa
(2) (a) Ang above is:
batà. Corresponding to (1) (b)
babae ng isda sa kusina para hata
(2) (b) Naglutò ang sa
has:
Corresponding to (1) (c), Tagalog
(2) (c) Linutò ang isdâ ng babae sa kusina para sa batä.

The Tagalog version of (1) (d) is:

(2) (d) Pinaglutuan ng babae ng isdâ ang kusina para sa
batà.
Finally, the English sentence in (1) (e) is rendered as follows
in Tagalog:
(2) (e) Ipinagluto ng babae ang batà ng isdâ sa kusina.
The focus affixes in Tagalog, according to Llamzon, can
be reduced to four, namely: (1)
MAG/UM, which Si usually
nals "actor focus"; (2) (H) IN, which regularly signals "g0al
focus" (3) (H)AN, which can have three different meanings
) benefactive, e.g., basahan mo ng kuwento ang ba,
'read a story for the child';
(1) goa, e.g., labahan mo ang damit, 'wash the hes';
(111) locality of action, ook
on the stove';
e.g., paglutuan mo ang kalan,
(4) the l, which can have four different
(i) benefactive, e.g.. ikuha mo siyà meanings
ng Coke. 'get a Coke
for him'.
(i1) goal, e.g., the
itápon mo ang
basura, "throw
away
garbage'
(ii)
instrumental, e.g., isulat mo ang lapis na
pencil for writing'.
74
 tiv) comitative, e.8 1takbo mo
itong saging kay Pedro.
'run and give this
banana to Pedro'.
These affixes of the Tagalog verb are the most common.
A larger number of complicated affixes can be used in
to them.
addition
The focus characteristic of Tagalog analogously
to other Philippine languages as illustrated in Table 6. applies

Focus as seenabove indicates that the

logical and the psy-
chological coincide in Visayan, Tagalog, Ilocano and perhaps
in all the Philippine languages. Moreover, focus indicates
that
Filipinos think subjectively than native-born English
more
speakers. Or put in other words, English speakers seem to
have a "horizontal" or "linear" view whereas
a "vertical" or "non-linear" view. Filipinos have

Syntax
English sentence structure, according to Llamzon, is dualis-
tic in the sense that it always has a
subject
Subordinated sentence types are also dualistic.3 and predicate.
When the sub-
ject is lacking, an impersonal subject is posited as in It is
raining' or "There is a man.' But in Philippine languages
the
impersonal subject is unnecessary. Thus It is raining' becomes
Nagaulan/Umuulan/Agtutudo respectively in Visayan, Tagalog,
and Ilocano. Likewise There is a man' is rendered Dunay
tawo/Mayroong tao/Adda tao. Llamzon calls these sentence
types "monadic solidarities." Unlike the dualistic (or diadic)
structure of English, Tagalog sentences may have one,
two,
three, or four elements (monadic, diadic, triadic, or quadradic
solidarities).
The dualistic structure of English therefore reflects the
dualistic world view of its native speakers, whereas Filipinos
are not tied down
to this dualism.

/Ka-an/and Concreteness
Abstract nouns in English are formed with suffixes such
s-ness/, /-ity/, and /-hood/. Thus 'big' turns abstract in
gness, sober' in 'sobriety,' and 'man' in 'manhood.' The
hilippine version is commonly done with /ka-an/. However,
75
 TABLE6

FOCUSES OF VERBS

VISAYAN TAGAL0G ILOCANO ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Magkanta ako. Kumakanta ako. Agkankantaak. I am singing.

Magpakanta ako. Magpapakanta ako. Agpakantaak, would like something to be

I
sung.

I would like someone to sing.

Pakantahon ako. Pinapakanta ako. Pinakantaak. I am allowed to sing.

I am ordered to sing.
Makanta ko kana. Makakanta ko-iyan. Makantak dayta. I can sing that.

Kantahan ko ikaw. Kakantahan kita, Kantaan ka.' I may/will sing for you.

Kantahi ako. Kantahan mo ako. Kantaanak. Sing for me.

Makigkanta ako kanimo. Makikanta ako sa iyo. Makikantaak kenka. I wish to sing with you.
Magkantakanta ako. Kumakantakanta ako. Aginkakantuak. I pretend to sing.
what is abstract in English is not exactly the same in the Phil
ippine equivalent.
Let us consider the significant usages of /ka-an/ which
also occur in Visayan, Tagalog, and Ilocano:"
(1) To express the superlative. For example 'highest' a8
in 'glory to God in the highest' is transBated as kuhitas-an/kaita
asan/kangatuan. This form of the superlative degree is especial-
ly common in Ilocano. Thus pimtas ('pretty') in the superlative
is kapintasan ('prettiest').
(2) To indicate companionship, reciprocity, or simultaneity
of action. The prefix /ka-/ indicates companionship as in /ka-/|
with 'play' (duwa/laro/ay-ayam) becomes "playmate
kalaro/kaay-ayam). The nature of companionship or reciproc-
(kaduwa
ity is also in ka-an/ as in 'agreement' (kasabutan/kasunduan
katulayan). Likewise /ka-an/ with 'happy' (lipay/tuwa/rag-
sak) is better translated as 'being happy together (kalipayan/
katuvaan/karagsakan ) than as happiness' which is abstract
in English.

(3) To express collectivity. For instance, 'child' (bata/

bata/ubing) with /ka-an/ becomes children' or 'a group of
children/young people' (kabataan/kabatuan/kaubingan). 'Wood'
(kahoy/kahoy/lkayo) becomes 'a collection of trees' and con-
sequently 'forest' or 'woods' (kakahoyan/lakahoyan/kalkayoan).
(4) To express a state, attitude, feeling, quality, or pos-
session of something. Such is expressed in kaluoy/kaawaan/kaa-
sian (a feeling of mercy'). What was said above (no. 2) about
happiness' is further enriched by the present nuance. "Clear'
(linaw/linaw/litnaw) with /ka-an/ becomes "the state of being
clear (kalinawan/kalinawan/kalitnawan). "Angry' (sukolgalit
puntot) with /ka-an/ means "feeling angry' or 'in the state
of anger (kasukuan or kasuktan/kagalitan/kapungtotan).
(5) To indicate possibility. For example, 'to rely' (salig/
tiuala/talek) with /ka-an/ means 'possibility of relying' (ka-
saigan/katiwala-an/katalekan).
Therefore what is abstract in English is not so abstract
in
in Philippine languages. Whereas 'whiteness' is abstract
has a variety of con-
English, kaputian/kaputian/kapurawan
crete meanings: 'whitest,' 'a collection of white things, 'a si-
of, feeling
multaneity of white things,' 'a state of, possession
Likewise 'nonsense
whiteness.'
of whiteness,' 'a possibility of
77
 kavawaan).
but not in Tagalog (uwalang
is abstract in English river. In brief
comes from wawvà, the mouth of a
Kawawaan'
to be concrete.
Filipino thinking tends
the only way of expressing "abstraction."
/Ka-an/ is not such as "tagal
stem can also stand as substitute,
n Tagalog the (depth), "dami'
'lalim' for 'kilaliman'
for "katagalan' (duration),
for 'kadamihan' (magnitude), etc.
concreteness and absence of
What is the reason for the
Yap thinks that
true abstract nouns in Philippine languages?
does not separate or di-
subject
it is because the Filipino as
vorce himself from the object."

Linguistic Imprecision
We do not wish to say that the Philippine languages are
entirely imprecise. Every culture has a set of culturally-con-
ditioned precise words which another language cannot directly
translate. The Philippine languages, for example, have a rich
vocabulary concerning rice in all its states as well as precise
terms on the various ways of carrying things. But the Philip.
pine languages have no original word for snow, .whereas Eski-
mo has quite a vocabulary for it.

However, an area of linguistic imprecision seems to be in

description, which can be explained by the absence of object-
subject dichotomy in Visayan, Tagalog, and Ilocano. Thus 'de-
licious' (lami/sarap/naimas) is
course, talents. While 'delicious'
applied to food, persons, dis-
to distinguish the
connotes pleasure, its use fails
objective from the subjective. This obser-
vation also applies to
beautiful'
which in Filipino (nindot/maganda/napintas),
English is often translated as
dualism also explains the non-distinction
'nice Non-
and the inanimate. between the animate
The word patay
a
man, an animal, a (dead) can be applied to
(daot/sira /dadael) canclock, engine,
be said of
or electric light. 'Destroyed'
stomach, or a crazy mind. a
destroyed machine, a SIC
Although Visayan,
tive degree, Tagalog, and Ilocano have the
descriptions compara*
or
superlative degree. Theordinarily are in either
reflects this overuse of
the sitive
either the poslilish
linguistic imprecision. 'very' in Filipino Engns
Another
gender. Evenelement of
the sex is linguistic
78 not impreciseness
reciseness is
implied in the
is the lack of
tne 1a
personal prono 1ouns
 whereas English distinguishes the
masculine,
whereMoreover, the verb to be is missing. feminine, and
Ay in Tagalog
neuteates only that the sentence is in the transposed
neuter

indica Maestro ako' (I am a teacher) is in the nátural

instanceM
order. For
whereas Ako ay maestro' is in the transposed order. order

To sum up: The Filipino's holístic view of himself, his

ncrete way of
rete way
conc
of thi
hinking, his non-dualistic world view indicate
that he thinks differentiy from the Westerner. Logical think-
requires abstract thinking which does not seem to be pres-
among the majority of Filipinos. Hence they reason in a
different way.

This metalinguistic conclusion can also be shown from the

viewpoint of Filipino behavior.

I. FILIPINO BEHAVIOR

The Filipino's "psychological" way of thinking is indicated

by: (1) his love for poetic speech, (2) his "non-scientific"
mind, (3) and his tendency to "imitate."

Love for Poetic Speech

People in rural areas like flowery speeches. By 'flowery'is
meant the use of metaphors and of allegories. A politician with a
talent for poetic speech is sure to be popular.

The balagtasan, a poetic debate, is an appreciáted form of

rural entertainment. *"The favorite topics discussed are love, the
Constancy and dignity of woman, man's faithfulness, marriage,
etc. A veritable poetic contest, carried on in a satirical or
elaborate language, the balagtasan lasts from one to four hours,
aepending on the fluency and resourcefulness of the two speak-

ers, Not a few folk have the ability to extemporaneousiy argue

as well as entertain in the form of poetry.

But the poetic debate is not limited to the lowland Filipinos

fo their highland minority brothers have it too. For instance,
Mindoro have the ambahan, a spe-
angyans of Southern and a
Alnd of poetry having special poetic vocabulary
a
chanted on certain OC-
0 seven syllables. Poems are
n ' s which are treated allegorically. Anthropologist-missionary
79
Antoon Postma, who has compiled a collection of ambahans,
observes:
social nature of the ambahan has given rise
to aThe
kind of verbal contest. Whenever Mangyans are
the older generation)
together, a few of them (often other in the ability to
Will eagerly compete with each the place and the
the ambahan called for by
recite challenge another
0CCaSion.... One Manyan might
This starts the contest. The
peo
with an ambahan
contestants (without agree
ple gather around the two
without bets), listening intently
ment, without rules, by the two op-
to the ambahans recited alternately to the
Each ambahan recited is an answer
ponents.
in the ambahan preced-
problem or theme propounded
a r e lustily
cheered and en-
Ing it. Both contestants In most cases, the one
couraged by their supporters.the winner. The contest
who recites last is declared other
Whether one or the
may go deep into the night. matters most is the
wins in [sic] unimportant: what
contest.10
entertainment derived from the

Riddles are another poetic form since "it is in the riddle that
we find the smallest unit of folk and primitive poetry, and
figurative language is at the core of riddles.. .."11 Exchang
ing riddles is a part of recreation. Or as Jocano puts it: "Rid
dling was and still is part of Filipino parlor games. In the
course of our field work, we have noted young boys engaged in
riddle-contests while grazing their carabaos, watching the ripen-
ing ricefields, or playing under the shade of trees during non-
time. Adults also love riddling. During wakes for the dead,
one hears a great number of riddles."12 Since to sleep during
the wake is considered disrespectful, riddling is a means for
staying awake, besides serving as a relief of anxiety, as enter
tainment and as didactic form.18

Aside from riddles are Philippine proverbs which "func-

tion as a medium through which the
8 expressed, and the standard of
moralizíng aspect of society
proper behavior specified."
Quisumbing in her work just cited describes how much
poetry abounds in Cebuano rural life. Some
types are the harana
(serenade) and the balitaw (a love song with
ment). Even the marriage suitor's string accompanl
formal asking of the spokesman uses verse in the
girl's hand from her parents (pamalaye)
What are the contents of the
ry? They symbolisms in Philippine poe
are
usually drawn from nature. Jocano says that
80
 mes of riddles are drawn irom the
the harts of the body, household
parts of surrounding fauna
and
ana
flora,
other domesticaly known implements, and fromn
many other

also to Mangyan
sources." This kind of sym.
lism applies poetry. Perhaps the
quotation on Maon
Mangyan symbolism applies to following
in g e n e r a l :
Philippine imagery
When a Mangyan poet writes
Trites of it not for the purpose ofof a
flower, he
beauty or fragrance but to make it ancelebrating
allegory orits
a
Svmbol of human life, itS problems, and its
challenges.
Sometimes the symbolism of a bird or flower may be
elear enough, as when a boy talks to his girl about
beautiful flower that he would like to bring home."
Very often, however, one symbol may refer to dif-
ferent conditions or cireumstances and, thus, becomes
a multiple symbol.17

"Non-Scientific" Mind

Related to the poetic mind is the "non-scientific mind"

said to characterize the Filipino. (But Chapter VIII will show
that Filipinos have a different view on science.) The little
questioning done in Philippine classrooms and scientific exhibits,
or abroad by Filipino tourists, are attributed to this characteer
istic.
Theodore Roszak attributes modernization and technological
progress to the capacity of western man
to objectivize.18 The
Flipino, on the other hand, does not distinguish between objeet
Thus
and subject; he thinks concretely and non-dualistically.
This holistic way of
he regards his work and himself as one.
hurt when his work is
thinking explains why he is often
criticized.

Imitation
heard. It
are imitators" is often
The statement "Filipinos the
In the good sense, it means
connotations.
as good and bad For instance, a tune once

ability to exactly imitate another. imitators of

are exact
be imitated. Filipinos
of night
c a n easily the popular kind. A majority
Lern music, especjally Asia a r e Filipinos. It can also bet
mean

e n t e r t a i n e r s in East traditions. A
imitation of past
or the strict improve
fO ronalism the ability to innovate or
m of "imitation" is 81
 what is imitated. Instances of this innovative spirit are indicat-
ed in the last chapter. The negative connotation implies lack
of originality and blind imitation. Some writers consider this
as an effect of colonialism: that Western colonizers succeeded
in convincing the colonized of the inferiority' of Filipino cul-
ture so that what originates locally is inferior.
It seems that old Filipino pedagogy stressed rote memory,
that is, memory without understanding. This pedagogy also
happened in other Oriental cultures.

Concerning Oriental traditionalism, Abeggsays: "Imita-

tion of one's ancestors and contemplation of antiquity is only
possible with the hclp of memory ..Intellect can only compre-
hend intellect; but where traditions have not an intellectual basis
one must find other means of fecling one's way into the spirit
of the ancients."19 Since Filipinos think concretely and non-
dualistically, perhaps Abegg's explanation is correct: "The East
Asian learns by identifying himself as closely as possible with
the objects or ideal, not only by means of his feelings and his
understanding, but with his whole psyche. Expressed in conc-
rete terms, imitation and learning by heart are the .fundamen-
tals of East Asian education."20

Hence imitation, the "non-scientific" mind, the poetic inclina-

tion or love for the elaborate point to the
Filipino's "psycholog-
ical" way of thinking. (Although all
thinking is psychological,
the word "psychological" is used here to
mean something
ferent from the "logical" way of dif
thinks concretely and
thinking.) Since the Filipino
subjectively, his way or reasoning has to
go through the symbolie or
next.
poetic. This point will be explained
III. PHILOSOPHICAL EXPLANATION

Before
explaining intuition, a little digression on the
sophy of symbol is necessary because intuition philo-
the way Filipinos
perceive symbols. springs from
A. INTUITIVE
Before explaining intuition,
little digression on the
a
sophy of symbol is
necessary because intuition philo-
the way springs from
Filipinos perceive symbols.
82
 Philosophy of Symbol

We shall not go nto a minute distinction between such

technical terms as 'sign, icon,' 'indices,' 'symbol.' For the
technical
ent let us put hem under the generie name of 'symbol
Now there are two schools of thought concerning the philo
sOphy of symbol. The first school, which we shall call "dualis
considers symbols as representational and discursive. The
word 'dualistic' indicates that symbols are different from
they signify or represent. On the other hand, the second school,
which we shall call *"incarnational," considers symbols as part
of the reality which they signify In other words, symbols are
narticipational or endeictic (from the Greek endechis. 'an-
mouncement').

The dualistie understanding of symbol can be traced back

to Greek philosophy which is dualistie by nature. Thus for
Plato the sensible reflects the intelligible in the World of ldeas.
Concerning Platonic symbolism, Tresmontant has this to say:
In the myth of the cave Plato says that to know the intelligible
we must get out, turn away from the sensible which is but a
shadow, The Platonic symbol, to represent a metaphysical or
theological reality. has recourse to myth, to unreality. The sym-
bol is disincarnated. Concrete reality alone can bear no mes-
Sage. So a chimera must be created. Only the unreal can be
an allegory,"*i Although the sensible participates in the in-
telligible in Platonism, such a participation is dualistie and not
incarnational. Hence the dualistic symbol stands for something
s a medium of communication. For instance, a smile would
maturally represent an emotion or the red-white-blue flag with
Uhe sun and three stars would conventionally represent the Phil-

ppines.
On the other hand, the incarnational dimension of symbol
would approximate what Merleau-Ponty means by "sign As non-
dualistic.The symbol participates and somehow coincides with
Lhe thing Since we have already explained this in con-
meant.
hection with language and thought in Chapter 11, repetition
Would be needless here. However, to illustrate words as incar-
national symbols would be pertinent here. Lee notes that for a
ative speaker, the words of his language (which participates
n ife) do more than just mean something. Thus if a teacher
for
o use non-euphemistic terms for bodily evacuation and
would
exual activity, the class would be disturbed. But there
83
 be no class disturbance if the teacher were to use the Latin
words. "This does not mean," Lee continues, "that the Latin
terms do not carry the situation in which they have participated.
They do; but what they convey is the passage of the textb0ok.
or the paragraph in the dietionary; and these are
eminently ap.
propriate to the classroom."**

Another instance would be words concerning death, that is,

if applied to loved ones. Hence morticians use rather
euphemis.
tic terms such as "pass away" instead of "die," or "patients
instead of "corpses." To lover the name of the beloved
a
not just represent the person but is a
does
part the beloved. There-
of
fore words can either serve as
case of native
participational symbols (in the
speakers) or as
representational symbols (in the
case of using a foreign or scientific language).
Dualistic symbolism is non-poetie or tends to be
whereas incarnational intellectual
symbolism poetic. For instance, Bud-
is
dhist symbolism is
the self is not
incarnational. Likewise, in "cultures where
concei ved of as entirely disparate from the
he word which seems to us to be
others,
a means of
metaphor is probably only
a
pointing
out the
participation of one thing in an-
other.
Participation of self is... so much of
.

the Wintu
speak of a man who is course, that
his wife, or is ill menstruating (in respect of)
(in respect of) his son."23
Wheelwright claims that the
position of
ism-which espouses dualistic semantic positiv-
"vigorously, will be symbolism- when carried out
utterly
physics, and even for ethics destructive for religion, for meta-
[because] the
three
disciplines necessarily transcend thetruth-claims of these
methods of reach of scientifie
validation.. .and so have
status."2 a
merely subjective
subjective
The two
ity of the topic. It
divergent
schools on symbol indicate
does not mean that the complex
the other one school is
correct. Rather the wrong ana
logical mind whereas the dualistic angle is the view of tn
the
psychological mind. Theincarnational angle is the view O
two views
With these
complement each other
intuition. considerations in mind, let
us now
proceed w

84
Intuition

Lntnition, which is broadly defined as "immediate appre-

n
hension,"
has many connotations. Tt has four principal mean-
ings, says Rort 1) as hunch
unjustified belief not preced-
or

by inference; (2) as non-inferential and immediate knowl-

d
edge of the truth of a proposition; (3) as immediate knowledge
of a concept; and(4) non-propositional knowledge as in the
case
of sense perception; intuition of universals as well as in-
tuition of the inexpressible and the mystical,37 Now to which
hese does Filipino intuition belong? Filipino intuition is
similar to what Maritain calls *poetie intuition" or "knowledge
through connaturality."28

This kind of knowledge, which has been known by masters

of ancient Western and Eastern philosophy, is "another type
of knowledge, entirely different, which is not acquired through
concepts and reasoning, but through inclination, as St. Thomas
says, or through sympathy, congeniality or connaturality."29
Thus a Ph.D. drunkard, and a non-schooled teetotaler know
through different ways the definition of temperance. The lat-
ter knows it through moral experience. The mysties, the ancient
Indian philosophers, and poets have similar "knowledge through
intuition or connaturality.

Poetic knowledge is non-conceptual and non-ration-

al knowledge; it is born in'the preconscious life of the
ntellect and it is essentially an obscure revelation both
of the subjectivity of the poet and of some flash of
reality coming together out of sleep in one single
a wakening. This unconceptualizable knowledge comes
about, I think, through the instrumentality of emotion,
intel-
which, received in the preconscious lifeandof the the
lect, becomes intentional and intuitive, causes
obscurely to grasp some existentíal reality
as
intellect
One with the Self it has moved, and by the same stroke
all that which this reality, emotionally grasped. calls
forth in the manner of a sign: SO as to have the
selt known in the experience of the world and the
through
wOrl
an
known in the experience of the self,
intuition which essentially tends toward utterance
and creation."
unconscious" or
Foctic reasoning is rooted in the "spiritual is "the pre-
th according to Maritin,
c preconsciouswhich,
of the spirit in its living springs...." The pre
Ous unconscious" since the latter
i is theus differes from the "deaf instincts, tendencies,
nconscious of blood and flesh,
85
complexes, repressed images and desires, traumatic memories,
as constituting a closed or autonomous dynamic whole, "a* This

spiritual unconscious is not discursive as seen in the Hindu

wise men who attain much knowledge through their non.
cognitive way of thinking.

Western philosophy, especially rationalism, has given the

impression that reason alone counts and that what is emotionalor
non-reason should be looked down upon. But Maritain contends:

Reason does not only consist of its conscious logic-

al tools and manifestations, nor does the will consist
only of its deliberate conscious determinations. Far
beneath the sunlit surface thronged with explicit
concepts and judgments, words and expressed re-
solutions or movements of the will, are the sources
of knowledge and creativity, of love and
suprasensuous
desires, hidden in the primordial translucid night of
the intimate vitality of the soul. Thus it is that we
must recognize the existence of an
unconsc1ous or pre-
conscious which pertains to the spiritual powers of
the human soul and to the inner
abyss of personal
freedom, and of the personal thirst and striving for
knowiedge and seeing, grasping and expressing.. . 33
The poetic way of reasoning is concrete and
"In the poetic intuition
non-dualistic.
objective reality and subjectivity, the
world and the whole of the soul, coexist
moment sense and sensation are
inseparably. At that
brought back to the heart, blood
1o the spirit,
passion to intuition. And through the vital though
nonconceptual actuation of the intellect all the
powers of the
soul are also actuated in their roots."34

Hence knowledge through

It "proceeds from the connaturality is also intellectual.
intellect in its most genuine and essential
capacity as intellect, though through the
mentality of feeling, feeling. feeling." It isindispensable
the
instru-
approach to truth. It is not only intuitive but "psychological"
The logical and the also creative.
ent approaches t0 the
"psychological" ways of thinking are differ-
same goal which is
ly effective depending on how truth. Both are equal-
of the thinker. they are tailored to the nature
In the light of the four
viously given by Rorty, principal kinds of intuitions
pre- as
what precisely then is
The writer believes that the Filipino intuitkon?
under the Western concern for
distinctions given by Rorty labor
precise and objective knowledge.
The "psychological" approach
embraces all because its nature is
86
 1f Filipino thinking is holistic, to dissect it would be
h o l i s

spirit
its
miss
to

B. INDUCTIVE

Since
Filipino thinking proceeds through concrete in
ymbols,it is also inductive by In-
nature.
tional
ductio. egins with
begins with the particular in order to arrive at the
sal. It is the opposite of deduction which proceeds the
univ

other way.
An instance of Filipino inductive reasoning at work
is the campaign speech in the barrios. The speakers often begin
cts,
with concrete fact with ad hominem arguments, and with
milar
sim
ways of arousing the interests of the whole man. Of
cours induction and deduction can use sophisms. Athough
eourse both in least the writer has
the following example may be wrong, at was elected president
its pattern: "My classmate
often heard
of the or'ganization.NoV we are not only
classmates but also
come from same town. Therefore I shall become the next pre
sident of the organization."It is the same pattern of the comn
mon example given in philosophy textbooks: there is fire on
the hill; therefore the hill must be on fire.
On the other hand, Western thought is characterized by de-
duction or logical thinking This manner can be traced back
to the Greeks who fathered Western civilization. Stcherbatsky
sums up the Greek way of thinking thus:
The Greek philosopher surveys the world as an
Ordered system of realized concepts whose total and
partial connections and disconnections are laid down
in Syllogisms. . . . The Greek science defines syllogism
43 a series of three propositions containing three termas
and capable of yielding 19 different moods of valid
judgments according to a change of the grammatical
pOsition of these terms in these propositions.. Al
though in Aristotle's intension Syllogism is the gene-
ral torm of all Deductions as well as Inductions, it be-
ame in the hands of his followers restricted to De
head
uction alone, and as soon as Induction raised its
modern times, the position of the Syllogism. res
ricted to mere deductions, became endangered.
ed e Th objective inclination of Western thought is best adapt-
ed to Aris-
logical thinking. (Logie' is understood here in the
totelian
totelian ser premises a n a
s e of three terms compared in two
cunclusion).
pointi
Dointing thinking can be illustrated
Logical
as an arrow
also Taces
d g h t at an object. But logical thinking
87
the danger (as in the case
of obstacles) of missing the object,
that:
On the other hand, Abegg says
does not follow a straight line
East Asian thought mOves... The
but consists of enveloping or encireling than small
East Asians at first make nothing more the arrows
and
advances in no particular direction,
definite centre, the aim or
only then turn towards a sense this centre.
product of the thought, when theya cloud of arrows
At first, therefore, there is only
no pattern, un-
flying in all directions and following These
til they gradually turn towards a central point.
a mixture, physically considered
advances are partly partly -

intellectual, emotional, based partly on the

senses and partly on the will.38
Although Abegg's work primarily deals with the Japanese
and the Chinese, her statement applies as well to the Filipino, be-
cause the Filipino thinks holistically. The following remark can
be said also of the Filipin0: "It is, therefore, right to regard
the East Asian as 'thinkers cycles'; we nevertheless prefer the
expression 'total thinkers', since this designation is more com-
prehensive and its fundamental structure, in the psychological
sense, is suggested at the same time. "39

A few additional observations on Filipino reasoning. The

ordinary Filipino may conclude inductively from experience and
make a general statement such as "All politicians are corrupt."
To the trained logician, 'all' does not allow exceptions, but for
the Filipino 'all' includes exceptions. Another danger is the
cause for non-cause" or post hoc, ergo propter hoc reasoning.
This applies especially to the Flipino's reaction to omens:
One thing happens after another has happened; the
first is therefore the cause of the second. The lights
during our dance were turned off and on three times
without someone doing it; this was at nine in the
even-
ing, the time my auntie died. Therefore it was my
auntie's spirit from hindsight, after the dancers had
been told the following day about the death of their
relative in Cebu."40
However, this kind of inference is also due to
the
cept of causality which shall be treated later. Filipino's con-

Intuition and induction, which in the

process of thinking, are hard to
in
are one
put
psychological
short, because the Filipino's thinking issyllogistic forms.
In
and imprecise, he has to subjective, concrete,
reason intuitively and
inductively.
88
This psychological wayorof thinking is ultimately due to the
Filipino's non-dualistic synthetie world view wherein the
jectis in harmony with the object. It is 1e subsub-
which seee
world view which
dualistic world
quite
quite different from
sees a
the
object, between mind and
dichotomy between ssub.
ject and matter, between body and
between
soul, bet one and the
many, and between
thought and
reality.

89
 NOT E S
for the latter's presenta-
indebted to Fr. Llamzon
The author is much See Teodoro A. Llamzon,"Modern Ateneo Tagalog, A
tion of Tagalog focus. Lan-
mimeographed (Manila:
Functional Structure Description,"
160-169.
guage Center, June 1968), pp.
Analysis to Justify Theo-
A Bilingual StructuralEnglish (Cebu City:
Paz Ruiz Dorotheo, in San
Cehuano Induced Verb Errors
retically the 1966), p. 36 ff.
Carlos Publications,
ff.
Llamzon, op. cit.. p. 71
bid., pp. 81-83.

Thid, p. 72 ff.
Since various authors use different foreign models for analyzing Con-
also be different.
interpretations will
Philippine languages, their Dictionary of Cehuano Visayan.
sulted for Visayan w a s John U. Wolff's A
4 of the Philappne ournal of Linguistics
special monograph issue number work waas
(Junc 1972): 410. For Tagalog consulted besides Llamzon's
Plipino-lngles (Quezon City:
ose Villa Panganiban's Diksyuaryo-Tesauro was Mo-
1972), pp. 208-209. Used for Ilocano
Manlap8z Publishing Co.. Grammar
rice Vanoverbergh's Iloko (Baguio: Catholic School Press, n.d.).
Bisaya, Mga Katarungan ug Katin-
Manuel Yap, Ang Dila Natong
mga Hiyas (Cebu City: published by the
2wan s a iyang mga Lagda ug
author, 1947), pp. 174-175.

Llamzon, op. cit., pp. 88-93.

Lourdes
R. Quisumbing, Marriage Customs in Rural Cebu ( Cebu
City: San Carlos Publications, n.d.), p. 23.
Antoon Postma (ed. and trans.), Treasure of a Mimority, The Am
hahan: A Poetic Expression of the Mangyans of Southern Mindoro, Phil-
ippines, rev. ed. (Manila: Arnoldus Press, Inc., 1972), p. 15.
11Antonio G. Manuud (ed.), Brown Herituge, Essays on Philippine Cul-
tural Tradition and Literature (Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila Univer
sity Press, 1967), p. 269.
121bid., p. 295.
13Domn V. Hart, Riddles in Filipino Folklore, An Anthropological
Analysis (Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1964), p. 47 ff.
14Manuud, op. cit., p. 294. Leothiny S. Clavel discusses the various
functos of Capisron proverbs and aphorisms in his article "Folklore and
Communication," Asian Studies 8 (1970): 221 ff.
1Quisumbing, op. cit., p. 20 ff.
1Manuud, op. cit., p. 295.
17Postma, up. cit., p. 11
iTheodore Roszak, The Makiny uf a Counter Culture, Reflections on
theTechnocratic Society and Its Youthful
Books, 1969). Opposition (New York: Ancho
1Lily Abegg, The Mind of Eust A sia, trans. A. J. Crick and E.
Thomas (London: Thames and Hudson, 1952), B
p. 268.
20Loc. cit.
1Claude Tresmontant, Essai sur la Pensée
Les éditions du Cerf, 1962), p. 65. Hebraique, 3rd ed.
(rure
90
 22For documentation on Merleau-Ponty, see Chapter I1, "Language,
Thought, and Society."

23Dorothy D. Lee, "Symbulization and Value," in Symbols and Value8

A Initial Study,Thirteenth Symp0sium of the Conference in Science,
Ohilosophy and Religion, ed. Lyman Bryson and others (New York: Cooper
Square Publications, Inc., 1964), pp. 80-81.
24Daisetz T. Suzuki, "Buddhist Symbolism," ibid., pp. 149-154.
25Lee, op. cit., p. 78.

26Philip Wheelwright, The Burning Fountain, A Study in the Lan-

guage of Symbolism (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1954), p. 39.
TRichard Rorty, "Intuition," The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed.
Paul Edwards, IV (1967), 204-211.

28Jacques Maritain, Creative Intuition in Art and Poetry (New York:

Pantehon Books Inc. 1953); The Range of Reason (New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1952), pp. 16-29.
29The Range of Reason, p. 16.
s07bid., pp. 25-26.
31Creative Intuition in Art and Poetry, p. 91.
321bid., pp. 91-92.
337bid., p. 94.
34bid., p. 124.

35 bid., p. 119.
36bid., pp. 134-141.
37F. Th. Stcherbatsky [Fedor Ippolitovich Shcherbatskol], Buddhist
Logic, Vol. 2 (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1962), pp. 315-316.

33A. begg, op. cit., p. 32.

39 bid., p. 55.
of Philippine Folk Beliefs and
4Francisco R. Demetrio, Dictionary
Modern Press, 1970), p. *xv.
Custome, Vol. 1 (Pasay City:

91