SACRED HEART SEMINARY SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY

I.

INTRODUCTION:

Etymologically, the term philosophy comes from two Greek words: philo that means love; and sofia that means wisdom. Literally, therefore, philosophy means, love of wisdom. Philosophy is love of wisdom. A philosopher is a lover of wisdom. When one speaks of Philosophy, it may mean his outlook in life. As a process, it broadly connotes theoretical investigation and a continuing search for truth.1 Philosophy may be defined as the study and pursuit of facts which deal with the ultimate reality or causes of things as they affect life. The philosophy of a country like the Philippines is made up of the intricate and composite interrelationship of the life histories of its people; in other word, the philosophy of our nation would be strange and undefinable if we do not delve into the past tied up with the notable life experiences of the representative personalities of our nation.2 Being one of the prominent representatives of Filipino personalities, Jose Rizal is a fit subject whose life philosophy deserves to be recognized. Having been a victim of Spanish brutality early in his life in Calamba, Rizal had thus already formed the nucleus of an unfavorable opinion of Castillian imperialistic administration of his country and people. Pitiful social conditions existed in the Philippines as late as three centuries after his conquest in Spain, with agriculture, commerce, communications and education languishing under its most backward state. It was because of this social malady that social evils like inferiority complex, cowardice, timidity and false pride pervaded nationally and contributed to the decay of social life. This stimulated and shaped Rizals life philosophy to be to contain if not eliminate these social ills. Americans and their Filipino puppets control our economy, dominate our culture and orchestrate our politics. The only difference is the freedom which the oppressors gave us; the Spaniards gave us little freedom, they didnt allow Filipinos to lead their own countries, they didnt allow Nationalistic materials to circulate, every act of Nationalism was blocked by the Spaniards, but as the natural events of history took place, as long as rights and freedom are blocked, he that is oppressed will soon stand up and fight for his rights and freedom, thus leading to the revolution of 1896. The Americans on the other
Lysander L. Fetizinan& Nestor P. Gajete, Who Art Thou: A Philosophical Study of Man, Great Books Trading, Manila, 2003. 2 Butler, Chris. Who Are you? Science of Identity Institute, Philippines, 1986.
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hand, learned from the mistakes of the Spaniards, when they had already injected the American way and American culture unto the hearts and minds of the Filipinos, and when they had already finished training their puppets, they had allow Filipinos to lead their own countries, of course, what we see is not reality, for the truth is our politicians are puppets orchestrated by their American masters behind the curtains. Indeed we have our very own constitution, our very own Bill of Rights, our very own government to speak of, but in reality, the Americans and the traitors to our country, the few Filipino who sold their souls to the Americans are in control. 3 The displays that we see are just illusions, for the people to not revolt, and fight for their freedom, for they had set the common illusion that if we are suffering, it is for the reason of our own individual mistakes. 19th century was the breeding ground for different thinkers, there were those who think that reformation is necessary, and that things would be resolved without the flow of blood, Filipino Illustrados who are educated on different Universities around the world, such as Graciano Lopez Jaena, Marcelo Del Pilar, Mariano Ponce and Jose Rizal, they were known as the Propagandistas, because they used different propagandas such as writing on tabloids, newspapers, books, magazines, or doing speeches to state their wishes of reform. On the other hand, there are also a group of Filipinos who wished change, but believed that the flow of blood is unavoidable, from the middle class of Filipinos, they are known as Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galangKatipunanng mgAnakng Bayan (KKK) or simply Katipunan. The known leaders of KKK were Emilio Jacinto, Deodato Arellano, Roman Basa and Andres Bonifacio. The armed struggle of KKK began on August 1896 after they tore their cedulas (community tax certificate). The revolutionary spirits of KKK were intensified on the death of Jose Rizal on the 30th of December of the same year. The KKK were successful in defeating the Spanish oppressors, not until the Americans intervene and a feud inside the KKK happened between Bonifacio and Emilio Aguinaldo. Aguinaldo who soon betrayed the KKK and his country, ordered the execution of Bonifacio and became a slave of the Americans. Soon the ideals of KKK were replaced, and the leaders too were replaced by traitors such as Pedro Paterno, Mariano Trias,

Paras, Edgardo L. Civil Code of the Philippines.Volume 1. Rex Bookstore. Manila:1999.

SACRED HEART SEMINARY SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY

Manuel Quezon, up to the recent traitors such as Cory Aquino, Fidel Ramos, Erap Estrada, Gloria Arroyo and Noynoy Aquino.4 In the revolution of 1896, two proponent thinkers stood out, the two whose ideology were very different, though both wants the same thing, a better Philippines. Dr. Jose Rizal, the reformist, the pacifist who preferred to write and explain his ideologies, than to go out in the fields and battle, and Andres Bonifacio, the revolutionary, though selfeducated, had learned what he needs to set out his own method of defeating the enemy. In the course of this paper, their philosophies will be explained, and shall be contrasted to the present Filipino philosophy.5

II.

BODY
Jose Rizal is also the national hero of the Philippines. He is dubbed as the pride of

the Malayan race. He was born on June 19, 1861, in Calamba, Laguna, Philippines and was the seventh children in a family of 11 children compose of 2 boys and 9 girls. At the age of 3, Jose Rizal learned the alphabet from his mother; at 5, while learning to read and write, he already showed inclinations to be an artist. He astounded his family and relatives by his pencil drawings and sketches and by his moldings of clay. He wrote a Tagalog poem at 8, Sa AkingMgaKabata".6 In 1877, he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree with an average of excellent from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila at the age of 16. The same year, he enrolled in Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas, at the same time took courses leading to the degree of surveyor and expert assessor at the Ateneo. He finished the course on March 21, 1877 and passed the Surveyors examination on May 21, 1878. Because of his age, 17, he was not granted license to practice the profession until December 30, 1881. In 1878, he enrolled in medicine at the University of Santo Tomas. On May 3, 1882, he sailed for Spain where he continued his studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid. On June 21, 1884, at the age of 23, he was conferred the degree of Licentiate in

Quito, Emerita S. AngPilosopiyang Tao.Alemar-Phoenix Publications. Quezon City: 1980. Rosengarten, Ellen. Sociology. Macmillan Publishing Company. New York: 1988. 6 The Biography of Rizal, Magazine for Thoughts.Pp 7-9, 2001

SACRED HEART SEMINARY SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY

Medicine and on June 19, 1885, at the age of 24, he finished his course in Philosophy and Letters with a grade of excellent. To understand Dr. Jose Rizals philosophy, it is proper for us to see what his backgrounds are, and what led him to have such version of philosophy. Dr. Jose Rizal was a polymath. He was specialized on different fields of knowledge such as biology, medicine, philosophy and others. He studied on the two premier universities on the Philippines at his time, Ateneo Municipal de Manila and University of Santo Tomas, then traveled on Spain alone to study at Universidad Central de Madrid, and then to the University of Paris and University of Heidelberg. Due to his travels, Rizal was also a polyglot who can converse using different languages. The reason of his outstanding education was because of two things, one is because he is smart, second is because he came from a rich family that can support him on his studies. Rizal was from a rich family on Calamba, Laguna, whose income comes from their hacienda. During his travels, he met different Filipino intellectuals that he made friends with, and soon had joined various organizations whose interests are the politics in the Philippines. Because of his writings against the Spanish rule on the Philippines, and against the Catholic friars, Rizal was jailed and executed to death. The main sources for Rizals philosophy are his two famous novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, both of which focuses on the exploitation and abuses of the Spaniards to the Filipinos, another good source will be Rizals writings on La Solidaridad where he had written liberal and progressive ideas for the Philippines and the rights of the Filipino. We may very well agree with Karl Marx when he said that The philosophers had only interpreted the world in various ways, the point however is to change it.7 Rizal too had interpreted things in his own way, but what he wants is simply change. The political situation of 19th century Philippines was a disaster. Spaniards were ruling over the Filipinos, the government is imposing taxes, even though Filipinos are not benefitting from those, the Friars were controlling the whole culture of Filipinos, setting out beliefs which are only favorable for their rule and exploitation to the Filipinos. Most of the Filipinos back then dont know how to read or write, because only the rich Filipinos, the
7

Minton, Arthur J. Philosophy: Paradox and Discovery. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. New York: 1982.

SACRED HEART SEMINARY SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY

Illustrados, such as Rizal, were allowed to study. The result is ignorance, Filipinos were not aware that they are being abused, and that their rights were not respected. Friars controlled their mind, government controlled their body. Rizal wanted to change all of this. 1. EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY Rizals concept of the importance of education is clearly enunciated in his work entitled Instruction wherein he sought improvements in the schools and in the methods of teaching. He maintained that the backwardness of his country during the Spanish ear was not due to the Filipinos indifference, apathy or indolence as claimed by the rulers, but to the neglect of the Spanish authorities in the islands. For Rizal, the mission of education is to elevate the country to the highest seat of glory and to develop the peoples mentality. Since education is the foundation of society and a prerequisite for social progress, Rizal claimed that only through education could the country be saved from domination. Rizals philosophy of education, therefore, centers on the provision of proper motivation in order to bolster the great social forces that make education a success, to create in the youth an innate desire to cultivate his intelligence and give him life eternal. 2. RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY Rizal grew up nurtured by a closely-knit Catholic family, was educated in the foremost Catholic schools of the period in the elementary, secondary and college levels; logically, therefore, he should have been a propagator of strictly Catholic traditions. However, in later life, he developed a life philosophy of a different nature, a philosophy of a different Catholic practice intermingled with the use of Truth and Reason. It could have been the result of contemporary contact, companionship, observation, research and the possession of an independent spirit.Being a critical observer, a profound thinker and a zealous reformer, Rizal did not agree with the prevailing Christian propagation of the Faith by fire and sword. This is shown in his Annotation of MorgasSucesos de las Islas Filipinas. Rizal did not believe in the Catholic dogma that salvation was only for Catholics and that outside Christianity; salvation was not possible even if Catholics composed only a small minority of the worlds religious groups. Nor did he believe in the Catholic

SACRED HEART SEMINARY SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY

observation of fasting as a sacrifice, nor in the sale of such religious items as the cross, medals, rosaries and the like in order to propagate the Faith and raise church funds. He also lambasted the superstitious beliefs propagated by the priests in the church and in the schools. All of these and a lot more are evidences of Rizals religious philosophy. 3. POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY In Rizals political view, a conquered country like the Philippines should not be taken advantage of but rather should be developed, civilized, educated and trained in the science of self-government. He bitterly assailed and criticized in publications the apparent backwardness of the Spanish rulers method of governing the country. Rizals guiding political philosophy proved to be the study and application of reforms, the extension of human rights, the training for self-government and the arousing of spirit of discontent over oppression, brutality, inhumanity, sensitiveness and self-love. 4. ETHICAL PHILOSOPHY The study of human behavior as to whether it is good or bad or whether it is right or wrong is that science upon which Rizals ethical philosophy was based. The fact that the Philippines was under Spanish domination during Rizals time led him to subordinate his philosophy to moral problems. This trend was much more needed at that time because the Spaniards and the Filipinos had different and sometimes conflicting morals. The moral status of the Philippines during this period was one with a lack of freedom, one with predominance of foreign masters, one with an imposition of foreign religious worship, devotion, homage and racial habits. This led to moral confusion among the people, what with justice being stifled, limited or curtailed and the people not enjoying any individual rights. To bolster his ethical philosophy, Dr. Rizal had recognized not only the forces of good and evil, but also the tendencies towards good and evil. As a result, he made use of the practical method of appealing to the better nature of the conquerors and of offering useful methods of solving the moral problems of the conquered. 5. SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY That body of knowledge relating to society including the wisdom which man's experience in society has taught him is social philosophy. The facts dealt with are

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principles involved in nation building and not individual social problems. The subject matter of this social philosophy covers the problems of the whole race, with every problem having a distinct solution to bolster the peoples social knowledge. The above dealt with mans evolution and his environment, explaining for the most part human behavior and capacities like his will to live; his desire to possess happiness; the change of his mentality; the role of virtuous women in the guidance of great men; the need for elevating and inspiring mission; the duties and dictates of mans conscience; mans need of practicing gratitude; the necessity for consulting reliable people; his need for experience; his ability to deny; the importance of deliberation; the voluntary offer of mans abilities and possibilities; the ability to think, aspire and strive to rise; and the proper use of hearth, brain and spirit-all of these combining to enhance the intricacies, beauty and values of human nature. All of the above served as Rizals guide in his continuous effort to make over his beloved Philippines. 8 III.

CONCLUSION:
Indeed, Rizal was aware that if this will happen longer, the society might fall and

Filipinos will be subjects to Anarchy and Filipinos might just lose their spirits and give up the fight and be contented as slaves. Rizal believed that man is a very special creation, and man should not be used as a slave, nor shall man be exploited. Filipinos back then were treated as slaves on their own country; they served their foreign masters, for the price of what? A Small money? Filipinos were deeply exploited that some were even forced to work without any payment in the form of Polo y Servicio. Polo y Servicio is the forced labor for 40 days of men ranging from 16 to 60 years of age who were obligated to give personal services to community projects. Rizal of course, strongly disagreed with this, for there are no reasons why his countrymen to work for Spain, since the Filipinos were not even being recognized in Spain. Filipinos also pay big amount of taxes, to the government and to the friars. Rizal believed that Filipinos deserve justice, as justified by a letter to Fr. Pastells, Rizal said: For me, man is the masterpiece if creation, perfect within his condition; that he could be deprived of any of his components be it moral or physical without disfiguring him and making him miserable. 9

8 9

http://www.joserizal.ph/ch01.html Gaeta, Elizabeth. Rizal of the Modern Times: Arrow Trading Company, Manila: 2007

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Rizal wanted changed to happen, and what he had in mind is a set of different reforms. He wanted to give representation to the Cortes so as to stop the abuses. Then he sought to secularize the friars, making them seize the tutelage which they exercise on the government and the country, to distribute the curates as they are vacant to the clericals both insular and peninsular. He also pursued to reform the administration in all its branches and to develop primary institution, taking away all intervention of friar and increase the salary of teachers. He tried to divide the administration of the country between insular and peninsular then he will moralize the administration. Lastly, he will create in the provincial capitals of more than 16,000 inhabitant school of arts and vocations. Rizal wanted that all this reforms be obtained peacefully, all this reforms he believed are peaceful and good, for he believed that evils are remedied not by evils. Rizal with his fellow Propagandists believed that if the Philippines be recognized as a province of Spain, exploitations and abuses will stop, further, they believed that if the power of the Roman Catholic Friars would be regulated, Filipinos would gain freedom once and for all. The thing is, it may be agreeable that these reforms of Rizal are indeed right and good, but what they forgot is, would the Spanish government accept this? The Spaniards treat us as lower creatures, they call us Indios, and would the master agree if the slave said to him, Treat me as your family? No, and history tells us that none of this reforms were ever successful. Then, if one cannot succeed by formality, one must resort to brutality, but still Rizal strongly criticized a revolution, he said that the Filipino people are still not united, they are not yet capable of fighting the Spaniards, and what they need is a spark, which will boil their revolutionary spirits. What the Filipinos needed is unity. As shown on the end of El Filibusterismo, the plan of the protagonist, Simoun, failed. At the end, the lamp that has the bomb didnt explode, the enemies were not killed. Rizal believed that during those times, it would be a suicide if Filipinos try and revolt against the Spaniards, and if ever they are successful, they are not yet ready to lead by themselves, for they had been long brainwashed by the Spaniards that they had forgotten their own identity. Ricardo Pascual said:
It follows therefore that a social regeneration is not an easy task. It has a very great responsibility that requires the workers a spirit that wills, although it may be dismayed and cowed by the elements and the fearful manifestation of

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their mighty forces, stores up energy, seeks high purpose in order to struggle against obstacles in the midst of unfavorable natural condition in order that he may progress. It is necessary that a revolutionary spirit so to speak, should boil (not necessary to flow) in his veins, since progress necessarily requires change.10

It may be assumed, that Rizals martyrdom boiled the revolutionary spirits of Filipinos, which had led to the stronger KKK and the defeat of Spaniards in many battles that had come. It may also be assumed that Rizals martyrdom, caused Filipinos to join the armed struggle, and clearly we can see that even though Rizal was against a revolution, he had given a large influence to the revolution of 1896, to the heart, soul and mind of revolutionaries and to the common Filipino people to stand up for what is right. To end Dr. Jose Rizals philosophy, let us have a quick recapitulation of what had been learned so far. Jose Rizal was a pacifist, who wanted change, but not through bloody means. He was a reformer, who wished the separation of powers between the government and the church, and he also wished that the Philippines be a part of Spain since Filipinos pay tax to the Spaniards and give services to them. Rizal also believed that the Filipino youth be educated, without the influence of the Catholic friars. It may be said that even though Rizal claimed he was a reformer, he was not successful as a reformer, but more successful as an inspiration to the revolutionaries, ironic that may seem, but even though Rizal criticized revolution, he have not enough power to stop the natural progression of history. Man is not only body, but he is something infinitely higher. Of all animal creations of God, Man is the only animal who has been created in order that he may know his Maker. Mans aim in life is not to add from day to day His material prospects and to his material possessions, But his predominant calling is from day to day to come nearer to his own Maker. -Mohandas Karamchid Gandhi

10

Mandino, Og. A Better Way to Live.Bantam Books. New York: 1990.

SACRED HEART SEMINARY SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY

JOSE RIZAL AS A PHILOSOPHER

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Submitted to Dr. Juanita Magan -------------------------------------------------------

In Partial Fulfillment to the Requirements for the Subject Rizal (Term Paper)

By:

Sem. Ronaldo B. de la Vega