Intersubjectivity concepts

Lesson 6: Intersubjectivity

• Intersubjectivity was coined by Edmund Husserl (1859-1938)
• Intersubjectivity involves the interchange of thoughts and feelings.

Jurgen Habermas Theory of Communicative Action

• Important telos (goals) are part of any conversation
• Bridges are constructed when people converse
• Life experience proves that constructing bridges is not always the case
• Speed actions or dialogue are predominant means

Path Leading to Mutual Understanding

• Factors for authentic dialogue include comprehensibility, truth, truthfulness, and rightness.

Martin Buber's I-Thou Relationship

• Martin Buber believed man exists to learn, calling this mode of existence EXPERIENCE
• Buber was a Jewish philosopher
• His work includes "I and Thou" ("Ich and Du")

Intersubjectivity and Meaningful Reaction

• Intersubjectivity enables a human person to establish a meaningful reaction
• Social animals crave contact with others

Empathy as an Intersubjective Process

• Empathy, as defined by Edith Stein, is the experience of one another
• Empathy deals with givenness, so foreign experience is comprehended
• Empathy involves self and other perspectives and interpersonal processes (knowing the foreign experience)

Levels of Empathy

• Direct Immediate Perceiving results from a perceptual act; it allows one to directly perceive and co-perceive
• Experientially Projecting involves fulfilling explication through emphatic projection
• Empathic projection is experienced, not reasoned or imagined
• It accesses genuinely foreign experience, not hypothetical or conjured experience
• Access is direct without past knowledge
• Empathic projection is experiential, nonintellectual, and intuitive
• Interpretative Mentalizing is when knowing reaches its inevitable conclusion.

Mentalized Foreign Experience

• Mentalizing involves making experience into a mental object
• It transforms empathetic experience into an intellectually intelligible one
• Empathy becomes comprehension

Acrobat

• First level is when fear was directly perceived
• Second level is when fear's intensity is escalated
• Third level is when there is a fear of falling

Studying Philosophy

• Studying philosophy allows people to clarify what they believe
• It allows people to think about ultimate questions

Jean Paul Sartre: Existentialism

• Being and nothingness can be characterized as a phenomenological investigation

Types of Reality

• Object of Consciousness: exists in-itself, independent and nonrelational
• Consciousness itself: is consciousness of something, exists for-itself, can experience nothingness, and creates an intrinsic lack of self-identity

Soren Kierkegaard: Existentialism

• "The thing is to find a truth which is true for me, to find the idea for which I can live and die," according to Soren Kierkegaard.
• Human life is ought to believe

Existence Spheres

• Aesthetical sphere involves pleasure, novelty, and romantic individualism
• Ethical sphere involves societal and confessional obligations

Accepting Differences

• Everyone is different
• Everyone shares essential human experiences, filtered through personal characteristics, background, and consciousness
• Harmony in society begins with accepting ourselves and accepting others, which is a worthy but difficult task

Lesson 7: The Human Person in Society

• Society is a reality of life that constantly happens in everyday life and centers on the life and action of a person towards others

Concept of Man and Society

Aristotle's View on Man

• Aristotle defines man as a social animal
• Humans have a natural tendency to live and associate with others
• Humans must live with others in all aspects for survival
• "No man is an island" emphasizes the need for relationships

Human Society

• Human society exists wherever there are relationships between human beings (or even non-human beings)
• It is not just a group of people, but also a state, condition, and relationship
• Human social life combines various components such as activities, people, and places

Society as an Influence on Individuals

• Individuals are formed by society through institutions such as family, school, and workplace
• Functionalists (Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx) view society as existing apart from individuals
• Society is a collective representation, and individuals are recipients of social influence

Max Weber's Interactionist Perspective

• Society is created through interactions among individuals.
• Society and the individual are interdependent and shape total reality together.

Society, Culture, and Tradition

Relationship Between Society and Culture

• Society depends on culture for its development and existence
• Culture accumulates individual values, ranging from spiritual to material aspects
• Culture defines what individuals do and how they fulfill themselves

Culture vs. Society

• Culture is the beliefs and practices of a group
• Society is the people who share and practice those beliefs

Classifications of Culture

• High Culture prioritizes love for country
• Popular Culture has nationalistic and widely shared practices
• Aboriginal Culture is practiced by indigenous people and sometimes seen as "uncivilized

Elements of Culture

• Symbols represent cultural ideas.
• Language allows communication among people.
• Values are defined standards for social living.
• Beliefs are statements and practices accepted as true.
• Norms are rules and expectations guiding behavior in society

Importance of Cultural Appreciation

• A culture is beautiful and true if appreciated by society
• Society is considered "cultured" when its values are high
• The highest cultural value is an act of heroism.

Society and Religion

• Religion gathers and unites society through worship and prayer

• Religion helps people understand life within and beyond society

• Religious practices differ due to geographical location, history, and societal values

• Some create their own religions for wealth, prestige, and power, while others follow faith

• Religion contributes to societal progress, freedom, hope, and happiness

• Religious precepts guide morals, teaching what is good and avoiding evil

• Religious institutions influence different social classes through gatherings, charities, schools, and peace initiatives

Society and State

Definition of State

• A state is a nation or territory with an organized government
• It includes political associations and civil society

Political vs. Non-Political Society

• Non-political groups include family, business, and NGOs
• Sometimes, civil society overlaps with state functions

John Dewey's Five Basic Human Needs & Their Associations

• Support and sustenance is associated with industrial groups
• Protection and security is associated with military and political groups
• Reproduction is associated with family
• Recreation and leisure is associated with clubs and voluntary associations
• Language and sociability is associated with schools and academies

Hegel's View on the State

• The state serves society, not the other way around
• Neither the state nor society is superior—both should be balanced
• Conflicts arise when one dominates the other

Early Filipino Society

• Pre-colonial Filipinos lived in tribes, such as Visayan Sea dwellers and hill dwellers
• Some groups, like Negritos, lived nomadically and avoided contact with others

Social Classes in Pre-Colonial Philippines

• Datu: Chieftain or eldest leader
• Maharlika: Warrior class, companions of Datu in war
• Timauas: Freedmen and farmers, following the chief's orders
• Saguiguiliris: Slaves (war prisoners, those who sold freedom, inherited debt)

Modern Caste and Class System

• Social acceptance and education determine class
• Wealth, skin color, and political connections define social position
• Money = Power, allowing Western-style lifestyles

Government in Early Filipino Society

• Barangay System existed
• Membership was strict, requiring community consent or payment to transfer
• Disputes were settled by elders using traditions

Filipinos and Religion

• The majority of Filipinos are Catholic (82%), introduced by Spaniards, influencing culture
• Islam is practiced in the Southern Philippines before Spanish colonization, with major celebrations like Ramadan
• Politics and religion often clash, despite the separation of church and state

Filipino Women

• Early Philippine society was matriarchal, allowing women to own property, engage in trade, and become community leaders
• Spanish rule suppressed women's power, but gender equality is improving today

Social Values of Filipinos

• Religion strongly influences Filipino values
• Key values include:
• Respect for authority and elders
• Smooth interpersonal relationships to avoid conflict
• High self-esteem – Filipinos are sensitive to social interactions.
• Utang na loob (debt of gratitude) – Strong social alliances.
• Suki relationship – Business relationships between regular buyers and sellers.

Lesson 8: The Human Person Is a Society

The Social Contract Theory

• Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) lived during the civil war (King's supporters vs. Parliament)
• Hobbes was a monarchist who believed the King's authority came from God and was absolute
• Political obligation comes from obeying God absolutely

On Human Nature (Hobbes)

• Humans are physical objects – sophisticated machines
• Human actions are mechanistic and based on natural inclinations
• Sensation describes mechanical processes creating ideas in the brain
• Desires and appetites arise from discomfort or pain, motivating actions.
• Human volition is determined by the strongest present desire

State of Nature (Hobbes)

• Humans are self-interested, living independently with no regard for others
• Contracts are agreements between people for mutual benefit
• State of War: Life without contracts is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short

Human Society (Hobbes)

• Commonwealth is a network of contracts forming the highest social organization
• Leviathan is an artificial person (government) responsible for order and welfare
• Sovereign makes decisions for society

Hobbes on Liberty & Authority

• The commonwealth ensures liberty by preventing interference
• People submit to authority for security and cooperation
• Without governance, society falls into war and distrust

Law of Nature & Social Contract

• Humans are rational and recognize the need for peace
• The social contract is people agreeing to live under laws and an enforcement mechanism
• The alternative is to abide by the contract or return to the state of nature (chaos)

John Locke (1632-1704)

• Inspired democratic revolutions

State of Nature (Locke)

• A state of liberty exists so people conduct life as they see fit, free from interference
• No civil authority exists to punish crimes, but moral laws still exist
• The State of Nature is peaceful due to natural moral laws

Limits on Property

• People should not take more than they can use.
• Nature is a gift from God, so resources should be shared fairly

Political Society (Locke)

• Families come together and agree to form a government
• In exchange for societal protection, citizens give up personal power to enforce laws
• The government gains: Laws, judges, and executive power

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)

• He believed people were originally peaceful and equal in the State of Nature

Effects of Private Property

• Private property led to greed, competition, vanity, and inequality
• Government was formed to protect property, not people

Rousseau's Social Contract

• People should submit to the general will (collective agreement)
• Equality is natural— so no one has the right to rule over others.
• The social contract should benefit everyone equally, not just the rich

Lesson 9: The Human Person as Being Oriented Towards Their Impending Death

Understanding Death

• Death ceases all existence
• Raises questions about life after death, the value of living if death ends it, and whether death is necessary

Reflection on Life & Death

• Facing challenges: Where do you place yourself
• Letting go: How do you feel when losing something or someone important
• Death is universal: Everyone is born towards it
• Different perspectives on death:
• Painful for some, joyful for others
• Some desire death as liberation from suffering
• Others fear death as a curse
• Life is a gift and a celebration; death is a liberation

Human Person as an Embodied Spirit

• Human person = Physical + Spiritual being

• Metaphysical realm (God) is the ultimate origin of the human spirit

• Physical realm – Human body experiences worldly pleasures and desires

• The body is finite and leads to death, which creates fear

Death as Perceived by Some Philosophers

Martin Heidegger (1889-1976)

• Death is not the end of everything
• Death affects only the physical body, not the spirit
• The spirit is immortal

Thomas Aquinas & Augustine

• Death occurs only in the physical body, not in the spiritual form

Karl Jaspers (1883-1969)

• Death is not the end of existence
• Death is a journey towards transcendence (ultimate reality)
• Human person = Dasein (temporal body) + Existenz (free self beyond time)
• Death leaves loved ones miserable and hopeless
• Death is not nothingness; it gives hope for the next life
• Death is beautiful and should not be feared

Epicurean Philosophy

• As long as man lives, death is nothing, and when he dies, he cannot experience it either
• Death conquers life, but when it arrives, it conquers itself, and life continues

Anaximander & Heraclitus

• All things are transitory
• Death happens only once
• "One cannot step into the same river twice"

Socrates' View on Death

• Death is another form of thinking
• Fearing death is pretending to know what one does not know
• Death is an endless sleep
• The unexamined life is not worth living
• Ignorance leads to wisdom – True knowledge begins with questioning
• A truly happy person has good character and virtues

Plato's View on Death

• Death is a physical occurrence
• The human body is limited, but the mind is eternal and immortal
• True happiness is achieved by contemplating pure knowledge beyond the physical body

Types of Death

Spiritual Death

• Separation of man from his Creator
• Example: Adam's fall in the Garden of Eden
• Physical body lived, but his relationship with God "died

Second Death

• Final separation from the Creator
• After judgment, the soul is condemned to eternal fire (Matthew 10:28)

Physical Death

• The body and soul separate
• No one is excused from this death
• The body returns to earth (Job 34:15), while the soul moves on based on its actions in life

Sexual Death

• Inability to procreate or reproduce
• Example: Sarah, wife of Abraham, who was barren for many years

Eternal Death

• The soul is permanently separated from God
• There is no second chance for salvation

Modern Perspectives on Death

Schumacher (2010)

• Death occurs when the human being ceases to function as a whole

• Death is not nothingness – It is a transfer of existence

• Clinical (inanimate) death – The brain is irreversibly destroyed, but life support keeps the body functioning

Thomas Aquinas & Augustine

• Death is the end of the unity between body and soul
• A soulless body is not truly a person
• Death is natural – A process of the soul reaching its intended end