PAKIKIPAGKAPWA-KALOOBAN

PAKIKIPAGKAPWA-KALOOBAN: Loob as the Repository and Medium for Peace

“LOOB is a psychomoral reality. It is the totality of self, a consciousness of the self and also awareness of the meaning of the self. It is interiority, the inner principle of affection, disposition, feelings, attitudes, thought, decision, responsibility. The total meaning of loob is to be found both in katauhan (personality) and pagkatao (character).” (Miranda 1988:45) According to Pepe Umali, loob is, “ang ubod o pinagbubukalan ng pagkatao at ang kinasasalalayan ng tunay na pagkatao. Ito ay isang puwang sa ating pagkatao na kung saan maaaring lagyan o lamanan ng tao, bagay, panahon, at Diyos. At ito rin higit sa lahat ang syang pinakalundayan ng pagkanilikha na salalayan ng mga ideya, damdamin, at pagkilos.” (Reynancia 2000:8)

Loob then is the basic reality of every person. It serves as the grounding principle of humanity. But loob remains unknown. There are persons who have attempted to uncover and to understand loob. They are Lacaba, Mercado, Salazar, de Mesa, and Ferriols.

In his lexical collection, EMMANUEL LACABA expresses two natures of loob: 1) loob as the kernel of Fi

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In his Elements of Filipino Philosophy, he considered three major Philippine languages to analyze loob: loob(tagalog), buot (visaya), and nakem (ilokano). “Ang buhay-kalooban ay ang galaw ng pagkatao, ng higit at higit na pakikipagkapwa at pagkabukas sa kabuuan ng meron, sa ‘lahat-lahat’, sa Maykapal, sa abot ng ating makakaya. He made use of all the cognates of loob in three languages.

Loob as the Repository and Medium for Peace

Loob as a value stands side by side with the values of katarungan (social justice), of (pag-ibig) love, of (kapayapaan) peace. If loob is the basis of social values, all social realities such as family, society, state, are but complex developments of loob. If loob is the microcosmic reality of man inside himself, labas is the macrocosmic reality of man outside himself. Only then can we avoid violence and attain peace. One manifestation of the wholisticality of loob is its connection with the body to convey meaning such as walang bayag (mahina ang loob; coward), kaututang dila (kapalagayang loob; friend); and matapang ang dugo (malakas ang loob; brave). Even in case of human limitations, abot-kaya drives the self to realize and do things. LOOB then is simple and not disintegrated. Pakikipagkapwa can proceed through loob-loob simple relations, loob-labas relation, and pakikipagkapwa-kalooban relation. To do injustice in the social order is to do injustice to oneself, and therefore to loob, for being loob, a person is being open and respectful of the rights and values of kapwa. Lacaba also points out that loob is part of human dialectics.

Approximate Word count = 2172
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)

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