Where can I buy this book?

Hi Marla, Sir Sarmiento said you can buy the book at Central Book Supply, Quezon Blvd. Price is P450 for newsprint and P550 for bookpaper Hope this helps. Spread the word! (It is a good read)

Filipino- a bundle of many identities

Is there such a thing as a Filipino identity? I remember 18th century Scottish philosopher David Hume saying that there is no such thing as self but only a bundle of selves. Using Hume’s argument, there is no such thing as a Filipino identity- only a bundle of many Filipino identities.

By asserting that the Filipino is just a bundle of many identities it means that there is no sense of Filipinohood in us that should bind us as one people. The bundle theory of Hume sidesteps our sense of unity and interconnectedness within our country and in the larger sense among all Filipinos worldwide. There may be a point in arguing about the continuity of the physical attributes of Filipinos like having small flat nose, brown in complexion, and with small physical structure, and the like. There may be physical regeneration of our physical attributes like some of us today are mestizos and mestizas but they are not that substantial to miss our traditional looks and posturing. There may also be psychological continuity that we persist as Filipinos because we can remember our past. In other words, our Filipino psyche is long-term. However, if I were to put words into the mouth of Hume, these ongoing identities in terms of physical and psychological identities do not make up the Filipino identity. The continuity of physical and psychological identities is not a ground for making out a genuine Filipino identity.

In the world of Hume, we have many Filipino identities. These identities are our subjective experiences. We experience Filipinohood or simply a sense of being united as Filipinos when we are in a foreign land. For instance, we are proud as being Filipinos by speaking Filipino or eating our own food in a different country, meeting regularly with our kababayans, working long and hard because it is the mark of being a Filipino toiling abroad, etc. But there are also some of us who after staying for sometime in a foreign land would willfully forget our sense of Filipinohood – we talk the way foreigners do as if our native tongue is a social taboo, or we eat and live like our foreign counterparts. On a different vein, we likewise feel this closeness and solidarity as a nation within ourselves when we pool our resources to help victims of man-made and natural calamities. But we feel indifferent about the untold social calamities in our midst caused by power-hungry politicians. Simply put, the Filipino identity is erratic. We seem not to get the real picture of the Filipino identity. Hume explains that it is nonsensical to grasp the self because there is no such thing as self. Just like us Filipinos it is without any sense to talk about unity of the Filipino people when there is no clear cut and definitive Filipino identity.

This Filipino identity crisis undeniably has been a perennial problem. To date we are unable to comprehend what it takes to be a Filipino. From all indications, it appears that we are still grappling for our Filipino identity, a Filipino being whose self is unified. The Filipino today is no more than a collection of his many and varied subjective experiences. Hume’s bundle theory asserts that a unified self does not even own these experiences because the self has no peculiar identity among the many and confusing selves almost leading to a Shakespearean comedy of errors. Our physical continuity and remembered experiences as Filipinos do not guarantee our Filipino identity.

Thus in conclusion, we still have much to discern what is meant and what it is to be a Filipino. The bundle theory of Hume is compelling and very telling yet I am hopeful that the necessity to have a Filipino identity will dawn upon us soonest.

p’pano magkakroon ng malinis na election kung ang pres ng rp ang s
‘yang pasimuno

[...] HERE to read about [...]

Hi, Anna, can you give me a contact number and/or exact address of Central Book Supply to make it easier for me to find it? Thanks.

I guess I will only buy this book once I see changes in our government system. I don’t even know if there are still good politicians out there.

May the Lord help our country.

We cannot be anything. The groundwork necessary to develop an identity does not exist. We need thinkers; we need a nation that reads. What we are doing is entertaining ourselves to death.

ilocosart Why not?

Federal Democratic States in the Northern Philippines.

region 1,2,CAR!

Tignan mo ang pinas…Npakaraming nagtatapos ng Abogasya (Salot). Maraming batas WALA namng ENFORCEMENT. At kahit na GUSTUHING I-ENFORCE, WALA namang pera…tanong mo SAAN ba napupunta ung mga pera??? Alam nating lahat ang sagot dyan. Kaya nadaan na ang sandaang taon…ANO ba ang HITSURA ng pilipinas ngayon? Puros SQUATTERS, nagkalat na BASURA, tapon dito, tapon doon, IHI dito, IHI doon.Kung MISMO nga ung Malacanang palace (KUNO) na KATABI ng Pasig River ay MISMO ang TUBIG/DUMI nito ay DERETSO sa Pasig River.WOW!!!!! at syempre ung mga nagkalat na SQUATTERS.Isa pa, nakilala na ang bnsa na bnsa ng mga katulong.KAYA ang tanong ngayon..ANO ang RELASYON nito sa panibagong ‘libro’ na isinulat ng mga pilipino ‘thinkers’ kuno sa bnsa???May magbabago ba???

An UNNATURAL creation

Society is a human creation,not a natural process,and our precarious creation needs our care.

kahit ano e binubuklat ko at binabasa,at eto nakuha ko sa mailbox namin at habang nagrerelax sa ‘alam nyo na’ e ito ang aking isang nabasa.

Actually maganda ang simula,ika-200 anibersaryo na ni Charles Darwin-ngayong 2009,at maganda naman,kaya lang medyo mahaba at eto lang mga ilang magagandang,quotations ng sumulat ang ibabahagi ko.(naganyak lang po,uli)

Darwin’s discoveries created a lot of excitement.They not only changed the way biology was taught and understood,but inspired many–far outside of biology–to examine their core social,scientific and religious ideas. Thus Darwin’s concepts of evolution and natural
selection have been used as a key to understand all kinds of scientific,social and philosophical question.

Darwin,however claimed no expertise outside of biplogy;he was not a philosopher,a political theorist or a theologian.He was aware his discoveries did not even explain everything in biolkogy.Studying the complexity of the eye, he said the idea it was “formed by natural selection…I freely confess, is(sic) absurd in the highest degree.”

While the major up-front conflict appears to be between Darwinians and Creationist,that debate is not the most important issue! Of greater importance is the way Darwin’s biological theories have been used to explain how society works.

kaya ko siguro naishare ito,SOCIETY. medyo mahaba at skip ko na iba…

Society,civilization itself,is a human creation,not a natural process at all.It is the result of deliberate actions,of hard lessons learned, of skills shared, of knowledge passed on from generation to generation.We plot our own path and act against biological processes when we protect the vulnerable,the unfotunate and the weak.

The historian Will Durant wrote,”…civilization is not something that is born or is imperishable;it must be acquired by every generation…Man differs from the beasts only by education…the technique of transmitting civilization.

Sadly,the history of society also records times of mayhem and barbarism,when social order broke down.It is from hard lessons learned that the authorities flood the streets with police officers when there is a power balckout.

There is nothing random about the growth of society;it is driven by what the author Margaret Visset calls “intentionality.” In the short time since writing was invented,we have come a long way.(hmmm at ngayon e eto ang napakagandang teknolohiya at kahit sino halos e nakakasulat at nakapagbabahagi,medyo…palakasan nga lang ng loob..ha,ha)

From all the generations before us who created civilization and culture, we have recieved a FANTASTIC inheritance,one that comes with a solemn responsibilty to preserve what is good and to reach for what is better.
at sa pagtatapos,…ng author Jim Campbell.

If that sound sort of vague,I’m sorry.What it means is that we can’t take civilization and culture for granted. We must,as members of the human race, be involved in the political processes, in community life. We must resist the barnaric. For what we have built on earth is unnatural and probably unique in the whole universe.

‘OUR PRECARIOUS CREATION NEEDS OUR LOVING CARE.’

simpling Pinoy lang po ako at konting intindi ng inglis at makasali sa mga usapang ganito na may pag-asang makatulong kahit paano,…lalo na sa bayan at komunidad na ginagalawan,kaya sana e, mawala na ang mga hindi maganda at mga pansariling nasa,at isipin na lang ang kapakanan ng ating minanang bayan.Tahimik,maunald at mapayapang pamayanan,simpli lang,hindi naman,boxing,magandang kotse lagi,magandang bahay,3 beses lang kain at tulugan at ukay-ukay na damit,at ilaw,tubig at gamot pag-kailangan at maayos na pagkakakitaan,para sa pamilya at isang masayang pamayanan.’Kung gusto ay sikat e di maayos na labanan sana’.Wala ng takutan,nakaka-Balam ng pag-UNLAD.At kung meron na ay…o subra-subra na ay…tama na at tirhan at isipin naman ang iba.ISIPIN ang mga susunod pa.’iksi lang ang hay-bu.’ at pag me gout o rayuma na e,…wala na…masarap mag-lingkod ng masaya.’

salamat po.

sana e mabasa ng marami ang ‘aklat’,lalo na ng mga nasa-ibang basa at yung mga nakakasali sa mga usapan dito,upang maibahagi rin dito.o kaya mabili natin din.Ang isang mahirap minsan e yung kung paano mo ito maibabahagi sa iba,ang magagandang nakasulat o nilalalaman nito,lalo pa’t kay-gaganda ta alm mong mahalaga.’Sa 2 taon kong paglagi ng tig-3 buwan e,naisip ko na medyo mahirap pumalaot,at tutuong kailangang pag-aralan mo kung paano ka muli-papasok,at kung paano o sisismulan ang mga ganitong pagbubukas ng mga ganitong ‘usapan’,medyo ok naman at nagsisimula na ang ilan,at naging bahagi ako ng pagsusulong,at ngayon e kahit paano e tumatakbo,at me proyekto at tulong/gabay,o facilitating pa nga mula sa isa rin paaralan,’yun nga lang ang malaking tanong lagi e saan kukuha ng gastusin,bagama’t nakikitulong na rin ang ilang ‘konsehal at sabi e ok na rin ang Mayor,e yung kung paano ito maipagpapatuloy ang malaking tanong,dahil alam namin,…’mabagal at dahan-dahan at tiyaga ang lahat.’ Ngunit alam ko me-pag-asa at pwedeng maging simula at pwedeng ipakita sa iba ang kagandahan ng aming nasimulan.Uma-asa kami na habang ipinapa-alam namin ang mga proposal e kami e samahan ng mga nanonood at nagbabasa at nakikinig,at sadly tulad ng ilang sagot dito at ke Sen.Kiko e halos ganod din ang ibang Pinoy o kababayan namin. ’so tulad ng turo ng marami nating tunay na mga makabayan,yung mga buhay pa at yumao na,’tuloy lang,walang aalis.’…salamat po.

o,ipa-abot sa iba ang mensahe ng gumawa ng aklat…sa ating mga pagbabasa,kahit na pakonti-konti e natututo tayo at nakatutulong sa pagmumuni at pagdedesisyon.

Hi Marla Garin,

Googled Central Book Supply and got this:

Central Book Supply Inc.
2F Phoenix Building
927 Quezon Avenue
Quezon City
1104 Philippines

TELEPHONE NUMBER
+63 (2) 372-3550 to 52

FAX NUMBER
+63 (2) 372-4732

EMAIL
central@central.com.ph

Maybe you can start your search there. Or since the book was launched at San Beda College, try to ask friends there.

Hope I am of help

To Adolfo,

Yes it is indeed frustrating at times when you look around and see the grimes of a raped Filipino society.

But instead of complaining, have you asked yourself: what did you do to contribute to this plight?

Doing nothing to instigate change is like a double-edge sword: you cannot blame others and you also point to yourself for the blame for inaction.

Change does not happen overnight but a collective effort will likely result in something–albeit, to make things better.

I remain optimistic there is a bright future for Filipinos.

Just my two cents.

HIgh Mercury levels in Semirara - this is very sad that people remain ignorant of the hazards of the coal mines/coal fired power plant. There is no such thing as safe when it comes to coal.In the US, they are now planning to build the 1st ever safe coal power plant, the first! So when SMC tells people that the mercury levels are safe, let them live near their company and let them die first. It will pollute the land, we will have acid rains, that will pollute the plants and it will go up the ladder to mankind. People will suffer lung diseases, heart disease, all breathing problems, premature births, etc. Please please everybody spread the word, IT IS NEVER SAFE TO HAVE A COAL FIRED POWER PLANT ANYWHERE IN OUR COUNTRY! Thank you very much.

To Adolfo:
Yes, it is a fact that there are still squatters, and corrupt officials, etc. etc. But what has that to do with being a filipino thinker? So what you mean is, because everything is not right proper around us, we would just sit and not do anything to improve ourselves? Then you are making matters worse. I don’t like it when pinoys criticize pinoys or the country as if he/she had done something great. If you did, do share it with your people. Maybe you can sponsor one squatter family out of their dirty place? You did not even mention the good things that are there. YOu prefer to see the glass half empty rather than half full. That is the kind of mentality that will not help at all. YOu can criticize all you want, it wouldn’t help. But do a little good thing at a time, teach someone else a good thing and then spread it. Let it go slowly and create a little impact one at a time. We are not useless, we are not helpless. We just have to act! We just don’t criticize if we cannot do something good.
Thank you.