Spaced out dreams and AI fiction
It wasn’t Kidlat Tahimik‘s first movie I watched as a teen that brought me to Munich nearly 30 years ago. Maybe it was the science fiction I read as a teen that primed my dreams of being in the tech scene.
Or was it the sense of having grown up in a country that “only” had jeepneys, like in said movie, even as I didn’t believe in the premise of its sequel, sending a yoyo into space as an indigenous technology.
Now that Isar Aerospace has launched its first rocket based on propane, habal-habal rockets with Petron LPG fuel tanks were what I imagined. Out of curiosity, I asked Gemini AI to write a short story with the prompts “Maya satellite” (the Filipino weather satellite) and “Isar Aerospace”, the startup going the way of Wernher von Braun, the one mentioned in Kidlat Tahimik’s first movie. This came out:
The crisp Bavarian air bit at Lena’s cheeks as she stared up at the inky pre-dawn sky above Ottobrunn. A sliver of moon hung like a forgotten fingernail. Tonight was the night. Tonight, Isar Aerospace, the ambitious Munich-based startup she worked for, would launch their Spectrum rocket, carrying its precious payload: the Maya satellite.
Lena, a young aerospace engineer with a fierce passion for the cosmos, had poured years of her life into Maya. It wasn’t just another piece of hardware; it was her brainchild. Designed to monitor climate change impacts on Southeast Asian coastal regions, particularly her mother’s homeland in the Philippines, Maya held a deeply personal significance. The increasingly violent typhoons and rising sea levels were not abstract data points for Lena; they were a looming threat to family and culture.
Isar Aerospace, housed in a surprisingly unassuming cluster of buildings near the Isar River, was a testament to German engineering ingenuity and a youthful, almost audacious spirit. Unlike the established giants of the space industry, Isar was lean, agile, and driven by a vision of democratizing access to space. Their Spectrum rocket, sleek and powerful, was a symbol of this ambition.
Inside the dimly lit mission control room, a palpable tension hung in the air. Screens flickered with telemetry data, showing the steady build-up of pressure within the Spectrum’s tanks. CEO Daniel Metzler, his face etched with a mixture of excitement and anxiety, gave a final thumbs-up to the launch director.
Lena’s heart hammered against her ribs. She watched the numbers on her monitor, each digit a tiny heartbeat of the mission. Maya, nestled securely in the rocket’s nose cone, was silent for now, a dormant eye waiting to be opened.
“T-minus ten seconds,” a calm voice announced over the intercom.
Lena closed her eyes, a silent prayer escaping her lips. She pictured her Lola’s small fishing village, the vibrant coral reefs, the laughter of children playing by the shore. This satellite, this incredible feat of engineering, was for them.
“Ignition sequence initiated.”
A low rumble vibrated through the floor, growing steadily louder. Lena’s eyes snapped open, glued to the live feed showing the Spectrum on the launchpad. A brilliant plume of fire erupted from the rocket’s base, illuminating the dark landscape. Slowly, majestically, it began its ascent, defying gravity and piercing the night sky.
A collective breath escaped the mission control team. Lena felt tears welling in her eyes. Years of work, countless calculations, sleepless nights – all culminating in this fiery ascent.
The first stage separation was clean. The second stage ignited flawlessly. Lena watched, her breath held captive, as the telemetry data confirmed each crucial milestone. Fairing separation – the moment Maya was exposed to the vacuum of space – sent a wave of relief through the room.
Finally, the call came: “Payload deployment confirmed. Maya satellite is in orbit.”
A cheer erupted in mission control. Lena allowed herself a shaky smile, the tension finally releasing its grip. Her satellite was up there, a silent sentinel ready to observe and report on the delicate balance of her homeland’s environment.
Over the coming weeks, Lena and her team would meticulously calibrate Maya’s instruments, ensuring its sensors were perfectly attuned to their task. They would receive the first images, the first data streams, painting a picture of the changing coastlines, the health of the mangroves, the impact of the warming oceans.
Looking out at the dawn sky, now tinged with the soft hues of sunrise, Lena felt a profound sense of accomplishment. Isar Aerospace, a small company with big dreams, had delivered. And Maya, her personal mission embodied in a technological marvel, was finally watching over the land she loved. The whispers of the Isar River flowing through Munich seemed to carry a new message – one of hope, innovation, and a deep connection to a world in need. The stars above, once distant and unreachable, now held a piece of her heart, a silent guardian named Maya.
The reality, of course, is that the first Spectrum launch failed, though it takes several tries to get all systems calibrated based on launch data. Real-life Maya 1 satellite was made and launched with Japanese help. Space yoyos and habal-habal rockets are crazy, but the dreams of Kidlat Tahimik, Lena, and me have some common ground and space.
Dreams and reality need a proper balance – and work to finally lift off. What dreams can the Philippines yet realize? Maya 1-6 are reality. Basic accomplishments to build on are better than the hoaxes that a Filipino invented the moon buggy, the flourescent lamp, or karaoke. Quiet confidence based on reality is better than self-aggrandizement in the same category as the narcissistic Maharlika and Ophir narratives.
Irineo B. R. Salazar, Munich
The picture was created by Bing Image Creator, prompting for “Philippine satellite development with Japanese and EU assistance.”
P.S. Karl will for sure be familiar with the Sesame Street cartoon of failed rocket launches, as that show is one of our common grounds. The vague dream of NASA is my common ground with fellow commenter Sonny.
The Society of Honor by Joe America 
Dreams are my reality…. just like the song.
The DOST (Department of Science and Technology) in the Philippines is involved in various rocket-related projects, including the TALA hybrid rocket project, which was developed by a team from St. Cecilia’s College-Cebu. DOST also supports space-related research and development through programs like STAMINA4Space and PROPEL. Additionally, DOST has a partnership with the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) to advance space science and technology.
TALA Hybrid Rocket Project:
Other DOST Rocket-Related Initiatives:
Thanks. The video below is the cartoon I was referring to:
Ahahaha
The general topic of my article is not just space. It is about the right balance of panaginip and pangarap, excluding ambisyon, which in Filipino has an excessive connotation or pantasya, which is fantastic, char.
Stuff like what is happening now with the Philippines learning new military capabilities would also be part of the topic, see tweet below.
https://x.com/MonteroMax/status/1911926847300141483
Ireneo,
I’m reminded of the poem Whitey On the Moon. in which Whitey = AB Filipinos here.
A rat done bit my sister Nell.(with Whitey on the Moon)Her face and arms began to swell.(and Whitey’s on the Moon)I can’t pay no doctor bill.(but Whitey’s on the Moon)Ten years from now I’ll be paying still.(while Whitey’s on the Moon)
Lauren Sanchez and crew just came back from space and they’re saying What a wonderful world. Like did you really have to go to space to realize this?
Maya i know is a bird thus hope and freedom symbolized. But remember also that the Goddess Maya is illusion and Kali represents the destroyer of said illusion. Hebrew’s Tzimtzum, God penetrating.
Then yours and Joey’s point that you have to be proud of something tangible, I don’t agree with this. Pride should be a stand alone expression. sure could be good could be bad, but pride in and of itself is a quality (or quantity , like having lots of) a force to be reckoned with. Which connects to Maya & Kali, yin yang , Tzimtzum and Whitey on the Moon.
Lauren Sanchez had pride even before she accomplished anything. and i guess we return to diskarte. on this, but space and science I think is shrinking. no break throughs in physics for a very long time now. we’re hitting a dead end it seems. sure we can keep on squeezing this bottle dry. send more satellites in space.
But maybe the undiscovered country is inner space.
Space is just an analogy for any kind of venture here.
1) space yoyos = imagining what you have is enough when it isn’t, rejecting any imported ideas
2) habal-habal rockets based on Petron gasul = funny but likely to blow up or fall apart
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GKDHJJnboAAWxHv.jpg:large
3) imagining your people invented the moon buggy = pretty useless and leads to nothing
4) can satellites (c) Karl = a somewhat more economic way of testing some things
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CanSat
5) Maya satellite = not done totally by Filipinos but a baby step to own capacities
(Not everybody will be able to launch stuff be themselves, and that is OK)
………
I recall Senator Raul Manglapus talking incessantly about making a Filipino car during the Cory state visit to Germany to everyone, including me, the student staffer. I told him why don’t you make motorcycles first, then move to cars, build capabilities gradually. He didn’t like it..
The USA did the Mercury program first, then Gemini, then Apollo. Well, you do need a leap of faith at some point, but you need to take baby steps first.
For the remaining risk you always have, you need some own confidence and yes, diskarte.
„3) imagining your people invented the moon buggy = pretty useless and leads to nothing“
Gotcha re analogies and metaphors. I would just add imagination is key here. sure revisionist imaginings not so useful, eg. Wakanda etc. but as counterfactual , what coulda been or What IF… kinda useful. but returning to Spinoza, his Ethics was all about imagination (though written implicitly ). So inner space and imagination i think is where Filipinos can make a dent. instead of just following American (or Western) footsteps , eg. Mercury to Gemini to Apollo. that’s like Von Braun Nazi tech. What is the next level of that? what is the new Physics here? Filipinos as Wallfacers i would really want to see more of. go internal. not external. i think we’ve already agreed a long time ago about how diskarte is amoral, neither good nor bad. more like a force of will. bending reality to your whims. so I would say fuck baby steps, moon shots is what s needed now. more than ever. but the only way i see this happening is going back to inner space. Analytic vs Continental schools. continental being that going internal, non materialist non positivist. but that all philosophy again. so i’ll stop there.
In terms of inner space, one might indeed look at, for instance.. music. That is why I have harped on music export, as that is an area where Filipinos already have capabilities and very real bragging rights, while Germans rarely win at Eurovision.
Philosophy isn’t the issue but I like being a practical philosopher, just like I never wanted to be Einstein, at most Oppenheimer but hopefully not for something horrible, even as my German grandma though Lutheran not Amish called my computer specialization “Devil’s work”.
Filipinos might do drama well, too, if their best artistic directors and their best entertainment directors worked together. Mikhail Red, who produced Neomanila working together with Erik Matti, who produced Tandem, would outdo the Korean Squid Game production, I believe.
I think it was Hume that severed metaphysics from physics (as well as Physics with big P). But Newton was all about the occult and metaphysics. all of Philosophy was metaphysics. so right now, where your „practical“ equals materialist really, its only a small blip if you account for the bulk of philosophy thus seeking of knowledge thru out history, Ireneo. Von Braun and the Nazis were heavily into the occult. so was Tesla. he fruited something totally different which still today his papers are classified kept secret. Oppenheimer etc. too mostly Indian stuff. In Nick Cook’s „Hunting for Zero Point“, Cook was really surprised how much the occult played into R&D for Lockheed and Northrop, especially too the SAIC and SRI (Stanford connection), wish NH was still around curious if he came across those folks whilst there. I totally agree with you Filipinos excel at the arts. imagination and creativity is plenty there. but there seems to be a disconnect when talking about science and technology and how metaphysics actually factors in with progress. theres this notion that science is just „practical“ stay within the confines of the 5 senses. I wrote an article once about how to affect Islamic renaissance in the Philippines. sorta wishful thinking but mainly to counter petro-dollar Wahhabi stuff. but theres this weird development actually long time coming going on now which is going the opposite of petro-dollar Islam is actually the current resurgence of Sufism (the Catholic side of this is even more plentiful, the Vatican library opening up to academics like Diana Pasulka, actually catering to her, is very telling). so maybe the Philippines or Mindanao specifically can ride that wave, lots of potentially good universities in Mindanao. just needing an edge. maybe Sufism is that edge. maybe sonny can comment on mysticism in Catholic universities in Manila and the state therein of such enterprise. or is this purely a Jesuit pursuit. But my point, connect metaphysics with physics again. in the sciences. by-pass the Western tradition. they’re stuck. no following them to their current dead end.
Wahhabism is already declining across Indonesia, Malaysia, Sulu and Mindanao. The main two reasons is that the Saudi royal family has tightened the reigns on the Wahhabists as the Al Saud no longer need the Wahhabists to maintain power, and SEA governments see the dangers in the spread of Wahhabist ideology. The Al Saud were a bunch of camel herders who became the royal family of Saudi Arabia via the alliance with Wahhabism, and for much of modern Saudi Arabian history the Wahhabists had more power. Not anymore.
The governors of Bangsamoro, Sulu and North Cotabato have moderated quite a bit, and introduced more moderate Sharia interpretations. The only “Wahhabists” left are small gangs of bandits, rapists, and drug pushers who use Islam as an excuse to terrorize the local population but they are getting crushed over time.
But in terms of mysticism, mysticism in religions have always been a very small minority of each given religion. There is a risk of self-proclaimed mystics being actually just crazy people. In any case becoming an ascetic requires either living a life of extreme poverty, or having the luxury of becoming a “limousine mystic” so to speak.
Why bypass knowledge regardless of the origin of that knowledge? By bypassing, one needs to start at the very bottom all over again, doing extra work and having a lower probability of eventual success. Human progress has always been a new group taking old knowledge and building on top of it. In many instances human progress is cross-pollinating, for example the Arabs learning from the West, then keeping the light of knowledge lit during the Dark Ages after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, adding to that knowledge, only for the West re-learn what was lost from the Arabs later, adding to the knowledge once again with new concepts.
„By bypassing, one needs to start at the very bottom all over again, „
I’m talking about going back to mysticism, not by-passing it. by-passing is to the direction of current Physics which is at a dead end in the West (thus the world). by pass that. but go back into old school Unity, God is Us, We are God stuff. that’s what Vedas, Kabbalah and Sufism have in common, to include ancient Greece stuff and desert Christianity. that seems to be the secret sauce re breakthroughs in physics. Arabs got their secret sauce from Ancient Greeks and Persian stuff. so whether from east (India) or west (Andalusian/Irish) i say return to that. the Egyptian stuff too. just metaphysics all together.
Mysticism need not be ascetism although i think it helps, keeps the focus. I’m picturing Newton and Oppenheimer, they weren’t ascetics. but they certainly were into the occult. but Tesla i think was ascetic. not the desert fathers typa ascetism , but in how he retreated into his own mind. into a cell. his room.
Although I agree with you petro-dollar Islam is now waning, I don’t think they’ve been weakened just buying time. but the rise of Sufism seems promising as counter. there seem to be connection when mysticism rises, science rises with it. when dogmatism goes up (fundamentalism, I’m right you all are wrong typa thinking), science and knowldge suffers. thus Western mysticism down, dogmaticism rises. less knowledge, less breakthroughs in physics as well as other sciences. where we are now.
MBS’s mega structures i gotta feeling will fail, and Wahhabism is just waiting for that. so why not encourage sufism as policy. in the Philippines, and expand on that and up Catholic mysticism as well with it. it’d be a pincer manuever of mysticisms, from Catholic north and Muslim south, converging in Cebu, creativity central.
If someone wants to get into mysticism and it doesn’t hurt anyone else, then I say go for it. Something nice to study, and think about, but it doesn’t seem that useful in today’s world for the bulk of humanity.
Physics and metaphysics should not be conflated. Just because both words have the same root (physica), doesn’t mean they are dealing with the same goals. Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that concerns the exploration of the meaning of reality, while physics is the scientific study of physical phenomenon. Conflation causes confusion to tends to discredit any particular given theory.
I’ve been curious about something though. Do you apply these concepts and theories you’re sharing here to your daily life? And how so?
I’ve been interested in it tangentially it was actually sonny that pointed me into this direction awhile back (NH was game theory and go). So I like reading about it. as applications to my life, as a Luddite theres plenty of applications, easy too that I’m broke, no honey no money why I reminisce on Mango ave. a lot 😉 (actually i get by). whether its causation or correlation i dunno. but being a Luddite has limitations. which renders mysticism easier to swallow for me. less stuff. but mainly am deep into this more or lately cuz of UFOs (please don’t delete moderate this comment, just mentioning UFOs in general, wont get into it i promise). as to metaphysics and physics dichotomy it is the same concept, physics is 5 senses whilst metaphysics is beyond 5 senses. thus internal vs. external. lots of studies now into consciousness, with science like microtubules and anesthesia. But for sure theres been a concerted effort to quelch metaphysics since WWII now. and we have string theory to show for it. a dead end. so am thinking theres a cause and effect, when metaphysics is abandoned for the more materialist/positivist approach. science stagnates. so why not return to that, and why not do it in the Philippines, where theres convergence, especially Catholic , Islamic and nativist mysticism. sure , I agree, Rasputins are a problem in mysticism, did you hear Jordan Peterson is our next Rasputin now? Russian orthodox convert. sure charlatans or mad genius mystics will arise, but if you stay with the science, eg. microtubules anesthesia re consciousness studies, we have enough science to keep the Rasputins at a minimum. but yeah, there will be aberrations for sure i agree w/ you on this, but so does current science now. lead & xrays for instance GMO too our food. But can physics and metaphysics converge in the Philippines? all indications to me say its ripe for it, more than any other places.
I just read and realized i didn’t really give an answer. if you’re asking if i’m writing upside down stars under my bed and drinking my own urine. i’ve not gone that far. but breathing and meditations though i’ve done, morning and evening before sleep typa rituals lately am experimenting with Inayatiyya practices (youtube videos), from The Inayati Sufi order.
Ah that’s fair on your interest. I myself have a tendency to go down the rabbit hole of information, sometimes in Wikipedia where I learn fascinating new things. I’m not much of a video watcher where the information is already interpreted (and possibly biased). The nice thing about Wikipedia is most articles are of decent quality and have great references one can follow. My first big possession as a child was a set of Collier’s Encyclopedia where I was practically besties with the Collier’s librarian lady who would send me huge packets of xeroxed research material upon request.
See the problem with the (mainly video) content like Jordan Peterson is some are charlatans, like Peterson, and plenty more are biased. Most are grifters pushing certain products. It’s not an efficient use of my limited time to listen to people like Peterson. Rasputin was a charlatan as well, who inadvertently helped to end Russian Tsardom through his connection to a tsar and tsarina desperate to find answers for their son’s illness (an illness which is well understood now).
Physics and metaphysics need not be opposing; rather one can be complementary to the other as there exists an intersection. But when we talk about the possibility of mysticism, it’s important to note that various mysticism movements in history existed to fill some kind of void in people. That void may be physical or it can be spiritual. The important point, I think, is the true mystics operated in humility and never accepted the title of teacher or leader. Those today who demand reverence are highly likely to be charlatans looking to make a buck on empty people.
Now as to whether mysticism can help evolve the Philippines, I’ll have to disagree here. First there are mystic traditions that are legitimate, yet require true dedication and more importantly require sacrifice. People usually don’t like making sacrifices, especially for the type of void that commonly exists today in often decadent society. I don’t mean decadent as in “rich chocolate cake,” but rather the definitional term meaning a regression in morals and sense of humanity. One can say that overall Filipinos are poor people as in walay kwarta, but society in the Philippines is quite decadent, maybe even more so than the US. Personally I think the void Filipinos feel has to largely to do with the worship of material wealth, chasing “big time” that never comes, not knowing how to inch closer and when knowing don’t want to put forward effort. Big ideas are easier to dream of than even small but actual application. So pulling from your thread, what I think would help is people either resetting their expectations to something more realistic, making a realistic plan to progress if that thing is still desired, holding themselves and others accountable, and most of all holding their elected officials accountable. Scandinavians perennially rank as the happiest people in the world not because their societies are nice places to live, but because Scandinavians have very low expectations, yet choose to do the aforementioned. That way even small achievements bring disproportionate amounts of satisfaction.
Yes, the decadence of the Philippines you mentioned is real. One contrast I noticed in Rizal’s novels is how he knows the Pasig River and Laguna de Bay, every bend, and every island. He is known for having hiked Mount Makiling.
Nowadays, the rich crowd that does hike has a very consumeristic touch to it, not to discount that their might be those who have a deeper connect to nature. Their inner mental map will probably still be filled more with MOA, BGC etc than Makiling.
But cmon it is more likely that people notice that you don’t have the latest smartphone in Metro Manila than in very rich Munich. And those who throw around Bible verses will probably have not that much deeper spirituality, with exceptions proving the rule.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retreat_(spiritual) are interesting, as well as actual pilgrimages.
Hmm, maybe Thailand is closer to deeper spirituality than the Philippines, having the practice of men from all walks of life seeking monkhood.
I wonder if movie houses in the Philippines still are all closed on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday?
There are deeper reasons for Sundays being non-working days, for instance.
Wondering what my German grandmother would say about today’s social media. “See, I told you so, that is indeed the devil’s work, distraction and deceit!”
Though the contrast between the opulent spirituality of say Spanish Semana Santa or Greek Orthodox Easter versus the austerity of Lutheran worship can’t be bigger. As old as Orthodox icons versus iconoclasts, maybe?
It’s not just in Metro Manila where people noticed that you may not have the latest smartphone. Actually, in Metro Manila people didn’t seem to care as much now compared to 10 years ago. In the bukid though, when I upgrade my iPhone and visit that year people marvel and envy that iPhone, then the next year the same people will wonder out loud why I hadn’t “updated” to the latest. Nowadays I don’t upgrade my iPhone as often… but when I visit later this year, undoubtedly acquaintances will make some remark about my iPhone 16 Pro Max AND 16 non-Pro (have two phones, the lower one is for work). I’ve had Filipinos remark on my Apple Watch crown’s “red dot” (denoting a cellular model), when I hadn’t even known the cellular model has that tiny differentiator. None of these Filipinos who know the minute details of each iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch variant have even close to the latest iGadgets themselves… Once I learned about the “red dot,” I noticed an acquaintance had a red dot on his older model Apple Watch as well… but I was perplexed as neither Smart nor Globe offer cellular watch service. His sheepish reply was that he bought a fake red dot sticker on Shopee. It can really feel like “Keeping Up with the Joneses” in the Philippines at times with everyone and their mother gossiping on everyone else’s haves and more importantly, laughing at the face plants.
Not sure if Buddhist retreats or men and women entering monasteries as acolytes is a sign of deeper spirituality. I don’t find most Buddhists to be that religious, as the Buddhism practiced in East and Southeast Asia is more like a Buddhism heavily influenced by folk religion. I’ve had a handful of associates who entered Buddhist monasteries, mostly in times of mental crisis, but once the crisis passed they all left. I don’t really trust small sects led by self-appointed leaders though, whether it be Buddhism, Christianity, or Islam. There’s a Buddhist “house temple” in my neighborhood, and the Buddhist nuns there live much nicer than I do, all tax free.
I’ve been on plenty of Catholic lay retreats though, Orthodox retreats, and a few Anglican/Episcopalian ones as well. For the most part, Christian retreats in the Catholic-derived traditions are more of a self-reflective journey together with others. Sometimes there are profound discussions in the round tables, but the focus is definitely on inner reflection.
It seems that the inhabitants of the Pinoy Big Brother house have a bit of a vow of silence, or at least Kuya has limited how many hours they can talk during Holy Week.
Of course, they are trying to contain their innate OA as the makers of the show drop hints that some members of BINI are coming into the house. Well, the Philippines is usually more noise than reflection most of the time.
I got a new Samsung A55 end of last year as I needed an eSIM capable phone for Mexico, BTW. Before that, my cellphones were probably uninteresting even for Filipino cellphone snatchers.
I don’t follow Filipino shows that closely. Was the Pinoy Big Brother vow of silence part of the reality show or was it off screen? I think there would be a difference depending on that point, as one is an attempt on the genuine and the other is a bit performative OA.
I’m not surprised you chose a midrange smartphone. AFAIK, Germany doesn’t have a comparable telco subsidy on new phones like we have in the US so consumers need to pay out of pocket. Well in the US the “subsidy” is largely recouped by being carrier locked for 2 years on an often pricey plan. I have an older T-Mobile plan so I don’t get the best subsidies, but pay less overall since I usually use my phone for 4 years. There are quite a few Fil-Ams who upgrade every year though, and bring the previous year’s iPhone back home to give to family members. There are quite a few Filipinos with secondhand iPhone Pro and Pro Max nowadays. Just like having a scooter 10 years back was a status symbol, holding an iPhone is the new status symbol for GenZ. Personally, I think the scooter is more useful…
I don’t know about that vow as I just found out by chance as my socmed algorithm gives me Filipino pop stuff due to my research on that.
In any case, the online audience has fun watching the PBB inhabitants try to communicate without talking.
We do have plans in Germany locked in for two years, but I like to have a certain freedom to switch, and I was a really late smartphone adopter – 2015.
I did have a few HTCs before my first Android phone, geek machines.
First own stupid mobile phone in 2006. Business smartphone, actually a tablet with phone functionality, when I was a freelance SAP Consultant.
An additional (cheap) phone for Euro destinations with load-based SIM to avoid roaming costs.
That became irrelevant when the EU put a stop to exorbitant roaming costs, and now, with eSIM, there is no need anymore for an additional phone even overseas.
I like having a phone that fits in my pocket BTW and the Samsung S phones are too big.
I’ve always thought that reality television is a cancer on humanity. Perhaps it is a way for the masses to partake in the decadence of reality show contestants.
I came to smartphones from another direction — to leave my iPod at home. Previously I had also carried a Palm Pilot, then a HTC running Windows Mobile, both for note taking and voice memos at work. I ditched my work BlackBerry when the first iPhone came out though. For a while I enjoyed Japanese, then Korean phones in the 2000s while living there. Music is an important part of my life so being able to listen on hi-fi on my Grado, Shure, Sennheiser monitors is an important consideration.
Somewhat regret buying a Pro Max again. Even though I have sufficient pocket space and big hands (by the way of being tall), flagships have gotten so big they are difficult to hold one-handed without risking dropping a $1,500+ all-glass phone. I probably should’ve gotten a regular Pro instead.
Yes, I had a big phone once, not a flagship, but yes, I dropped it at the bus stop. Yes, I did have a Palm Pilot at work before, and a Siemens mobile phone. Those were actually good but low on ease of usage. I did think wow, it would be great to have a mix of Palm and mobile, now it exists as smartphones. My brother BTW was at a Munich startup just before Y2K. They were building something like a tablet, but it was super thick and unreliable, so the company folded. Things weren’t really ready for such technology at that time, not batteries nor anything else.
We also were into Big Brother Germany 1st season at that time, the probably only Big Brother edition here that was watched by people from all walks of life. Way less controlled and sanitized than Pinoy Big Brother, which has a Kuya running things in the background. That show, of course, now a GMA-ABS joint venture, was the motor for a new generation of non nepo baby ABS-CBN stars. Smart actually to get stars whose popularity is organic not manufactured. But yes, it is bread and circuses, Panem Hunger Games, no matter where it plays.
https://x.com/_NenengH/status/1912424364668252233 this is how restrained OA looks like. The two BINI girls are also officially part of the group’s OA line, they just have more experience in just barely keeping it inside if needed.
https://x.com/manayleila/status/1912415470059495864 meanwhile, Leila de Lima eats cake..
It’s nice to see Leila de Lima be so personable. I don’t much like the iron lady stereotype of a Filipina politician.
How Shuvee acts reminds me almost exactly how my Fil-Am ex, the 1/16 filipina who somehow became 100% filipina acts when she is OA, hehe.
Well, the encounter of the two BINI girls with a gay fan was over the top OA compared to that, won’t post that here as I believe it could be your Kryptonite. 😮
Though the convos they all had in the morning when they were allowed by Kuya to speak again, posted all over Pinoy socmed, are actually interesting. Which might prove that forced reflection has its merits over the usual chatter all over Philippine media.
I did like that particular ex’s OA, which meshed with my usual calmness hehe.
However, there is a point where the OA is just a bit too much where it is more forced than a naturally expressive personality. Sort of like the titas who can go a full 180 almost instantly from angelic to demon, then back again, sometimes in just seconds while talking to a customer at one side and berating an employee on the other side.
This is why i’m closely looking at the Inayati order, because its very accessible. plus its Sufism without islam necessary so almost like Zen. the grandpa, dad and grandson connection that’s also interesting. the family itself is interesting. very American yet very international in scope– Noor Khan (daughter) was a spy for UK and was captured and died in Dachau concentration camp. the father starting from India, a stop in Seattle NYC and ending up in Paris then London for WW1. with gramps dying in mid 1920s in India at the age of 44. then the lost years where the organization broke up, in fighting. but it looks like very interesting strains developed during this time namely in the US with Sufi Sam and Rabi’a Ada Martin who was Inayats first non-Indian disciple she’s Jewish (i need to get into them more). eventually the Inayat order is reconstituted by his son again. and spread. he died and his son took the mantle. now they have school. but essentially its a Sufi order that focuses on music. which Ireneo might be interested in. its been claimed that this Inayat order has a big footprint influence in the American music seen especially in jazz, i gotta research that more.
My point here is that mysticism need not be dependent on these mystics. like the Inayat influence on American music, the musicians themselves didn’t have to be into sufism, just Inayat’s expositories on music— he was a traditional musician from a long line of musicians family. then he became a Sufi. So essentially I’m saying make both music and math mandatory (i think several countries in the former USSR do this). like math and music, I am saying make physics and metaphysics something you teach together, and not apart. that’s the main gist here. yeah mysticism is where much of the metaphysics is these days, but ideally it should be in the realm of physics, that’s what i’m envisioning here, Joey. and I agreee with you mysticism is messy but its only because it hasn’t been granted its proper place in academia. at least music is part of academia, but you seldom see it converged with physics or math department, although many physicists and mathematicians (and scientists) are fluent in music. why is there a gap? so I am asking the same question in the same vein, why is there a gap in metaphysics and physics? converge them already.
As to your “rich chocolate cake,” I totally agree. meaning is lacking. and same lack of meaning permeates the West, only difference is I can be decadent comfortably at home with a lave cake, I don’t have to worry about sigas testing my ego or passing by a KTV/girlie bar with girls scantilly clad infecting my desires thus my loins. thats the only difference i see between 1st and 3rd world. i see less of it, but it is still there, same lack of meaning. again harkening back to the goddesses Maya and Kali. remember illusions, cuz I think this notion : “Scandinavians perennially rank as the happiest people in the world not because their societies are nice places to live,” is mostly due to homogeneity. sameness begets harmony. where you wanna compare is where theres more differences, and India seems the perfect place. and what do they have plenty of? mystics. metaphysics. thus meaning. that’s the example, but Indias too messy. SO put that metaphysics and mysticism within Philippine schools. thats convergence right there. thats where its at.
The part I’m having a hard time understanding is, what benefit would there be in going for a fundamental change that the idea proponents are not willing to live by themselves? Isn’t that a form of magical thinking? Or trying to throw spaghetti at a wall to see what sticks?
I think it’s likely more effective to choose a few ideas that are broadly acceptable and work with that. It’s usually better to reform something than to tear everything down and rebuilding — what is the probability of what is rebuilt from the rubble would be better, and who would lead the rebuilding?
That’s why I generally don’t support going down rabbit holes in search for esoteric solutions, when solutions are often staring at us in the face. But those obvious solutions sometimes require hard work to get through to the end. Bypassing to me seems like trying to wriggle out of hard situations by finding shortcuts… but after all the detours, one may find that it was a much shorter and less arduous path to have just taken the straight and narrow to begin with.
The Philippines is not perfect, but the solution is to fix what’s wrong using lessons learned available from 195 countries on Earth, not to toss everything out in pursuit of radical new ideas that may not work.
„what benefit would there be in going for a fundamental change that the idea proponents are not willing to live by themselves? Isn’t that a form of magical thinking?“
I see our disagreement.
So the main premise here, underlying it all is that physics only seems to jump in development in line with metaphysics (when they are together). and i’ve provided some evidence of that, so if you reject that premise we can hash that part out. you’re focused on social transfiguration. which I ‚ll concede is the end goal here. but my line of argument is to return or converge physics with metaphysics cuz that seems to be where breakthroughs occur.
The social transfiguration comes much later. or maybe it is indeed wishful or magical thinking, Joey. but in line with Ireneo’s blog, all am saying is that theres this way to create breakthroughs in physics that seem to involve metaphysics (i’ve stated metaphysics which used to be the main purview of philosophy has been abandoned thus the materialist/positivist bend which hasn’t fruited anything new ; physics too if you remember before micro scopes and tele scopes also belonged under philosophy its was all theoretical).
By merging them together (physics and metaphysics) in Philippine universities that’s where its at. not partner with Japanese scientists to send satellites or whatnots into space , or leaving the Philippines to go work for NASA (1960s) or SpaceX (2025). Physics right now is stunted, the biggest theory STRING THEORY seems to be a dead end. The Philippines can leverage this state of affairs in physics right now, by merging physics and metaphysics.
I am not saying toss everything out, Joey. you’re saying that. I am just saying merge physics with metaphysics. at the academic level, maybe then commerce. from there social transfiguration. my argument is school centric. not social.
Wouldn’t that merger be like putting alchemy and chemistry back together?
Or astronomy and astrology? Or history and mythology?
Re the latter, there are Filipinos who excel or excelled. Parfahn, for instance.
No. Because alchemy was the precursor of chemistry, same i think for astrology into astronomy, and myth turned to history (which i think is still not as separate as alchemy/chemistry and astrology/astronomy are). so myth and history I think are still intertwined. eg. the victor go the spoils– mythmaking.
I do think theres a lot of good Filipino scientists. but not too many physicists. and if there are any they tend to go abroad and never return. so theres poaching. as trivia Non-proliferation (nukes) policy tend to offer more carrots and not sticks to would be nuclear physicists by promising them chairs etc at really good physics depts in the States or EU.
So first step here, has to be to prioritize Filipinos to stay. how to do this is hard cuz no funding. but there’s a stunted lack of breakthroughs in physics. so leverage that. really smart people think legacy and their work spanning into next generations. so thats how you get them. theres really good studies right now with Tibet monks regulating body temps via breathing exercises, but really the source is meditation that is to say consciousness.
Lots of studies (microtubules and anesthesia) re consciousness way above my pay grade but we know theres metaphysics being brough into physics right now. but not fast enough, cuz materialist/positivist bent circular thinking. So why not , for the Philippines, see the writing on the wall already. merge physics and metaphysics at schools, be the first to do so, then ideally there should be breakthroughs, get on the map. then new physics.
borne out of the Philippines. but we first have to disabuse ourselves that this metaphysics vis a vis physics is a joke or something to laugh at. remember all of physics was metaphysics. before we had tools. metaphysics just means its the physics we just yet don’t understand (with our current physics). thus its in philosophy, but even there metaphysics is frowned upon.
thus put metaphysics in physics in the Philippines. make it more fun in the Philippines. physics and metaphysics.
Thought about this more. i think physics >>>> metaphysics. always catching up to metaphysics why its called meta-; where as alchemy >>>> chemistry (has caught up with it); astrology >>>> astronomy (has caught up with it). myth >>>> history , i think still hasn’t why theres more of a back and forth, eg. revisionism, propaganda , etc. more about people and stories. history/myth more akin to i-ching/tarot cards >>>> economics.
I guess chemistry and astronomy are where they are because they have clearly defined boundaries whereas what physics and metaphysics do (try to understand the entire universe) or what history and myth do (try to understand what moves groups of people) or even what economics tries to do as in get how people trying to make a living or more will behave are broader in scope, thus not as easy to fully grasp. Still don’t see though how a people that often barely think beyond the barangay or the national village can try to understand the universe.
Maybe try to get better at history and economics first? Understanding the two better might already be the warp drive level needed so we can land and establish First Contact. 😉
„Still don’t see though how a people that often barely think beyond the barangay or the national village can try to understand the universe.“
I’ve always envisioned myself as DE Filipino, Ireneo. and most of my postings are that. ground level. god knows I have more DE Filipina DNA in me than everyone here probably combined. one night it was 4 DNAs! but i digress. this time i’m more talking about from the vantage of Filipino physicists, and Philippine physics department. and the trickle down effect of that. physics & metaphysics merger. I’m thinking bureaucratically speaking its as easy as naming physics departments as physics and metaphysics department. then from there press release. then get European, ME and Anglosphere metaphysicians both mystics and academics alike to converge. this convergence of non-Filipino experts in the Philippines should be enough to entice Filipino physicists to stay and do physics in the Philippines (at the cutting edge). due to the possibilities. lots of Physicists doing consciousness studies now albeit underfunded or in secret will take note and converge in the Philippines too. more expertise access for Filipino physicists. then from there positive feedback loop. ideally that should trickle down to DE Filipinos, keeping at bay the whole „Whitey on the Moon“ effect. i concede that part is more economics than physics. but getting Filipino physicists to stay and creating a pull effect of physicists and metaphysicians from abroad to converge in the Philippines i think that would be the doable part here. now of course this doesn’t need to be exclusive of other moonshot ideas. can be part of a larger whole of different moonshots. but i disagree wholly with this follow the leader stuff, Joey is espousing here. think outside the box, man. this derivative type thinking i think is the problem. materialist/positivist bent has us in a dead end. lets do something different.
I support building upon what has been built before, as that is the more logical and rational approach given human impatience and tendency towards laziness if given a chance. Transformational change is a nice thought, that I will agree, but who will be the visionary leader? Not to mock your position, but it seems a bit of a waste of time to explore all these (probably unlikely) scenarios but not be a leader in that movement. The solutions are there right in front of us, and though it will take a lot of effort to achieve, the effort is quantifiable based on experiences of other human groups who did it before. Trying to find shortcuts often gets us no where in the end.
LOL. good point, Joey. for sure i’m not leading it. I might be able to convince them with just bluster alone, but once Filipinos find out I only have a high school diploma and a near D plus GPA average. they’ll surely tar and feather me and hang me up side down right on time for Holy Week. lol.
So i’m writing all this, in hopes that karl will take up the mantle.
This is by the way , part of a long series now, that started with Filipino lawyers; then Filipino Islamic tafsir (interpretations); then recently with Filipino psionics; then Filipino monastics; now Filipino metaphysics/physics. with psionics and monastics that would be the most DE Filipino do-able cuz no school ing necessary. the others (law; tafsir; metaphysics/physics) more academic based.
Well don’t be so hard on your academics. There are many ways to learn, especially nowadays when reading thick tomes is no longer needed. However there is a trick to being able to efficiently filter out excess or bad information, otherwise there is a real risk in informational overload. This trick is also why the scientific method narrowly defines each hypothesis by whittling down on observations that may have nothing to do with the ability to test the question.
Though, I have concluded that you must be a multi-millionaire, as you have the latitude in time to explore all these ideas. I’m just a working man, so I need to narrow my focus.
“Though, I have concluded that you must be a multi-millionaire, as you have the latitude in time to explore all these ideas.”
I just have two words, Power ball. actually that ‘s one word.
Haha, well, it turns out you are a millionaire after all!
This article gave a chuckle at the end, but the article underscores an argument I’ve been making to Filipinos for years — that pride should be rooted in accomplishments, however small, as small accomplishments build foundation for greater accomplishments.
Throughout the 1990s, there was a surge of “Asian Pride” among Asian American youth, first led by Fil-Am youth. There were quite a few local Asian American bands of that era, some of which I still listen to from time to time with fondness, usually connected to particular girls from the past hehe. By the early to mid 2000s, most adherents of “Asian Pride” grew out of it, and moved on, but even today I encounter Fil-Ams of that era (who are now in their 40s and early 50s) who are still into “Pinoy Pride” despite the sometimes silliness of it all.
When I meet admirers of Kidlat, there is some sort of unawareness in the absurdity of taking in his art with full credulity, without realizing that in fact Kidlat is the son of a mayor, educated at elite universities in the Philippines and United States. I feel perplexed that Kidlat had worked for the OECD, the successor organization to the Marshall Plan that provided an organized way to develop/redevelop countries facing poverty or devastation, yet chose to turn away from using his training for something that would be beneficial to the Philippines. Kidlat is in a sense a elite who has the luxury of priviledge to pursue his own happiness, which is fine, but I wish he would not push for the themes of extreme Pinoy Pride regardless of absurdity that he first developed in Perfumed Nightmare and Turumba.
I think that the Philippines has much to actually be proud of. The other day while at a Filipino supermarket to buy a bottle of imported Cebuano ginamos tugnos (a bagoong of fish fry that is not pounded finely), I saw a new shipment of llaneras. Holding each llanera and noticing they were hand-made, I recalled a time I would spend my mornings sipping iced coffee in Cebu, while the neighbor washed collected aluminum cans, washed the labels off, then pounded the sides of the cans into aluminum sheets to be formed into llanera for making leche flan. The best trait of Filipinos is intuitive ingenuity. Making something out of whatever is available on hand. Just simply being able to survive. However oftentimes the intuition and ingenuity is used in the negative, like making the most convincing excuses after wasting a remittance on frivolity. Perhaps if there were a way for Filipinos to harness that intuition and ingenuity to the positive pursuits, many results would come out that would be worthy of pride.
I think one issue is that educated Filipinos often do things too much by the book while those on the street have ingenuity but lack additional input from those with the book smarts, because the latter look down on them and want en grande solutions.
https://www.eureporter.co/world/romania/2023/09/09/how-romania-built-its-blazingly-fast-internet/ Romania’s fast internet started with semi-legal neighborhood networks after Communism, almost like how Filipino informal settlers sometimes get electricity.
In the Philippines, the formalistic and legalistic faction might have squashed or TROed such networks instead of legalizing and improving them. My old example with the DFA database still stands. The distributed database idea of mine was a start, not the final configuration, but at least it would have worked in 1995 with little budget. The en grande scenario most probably never materialized until now. One can’t become world-class in one big leap. I recall also a Filipino diplomat who in the 90s sneered at how Vietnamese still used so many bicycles..
I wonder, Ireneo, why the Chinoy community has not capitalized on your ideas of building on small things. Perhaps because infrastructure is not their cup of tea, i.e. outside their sphere of control?
Actually, they do. Henry Sy used to polish shoes, then he decided to sell shoes to his customers, when that worked he made it Shoemart and later SM. Mr. Caktiong of Jolibee sold ice cream before he started selling fried chicken.
Most other Filipinos either start and stay small or en grande agad ang gusto. Filipino restaurants abroad often overprice as they are too greedy while the Chinese or Vietnamese restaurant across the street will forgo high margins at the start to win customers.
Yes, in the merchant level…but I was more thinking of other things like internet, or roads, or train transport, or shipping. Possibly because any profits do not go to “the family fortune?” Their culture seems more like “keep it within the family.”
Chinoy merchants seem to “keep it within the family” because the government has not shown itself to be trustworthy or reliable enough to understand basic tasks such as building infrastructure (or even maintaining it). Mercantilists need stability for business planning, and when all the risks that make the future uncertain are factored in, there is a tendency to pull back and make more conservative business planning.
But this is not just an attitude of Chinoy merchant families. If a non-Chinoy family makes it big, they often adopt the same mentality for the same reasons. The Chinoy give back to society in many other ways, most prominently in building excellent hospitals and schools which they have opened up to non-Chinoys.
I used to joke that Lee Kuan Yew might just have built malls if he had been born and raised in the Philippines.
LKY might have not even gotten that far in that alternate timeline. He probably would’ve been publicly pilloried and worse, run out of town.
Filipinos who use LKY as an example of a “good dictator” choose to gloss over the fact that it was Singaporeans who together decided to support reform to transform their resource poor rock by laying a groundwork for a stable economy. The majority of the entire country deciding together to change was more long-lasting than a single man deciding that others must change.
On Singaporeans supporting reform, I think it is a chicken or the egg situation. Practically every politician running for office promises change. People vote for change, but usually don’t get it. So who brings change, the politician(s) or the people who vote for the person promising change? I read the Memoirs of LKY, but it was decades ago so I don’t remember much anymore. I think he showed the people change…and they accepted it, and of course LKY built on that.
The difference is that Singaporeans held their government accountable, and don’t continue to give power to politicians who have abused the public trust. In the Philippines, an impeached and imprisoned politician can be forgiven and get back into power (though at a somewhat lower level). Well, we are learning now in the US that’s bad as well. Good caretakers of the public trust who are in positions of power need to have strong morals as well. However, the moral character of leaders is a reflection on the moral character of the electorate. As citizens, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Clearly there is work to be done to reeducate misinformed countrymen in both the Philippines and US.
“However, the moral character of leaders is a reflection on the moral character of the electorate.” – Joey
So what were Singaporeans like while it was still a British Colony, and I understand corruption was rampant? Were they of high moral character?
With regard to the US, when my kids were in private college preparatory high school in the 90s, they told me of their peers who saw getting a high GPA was a goal at all costs, including cheating. I was saddened by that because I saw it as a reflection of a section of American society…probably a large section. Now we have a convicted felon elected to the highest office in the land, and true to form, he has a low regard for the rule of law.
A people can collectively choose the terms for both themselves, their countrymen, and leadership reflects that. This is termed a Social Contract. A people can choose to amend or change the Social Contract into something else to define the limits of the rights of each individual and the government that represents the people. Not sure how asking whether or not British Singapore was a place where “corruption was rampant” helps us get to quantifying truths, as British Singapore no longer exists, the underlying reasons for the corruption are simplified out of the question’s framing, and most importantly the fact is that Singapore did decide collectively to change as a society. A question along this line is a type of logical fallacy; in this case what is called in formal debates “ignoratio elenchi.” It was not the work of one man, but of all Singaporeans. Even if one’s individual human agency may be small, one still has agency, and in a society that agency is expressed in one’s duty to do his/her part as a citizen of the society.
Well, your kids probably would’ve been better served if they had gone to a public school. I myself went to a college preparatory school run by friars, but our school budget was quite poor compared to local public schools. The friars did constantly emphasize a broad and rigorous education in theology, the humanities and the sciences, however.
Joey, re-educate in the Philippines? We may never have learned the civic virtues necessary for self-governance. Rizal said we were not ready and recommended study and hard work while still under the yoke of Spain. I read in Stanley Karnow’s history book “In Our Image” that both Osmeña and Quezon knew we were not yet prepared for independence, but they did not admit it publicly (as it would be political suicide) and pursued independence anyway….and we got it in 1946.
But that is all water under the bridge.
Well what you premised here seems like setting up for defeatism. Some that I’ve met along the way have argued that the Philippines is a fundamentally damaged culture (the anti-pinoy crowd). I often think it’s quite absurd that as an American I have more hope for the Philippines than those Filipinos.
Defeatism runs deep in the Philippines. Agency is what we make of it, and when one isn’t willing to make an effort in their personal lives, they’d never get anywhere. Rather we need to become builders, starting with ourselves touching those closest to us. For too long it has been convenient to say “if only Rizal had lived,” “if only Quezon didn’t suddenly die.” That in a sense is waiting for a savior, when we ourselves are the leaders we have been looking or.
Aging generations often look back in regret on their youthful ideals being unfulfilled, while subsequent generations are informed by the failures of their forebears. I associate myself mostly with poorer DE Filipinos, and though it may not be apparent to elites, the Philippines is changing for the better because the Millennial generation no longer accepts the status quo. Perhaps that change won’t translate yet in the political and governmental area, but it is changing drastically in the economic arena when 30-45 age range Filipinos have secured better jobs in BPO and opening negosyo that are not OFW-subsidized sari-sari stores. Filipinos with young families now have the tools in their mobile phones and laptops to create their own opportunities in VA. If ever you visit, you may find that there are quite a few Filipinos nowadays with enough disposable income to travel in domestic tourism. Many of these Filipinos grew up in informal settlements or the bukid. Once people have a semblance of property or savings, they often start demanding more of their leaders.
Joey, questioning whether it is education or re-education is setting up for defeatism? I don’t see how.
I like your report about Filipinos getting better jobs. I think here in the US it is regression…fewer middle class
Americans can afford a home, and the trend seems to be towards it getting worse. When I arrived in 1980, there were no homeless camps around. Now they are almost everywhere you look. In the 80s, homes were already getting expensive and one needed longer term loans, or what was called “creative financing” like interest-only loans for the first 5 years to get more people to qualify. I had an officemate who grew up in the area and she said that she remembers the choice between owning and renting a home depended upon your preference, not what you could afford.
A nation is a collection of communities. Nation building starts with building communities. In other countries, be it South Korea, Romania, Poland, or Vietnam, those who went abroad always came back eventually to build up their homeland once they had learned better practices in their adopted countries. Not much of that happens in the Philippines. As I approach middle age, a few Fil-Am friends I went to school with did go back to the Philippines, but to build gated compounds and hire drivers, helpers, labanderas who are paid a pittance — my Fil-Am friends who did this wanted to become mini-kings to be catered to and so perpetuate what ails the Philippines rather than helping to improve the nation. That’s the difference really. Instead, your original question should be re-framed as why too few Filipinos who were able to access privilege did not become builders to improve their Inang Bayan.
As for your observations on the US, the US housing and mental health crisis started in California under the governorship of Reagan who encouraged NIMBYism and took away funding for mental health programs. Reaganism was exported across the states starting with Reagan’s presidency and has been the norm for a generation. Not to paint all Baby Boomers with a broad brush, but I think it is fair to say that American Baby Boomers have been a quite selfish generation that destroyed the civic foundation of the US, exported dignified jobs, while hoarding capital towards themselves. As that generation starts to fade, American Millennials, who are a more empathetic generation, will have a chance to set things right.
The Philippines is a collection of gated communities, joke not joke. It is castles and outside the castles, it is tribes.
Those who want to return to be builders fear ending up like Ibarra from the Noli, whether that fear is justified or not, I don’t know, but one does get the feeling everyone is mainly for their own agenda there, with few exceptions.
“… but one does get the feeling everyone is mainly for their own agenda there, with few exceptions.” – Irineo
Everyone, or just those returning from the diaspora?
What you described here of the fear of a potentially helpful person being broken down still exists, sadly. But my observation is it happens mostly in the more elite and aspiring elite (overly ambitious middle class) circles. Once one gets outside of the bubble and interacts primarily with the DEs, things are remarkably simple and straightforward in the Philippines as long as there need not be an interaction with any points of power (e.g. government, employer). People in the DE seem to help each other where they can, even if the help isn’t purely altruistic (because what in life is?). People are generally happy for each other’s achievements as long as one doesn’t become too uppity, so to speak. One who had risen up and achieved can be a leader in some sense, with his/her community depending on them for advice or to help facilitate something. There was a reason that I quickly left the bubbles I initially was placed in when I used to spend a lot of time around Manila back in the day. There’s just a lot more to learn, and a lot more to appreciate, outside of such bubbles.
“That’s the difference really. Instead, your original question should be re-framed as why too few Filipinos who were able to access privilege did not become builders to improve their Inang Bayan.” Joey
Yes, I wondered about that over a decade ago and started trying to learn why. My best resource became the works of Rizal and the answer to that question is: “Moral Failure, Aversion to hard work, and lack of national sentiment.” If you take all three in a sort of “perfect storm” then you have the lack of progress despite attempts at education or possibly even re-education as you brought up.
Possible to boil the problem down to those three points, but those three failures more accurately describe the elites who should know better (up to and including those who took an opportunity to go abroad), and not the masa whose ignorance is at no fault of their own. Expecting the masa to prepare themselves when the masa have no tools, no guidance, and too few opportunities to do so seems like a recipe for failure. The blame is almost wholly on the elites who choose not to change the system. So yes, I would describe quite a few Filipino elites I met in the Philippines to have moral failure, aversion to hard work, and lacking national sentiment.
In that context, the recent Pulse Asia survey that shows high trust ratings for Inday Sara ESPECIALLY in Metro Manila and AB classes is especially damning.
Some have observed that AB Filipinos see the Dutertes as an instrument to clean up the “undesirables,” even as the AB’s living standards often require having a subservient masa. Others have observed that AB Filipinos are protecting their economic status.
My take is a bit unconventional in Philippine circles, but is becomes plausible upon reflection:
It has always been the elites of Philippine society throughout history that are the ones who yearn for a strong-man type leader, who will fix all the things and be the giver of bounty. This trait is probably an old Austronesian one, as it existed in the Chams of the Mekong Delta as well (and led to Champa’s eventual fall and assimilation into the Vietnamese). I’d have to pull on the thread regarding Indonesia and Malaysia’s past, but I do know that the Polynesians who descended from Austronesians also have these cultural traits at the time of contact. The problem has never been with the masa who are often maligned and sometimes treated as borderline imbeciles, but with the elites of Philippine society who should know better, could do better, but choose not to do better.
“The problem has never been with the masa who are often maligned and sometimes treated as borderline imbeciles, but with the elites of Philippine society who should know better, could do better, but choose not to do better.” – Joey N.
I think the elites see no need to change their choice not to do better because there is little pressure from the masa to change.
“…and not the masa whose ignorance is at no fault of their own.” – Joey
I agree that ignorance is not the fault of the masa. But I am trying to zero in on “moral failure, aversion to hard work, and lack of national sentiment” regardless of fault. I think that you agree that the masa have those three, just that it is not their fault. Correct me if I am wrong on that assumption.
I’m not sure how the conclusion of “the masa have the 3 detriments, it’s just not their fault” came out of what I wrote.
Just to be clear, the fault lies WHOLLY with the ELITES who should know better, also having much greater privilege and agency to do something about. When I say elites, I am including those who went abroad to benefit themselves, and visit “home” to take advantage of the very system they supposedly left because of in the first place.
Well, I am quite happy that by that definition, I am a good person. Last time I set foot on Philippine soil was between Christmas and New Year 1995. Yes 1995.
Someone quite close to our family whom I met during that visit told me, “Do you really see anything hopeful in the mentality of Filipinos?” I wondered.
I have my reasons to stay away, even as this blog gave me a sliver of hope of giving my comments, and the Internet made being informed easier.
I keep my distance as I don’t want to be seen as an exploiter or a preachy type.
I am even avoidant of Filipino communities abroad for the most part.
What I did see in this blog is the chance to give what LCPL_X termed “nudges,” just ideas on how things could be seen or done differently. And help others here understand based on what I know, which might not be that much. Maybe just to feel better about keeping away.
Well that certainly has been a long time from home. You should consider visiting, because there are hopeful developments in the intervening time, even if mostly in the economic realm.
I have watched too many Filipinos abroad come back though with the wealth they accumulated abroad to become exploiters themselves. Some of my classmates did this as well, to which I have conveyed to them directly of my distaste. To me it seems like this form of becoming “big time” suffers from myopic thinking. No one is expecting singular people to be THE singular change agent, but my classmates building compounds and acting like mini-datus with what amounts to be servants doesn’t seem to be helpful. I guess there is a through line back to how datus became datus in the first place back in the ancient times is an alluring cultural temptation.
Speaking of modern day datus, I am acquainted to a decent family from Pajac, Lapu-Lapu whose compound is one of the older ones in the barangay. The current family head is currently referred to in the neighborhood as “bossing,” and regularly has the children of informal settlers living nearby do small errands then pays them decently. He is a good man. Well, I guess that’s why his family compound is slowly rotting, while shiny new subdivisions bought up by returning abroads are slowly encroaching nearby.
We can all help in different ways. As long as we maintain a constructive attitude and actions, we are in fact builders, or at least a bricklayer. Eventually a handful of builders among us will become master builders to coordinate and lead.
Society of Nudgers, LOL. Works for me. That’s my main purpose for being here, along with the friendships that ferment like fine wine over the years. And the clean knowledge, which is rare.
I might well actually be a ghost. In the movie Sixth Sense, the dead often don’t know they are dead.
Or I’m trapped in another metaphysical dimension, trying to return.
Ah, yes perhaps you are, the restless kind peering in windows, knocking on the ceiling. No worries. We all are.
I’m not sure how the conclusion of “the masa have the 3 detriments, it’s just not their fault” came out of what I wrote. – Joey N.
Sorry, I guess I misunderstood you. I guess you are saying that only the elites are guilty of moral failure, aversion to hard work, and lack of national sentiment, generally speaking of course.
In Catholic theology and other Episcopal traditions there is a concept of Sin Culpability. In essence, this theological concept weighs the moral culpability vis a vis sin.
The heaviest moral culpability lies with he who has:
1.) Knowledge of the moral wrong.
2.) The Freedom of ability to choose whether or not to commit the moral wrong.
3.) Voluntary Choosing of the moral wrong over the moral righteousness.
He who is ignorant, coerced through fear, compelled through addiction, or has a mental illness are guilty of much less moral culpability.
So why would the masa, who lack the benefit of greater agency like the elites, be guilty to the same degree? The root problem of why the Philippines is “stuck” is with the elites, not with the masa.
I really appreciate this cut on the matter. I concluded some time ago that Filipinos in the provinces, and I presume in poor urban areas, although I’ve never been there, have no capacity to satisfy the complainers who blame them for lousy voting or for fostering their own poverty. If you have no data, you gave no data. If you have no power, you have no power. If you need to eat, you shoot birds, steal, or work for low daily wages. The complainers, who do have data and power, choose to complain rather than use their data and power to improve the systems. Indolence of a new dimension.
I may have a home a few minutes walk from the beach now, but I had quite an impoverished childhood and still sympathize with the working poor.
But yes, I have long believed that the problems plaguing the Philippines are the result of the elite not doing the right thing, though they know better and have the power to effectuate change. Those elites who want better should create an agenda that voters want, and I still believe that to be better jobs, better education for their children, and better infrastructure.
I hightailed out of Manila elite circles as fast as I could back then in the late 1990s. Much simpler life to go fishing or shooting birds (tirador, the slingshot) for my dinner, just like my hosts do. Much more relaxing that way. And when I can help out or impart new ideas, friends are more willing to take my advice since they know my respect is genuine.
“I hightailed out of Manila elite circles as fast as I could back then in the late 1990s.” – Joey N.
If it is the elite that can effect change, maybe you should have stayed in those circles to effect change in them so that they can effect change in the D’s and E’s.
From what I hear from folk like yourself and JoeAm, the country is quite on its way anyways…especially under PBBM. So the elite must be doing what they need to do, albeit slowly.
It is not my responsibility to make the Philippines better. I’m an American. It is the responsibility of Filipinos, possibly including Filipinos abroads who were born and suckled by Inang Bayan before leaving home.
I do however have quite a few friends there. I give advice and coax friends and acquaintances along if I can, and they are ready. My advice is usually practical, demonstrating something they can repeat themselves, perhaps re-teaching it to others.
After Cory Aquino, PNoy was the best president. Marcos Jr. shockingly is probably the third best president of the Fifth Republic, though obviously not as great as PNoy. Still, Marcos Jr. has done net-positives overall.
One thing I’ve come to realize about Filipino elites is that the power they have given back to the people was only because the elites were forced somehow. We no longer live in an age where the only source of information is a presidential or gubernatorial proclamation, nor a time where there is only broadcast television and radio. DEs have the internet and social media now, and they can lodge their complaints on social media, which I’m sure politicians are watching as agencies like Social Weather Stations exist. Filipino elites overall give just a bit of power necessary to keep people on the edge, where people won’t complain *too* much. Elites who are seen as do-gooders like Leni failed because she can’t offer what the other elites are offering (vote bribes and such), also because the masa are not ready. This is why my theory which some here agreed to in part, is that Leni’s Angat Buhay NGO is actually a civics training program to educate the people as much as it is a humanitarian program.
“I do however have quite a few friends there. I give advice and coax friends and acquaintances along if I can, and they are ready. My advice is usually practical, demonstrating something they can repeat themselves, perhaps re-teaching it to others.” – Joey
I thought your ideas might be helpful even to members of the Filipino elite, if you were in their circles too. No need to be in one circle only, right? I have at least one relative (now deceased) who was a Marcos, Sr. crony and very very very wealthy. I was never comfortable in their company at family events, and always had to bite my tongue around them and “play the game” so to speak. I think you know how that goes. But I could not be like Gina Lopez who really went a different route from her super wealthy family and got down and dirty with the poor. I had promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep. So here I am learning from folk like you who share a common interest about the Philippines.
Gina’s brother was a classmate of mine in high school and once I suggested to the class that instead of giving old clothes and whatever to the poor at Christmas, why don’t some of the super wealthy in our class give a poor person or two a job for Christmas and maybe beyond. As you can imagine, that suggestion was ignored, much like Irineo’s suggestion to Manglapus that the country begin with motorcycles and not cars.
BTW, do you rank Marcos, Jr. ahead of Fidel Ramos?
Also, good point about Angat Buhay as a civics training program. The country should build on that.
“He who is ignorant, coerced through fear, compelled through addiction, or has a mental illness are guilty of much less moral culpability.” – Joey N.
I agree, but I am not concerned with moral culpability. I am concerned with the fact that these less morally culpable are still suffer from moral failure, aversion to hard work, and lack of national sentiment. I recall the reason this came up was you suggested I should rephrase my question (about educate vs. re-educate), and I forget how you phrased the question. I said I already have an answer which was “moral failure, aversion to hard work, and lack of national sentiment. Yes we can discuss degrees of moral culpability, while we suffer from these vices, but it probably would be better for those with the problem discuss it and figure out what to do about it.
Now just in case people think I am speaking from a high horse, let me assure you folks that I acknowledge that I too suffer from the 3 vices. Maybe one difference is that I am aware of it and try to do battle with them daily.
Alright, let me put it another way:
1.) ABCs consist of about 7% of the population (8 million people)
2.) DEs consist of about 93% of the population (107 million people)
3.) For simplicity of this intellectual exercise, if 50% of each group are of eligible voting age, that’s 53.5 million DEs and 4 million ABCs
4.) If only ABs are counted that’s 1.4% of the population (1.6 million people)
5.) Thus a 50% voting age electorate of ABs is 800K people
(Percentages from SWS)
Now it would seem to me that it would make much more sense for the much smaller, yet politically and economically powerful group to the the one to change, rather than going through the masa and one by one. Again, the problem of why the Philippines is stuck lies with the ABs and upper C’s, not the masa.
Over the years I’ve heard plenty of elites use the excuse of bobotante, or become defeatist “we can’t change the urban and rural poor.” Yes, they can. They are elites with all the political and economic power in the hands. I suspect the real reason even well meaning elites are fine with how things work is they don’t want to lose how they benefit from exploiting the current system. That’s not a moral position to hold.
Over the years I’ve heard plenty of elites use the excuse of bobotante, or become defeatist “we can’t change the urban and rural poor.” Yes, they can. They are elites with all the political and economic power in the hands. – Joey N.
Exactly…they can and they must. The urban poor must develop moral integrity, industry, and national sentiment. Lacking these virtues hinders the country’s growth. Now the elite cannot achieve that w/o themselves developing moral integrity, industry, and national sentiment. So let the process begin.
Remember what you said about LKY – he could succeed w/o the people buying into his vision for Singapore. So the Philippine elite need to make the people deserving of independence that the country has – and I mean all classes from A to E.
It seems that on this particular topic, you seem to be stuck on minute details of my wording that fit the beliefs of your youth before emigrating rather than the overall picture I’m trying to paint here as an outsider who has observed and cares. I’ll blame that on myself and my English degree — I do tend to use more convoluted words and phrasing.
I often butt heads with my father, who is also fixed in his ways. Sometimes I’m exasperated by my father and exclaim that the collective failures of his generation brought us to the current reality he loves to moan about, clinging to an illusory past he pines for. You are of my father’s generation though perhaps a bit younger. At least we agree on most things. So let’s agree to disagree here on this matter because I think I’ve already beaten the particulars of this sub-thread dead, dead, dead.
A lot of older Filipinos have a penchant of acting like what is called “streetcorner lawyers” here in Germany. My father is a streetcorner lawyer plus professor whose argumentative skills were most certainly trained by his father, Atty. Irineo Salazar who passed the bar on Nov. 18, 1935, and was judge in Daraga, Albay – but also some sort of BIR high official in Cebu later. What is tantalizing is that I allegedly have an uncle in Cebu, a mysterious half-brother my father has met. Anyhow, I have sufficient skills to deal with pilosopos like CV, but it gets very tiring.
As you most probably know, pilosopo means sophist not philosopher. What passes for reasoning in the Philippines is often just reasoning out, and due process is due palusot. Duterte in the Hague will be a lesson in real justice and due process for many Filipinos I believe.
An arena where questioning every freaking technicality like they tried to with the warrant (I could parody the behabior op typical gaberment pipol prom da sebenties, as in where is da original paper, is it autenticated and certipied true copy) and other BS simply doesn’t work..
Thanks, Irineo. I’m collecting labels for myself. JoeAm gave me “100-percenter.” Now I can add “Street Corner Lawyer.” 🙂
The topics seem to have drifted far from “Spaced out dreams and AI fiction.” I wonder what that is a sign of? People with too much time on their hands like me?!
Please add OG pilosopo to that list 😉
Thanks, I still have to look up what OG means.
“It seems that on this particular topic, you seem to be stuck on minute details of my wording that fit the beliefs of your youth before emigrating rather than the overall picture I’m trying to paint here as an outsider who has observed and cares.” – Joey
And I appreciate your input as an ‘outsider who cares.’ I’ve even shared some of your thoughts with a fellow Filipino in Australia who seems interested in talking about the Inang Bayan that we left behind.
Yes of course we can agree to disagree. If we both agreed on everything then one of us would be redundant. No fun in that. I am a stickler for words, and I apologize for that “pilosopo” approach. But it helps me understand things better. I recall what brought it up was “re-educate” vs. “educate.” I was curious if “re-educate” meant that we once knew, but then forgot and so needed to learn again. If we never knew, and needed to go back to school, I consider that another story. For example if I took a class in Geometry, but then never learned it, if I took the class again would it be a re-education? I think it is a different case if we NEVER learned despite taking an education course on something.
Honestly I don’t even remember what we were talking about regarding getting educated on. The threads get so long I just don’t have the patience to plow through it all to find the original post. Talk about “aversion to hard work” eh?
You mention “beliefs of my youth.” Actually, I think a lot of my beliefs now just came to be after living here in the US over 10 years. Then ideas began to gel in my head a bit better. As a youth, especially while still in school including college in the Philippines, I was quite clueless and naive I humbly admit. My slogan was “dedicated to fun, loyal to none.”
Back to education vs. re-education: We were under US tutelage on democracy and whatever else for some 40 or 45 years. Then the US dropped us like a hot potato. In my clueless youth I thought it was because we had learned how to be independent and deserved to be independent just like Spain and the US were independent.
But then as an adult and re-reading the history books, etc. etc., I realized that it is very possible that we NEVER learned and really just acted like many teen-agers do that think they know everything and want independence from parents AND their allowances to continue! I actually think that the US decided, as you stated in another response of yours: “It is not my responsibility.” So they did what the US did in Vietnam: “Declared victory and left!”
From that point on, 1946, it was up to us. I’m sure you agree with me on that. And “us” includes the elites AND the D and E folk, etc. etc. We can argue about who bears more responsibility, who is at fault for this or that, etc. But in the end, it us up to us…ALL OF US. Let me know if you disagree with me on that.
Oh, and let me clarify that by “Us” I don’t mean non-Filipinos like yourself. You are right, it is not your responsibility. Your help is optional.
Again, let me say that I really value your sharings in this forum, and I apologize for being a stickler with words. Perhaps with your English degree you can have an appreciation for that. I school I was always just a B student in English, no matter how hard I tried. Feel free to tell me to go shove it when you think it would be more helpful.
Well I don’t have an issue pilosopo most of the time. I tend to be a patient person. Pinoy pilosopo is probably caused by both how generations of Filipinos were taught in school, as well as a tendency to one-up-manship in Filipino culture. The Sophists, and the later pinoy pilosopo, often engaged in fallacious argument of identifying clever fixations that were employed to bend the listener towards existing Sophist’s bias rather than bending the listener towards the truth. To get closer to the truth, we should look at the overall picture and broaden our viewpoints. Even academically “smart” Filipinos can sometimes resort to pilosopo because it seems easier to do so.
On youthful beliefs, often an illusion of a “better” past comes from vague memories from our youth. I’ve found that the more vague one’s ideas were during the younger years, the higher the risk of illusory thinking. For those who feel nagging resentment due to a feeling that one failed to accomplish or experience this or that, the risk is even greater. That’s how diehard Dutertistas and MAGA are made. A lot of my kuyas (always hung out with a crowd 10-15 years older than me) fell victim to this, even if some of them are successful by most societal metrics. So it’s always important to keep in perspective the objectivity rather than the subjectivity.
On the fate of the Philippines as compared to Vietnam, then we should also recall South Korea. Regardless of how the US national consciousness re-wrote things, the truth is that the South Vietnamese were on their way to more independent operation (minus air force) and the North Vietnamese were pretty much a spent force when Nixon and Kissinger backstabbed the entire Indochina (South Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos). One of the first illegal and treasonous acts by Nixon (Chennault Affair https://www.lbjlibrary.org/media-kit/chennault-affair). Whereas South Korea, who had lost their entire country except the tiny town of Pusan (Battle of the Pusan Perimeter), a more favorable political and media environment allowed the US and South Korea to push back the North Koreans almost to the PRC border before the front stabilized at the present DMZ.
I’m probably of the minority view that Filipinos during the Commonwealth era should’ve taken more advantage of American tutelage and help. While some older Filipinos I’ve spoken to think that the US should’ve “stayed” past 1946, I also think that would’ve been wrong because when those Filipinos say “stay” they mean for the US to directly administer. However successive Philippines governments during the Third Republic clearly failed to take advantage of the fact that the US did “stay” in the form of military bases, partnerships, and FDI until Marcos Sr. started nationalizing stuff in 1972. Japan and South Korea figured out a way to enjoy American largess and protection, becoming global financial, manufacturing, and technology hubs, while the Philippines insisted on doing everything themselves yet not knowing to do it well and not caring to learn how in most cases. The increased outflow of OFWs then trained Filipinos starting in the Marcos Sr. and accelerated after the Asian Financial Crisis didn’t make things much better.
I have an old joke I made early on during my Philippines travels that isn’t applicable anymore as MacArthur Highway (now Manila North Road) has since been widened and renovated. I had seen my grandfather’s pictures of MacArthur Highway from the 1960s/1970s when my grandfather was a South Vietnamese diplomat posted in Manila, then had seen my father’s pictures of the same highway from his training exercises with US and Philippine troops during the Vietnam War, and my father’s pictures from his time as a refugee in the Bataan refugee camp. When I had compared their picture to my pictures from my early visits, it seemed that nothing had changed of MacArthur Highway aside from looking more broken down, and with updated roadside businesses. The old and rusting hulks of factories that American capital built back in the 1970s and before that used to dot Cavite and other provinces near Metro Manila was an indicator as well. Clearly, the South Koreans and Japanese figured it out, while prior generations of Filipinos did not. The answer is out there.
As for my formal degrees, I graduated with an English Literature and a Linguistics degree. I have never used the degrees professionally though. To this day I still don’t have a real job (W2), hehe.
Interesting response, Joey…thanks! This thread has gotten so long and off to so many topics I have lost track. What I do remember is that we agreed to disagree, exactly on what I am not sure – maybe it was on “educate” vs. “re-educate.”
I am quite familiar with pinoy pilosopos 🙂 Unfortunately “reasoning out” is still popular in the Philippines. Every neighborhood has its wise guys. Usually the line of argumentation involves an appeal to emotion, sometimes adding an appeal to authority, and if those fail I am never surprised when it goes full warfreak. I grew up in the “hood” with my “OG” kuyas doing the same, to their eternal frustration that the youngest among them (me) would calmly dismantle them every time. I think a lot of it has connection with the underlying MC Syndrome. Just because someone has an opinion doesn’t mean it is correct, or important. Opinions formed through emotion carry even less weight, even if that opinion feels stronger. But if MC Syndrome is an indicator of lack of confidence, there are many more constructive ways to build true confidence than empty bluster. Confidence gained through tangible accomplishments, even if small, reduces the bad habits.
The neighborhood wise guys are less harmful than the ones in high office. The quo warranto ruling against CJ Sereno due to some gaps in her SALNs that had been previously seen as OK was essentially saying in many convoluted pages that she had essentially acted in bad faith and kind of reversed the presumption of innocence. The attempt to void Trillanes’ amnesty ab initio was stopped by a judge who applied rules of evidence showing that even if the original no longer was on file (probably removed by Solgen Calida just like the copies of Sereno’s SALN) there was enough evidence to show that Trillanes most likely had been given amnesty by PNoy. Actually, basic Occam’s razor reasoning, just like it was very clear that an ICC warrant existed against Duterte even without certified true copy. Another legal fallacy is Inday Sara’s attempt to make the ICC’s case against her father invalid by saying how can they prove 30K killings. There is also the common Pinoy logic that if one misdeed can’t be proven, the accuser loses all credibility for any further accusations. It is often also used by Filipino attorneys.
Another front are Heydarian and those like him, who have some degree of knowledge but use that knowledge to argue a big picture they aren’t really qualified to paint. They, too, will come at you with a lot of words and smart quotes. It won’t make sense, but it will impress many.
I’m not familiar enough with the legal history of Spain to make any conclusions as to how Spanish influence influenced the Philippines legal history, but I have a feeling that the tendency towards fallacious reasoning in the Philippines is uniquely pinoy. The theatrics seems to me to be just another form of legalistic and formalistic performance, of which there are many in the Philippines. One only needs to look at how countless requirements sprout up, both governmental and private. Brings to mind the “cargo cult” joke again, as those Filipinos cling for dear life to beloved procedures, though no Filipino can really tell definitively *why* one must jump through all the hurdles. Once one has made it past the hurdles, then one often expects the next guy to be forced to do the same, because *fairness*!
During my many travels in the Philippines, I’ve found that people there love to remark or comment on basically anything, maybe just to have something to chika about, even if the thing is completely irrelevant to themselves. I’ve met Filipinos who consider their opinion of utmost importance, and get quite angry if the unwilling listener isn’t attentive enough. An odd dynamic is created between overly expressive Filipinos and more quiet Filipinos who must bear out the endless stream of opinions or accept the marites will talk about them regardless of truth. I did joke once to an “Isko” that Heydarian is the ultimate marites with his opining on anything and everything. That Isko was not amused, not because I joked about Heydarian, but because he felt that I had slighted his alma mater by clowning on his fellow alumnus.
“I’ve met Filipinos who consider their opinion of utmost importance, and get quite angry if the unwilling listener isn’t attentive enough.” – Joey
How about the situation where the listener is attentive enough, even asks for clarifications, but ultimately disagrees with the “opinion of utmost importance?” That is a problem, right? After all, how can one disagree with an opinion of utmost importance? 🙂
Had a hard time finding a spot to reply to this post from Joey. Anyways, I am not familiar with “OG” as in “OG kuyas” or ” MC syndrome.” Sometimes folks here use shortcuts assuming most if not all understand them. Just saying that is not always the case.
https://gabb.com/blog/what-does-og-stand-for/
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Main%20Character%20Syndrome
Ninotchka Rosca posted that some Filipino sentiments about their history are best described by yearning for a past that never was and yearning for a future that will never come. Yoyo fantasies and habal-habal rockets ARE that.
Sending a microsatellite like Maya out into space isn’t that. The Filipino car project of Manglapus was a pipe dream. My idea of starting with motorcycles pissed him off a bit I think, but it probably was more realistic.
The sense of lost causes a la Simoun from El Fili is a weakness of the ilustrado mindset that comes from its roots in European Romanticism. That sense became part of a lot of Filipino thinking.
“The sense of lost causes a la Simoun from El Fili is a weakness of the ilustrado mindset that comes from its roots in European Romanticism. That sense became part of a lot of Filipino thinking.” – Irineo
I’m not sure I understand how that could have happened. Aren’t we more influenced by Hollywood than European Romanticism?
On lost causes and ilustrado mindset, didn’t Rizal’s character Cabesang Tales want to fight the friars who falsely claimed that the land he had cleared was friar land, and then Tales’s father Tandang Selo discouraged him because the friars were too powerful and he would lose anyway? Were Tales and Selo of the ilustrado class? I didn’t think so.
Tandang Selo is a typical more mature man from the masses who has seen conflicts and tells the younger one to be careful. There is a similar scene in Isa-Isa Lang the movie where the father of the pool shark played by Fernando Poe Jr. tells him to avoid the play for money scene he also was in. There is a scene in the movie Tandem, which is about two Quezon City snatchers, brothers, and the older brother who has been in jail, warns his younger brother. Actually, in all three cases, the younger man is impetuous, and tragedy unfolds.
The idea of lost cause is more of Simoun’s mentality, or even Rizal’s own mentality in The Philippines A Hundred Years hence, which was amplified by Bonifacio in Ang Dapat Mabatid ng Mga Tagalog. The idea of 300 years of misery under Spain.
There is this Spanish Quixotism one can also see in the behavior of Heneral Luna, for instance. Duterte caricatured that with his jetski drama. Yes, we have Hollywood influences, but these are on top of the previous influences. Try watching Mexican action movies like Desperado, that one by Robert Rodriguez was funny because the villains looked EXACTLY like the villains in old Filipino action movies. I am astonished that Robin Padilla did not do a cameo in that movie.
Not Desperado, El Mariachi, which was the low budget prequel to Desperado.
And re lost cause, there always is this sense of the tragic, as Joey wrote “had Rizal lived, had Quezon not died” – or Magsaysay. And a fixation on saviors.
“The idea of lost cause is more of Simoun’s mentality, or even Rizal’s own mentality in The Philippines A Hundred Years hence, which was amplified by Bonifacio in Ang Dapat Mabatid ng Mga Tagalog.” – Irineo
I don’t see “lost cause” in Simoun, Rizal (Philippine a Century Hence), or Bonifacio’s “Ang Dapat…” Thanks for mentioning “Ang Dapat…” btw. I had never heard of it and so I looked it up and read the English translation. My Tagalog is not that good, but maybe someday soon and with a glass of wine and I’ll relax and enjoy it.
https://www.kasaysayan-kkk.info/ check this out from the so far most thorough Katipunan researcher
Thanks, Irineo. Looks like a great site and I look forward to going through it soon. Meanwhile, like I said in my last post on this, I do not see “lost cause” in Bonifacio’s “Ang Dapat…” In fact, I see hope in his essay, not despair because he (and the Katipunan) face a lost cause.
I think it is a failure of imagination in the thinking of Filipino elites. Elites who going back to the Spanish days wanted deep down inside to “be more like” the Spanish, or later, be more like the Americans. Then the Japanese, then Koreans, and now the GenZ obsession with all things Chinese (including CCP soft-propaganda dramas) coming out of the PRC.
I’m not quite sure that European Romanticism is at fault here, though there are many criticisms of Romanticism itself. The problem it seems, is that in their eagerness to adopt new ideas, the Ilustrados did not fully understand those ideas, just like college students today who skim over study material and make attempts of bypassing the hard work required. It seems to me that the Ilustrado turn towards “more Filipino” rather than “more equal to the Spanish” was a result of their disillusionment when the attempt to apply their new, misunderstood, learnings was not successful.
It is very important to reflect on the past, however today most of humanity has the necessary information ready to be accessed. A culture, and a nation can course correct if there is enough collective will to do so.
I have always said to friends and acquaintances in the Philippines: “What’s wrong with just being a Filipino?” The core values of the mother culture can be respected, while gleaning new truths and ideas from the outside in order to improve the mother culture. That would not take away any meaning from what it means to be a Filipino.
I have always said to friends and acquaintances in the Philippines: “What’s wrong with just being a Filipino?” – Joey N.
Any idea what the answer to your question is? I assume it was rhetorical.
San Miguel Corporation pivoted from beverages to infrastructure development a number of years ago and now builds airports, roads, and train lines.
I researched it a bit. Looks good! Probably not very efficient or inexpensive, but at least the people get something. My buddy is fighting water and power companies for them to adhere to the 12% maximum profit, but it is a difficult one. But at least the people have power and water.
Which reminds me, Filinvest, a major condominium developer, is building several desalinization plants in Cebu, which suffers from too many people for too few tall mountains capable of watering the people. So the whole building arena is based on need and profits, and they are busy running calculations beyond our ability to know. The Philippines 20 years ago had plodding rustic haphazard developers, but my sense is that today, it’s a lot more competent. I think we can credit President Aquino for kick-starting this with his rigorous infrastructure work.
Over here, the projected growth in Munich’s population is a matter for the town council, which allots land for development to developer consortia, while the town makes sure the new quarters have public transport. Negotiations for how much we pay the mountain counties our water comes from are also in the local papers, including comedic details like how many cows are allowed to graze up there, as too many urinating isn’t good for our water supply.
In the Philippines, private compensates for public sector incompetence.
If I am not mistaken, Filinvest is a Chinoy company. I believe the current head, Gotianun, was a batchmate of mine in college. She was one of only two women in the Business Management course. Both were Chinays. They were transferees from Maryknoll College. It was the time the Ateneo College was transitioning to co-ed, in the 70s. As I recall, the two women topped the class! I was never in the same subject with either of them so I did not get to know them. I only knew Gotianun by her nickname “Joji” I believe…but in checking on the biodata of the head of Filinvest, the timing and place of her college years fits.
Small world. The condo-building business is quite good I think, but currently adjusting in Manila to high vacancies due to closure of POGOs. It’s similar to the apartment building business that flourished in the US, but without as much vulnerability to tenants who can’t pay. They get their money up front.
I would note that Ayala also has an infrastructure subsidiary. Here is an article that identifies the top builders in the Philippines. They are substantial.
https://www.pencilstudio.ph/blog/top-10-construction-companies-philippines
I really thought the richest businessman in the philippines manny villar outdo them all, his construction firm is listed in the stock exchange. and he is even more influential and summat highly contentious now, and maybe more dangerous too, because his family is also fast getting into high end politics, bagging lucrative government contracts with view to privatization.
and as reported, lots of people suffer needlessly under the privatization of the villars, deprived of apparent good service, but charged just as highly. and to think the very same suffering people are being asked to vote for senate aspirant camille villar, like they could never have enough of the villars.
https://www.rappler.com/philippines/elections/since-villar-primewater-took-over-bulacan-residents-suffering-years/
Yes, they seem not to have a touch of cheating tied to their riches.
it is stealing or cheating to me when people dont get what they paid for.
Re Chinoy:
Shipping.
William Lines.
Later Merged with Gothong and Aboitiz to form WG and A.
Aboitiz decided to drop shipping.
Gothong still has shipping
Internet.
Dito
Converge.
Two different Dennis Uys
As for rails.
Ramon Ang.
MRT 7.
RSA did not originally run SMC but he is running it now and he was in charge of it ‘s expansion.
RSA also handles tollways his postponed mega partnership with MVP will hopefully just be a postponement and not a cancellation.
you are talking of shipping kasi, kaya isasabit ko lang po ito rito: so very happy the west philippines sea is now on google map! PNoy’s executive order circa 2013 has borne fruit. he first named the sea west of our country as west philippines sea. and now, 12yrs later, west philippines sea can be had and be seen over the world. its on the google map well and truly, and its existence cannot be denied by any shipping lanes be they chinese or others, nor can its air space be ignored.
Hope the IRR gets done at least after the elections.
IRR of Maritime Zones so that the new map depucting WPS will be officially published
seems to me president marcos is not yet capitalizing on this new development, maybe because president noy may he rest in peace, his reaches has extended far from the grave. the good that president noy had done has come back to bring us glory.
https://www.inquirer.net/436866/west-ph-sea-prominence-on-google-maps-cheered/
Anyways, I am not familiar with “OG” as in “OG kuyas” or ” MC syndrome.”
————–
Joey’s kinda passive aggressive, CV. its his tripping. keep pushing back where you see a need, more Filipinos need to argue more. just argue in general, and you’re doing good. OG = Original Gangsta ; MC syndrome =/= NPC syndrome, thats from gaming. OG is a black title for a senior (or older) street gangster. MC syndrome is kinda related to YOLO and MOFO. anyways Joey’s people reading skills isn’t so keen. my take is more people gotta have MC syndrome, cuz the opposite is NPC syndrome, being a slave vs. being a master. Nietzsche. but I do have some opinions on OG vis a vis Vietnamese (or Asian gangsters in general) in California. Asian gangsters (street gang) is the most successful population to be rehabilated in CA prison system. once they do their time, they get out and end up going to college or eventually getting good jobs. I think because prison time is a bad experience for them. whereas blacks and Hispanic when they go to prison its like a finishing school or post-grad for them. for Whites too but not so much of late. unlike Asians, Whites learn not to go back to school or get a good job but instead just move their operations outta state. Although Hispanic gangs also use the term OG, they usually say veterano (a lot of military terms, mostly from Hispanic prison gangs– weirdly theres lots of former US Marines too especially Nortenyos vis a vis Surrenyos). so OG is a very black term. their prison gang used to be Big Guerilla Family which controlled the ports (airport too). but Bloods and Crips have sowed chaos. less structure amongst black gangsters. thus they’ve been cut out of the drug trade for awhile now. i dunno if you know the FX show Snowfall, that goes perfect with Kill the Messenger with Jeremy Renner (John Kiriakou CIA whistleblower adviced for that movie, i think he even help write the screenplay). but keep in mind Kevin Costner is from Compton CA. at some point more blacks moved in and eventually i think it was the early 2000s Compton PD was disbanded due to infiltration of either Crips or Bloods. the movie to watch for Mexican gangs is American Me (Mi Vida Loca is good too about a cute little gang in Echo Park where the screenwriter lived at the time, but focusing on females/cholas), there was a character there named Peg Leg Morgan in American Me he’s white cuz he’s like Serbian or Croatian (one of those post or pre Yugoslavian countries) cuz there used to be a bunch of them in East LA, theres still east European churches in East LA today. and a bunch of synagogues though converted into churches or community centers or businesses. cuz all the Jews have moved to West LA and around. Now for Vietnames gangs, old Chinatown in LA is mostly Vietnamese and Cambodians. Laotians i don’t see a lot of , and they don’t tend to be with Vietnamese and Cambodians, i dunno whats that about. same with Thais, but i do see a bit of connection between Laos and Thais. like i went to a Thai restaurant runned by a Lao family (whats that about). Indonesians and Malaysians not so much too. But lots of Filipinos. so when you talk street gangs of OG uncles, you’re usually referring to Vietnames, Cambodians, and tangentially Filipinos. but Filipinos tend to go with Mexican gangs. i think thats mostly due to location. though a bunch of Cambodians are in Frogtown the projects just north of Chinatown DTLA, and they tend to have a good working relationship with Mexican gangs who are also in said projects. the real Chinese in LA are usually HK or Taiwan Chinese. and they’ve moved to Roland Heights, etc. further east. my point here is for the most part you’re talking about Vietnamese and Cambodians and OG isn’t really a thing. maybe some cultural appropriation from blacks, but my other point is theres really no OG like in black or Mexican gangs (prison or street) cuz again they end up becoming bank managers or running their own businesses. so I think what Joey meant was that his uncles used to be in gangs when young, OG usually connote being a general or a retired general in an organization. not just a former gangster when young. theres gravitas. though OG is a word in pop-culture too, but I don’t think Joey meant it as that. as to MS13 in the news lately, here’s some color. MS = Mara Salvatrucha; their other counter part and opposition is 18ST = Eighteenth street. they came en masse in the 80s, due to Central American wars, most from El Salvador but also Nicaragua Honduras Guatemala. again watch Kill the Messenger or better yet read from the horses mouth himself SPY FOR ALL SEASONS by Dewey Clarridge he was head of the whole Iran-Contra operations that senT cocaine up north to Southcentral LA , namely that TV series Snowfall. so up goes war refugees from central america due to said operation, and two gangs were stood up. i think 18STREET was a traditional Mexican street gang and was coopted by Central Americans. because of their MAD policy with when Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) came up. so like USSR and US within a really small area like north of USC (the private univ) and south of MacArthur park, was where these two street gangs duked it out. before 18ST and MS13, Mexican gangs were exclusive, you were recruited then jumped in. with 18ST and MS13, they jumped in everyone coming off the bus from Central America, business was that good, so it was very democratic. so these two gangs boomed in downtown LA, trying to process all that cocaine coming in. so the timeline i got was that Snowfall TV series stuff happened around early 80s AND when Iran-Contra and Clarridge were taken off that program, the tap was never turned off. so cocaine was still getting into Socal and it was 18ST and MS13 that processed all that, with Mexican Mafia. so that was late 80s to early 90s. then Mexican cartels took over (watch both Narcos tv series Netflix for this part), and i think under Gov. Pete Wilson (Joey probably still has posters of that dude) 18ST and MS13 were cracked down. i heard Mexican Mafia threw ‚em under the bus cuz they were getting toooo unruly. so they were deported all en masse, back to central America specifically El Salvador and by 2000s, they metastasized paving the way to Bukele now. but before that MS13/18ST also made their return to the US, but to the east coast of America. and that as they say is all history, CV.
I do use OGs in the pop culture sense. Ogie Diaz is an OPM OG, for instance.
But LCPL_X, cool it, man. If necessary, be Jack Cool. Joe might not like overly detailed expeditions into the territory you just covered. Maybe in this crazy article of mine, it doesn’t matter anymore, I mean in general.
Loud and clear, but i did have an addendum, Ireneo. Maybe Joey’s referring to this. like when the Russians came to Socal in the 90s it was the Armenians as their street dogs. Russians were stopped. like the Italia mafia in the 20/30s in LA. so there is a hidden element that is similar to Russian mafia usually called the Triads (just movies?) and Vietnamese/Cambodians could be that. their lap dogs. but like i said that’s hidden. so if thats the connection to larger Chinese operations, then I would buy that.
But my main contention was MC vs. NPC syndrome, if you’re gonna err, err on the side of MC, Ireneo. stop thinking slave. in this slave vs. master dichotomy. that s how passion is enliven thus motion forward or otherwise towards progress in what ever direction.
I’ll let this one pass, but in the parts where I come from an insult like calling someone “passive aggressive” will probably have you end up flat on the ground.
MC = main character, shorthand for the main character in drama shows, not this NPC crap that the incel manosphere of insecure men pushes. You’re starting to lose the plot again buddy.
“I’ll let this one pass, but in the parts where I come from an insult like calling someone “passive aggressive” will probably have you end up flat on the ground.
MC = main character, shorthand for the main character in drama shows, not this NPC crap that the incel manosphere of insecure men pushes. You’re starting to lose the plot again buddy.” – Joey
My first impression of this group a couple of months ago was that people could agree to disagree agreeably, else Joe Am would show them the door. Was I mistaken in that?
passive-aggressive is not an insult, its a description. I doubt in the hood you grew up in, people went around calling other people passive-aggressive. which then ensued in fights. highly dubious. Joey. because passive-aggressive is not an insult.
In the “hood” near my school in Germany back in the early 1980s, the Pinoys said you can poke fun at Turks but not the quiet Vietnamese often straight out of the war. They were known to be patient but serious if you went too far. Now, if that is passive-aggressive, so be it.
„MC = main character, shorthand for the main character in drama shows, not this NPC crap“
Okay, Joey, so what s the opposite of MC then? supporting actors? in that case, my argument still stands no one should aspire to supporting roles, go for leading role. always.
This is how AI sums it up when I google that feeling MC means, and I believe Joey means the more negative aspects, which older Filipinos have described as prima donna mentality.
Feeling main character” in the context of the internet and social media slang refers to acting or thinking as if one is the central, most important person in their own life, often with a strong sense of self-assuredness and entitlement. This can manifest in various ways, such as prioritizing one’s own experiences and feelings, or projecting a sense of confidence and importance.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown:
Main Character Energy:
This phrase describes the outward aura of confidence and importance that a person with “main character energy” exudes. It can be seen as a positive attribute (e.g., self-assuredness) or a negative one (e.g., self-centeredness) depending on the context and how it’s perceived.
Main Character Syndrome:
This term, while related, suggests a deeper mindset where individuals perceive their lives as a story or movie, with themselves as the protagonist. This can lead to a focus on one’s own narrative and a tendency to view others as supporting characters.
Potential Negative Aspects:
While “main character energy” can be a positive attribute, it can also be associated with self-importance, a lack of empathy, and a tendency to disregard the perspectives and feelings of others.
MC Syndrome is similar to prima donna mentality. Both are narcisstic behaviors where one thinks one’s opinion and accomplishments are the most important, deserving praise and agreement, even if it may be quite trivial. A person with MC Syndrome has an individuality complex and does not want to be the Supporting Character. Yes, in a way we are all MC of our own lives and experiences, but there is a point where such self over confidence becomes a hindrance. In order to gain even more validation, people with MC Syndrome often engage in empty bluster and trying to bulldoze other people down. Since most humans don’t want to involve themselves in trouble, this usually works for a while (sometimes into advanced age) for those with MC Syndrome until they get punched in the mf’ing face.
I think most teens suffer MC Syndrome as they go through the break-out years, then they enter the school of hard knocks and internalize their engagements with others in an increasingly humble and mature way unless they internalize badly. Then they become arrogant.
A lot of the entitled in the Philippines never get the reality checks they need, while those without privilege get punished disproportionately. That includes those out of power on whom the powerless exercise vengeance. The way Filipinos treated Spanish friars from 1896 onwards, the way PNoy was treated increasingly badly from Yolanda and especially starting with Mamasapano, the way Filipinos beat up the first Japanese tourists in 1955. That symbolic scapegoating includes how Leila de Lima was put in jail as vengeance for Arroyo having been in jail for long, how Marcos Jr. is being targeted for his father’s mistakes and all. How people who apologize are given even more flak. I get why nobody says sorry there.
On the whole, a very immature society, but maybe progressing unlike today’s USA?
The progress is like an overlay on top of the privilege and spite, I think. The spite forms a kind of check and balance so that even Duterte could not install a revolutionary government. It will be interesting, if Sara Duterte becomes President, how the House membership will behave after the current impeachment “persecution”. The Senate and SC will just slide on over to give her support. The US is a basket case. Run by lies and stupidity, and a cabinet full of cruel people and morons. Much worse than the Philippines.
That is true. MLQ3 once quoted (I quote from memory now) what his grandfather told Osmeña, that the President is expected by Filipinos to keep order, but they also make sure he doesn’t exceed his authority.
As for the USA and the Philippines, the former might be regressing long-term while the Philippines is progressing. Europe is most probably stagnating. Though history teaches us that the outcome is often far from what we expect it to be.
LOL. my bad. i guess we’re back to Nietzsche’s only interpretations.
It depends on the general tenor and the judgment of the host.
Small altercations between regulars do happen at times.
The editorial guidelines are pretty straightforward. As editor, I view that we create a product, that being a robust discussion about the Philippines that is intelligent and constructive. The things that get people banned are trolling, insulting others, being relentlessly off topic, or dominating threads such that individual views become a (bad) substitute for the product. CV is an anti-Marcos newbie who has not yet learned to teach. He trolls mostly. LCX is repeatedly off-topic and tends to dominate threads, which is why he is in moderation. I don’t know. To me, it is simple. Respect others. Explore and teach about the Philippines. Understand that commenters help create the product, either improving it or making it suck.
“The things that get people banned are trolling, insulting others, being relentlessly off topic, or dominating threads such that individual views become a (bad) substitute for the product.” – JoeAm
Thank you, JoeAm, for your thoughtful reminder about the editorial guidelines. It’s clear you’ve put considerable energy into shaping this space into something distinct—an intelligent, dynamic forum for discussing the Philippines. That’s no small feat, and I do admire your ability to keep the conversation moving while maintaining a sense of order.
That said, I hope you’ll allow me to offer a bit of honest feedback. You’ve emphasized the importance of avoiding personal insults, and I completely agree. That’s why I was taken aback when I was called a liar for suggesting that you support President Marcos, Jr.—something I said in good faith, based on what I’ve observed. Similarly, labeling me a “100 percenter” doesn’t quite reflect my actual views. I support Leni Robredo in both public and private initiatives, while also recognizing her flaws. My views are more nuanced than a binary label can capture.
I’ve also noticed that you have grouped people into roles like “lover,” “hater,” or “teacher.” I understand the intention—it can help frame discussions—but many of us don’t fit so neatly into those categories. In my case, I try to contribute meaningfully, not out of a need for the spotlight, but because I value thoughtful exchange.
Someone also referred to me as “Old Guard” and “MC” (Main Character), which I assume was meant to characterize my participation as overly dominant. Personally, I find that kind of labeling unhelpful, especially when we’re aiming for respectful, idea-driven dialogue.
All that to say: I care about the quality of discussion here too, and I hope we can all hold ourselves to the same standards we ask of others. You’ve created something valuable, and I’d like to see it grow stronger by encouraging diverse contributions without assumptions or preemptive judgment.
Yes, saying you were a liar was over the top and reflects my frustration with being attached to a cause when I work diligently to remain detached from such associations. Well, you weren’t here in 2018 or any other time to read what I’ve written about Marcos or many other things. So you were simply wrong, a presumption that is a function of your operating with hard-held beliefs that brook no alternative view, or motivation, or data. So you called me a name, I responded in kind. Now let’s discuss the Philippines and try to shape ideas constructively. Build, teach, motivate.
Thanks for your reply, JoeAm. I’ll leave it at that.
Just to be clear, I wasn’t trying to provoke or label you—or anyone else in the discussion group. I was just sharing how some comments have come across to me. I understand people see things differently, and that’s okay—we all pick up tone and meaning in our own way. In open discussions like what we have here, I believe “iron sharpens iron.” I take challenges to my views as a chance to sharpen my arguments—or even change my mind if I realize my position isn’t strong. I welcome them. That’s part of why I’m here. I’ll keep doing my best to contribute in a constructive way. Hopefully we can all stay focused on good conversation, different views, and mutual respect—even when we don’t always agree.
Looking forward to more discussion about the Philippines.
„Now, if that is passive-aggressive, so be it.“
There you go. complement it is then! Joey.
Actually, I was telling you to cool it. But well.
You have no idea how it works here. Why not get off your edge and write something constructive. I never did get the article on sex education you said you’d write. Build something.
“I never did get the article on sex education you said you’d write. Build something.” – JoeAm
I don’t recall that. Don’t wait…I don’t have any ideas on sex education. I either made a mistake in saying that, or you are mistaking me with someone else.
Joe, are you talking to me re sex education?
As to passive-aggressive, i’m not insulting you Joey, its a descriptor of how you write and why the above misunderstanding with CV unfolded. why I said, “kinda passive aggressive”. maybe CV is as well, have not read enough of his yet to determine this (though Joe’s calling him a troll anti-Marcos). but obviously theres miscommunication. in both your interaction. maybe theres a bit of Socratic method he’s employing (which can be annoying), and maybe thats irking you. but I really don’t like indirect communication. so get to the bottom of it, for me its the MC/NPC dichotomy cuz you’re always saying this. like Filipinos should just be factory workers or BPO and don’t aspire to be top dawgs from the git-go (baby steps). I’ve always been saying dream big, go big vis a vis Philippine development. moonshots. so we’re disagreeing again on the same points, Joey. this time you’re just taken offense to passive-aggressive. and I’m saying its nothing to be offended of. like my style of writing is aggressive, direct, maybe manipulative. but i tend not to beat around the bush in an argument. propositions are clear, maybe some creativity as to making said arguments. but i digress, here. you’re writing style is passive-aggressive and i stand by that assessment, Joey. but if you say mine is manipulative or aggressive, i’ll not passive-aggressively hint at physical violence. see what i mean. i’ll not get offended, cuz i’d agree. its your style. theres mine. CV’s i have to read more to get a fairer assessment. but your argument with him was entertaining to me and I thought i’d clarify points (add color too current events and all). is all. Joey. if i wanted to insult you i’d insult you, but that’s not my style. I think Primer was the only one i directly insulted here. tbh. i’m not insulting you. i’m being descriptive. thats it.
No, CV said he’d write an article and I said I’d tag Sec Angara on it, who follows my tweets. I was encouraging CV to get away from simply complaining about things to help shape ideas that may help build a stronger, smarter Philippines.
As for modes of interaction, I wish we could get away from the bother. We all have our strengths and limitations. It is the ultimate “off topic” topic. I have a job to do as editor. Joey writes marvelous commentary, you write thought provoking stuff, and I try to be influential by pounding away at articles that may cause people to think (about the Philippines). CV is mainly trolling against the Marcos family. If he has a different dimension, I’ve not seen it.
“No, CV said he’d write an article and I said I’d tag Sec Angara on it, who follows my tweets.” – JoeAm
Oh, I remember that one, JoeAm. Yes I contacted that “crusader” in the Philippines who is fighting to get the utility companies like water and power to stay within the legal limit of 12% ROI. He sends emails to dozens of people in government to get them to listen, with occasional success (I asked him). I thought he would care to use your connection with Sec. Angara. Long story short, he did not seem interested. His crusade is primarily in the field of corruption in the government. He is a CPA and auditor who worked for many years with Petron during the Marcos, Sr. years. CV
Okay, thanks for closing the loop.
I don’t really like to intrude in discussion threads hosted by other writers. You are doing fine, Irineo. I waded through the full scree, or is it screed, and appreciate the corporal’s original thought, but not his inability to hit the return button to break it down.
One of my more charitable views on the Filipino elite penchant for formalism is that it is also an expression of the same naivety that they assign to poor Filipinos of, just with a veneer of process and laws. In some ways, Filipino elites are often more constrained by the legalisms that they had learned, yet do not fully understand… well I had noticed that there is a mentality even among Big Four students to spend more time trying to “bypass” than to actually learn then apply the studied subject. The superficiality of understanding can be extended to many other areas, such as a cursory understanding of the Bible is touted as one being a Bible expert where memorized quoted verses out of context to underline a non-Biblical argument is more important than understanding the cultural-historical context of the particular book and how the universalist elements can be applied to modern society. The formalities of American bureaucracy somehow turned into an unending nightmare of requirements, clearances, a theater of formalistic practice in the Philippines. “What we are doing isn’t working, so we must double-down and do it more and harder!”
My oft-used comparison to Pacific cargo cults to explain the thought process that results in en grande thinking somehow ends up seeming applicable. Of course my sarcastic comparison is more of an absurdist metaphor to explain a more complex interplay when encountering intense pushback among more educated Filipinos. There is a tendency to personalize everything aside and taking personal offense thus completely missing the point. Most societies when encountering new ideas or technology may see introduced concepts as magic at first, but somewhere down the line society figures out how to reverse-engineer and make their own. A bit hard in the Philippines where many of the hardest working and brightest have a goal of trying to find a way to leave rather than building… even those people have a more consumption-based mentality, just like cargo cultists… Well in the heyday of cargo cults, there were some cargo cultists on some islands who touted their superiority over cargo cultists from nearby islands due to proximity to the “White gods” and access to better cargo washing up onto their shores.
I often get mistaken for a cargo cultist praising my own Oktoberfest based cargo cult. Or maybe I am just a cargo cultist imagining that he is a builder. Well, I used to be more of a consumer and employee, that is true.
I don’t think that’s cargo cultism. A defining feature of cargo cults is the assigning of magical properties to mundane new things rather than trying to understand those new things. The problem about assigning magical properties to something is it takes away any necessity of trying to learn how something works. Better to place trust that can approach a religiosity at times. But cargo cult thinking doesn’t just apply to objects; the mentality can also be applied to ideas as well.
We can’t fairly criticize the historical cargo cultists, as in their ignorance they didn’t know any better. But today, most of humanity has access to information to learn at least the basics of how things work, and so people at least have a starting point in a learning journey. By continuing to apply magical properties aka magical thinking, that makes the devotee a lazy person. For those who apply magical thinking when they have some power, that makes the person a reckless, even dangerous individual.
Interesting ideas, Joey, on cargo cultism. From what I understand of it, I beginning to think our dear Inang Bayan is guilty of cargo cultism.
No, my metaphorical application of cargo cultism is a critique of Filipino elites who should know better, not regular (often poor) masa who are ignorant to no fault of their own. In my experience many poor, uneducated Filipinos are very eager to learn as long as a concept can be explained at their level in a way they can understand. One can be educated away from ignorance; those who should know better but choose otherwise can be described by a far worse term.
Cargodor hehe
Those with many hugot have heavy baggage enough to fit a cargo vessel
Cargodor hehe
Those with many hugot have heavy baggage enough to fit a cargo vessel
That is the well-known Balikbayan box cult, which is so powerful that nobody dares oppose them
„What I did see in this blog is the chance to give what LCPL_X termed “nudges,” just ideas on how things could be seen or done differently. And help others here understand based on what I know, which might not be that much. Maybe just to feel better about keeping away.“
Well the fact that Joe’s gone to the SONA and met all these high movers and shakers, is evidence that stuff is getting read here. maybe now less compared to before. but I do remember Joe always sending me to the dog house, or worst bannishing me outright, where i had to hike back in from the cold, and that was becuz I was either muddying the waters or nudging to a totally different direction than Joe intended. so these nudges i think vary, soft nudges to outright push down rabbit holes (where its difficult to escape). Micha would say we’re all typing in the wind, as to all this as therapeutic per Ireneo, that too is valid writing is therapeautic in and of itself. but I do think success is one Filipino (or non-Filipino) that reads whatever is written and says, Hey I can totally use that. some of it or all of it. and that’s good enough.
Sonny told me two things in 2015 that just like your nudges impressed on me. The Catholic analogy of mustard seeds, similar to even one reading stuff and being influenced, and re motivation to do this, even we in diaspora need Zion.
Now, we may be falling apart into the college educated diaspora Filipinos, especially in the Anglosphere and the working class diaspora and OFWs, especially in the Middle East, kinda our Ashkenazim and Sephardim? And in Jerusalem, they crucify those they welcomed?
Oh, I forgot that you are Judas. No, actually, you were always someone who gave unorthodox inspirations. Those of us with college education have the advantage of a certain framework to order our thoughts, like a clothesline. That can also limit us to other views of reality. Those who think out of the box can at least check our orthodoxy from time to time. Though the Orthodox this year have the same Easter date as Catholics. Julian and Gregorian coincide!
I’ve been watching a bunch of Book of Jubilees videos, Ireneo. i have to sit down and really read it one of these days (per Joey’s advice) but so many rabit holes to pursue. I’m into Iamblichus and Alfred North Whitehead now. but i digress, Jubilees is a trip, and the whole thing is essentially adherence to old calendar and schedules specifically the cycles of things. on top of angels and demons. The Essenes, i guess since they were anti Jewish orthodoxy clinged to it, majority of the copies found in Qumran were copies of Book of Jubilees, the other place it survived and practiced and thrived as orthodoxy is in Ethiopia both Jewish and Christians there. So will look into this Julian and Gregorian coinciding vis a vis Book of Jubilees. ps. you’ve always given me good rabbit holes to explore.
I asked Chatgpt of a pinoy invented the moon buggy and the Fluorescent lamp.
The short answer is no, a Filipino did not invent the moon buggy or the fluorescent lamp, but Filipinos contributed to related technologies in meaningful ways.
Here’s a breakdown:1. Fluorescent Lamp
Common misconception: Some sources claim that Agapito Flores, a Filipino, invented the fluorescent lamp.
Truth:
2. Moon Buggy (Lunar Roving Vehicle)
Common misconception: A Filipino helped invent the moon buggy.
Truth:
So where did the myths come from?
These stories likely emerged as urban legends or nationalistic myths, possibly to inspire pride in Filipino ingenuity. While Filipinos have made significant contributions to science and technology, these particular inventions were not by Filipinos.
Would you like a list of real Filipino inventors and their actual inventions?
As for Karaoke. Yehey! Not a hoax!
Yes, a Filipino is widely credited with inventing the karaoke machine.Roberto del Rosario, a Filipino inventor, is known for creating the Sing-Along System in 1975, which is considered the first patented karaoke machine. He was granted several patents for this invention in the Philippines, predating similar devices that later gained popularity internationally.However, Daisuke Inoue, a Japanese musician, is often credited with popularizing karaoke. In 1971, Inoue developed a coin-operated karaoke machine but never patented his invention. Because of that, while Inoue is celebrated for the concept and commercial success of karaoke, del Rosario holds the legal patent for the invention.So, in short:Yes, a Filipino (Roberto del Rosario) invented and patented the karaoke machine.But a Japanese musician (Daisuke Inoue) helped make it a global phenomenon.Want to know more about how it spread or its impact?
Well, the Japanese man developed a karaoke machine 4 years before Del Rosario, did the second one just imitate or not?
I sometimes see people using the /s or /sarcasm tag on Pinoy socmed, Karl you are a witness that I used it first.
Ninotchka Rosca may or may not have invented the term crab mentality as she claims, though sometimes there is indeed synchronicity of ideas like /s proves.
As to patents it was reg. Phil pat off. Hehe
Anybody remember QUINK ink for fountain pens like Parker 51, Esterbrook, et al.? Here’s Wiki’s entry.
Quink – Wikipedia
Quidumbing Ink – We do take credit where it is not due.
The Teleseryes maintain that old school honorific of Don and Doña.
@Joey
Did I read that penchant for formality correctly?
Hmm, Ate and Kuya are from Hokkien IIRC.
All the Chinoy surnames ending with -co were founded by koyas?
The two words must be non-native as they are gendered. It is SI Vice Ganda no matter what he/she/they defines him/herself to be, but is he/she Ate or Kuya if one is younger than him/her, if much younger is he/she Tito or Tita?
Indeed the “co” / “ko” / “ka” common in Chinoy surnames comes from the same word “elder brother” as the adopted word “kuya.” e.g. the Cojuangco family’s actual surname is Kho. The Hispanized Cojuangco came from the family founder’s nickname “Brother Kho Khuan” or “Kho Khuan Ko.”
There are cognates of the Hokkien “ko” in other Yue languages, or countries influenced by Yue trade, such as Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Korea and Japan. In Vietnamese “cả” denotes the eldest brother, while another synonym “anh” is used for elder brother generally. So the eldest brother in Vietnamese would be “anh cả,” while in Hokkien it is “toa hia.” In Indonesian colloquial, Yue influenced twako means eldest brother as well.
Just leaving Google Gemini’s summary of what Whitey on the Moon is about, what LCPL_X has now quoted the second time:
“Whitey on the Moon” is a spoken-word poem by the influential musician and poet Gil Scott-Heron, released on his 1970 album Small Talk at 125th and Lenox.
The piece is a powerful and biting social commentary that contrasts the vast sums of money and national attention spent on the US Apollo space program (specifically, landing a man on the moon) with the dire poverty, neglect, and suffering experienced by Black communities in America’s inner cities.
Here’s a breakdown of its central themes:
Critique of Government Priorities: Scott-Heron questions why the government could fund an expensive venture like space exploration while basic needs like healthcare, housing, and economic stability were unmet for many citizens, particularly African Americans.
Highlighting Racial and Economic Inequality: The title itself, using the colloquial and provocative term “Whitey,” frames the space race as an achievement primarily benefiting or prioritized by white society, while Black people (“my sister Nell,” “my brother”) are left dealing with immediate, life-threatening problems on Earth (rat bites, unpaid medical bills, rising costs, poor housing).
Juxtaposition of Experiences: The poem starkly juxtaposes the technological triumph of the moon landing (“Whitey’s on the moon”) with the grim realities faced by the narrator and their community (“A rat done bit my sister Nell,” “No hot water, no toilets, no lights,” “Taxes takin’ my whole damn check”).
Sarcasm and Anger: The tone is deeply ironic and expresses frustration and anger at the societal disconnect and perceived indifference of the establishment towards the struggles of the poor and marginalized.
In essence, “Whitey on the Moon” uses the moon landing as a symbol of misplaced national priorities and systemic inequality, arguing that resources should have been directed towards solving pressing social issues on Earth before venturing into space. It remains a potent critique of social injustice and government spending.
good call. didn’t think this would not be popular already. let me add materialist and positivist too while we’re at it. like I said it probably started with Hume but Bertrand Russell and company made this a thing. metaphysics use to be central in philosophy. Russell’s padawan went the opposite way from him, Wittgenstein (and probably why I’m tracking more Hegelians on twitter, cuz Hume and Hegel were reactions of each other). essentially materialist is that everything is matter or everything worth knowing is only that. and positivist is following that premise only knowledge that can be gleaned is thru science nothing else, cuz materialism. thus circular. derivative thinking stemming from this materialist-positivist bent is this inability to escape said circular thinking. and why nothing new has come out since WWII and nukes, everything new has been derivative, eg. nothing new. and this dead end is fast approaching and we’re acting like theres no dead end in sight. wash and repeat same old tired practices. derivative. nothing new.
This is from Grok (though I think i’ve trained my Grok to be concise, i’m always yelling at it to do so, lol):
Hey there! I see you asked about materialist and positivist perspectives and their relation, but I’ll also keep the context of your previous question about physics and metaphysics in mind. Below, I’ll explain materialism and positivism, how they relate to each other, and briefly tie them to the physics-metaphysics discussion.
Materialism is the philosophical view that everything that exists is ultimately physical or material. It holds that all phenomena, including consciousness, can be explained by physical processes and matter, rejecting the existence of non-physical entities like souls or abstract realms. In physics, materialism aligns with studying observable phenomena like particles and forces.
Positivism, developed by Auguste Comte, is a philosophy asserting that only knowledge derived from empirical observation and scientific methods is valid. It emphasizes verifiable data and rejects speculative or metaphysical claims that cannot be tested, focusing on „positive“ facts over abstract theorizing.
Relation: Both materialism and positivism prioritize the physical and empirical. Materialism provides an ontological stance (reality is physical), while positivism offers an epistemological method (knowledge comes from observation). Positivists often lean materialist, as they dismiss non-empirical entities. However, one could be a positivist without being a strict materialist, accepting empirical methods but remaining agnostic about non-physical realities.
In physics, both support empirical research but may limit metaphysical inquiries into „why“ physical laws exist, favoring measurable „how.“ Metaphysics, conversely, explores beyond these constraints, questioning the nature of material reality itself.
I just tested Gemini AI Deep Research Beta and got this about the topic physics and metaphysics:
The Productive Relationship Between Metaphysics and Physics
I. Introduction: Setting the Stage for a Productive Dialogue
The relationship between metaphysics and physics has undergone a complex evolution, marked by periods of close association and distinct separation. Historically intertwined within the broad domain of natural philosophy, these two fields have, in more recent times, often been perceived as pursuing disparate inquiries. Physics, with its emphasis on empirical observation, experimentation, and mathematical rigor, has achieved remarkable success in describing and predicting the behavior of the physical universe. Metaphysics, on the other hand, delves into the fundamental nature of reality, exploring concepts that often lie beyond the immediate reach of empirical investigation. However, a closer examination reveals a persistent and potentially fruitful dialogue between these disciplines, particularly as contemporary physics grapples with foundational questions that seem to necessitate philosophical reflection, and as metaphysics increasingly seeks to ground its inquiries in our best scientific understanding of the world. This report aims to explore the multifaceted ways in which metaphysics and physics can productively relate to one another. By examining their core concerns and methodologies, tracing their historical interactions, investigating specific areas of contemporary overlap, analyzing philosophical interpretations of physics, and considering the potential contributions each field can make to the other, this analysis seeks to illuminate the pathways towards a more integrated and mutually beneficial relationship.
II. Defining Metaphysics and Physics: Core Tenets and Methodologies
* Metaphysics: Exploring the Fundamental Nature of Reality
Metaphysics, at its core, is the branch of philosophy dedicated to the study of the most general features of reality. Its inquiries extend to fundamental concepts such as existence itself, the nature of objects and their properties, the distinction between possibility and necessity, the structure of space and time, the phenomenon of change, the principles of causation, and the intricate relationship between mind and matter. As one of the oldest branches of philosophy, metaphysics seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of the ultimate nature of being and the world around us. This pursuit often involves exploring aspects of reality that exist beyond the realm of our immediate sensory experience and cannot be easily discovered or experienced in everyday life.
The very term “metaphysics” has its origins in the ordering of Aristotle’s writings. The Greek phrase “meta ta physika,” meaning “after the things of nature,” was used by an ancient editor to categorize those of Aristotle’s works that came after his treatises on physics. Initially, this placement might have simply indicated the intended order of study for Aristotle’s students, suggesting that one should first master the study of the natural world (physics) before delving into more abstract and fundamental questions. Indeed, Aristotle’s physics books primarily discussed things that are subject to change, while his metaphysics books explored topics that were considered unchanging. This early distinction in subject matter hints at the initial separation of concerns between the two fields.
The central concerns of metaphysics are vast and varied, reflecting its ambition to understand the fundamental structure of reality. These concerns include inquiries into the nature of being itself, probing the very meaning of existence and the distinction between essence and existence. Metaphysics also grapples with questions about substance, seeking to identify the fundamental entities that exist in their own right, as well as the relationship between particulars (individual entities) and universals (general features shared by many). The study of modality, encompassing possibility and necessity, forms another key area of investigation. Furthermore, metaphysics delves into the fundamental nature of space and time, their relationship, and their connection to change and causality. The age-old mind-body problem, exploring the relationship between our subjective experiences and the physical matter of the brain, also falls within the purview of metaphysics. Ultimately, metaphysics strives to construct a coherent picture of what reality ultimately is and how it fundamentally works. Profound questions such as “Why do I exist?” and “Why is there something rather than nothing?” exemplify the deeply fundamental nature of metaphysical inquiry. Core principles like identity, distinction, non-contradiction, and causality also lie at the heart of Western metaphysical thought.
The methodologies employed in metaphysics are traditionally characterized by a reliance on rational intuition and abstract reasoning. Metaphysicians often engage in conceptual analysis, carefully examining the meanings of fundamental terms and the logical relationships between concepts. This “obstinate attempt to think clearly and consistently” has been the hallmark of metaphysical inquiry for centuries. However, contemporary metaphysics is increasingly incorporating empirical approaches, drawing upon the findings and theories of science to inform its understanding of reality. This growing engagement with empirical data suggests a potential bridge forming between the traditionally distinct methodologies of metaphysics and physics.
* Physics: The Scientific Study of Matter, Energy, Space, and Time
Physics, in its essence, is the scientific discipline dedicated to the study of matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. As one of the most fundamental scientific disciplines, physics seeks to uncover the underlying laws and mechanisms that explain how the universe works. Its scope is incredibly broad, ranging from the investigation of subatomic particles using quantum mechanics to the study of the universe as a whole through general relativity.
Historically, physics shares its roots with metaphysics in the broader field of natural philosophy. For a significant period, these areas of inquiry were not strictly demarcated. However, during the Scientific Revolution in the 17th century, physics began to emerge as a distinct discipline, characterized by its emphasis on empirical observation and quantitative analysis. This separation was driven by a growing focus on testable explanations and the development of rigorous experimental methodologies.
The core concerns of physics encompass a wide array of phenomena and concepts fundamental to our understanding of the universe. These include the identification and characterization of fundamental particles and the forces that govern their interactions. Physics seeks to formulate laws of nature that describe the behavior of matter and energy in space and time, addressing phenomena such as motion, heat, light, electricity, and magnetism. Modern physics extends these concerns to the realms of relativity, exploring the nature of space-time and gravity at high speeds and large scales, and quantum mechanics, investigating the behavior of matter and energy at the atomic and subatomic levels. Ultimately, physics aims to provide a precise and fundamental description of the basic mechanisms that make our universe behave the way it does.
The methodologies of physics are firmly grounded in the scientific method, emphasizing observation, experimentation, and precise measurement. Physicists develop mathematical models and theoretical frameworks to explain physical phenomena, formulating hypotheses and predictions that can be tested through carefully designed experiments. Data analysis using statistical methods and computational tools plays a crucial role in interpreting experimental results and refining theories. The development of new technologies and innovations often stems directly from the application of physical principles. Theoretical physics employs mathematical models and abstractions to rationalize, explain, and predict natural phenomena, often working in tandem with experimental physics to advance our understanding.
Physics is broadly divided into classical physics, which includes branches like mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, and optics, and modern physics, which encompasses relativity, quantum mechanics, particle physics, and cosmology. Classical physics provides an excellent approximation for macroscopic objects moving at everyday speeds, while modern physics deals with the very fast, the very small, and the universe at its largest scales.
Insight 2: Physics, with its commitment to the scientific method and mathematical precision, seeks to understand the fundamental laws governing the physical universe. Its historical divergence from metaphysics was driven by the emphasis on empirical validation. However, the very pursuit of fundamental laws and the reliance on mathematical structures imply underlying assumptions about reality that could be productively examined through a metaphysical lens. The evolution of physics into modern realms like quantum mechanics and cosmology has further blurred the lines, as these fields grapple with concepts that challenge classical intuitions and invite philosophical interpretation. Chain of thought: The core methodology of physics centers on observing and experimenting with the physical world, leading to quantifiable results. Yet, the theories that emerge often posit entities and concepts that are not directly observable, requiring a degree of abstraction and interpretation. The historical context of physics branching from natural philosophy suggests that the separation was not absolute and that foundational questions about the nature of reality remain relevant to its endeavors.
III. A Historical Perspective on Their Intertwined Fates
The historical relationship between metaphysics and physics reveals a fascinating interplay, oscillating between unity and separation, with significant instances of mutual influence. Initially, within the broad scope of natural philosophy, the distinction between metaphysical and physical inquiries was not sharply defined. Ancient thinkers, such as those in ancient India, China, and Greece, speculated about the nature and origin of the universe, their inquiries often blending what we would now consider metaphysical and physical considerations. For centuries, questions about the fundamental constituents of reality, the nature of change, and the causes of natural phenomena were pursued within a unified philosophical framework. Indeed, before the advent of modern science, addressing scientific questions was an integral part of metaphysics, often referred to as “natural philosophy”. The very foundations of what would later become physics were laid within this broader philosophical context, where metaphysical acceptability often served as a criterion for physical theories.
The Scientific Revolution marked a turning point, leading to a gradual separation of physics as an increasingly empirical and quantitative science. The emphasis shifted towards observation, experimentation, and mathematical formulation as the primary means of understanding the natural world. This methodological divergence contributed to a growing distinction between the aims and approaches of physics and metaphysics. As “physics” came to denote a specific, quantitative science, the term “metaphysics” began to encompass a wider range of philosophical problems that could not be easily classified within the increasingly specialized scientific disciplines.
Despite this separation, metaphysical ideas have played a significant role in shaping the development of physics. For instance, Isaac Newton’s groundbreaking work was deeply influenced by his metaphysical beliefs about the existence of universal laws governing the cosmos. His conception of absolute space and time, though later challenged by relativity, provided a foundational framework for classical mechanics, rooted in his broader philosophical understanding of the universe. Similarly, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’s metaphysical concept of monads, fundamental, indivisible units of reality, influenced his understanding of physics. The debate between absolute and relative space, a crucial precursor to Einstein’s theories, was significantly driven by metaphysical arguments, such as Newton’s famous bucket experiment, which sought to establish the reality of absolute motion. René Descartes, a key figure in the Scientific Revolution, believed that a robust metaphysical foundation was essential for the proper study of the physical world.
Conversely, advancements in physics have profoundly influenced and challenged metaphysical assumptions. Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, with its revolutionary concepts of spacetime as a unified entity and the relativity of simultaneity, directly contradicted the long-held metaphysical notions of absolute and independent space and time. This paradigm shift in physics necessitated a fundamental rethinking of metaphysical frameworks related to existence, change, and identity over time. Quantum mechanics, with its inherent probabilistic nature and the perplexing phenomena of non-locality and entanglement, has further challenged deterministic views of causality and traditional notions of reality that were often underpinned by metaphysical assumptions. The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, for example, explicitly incorporates metaphysical notions about the role of measurement and the observer in shaping quantum reality. Even contemporary physicists, in their pursuit of theories like quantum gravity, find themselves grappling with questions about the fundamental nature of space and time that blur the lines between physics and metaphysics.
Insight 3: The historical journey of metaphysics and physics demonstrates a dynamic and reciprocal relationship. While the Scientific Revolution fostered a methodological separation, the two fields have consistently influenced one another. Metaphysical frameworks have provided foundational concepts and spurred crucial inquiries in physics, while, in turn, groundbreaking physical discoveries have often necessitated a profound re-evaluation and revision of core metaphysical assumptions about the very fabric of reality. This historical intertwining underscores the potential for a continued and productive dialogue between these disciplines. Chain of thought: The initial unity within natural philosophy highlights a time when metaphysical and physical questions were seen as interconnected. The subsequent separation was largely due to the development of the empirical method in physics. However, key advancements in physics relied on underlying philosophical assumptions, and the often counter-intuitive findings of modern physics have forced metaphysics to adapt its understanding of fundamental concepts. This historical pattern of influence suggests that neither field can operate in complete isolation from the other without potentially limiting its own progress and insights.
IV. Contemporary Intersections: Where Metaphysics Meets Modern Physics
* The Metaphysics of Space and Time in Light of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics
Modern physics, particularly the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics, has profoundly reshaped our understanding of space and time, leading to significant intersections with metaphysics. Einstein’s theories of relativity revolutionized the classical Newtonian view of space and time as absolute and independent entities. Special relativity introduced the concept of spacetime as a unified four-dimensional continuum, where space and time are inextricably linked and their measurements are relative to the observer’s frame of reference. Phenomena such as the relativity of simultaneity, time dilation, and length contraction, predicted by special relativity, challenged the intuitive metaphysical assumptions about a universal “now” and the fixed nature of space and time. General relativity further transformed our understanding by describing gravity not as a force, but as a curvature of spacetime caused by the presence of mass and energy. This dynamic and geometric view of spacetime, where it is influenced by and influences matter, has spurred extensive metaphysical debates about the ontological status of spacetime itself – is it a substance, a relation, or something else entirely?.
Quantum mechanics, the theory governing the microscopic world, presents its own set of challenges and intersections with the metaphysics of space and time. The development of quantum gravity, a theoretical framework aiming to unify quantum mechanics with general relativity, suggests that spacetime as we understand it might not be fundamental. Some approaches propose that spacetime emerges from more fundamental, non-spatiotemporal entities or structures. Furthermore, quantum phenomena like non-locality and entanglement, where particles can be correlated across vast distances in ways that seemingly defy classical notions of spatial separation and causal influence, raise deep metaphysical questions about the fundamental interconnectedness of reality and the nature of space itself. The very act of measurement in quantum mechanics, and the role of the observer, as highlighted in some interpretations, also touches upon metaphysical issues related to consciousness and the nature of reality.
These developments in modern physics have profound implications for long-standing philosophical debates concerning space and time. The debate between substantivalism (the view that space and time exist as entities independent of matter) and relationalism (the view that space and time are merely relations between material objects) is continually informed and challenged by our evolving physical understanding. Similarly, the nature of time, particularly the distinction between presentism (the view that only the present exists) and eternalism (the view that all past, present, and future events exist equally), is heavily debated in light of relativity’s implications for the concept of simultaneity and the block universe model of spacetime.
Insight 4: The revolution in physics brought about by relativity and quantum mechanics has fundamentally altered the landscape of the metaphysics of space and time. Relativity’s unification of space and time into a dynamic, observer-dependent spacetime challenged classical intuitions and necessitated a re-evaluation of traditional metaphysical frameworks. Now, quantum mechanics, particularly the ongoing quest for quantum gravity, hints at an even more radical picture where spacetime itself might be an emergent phenomenon, arising from a deeper, non-spatiotemporal reality. Concepts like quantum non-locality and entanglement further complicate our understanding of spatial relations and interconnectedness. These scientific advancements continue to fuel philosophical inquiry into the ultimate nature of space and time and their place in the fundamental structure of reality. Chain of thought: Relativity dismantled the Newtonian framework of absolute space and time, forcing metaphysicians to grapple with the implications of relative measurements and a unified spacetime. Quantum mechanics then introduced a new layer of complexity, suggesting that spacetime might not even be a fundamental building block of the universe. This necessitates a deeper metaphysical investigation into the nature of reality at the most fundamental level, exploring possibilities beyond our familiar notions of space and time.
* Causality: Philosophical Implications of Quantum Indeterminacy and Cosmological Models
The concept of causality, the relationship between causes and effects, forms another critical area where metaphysics and modern physics intersect. Quantum mechanics, in particular, has challenged the traditional deterministic view of causality that prevailed in classical physics. The inherent probabilistic nature of many quantum phenomena, as exemplified by radioactive decay or the behavior of particles in superposition, suggests that not all events are strictly determined by prior causes. The uncertainty principle, which imposes fundamental limits on the precision with which certain pairs of physical properties can be known simultaneously, further reinforces the idea of an inherent indeterminacy at the quantum level. These findings have led to extensive philosophical discussions about the nature of causation in the quantum realm, with some exploring notions of probabilistic causation, where a cause increases the likelihood of an effect rather than necessitating it. The non-local correlations observed in quantum entanglement also pose a challenge to traditional causal accounts that assume locality.
Causality also plays a central role in cosmology, the study of the universe’s origin, evolution, and large-scale structure. Cosmological arguments for the existence of God often rely on the principle of causality, positing a “first cause” for the universe’s existence. However, the very notion of a first cause raises profound metaphysical questions: What caused the first cause? Does the universe itself require a cause? These questions delve into the limits of our understanding of causation and the possibility of something existing without a prior cause. Modern cosmological models, such as the Big Bang theory, while providing a scientific account of the universe’s evolution, often touch upon these fundamental questions, leading to ongoing debates at the intersection of physics and metaphysics.
Philosophical interpretations of causation vary widely, ranging from Humean accounts that reduce causation to regularities in experience to non-Humean views that posit a more robust, underlying causal connection between events. Some philosophers even argue for causal eliminativism, suggesting that the concept of causation might not be fundamental in our most accurate description of the physical world. The implications of quantum mechanics and cosmology continue to inform and challenge these various philosophical perspectives on the nature of cause and effect.
Insight 5: Quantum mechanics has introduced a fundamental layer of indeterminacy into our understanding of the universe, directly challenging the classical deterministic view of causality. This has prompted a significant re-evaluation of what it means for one event to cause another, with philosophers and physicists exploring probabilistic models and grappling with the implications of non-local quantum correlations. In the realm of cosmology, the question of a first cause for the universe remains a central metaphysical puzzle, with scientific models often pushing us to the very limits of our causal intuitions. The diverse philosophical interpretations of causation reflect the ongoing effort to reconcile our everyday understanding of cause and effect with the often counter-intuitive findings of modern physics, highlighting the crucial role of metaphysical reflection in interpreting the implications of these scientific advancements. Chain of thought: The probabilistic nature of quantum events at the most fundamental level of reality undermines the strict determinism that many traditional accounts of causation relied upon. This forces us to reconsider whether every event truly has a preceding cause that necessitates it. Furthermore, when we consider the universe as a whole, the question of its origin inevitably leads to inquiries about a first cause, a concept that is inherently metaphysical and pushes the boundaries of what physics alone can explain. The variety of philosophical perspectives on causation demonstrates the complexity of this issue and the need for both scientific and metaphysical insights to achieve a comprehensive understanding.
* Consciousness: Exploring the Interface Between Metaphysics, Quantum Theory, and Cosmology
The nature of consciousness and its relationship to the physical world remains one of the most profound and challenging questions at the intersection of metaphysics, quantum theory, and cosmology. Various hypotheses have been proposed that attempt to link the seemingly strange phenomena of quantum mechanics with the subjective experience of consciousness. Some theories, collectively known as “quantum mind” hypotheses, suggest that quantum processes occurring within the brain at a level smaller than neurons might play a crucial role in consciousness. Examples include the orchestrated objective reduction (Orch-OR) theory proposed by Penrose and Hameroff, which posits a connection between quantum coherence in microtubules and consciousness, and quantum brain dynamics, which explores the possibility of long-range coherent waves in the brain as a basis for memory and consciousness. While these theories offer intriguing possibilities, they remain highly speculative and face significant conceptual and practical challenges, such as the issue of quantum decoherence in the warm, wet environment of the brain.
The role of consciousness also arises in cosmological models, particularly in relation to the interpretation of quantum mechanics and the anthropic principle. Some interpretations of quantum mechanics, such as the Copenhagen interpretation (though debated), have historically suggested a role for the conscious observer in the collapse of the wave function during measurement. The anthropic principle, observed in cosmology, notes that the universe appears to be fine-tuned for the existence of life, particularly intelligent, conscious life capable of observing it. This observation raises metaphysical questions about whether consciousness plays a more fundamental role in the universe’s existence or evolution than currently understood.
These explorations at the intersection of consciousness and the physical sciences have profound metaphysical implications. They touch upon philosophical positions such as panpsychism, the view that consciousness or mind-like properties are fundamental and exist throughout reality, and dualism, which posits a fundamental distinction between mind and matter. Ultimately, these inquiries grapple with the very nature of subjective experience and its place within the broader physical cosmos.
Insight 6: The enigma of consciousness presents a compelling area of overlap between metaphysics, quantum theory, and cosmology. While physics has yet to provide a complete explanation for consciousness, various hypotheses explore potential links to quantum phenomena, suggesting that the unusual behavior of matter at the smallest scales might be connected to our subjective experiences. Furthermore, cosmological considerations, such as the fine-tuning of the universe for life, hint at a possible role for consciousness in the grand scheme of the cosmos. These investigations inevitably lead to deep metaphysical inquiries into the fundamental nature of mind and its relationship to matter, often revisiting age-old philosophical debates about panpsychism and dualism. The difficulty in empirically verifying these connections underscores the need for continued interdisciplinary dialogue and the development of novel theoretical frameworks that can bridge the gap between the objective world of physics and the subjective realm of consciousness. Chain of thought: Our own experience of consciousness is a fundamental aspect of reality that seems difficult to reconcile with a purely materialistic view of the universe as described by physics. The peculiar nature of quantum mechanics, with its inherent strangeness, has led some to wonder if it holds clues to understanding consciousness. Similarly, the fact that the universe appears so well-suited for life prompts questions about whether consciousness might be more than just a byproduct of complex physical systems. These lines of inquiry naturally lead to metaphysical speculations about the fundamental nature of mind and its place in the cosmos.
V. Philosophical Interpretations of Physics: The Role of Metaphysical Frameworks
The interpretation of physical theories, particularly quantum mechanics and cosmology, is not a straightforward process of reading off the implications from mathematical equations but often requires the application of underlying metaphysical frameworks. Quantum mechanics, despite its extraordinary empirical success, has given rise to a plethora of interpretations, each offering a different perspective on the nature of reality at the quantum level. The Copenhagen interpretation, one of the earliest and most influential, emphasizes the role of the observer and the act of measurement in determining the properties of quantum systems. In contrast, the Many-Worlds interpretation posits that every quantum measurement causes the universe to split into multiple parallel worlds, each corresponding to a different possible outcome. Bohmian mechanics offers a deterministic interpretation by introducing hidden variables that guide the motion of particles. Objective collapse theories propose modifications to the standard quantum mechanical equations to account for the collapse of the wave function without invoking an observer. These diverse interpretations, all consistent with experimental data, highlight how different underlying metaphysical assumptions about determinism, realism, locality, and the nature of measurement lead to vastly different ontological pictures of the quantum world.
Similarly, the interpretation of cosmological models often relies on philosophical principles and raises fundamental metaphysical questions. The Big Bang theory, the prevailing cosmological model, describes the universe’s evolution from an extremely hot and dense state. However, questions about what existed before the Big Bang, the nature of the initial singularity, and the ultimate fate of the universe often venture into metaphysical territory. Multiverse hypotheses, which propose the existence of multiple universes beyond our own, are often invoked to address certain fine-tuning problems in cosmology, but their testability and ontological status are subjects of ongoing philosophical debate. The very nature of time in cosmology, particularly its beginning and direction, also presents profound philosophical challenges. Different philosophical interpretations of cosmology reflect varying metaphysical commitments regarding the nature of existence, time, and the universe’s place within a broader reality.
Insight 7: The interpretation of physical theories is not a purely scientific endeavor but is deeply intertwined with underlying metaphysical frameworks. The existence of multiple, empirically equivalent interpretations of quantum mechanics clearly demonstrates that physics alone does not provide a complete and unambiguous picture of reality. Different metaphysical assumptions about fundamental concepts like determinism, locality, and the nature of observation lead to vastly different ontological accounts of the quantum world. Similarly, in cosmology, philosophical principles and metaphysical commitments play a significant role in shaping our understanding of the universe’s origin, evolution, and ultimate fate, often guiding the development and interpretation of scientific models. This highlights the indispensable role of metaphysics in making sense of the profound implications of our most successful physical theories. Chain of thought: Physics provides the mathematical language and experimental data, but it often requires a philosophical lens to translate these into a coherent understanding of reality. The fact that leading physicists and philosophers continue to debate the meaning of quantum mechanics, despite its predictive power, underscores the necessity of interpretation. Cosmology, dealing with the universe at its most fundamental level, inevitably encounters questions that transcend the purely physical, requiring metaphysical frameworks to provide context and potential answers about existence, time, and the very nature of the cosmos.
VI. The Potential Contributions of Metaphysics to Physics
Metaphysics, far from being a detached and irrelevant pursuit, holds significant potential to contribute productively to the advancement of physics. One crucial contribution lies in its ability to suggest new avenues of research by raising fundamental “why” questions that physics, with its focus on “how,” might not directly address. By probing the deeper nature of reality, metaphysics can push the boundaries of scientific inquiry, prompting physicists to consider questions about the ultimate reasons behind physical laws and phenomena. For instance, metaphysical inquiries into the nature of time or the origin of the universe can inspire physicists to develop new theoretical frameworks or to look for novel experimental evidence.
Furthermore, metaphysics can play a vital role in clarifying conceptual ambiguities that sometimes arise within physical theories. Physics often deals with highly abstract and counter-intuitive concepts, such as quantum superposition or the curvature of spacetime. Metaphysical analysis, with its emphasis on conceptual rigor and logical clarity, can help to refine the definitions of these concepts, explore their interrelationships, and resolve potential ambiguities. By providing a deeper understanding of the fundamental concepts underlying physical theories, metaphysics can contribute to the development of more coherent and well-defined scientific frameworks.
Perhaps one of the most significant contributions of metaphysics to physics lies in its capacity to examine the foundational assumptions upon which physical theories are built. Physics, like any scientific discipline, operates within a framework of certain fundamental assumptions about the nature of reality, the validity of its methods, and the interpretation of its results. Many of these assumptions, such as the existence of an external world independent of our minds or the applicability of mathematics to describe physical phenomena, are inherently metaphysical in nature. Metaphysical inquiry can provide a critical lens for examining these assumptions, questioning their justification, and exploring alternative possibilities. This philosophical scrutiny can lead to a deeper understanding of the very foundations of physics and potentially uncover hidden biases or limitations within its current frameworks.
Insight 8: Metaphysics offers a valuable and often overlooked contribution to physics by prompting deeper foundational questions that can inspire new research directions, by providing rigorous conceptual analysis that clarifies the often abstract concepts within physical theories, and by critically examining the underlying metaphysical assumptions that form the very basis of physics itself. This philosophical engagement can lead to a more profound and coherent understanding of the physical world, pushing the boundaries of scientific inquiry and potentially guiding the development of more comprehensive and robust physical frameworks. Chain of thought: Physics, while incredibly successful at describing the “how” of the universe, sometimes encounters limits when it comes to the fundamental “why”. Metaphysics, with its focus on these deeper questions, can encourage physicists to think beyond current paradigms and explore new theoretical possibilities. Furthermore, the abstract nature of many physical concepts can lead to ambiguities in their interpretation. Metaphysics, with its tools of conceptual analysis, can help to refine these concepts and ensure greater clarity. Finally, every scientific endeavor rests on certain fundamental assumptions about reality. By subjecting these often-implicit assumptions to philosophical scrutiny, metaphysics can help to strengthen the foundations of physics and potentially identify areas where our understanding might be incomplete or biased.
VII. The Influence of Physics on Metaphysical Assumptions
The relationship between metaphysics and physics is not unidirectional; physics exerts a significant influence on metaphysical assumptions, acting as a crucial source of knowledge and a catalyst for the revision and development of metaphysical theories. As our most successful scientific framework for understanding the natural world, physics provides a wealth of empirical data and theoretical structures that metaphysics must take into account. Metaphysics, in its quest to understand the fundamental nature of reality, cannot afford to ignore the insights gained from rigorous scientific investigation. Indeed, many contemporary metaphysicians see physics as an indispensable source of information about the world, using its findings as a foundation for their own inquiries.
Groundbreaking physical discoveries have often directly challenged and necessitated revisions in existing metaphysical theories. The advent of Einstein’s theory of relativity, for example, compelled a radical rethinking of the metaphysical concepts of absolute space and time that had been dominant for centuries. Similarly, the development of quantum mechanics, with its counter-intuitive implications for determinism, causality, and the nature of matter, has profoundly influenced metaphysical debates about these fundamental aspects of reality. These instances demonstrate the power of physical discoveries to overturn established metaphysical assumptions and to set the agenda for new philosophical inquiries.
Furthermore, physics has not only challenged existing metaphysical theories but has also served as a powerful source of inspiration for the development of entirely new metaphysical perspectives. The abstract and often mind-bending concepts emerging from modern physics, such as the unification of space and time, the possibility of extra dimensions, or the idea of a universe fundamentally composed of information, have sparked the imaginations of metaphysicians, leading to the formulation of novel philosophical frameworks that attempt to make sense of these scientific advancements within a broader understanding of reality. The ongoing dialogue between process metaphysics and interpretations of quantum physics, for instance, illustrates how contemporary physical theories can inspire and inform new metaphysical approaches.
Insight 9: Physics stands as a cornerstone of knowledge for contemporary metaphysics. The empirical findings and theoretical structures provided by physics offer both constraints and inspiration for metaphysical inquiry. Groundbreaking physical discoveries have often necessitated the revision of long-held metaphysical assumptions, forcing philosophers to adapt their understanding of fundamental concepts like space, time, causality, and matter. Moreover, the often-counterintuitive and profound implications of modern physics have served as fertile ground for the development of entirely new metaphysical perspectives, pushing the boundaries of philosophical thought in response to our evolving scientific understanding of the universe. Chain of thought: Metaphysics aims to understand the most fundamental aspects of reality. Physics, through its rigorous scientific investigation, provides our most detailed and empirically validated account of the physical world. Therefore, it is logical that metaphysics should draw upon the knowledge generated by physics, using it as a crucial input for its own inquiries. When physics reveals aspects of reality that contradict existing metaphysical views, it is incumbent upon metaphysics to either revise those views or explain the discrepancy. Conversely, the novel and often perplexing concepts arising from physics can inspire metaphysicians to develop new ways of thinking about the nature of reality, potentially leading to deeper and more comprehensive understandings.
VIII. Challenges and Criticisms of Attempts to Closely Integrate Metaphysics and Physics
Despite the potential for a productive relationship, attempts to closely integrate metaphysics and physics face several challenges and criticisms. One significant hurdle is the skepticism often expressed by physicists who may view metaphysics as irrelevant, unscientific, or even nonsensical. The emphasis in physics on empirical verification and mathematical rigor can lead some physicists to dismiss metaphysical inquiries as speculative and lacking in concrete evidence. This attitude can create a barrier to meaningful dialogue and collaboration between the two fields.
Conversely, some metaphysicians express concerns about physics potentially overstepping its bounds or making unwarranted metaphysical claims. They may argue that physics, while providing valuable descriptions of the physical world, does not necessarily provide a complete or ultimate account of reality, and that certain fundamental questions remain within the domain of philosophical inquiry. There can be a reluctance among some metaphysicians to cede authority on foundational questions to physics, particularly when those questions seem to extend beyond the scope of empirical testability.
Another challenge lies in the difficulty of bridging the gap between the fundamentally different methodologies employed by physics and traditional metaphysics. Physics relies heavily on observation, experimentation, measurement, and mathematical modeling, while traditional metaphysics often employs rational intuition, abstract reasoning, and conceptual analysis. This methodological divide can make it challenging for practitioners of each field to fully appreciate and engage with the approaches and findings of the other.
Finally, attempts to integrate metaphysics and physics, particularly in areas like consciousness and quantum mechanics, have sometimes been criticized for leading to what is often termed “quantum mysticism”. This involves the misapplication of quantum concepts to metaphysical or spiritual domains without proper scientific justification, drawing upon superficial similarities rather than genuine connections. Such misinterpretations can undermine the credibility of serious interdisciplinary inquiry and fuel skepticism towards any attempt to bridge the gap between physics and metaphysics.
Insight 10: The path towards a productive integration of metaphysics and physics is fraught with challenges. Skepticism from physicists regarding the value of metaphysics, concerns from metaphysicians about the potential overreach of physics, fundamental differences in methodologies, and the risk of misapplying scientific concepts in metaphysical contexts all pose significant obstacles. Overcoming these challenges requires a commitment to mutual respect for the distinct aims and approaches of each field, a willingness to engage in rigorous interdisciplinary dialogue, and a careful avoidance of unwarranted extrapolations and simplistic conflations of scientific and philosophical concepts. Chain of thought: The historical development of physics as an empirical science has created a culture that often values testable predictions above abstract philosophical speculation. This can lead to a dismissal of metaphysics as irrelevant to the progress of physics. Conversely, metaphysics, with its broader scope and focus on fundamental questions, may view physics as limited in its ability to address certain core issues. The methodological differences further complicate matters, as the tools and approaches used in each field are quite distinct. Finally, the temptation to draw facile connections between complex physical theories and metaphysical or spiritual ideas can undermine the rigor and credibility of genuine interdisciplinary work. A successful integration requires acknowledging and navigating these potential pitfalls through open communication and a clear understanding of the strengths and limitations of each discipline.
IX. Conclusion: Towards a Productive Dialogue
The relationship between metaphysics and physics is a complex and evolving one, characterized by a rich history of both separation and mutual influence. While physics has achieved remarkable success in describing the physical universe through empirical investigation and mathematical formalisms, metaphysics continues to grapple with fundamental questions about the nature of reality that often lie beyond the immediate reach of scientific inquiry. Contemporary physics, particularly in areas like quantum mechanics and cosmology, increasingly encounters foundational questions that seem to necessitate philosophical reflection, while metaphysics increasingly seeks to ground its inquiries in our best scientific understanding of the world.
Perspectives on the productive relationship between these two fields vary. Some physicists remain skeptical of metaphysics, viewing it as speculative and irrelevant to the progress of science. Others, however, recognize the value of philosophical inquiry in clarifying concepts and examining the foundational assumptions of physics. Metaphysicians, while sometimes wary of physics overstepping its bounds, generally acknowledge the crucial role of scientific knowledge in informing their understanding of reality and see potential for metaphysics to contribute to physics by raising new questions and providing conceptual clarity.
Despite these varied perspectives, there are key areas of potential agreement and disagreement. Both fields recognize the importance of fundamental questions about the nature of existence, space, time, causality, and consciousness. There is a general consensus that physics has significantly influenced and challenged metaphysical assumptions throughout history. However, disagreements persist regarding the scope and limitations of each field, the validity of certain integrative approaches, and the appropriate methodologies for addressing questions at their intersection.
Moving towards a more integrated and fruitful relationship requires fostering mutual respect for the distinct roles and methodologies of both disciplines. Physicists can benefit from a greater awareness of the metaphysical assumptions that underlie their work, while metaphysicians should engage seriously with the findings of modern physics. Encouraging interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration, where physicists and philosophers can openly discuss foundational questions and the implications of physical theories, is crucial. It is also essential to maintain intellectual rigor and avoid simplistic or unwarranted conflations of scientific and philosophical concepts.
Ultimately, a closer collaboration between metaphysics and physics holds significant potential for advancing our understanding of reality. By working together, these two fundamental disciplines can offer complementary perspectives and insights into the deepest questions about the nature of existence and the universe we inhabit. Metaphysics can provide the conceptual tools and foundational frameworks necessary to interpret the profound implications of physical discoveries, while physics can offer the empirical grounding and theoretical structures that inform and constrain metaphysical inquiry. This ongoing dialogue promises to enrich both fields and lead to a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the cosmos and our place within it.
Key Valuable Tables:
* Section II: Defining Metaphysics and Physics
| Field | Core Concerns (Examples) | Primary Methodologies |
|—|—|—|
| Metaphysics | Being, Existence, Causality, Space/Time, Consciousness, Substance, Universals/Particulars | Rational Intuition, Abstract Reasoning, Conceptual Analysis, Increasingly Empirical Engagement |
| Physics | Matter, Energy, Forces, Motion, Space-time, Universe, Fundamental Particles, Laws of Nature | Observation, Experimentation, Measurement, Mathematical Modeling, Theoretical Development |
* Section III: A Historical Perspective on Their Intertwined Fates
| Era/Figure | Metaphysical Influence on Physics (Examples) | Physical Influence on Metaphysics (Examples) |
|—|—|—|
| Antiquity (Aristotle) | Ideas on causation and change influenced early natural philosophy. | |
| 17th Century (Newton) | Concept of universal laws and absolute space/time provided a framework for classical mechanics. | |
| 17th Century (Descartes) | Emphasis on mechanistic explanations influenced the development of early physics. | |
| 17th Century (Leibniz) | Concept of monads influenced his understanding of the fundamental nature of physical reality. | |
| Early 20th Century (Einstein) | | Relativity challenged absolute space and time, influencing theories of time (presentism vs. eternalism) and the nature of spacetime. |
| Early 20th Century (Bohr, Heisenberg) | Copenhagen interpretation incorporated metaphysical notions about measurement and the observer effect in quantum mechanics. | Quantum mechanics challenged deterministic causality and traditional notions of reality, inspiring debates about indeterminacy and the interpretation of quantum phenomena. |
This is my favorite part:
„Moving towards a more integrated and fruitful relationship requires fostering mutual respect for the distinct roles and methodologies of both disciplines. Physicists can benefit from a greater awareness of the metaphysical assumptions that underlie their work, while metaphysicians should engage seriously with the findings of modern physics. Encouraging interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration, where physicists and philosophers can openly discuss foundational questions and the implications of physical theories, is crucial. It is also essential to maintain intellectual rigor and avoid simplistic or unwarranted conflations of scientific and philosophical concepts.
Ultimately, a closer collaboration between metaphysics and physics holds significant potential for advancing our understanding of reality.“
————
I think though I would just get rid of philosophers in this endeavor, in Philippine universities, and place this new Physics/Metaphysics Dept. squarely within Physics. cuz they’ll be too pilosopo and not getting anything done, Ireneo. lol…
Damn, Google Deep Research just wrote me this in a few minutes, impressive:
The Trajectory of Democracy in the Philippines: 1935 to the Present
Introduction
The evolution of democracy in the Philippines presents a complex and multifaceted narrative, spanning from the establishment of the Commonwealth in 1935 to the present day. The nation’s journey towards democratic governance has been shaped by a unique interplay of historical forces, including prolonged periods of colonial rule under both Spain and the United States, a devastating World War, a protracted era of authoritarianism, and vibrant movements for popular sovereignty. Understanding this trajectory requires a detailed examination of key constitutional and political developments, the profound impact of significant historical events, the actions of pivotal political figures, and a comprehensive assessment of the current state and future prospects of democracy in the archipelago. This report aims to trace this intricate path, analyzing the critical junctures and enduring challenges that have defined the Philippines’ democratic experience. By examining these factors, a clearer picture emerges of the nation’s progress, its current vulnerabilities, and the potential avenues for future democratic consolidation.
The Genesis of Philippine Democracy: The Commonwealth Era (1935-1941)
The establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines in 1935 marked a significant, albeit transitional, step in the nation’s journey toward self-governance. This development was a direct result of the Tydings-McDuffie Act, a piece of United States legislation that laid out a ten-year plan for the Philippines to achieve full independence. The Act envisioned the Commonwealth as an interim administration, providing Filipinos with greater autonomy while the US continued to manage key areas such as foreign affairs, defense, and currency. The official inauguration of the Commonwealth government took place on November 15, 1935, in Manila, a momentous occasion attended by a large crowd. This period represented a distinctive experiment in gradual decolonization, where the US aimed to prepare the Philippines for the responsibilities of independent rule while still maintaining a degree of oversight. This initial groundwork for democratic institutions was thus laid within a framework of continued American influence.
A cornerstone of the Commonwealth era was the promulgation of the 1935 Constitution. This foundational document was the product of a Constitutional Convention convened in Manila in 1934, and it was subsequently approved by the convention, ratified by the Filipino people in a plebiscite, and ultimately sanctioned by the US President. The 1935 Constitution enshrined several key democratic principles, including the sovereignty of the people, asserting that governmental authority emanates from them. It also included a comprehensive Bill of Rights, guaranteeing fundamental freedoms and protections against potential government overreach. Mirroring the US system, the Constitution established a separation of powers among three co-equal branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial departments. An independent judiciary was also a key feature. Initially, the legislative branch was unicameral, consisting of a National Assembly, but it was later amended to a bicameral Congress. Provisions for suffrage were included, initially granting the right to vote to male citizens who met certain literacy and residency requirements, with the possibility of extending suffrage to women through a future plebiscite. Furthermore, the Constitution provided for the creation of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), an independent body tasked with enforcing and administering election laws. The 1935 Constitution, largely modeled on the American system , reflected the significant influence of the US on the Philippines’ political development. While it laid down essential democratic features, the initial limitations on suffrage and the continued US oversight suggest that democracy in the Philippines during this period was still in an evolving stage, rather than being fully realized.
The development of electoral processes during the Commonwealth era saw the holding of significant presidential elections in September 1935. Manuel L. Quezon emerged as the victor, becoming the first Filipino to head an elected government in the Philippines. The electoral system involved direct elections for the members of the National Assembly, and later, following the constitutional amendment in 1941, for the bicameral Congress. The political landscape of the Commonwealth was largely dominated by the Nacionalista Party, which held considerable sway over governance. A notable development during this time was the gradual expansion of suffrage, culminating in the adoption of women’s suffrage. These early electoral processes established the fundamental structures for representative democracy in the Philippines. However, the overwhelming dominance of a single political party and the potential for control by elite groups indicate that the depth and inclusivity of democracy during the Commonwealth era faced certain limitations.
Several key political figures shaped the trajectory of the Philippines during the Commonwealth period. Manuel L. Quezon, as the first President, played a central role in guiding the nation towards independence and establishing the initial democratic institutions. Sergio Osmeña, who served as Vice President, was another prominent figure in the political landscape. The Nacionalista Party, with its established network and influence, was the dominant political force of the time. While Quezon and Osmeña led the Commonwealth, other figures like former president Emilio Aguinaldo and Philippine Independent Church leader Gregorio Aglipay also contested the 1935 elections, representing alternative political viewpoints. The political landscape of the Commonwealth era was largely characterized by the influence of these established elites and the dominance of the Nacionalista Party, suggesting a degree of continuity with pre-Commonwealth power structures. Quezon’s leadership was particularly instrumental in shaping the early years of the Commonwealth and its nascent democratic institutions.
The Impact of War and Occupation (1942-1945)
The trajectory of democratic development in the Philippines was abruptly disrupted by the onset of World War II and the subsequent Japanese occupation, which began with the invasion in December 1941. This invasion effectively halted the planned progress towards full independence and dismantled the existing political structures. As Japanese forces gained control over the archipelago, they established a military administration to govern the occupied territories. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth government, under President Quezon, was forced into exile in Washington D.C., where it continued to function in a limited capacity. The period of Japanese occupation was marked by severe social, economic, and political upheavals, causing widespread suffering and instability. This period significantly impeded the growth of democratic institutions, replacing them with an authoritarian regime imposed by the occupying power.
In an attempt to legitimize their rule and gain Filipino support, the Japanese established the Second Philippine Republic in October 1943. However, this republic was essentially a puppet state of Imperial Japan, with its policies and decisions heavily influenced by the occupying forces. José P. Laurel was appointed as President of this republic , and a National Assembly with limited powers was also established. Despite the facade of independence, the Second Philippine Republic lacked genuine autonomy and remained firmly under Japanese control. Consequently, it was not viewed as a legitimate expression of Filipino democracy by many, who remained loyal to the exiled Commonwealth government and the United States. The leaders of the Second Republic operated within the constraints set by the Japanese, and their actions were largely directed by the occupying power’s interests.
Despite the oppressive conditions of the Japanese occupation, various forms of resistance emerged, playing a crucial role in shaping the future of democracy in the Philippines. Guerrilla movements, composed of former soldiers, local militias, and ordinary citizens, actively fought against the Japanese forces. The communist-led Hukbalahap was one of the most prominent and effective of these resistance groups. Throughout the occupation, a significant portion of the Filipino population remained loyal to the United States and the Commonwealth government, demonstrating their continued aspiration for eventual liberation and the restoration of democratic rule. The resistance movements, despite facing immense challenges and brutal suppression, preserved the ideal of self-determination and contributed significantly to the eventual re-establishment of democratic institutions after the end of the war. The Filipino people endured immense suffering and made considerable sacrifices during this period, highlighting their unwavering commitment to freedom and democracy.
Building a Nation: Democracy in the Post-Independence Era (1946-1972)
The end of World War II and the defeat of Japan paved the way for the United States to grant full independence to the Philippines on July 4, 1946. With the achievement of independence, the 1935 Constitution was reinstated, providing the legal framework for the new republic. The Philippines adopted a presidential system of government, featuring a directly elected president and vice-president. The legislative branch consisted of a bicameral Congress, comprising the Senate and the House of Representatives. The judiciary was established as an independent branch of government, ensuring the separation of powers. The re-establishment of these democratic institutions marked a crucial step towards self-governance for the Philippines after enduring decades of colonial rule and the disruption of wartime occupation.
The presidential system in the Philippines vested significant executive power in the President, who served as both the head of state and the head of government. The legislative process involved both the Senate and the House of Representatives, each with specific roles in the creation and passage of laws. Independent constitutional commissions, such as the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and the Civil Service Commission, were established to ensure the integrity of elections and the merit-based appointment of government personnel. The 1935 Constitution also included a Bill of Rights, safeguarding fundamental freedoms and liberties for all citizens. While these institutions provided the structural foundations for democratic governance, their effective functioning was often challenged by factors such as corruption and political instability that plagued the post-independence era.
The Philippine party system in the post-independence period saw the rise of a two-party system, primarily dominated by the Nacionalista Party and the Liberal Party. These two parties alternated in holding power, shaping the political landscape for much of this era. However, the early years of independence were also marked by significant political developments, including the communist-inspired Hukbalahap Rebellion , which posed a serious challenge to the authority of the newly established government. The presidencies of key figures such as Manuel Roxas, Elpidio Quirino, Ramon Magsaysay, Carlos P. Garcia, and Diosdado Macapagal were instrumental in navigating the challenges of nation-building and shaping the course of Philippine democracy during this period. While the emergence of a two-party system suggested a level of political competition, both parties were largely composed of elites with similar political platforms, raising questions about the extent to which they truly represented the diverse interests of the broader population. The Huk Rebellion highlighted the deep-seated social and economic inequalities that persisted in the aftermath of the war.
Despite the formal establishment of democratic institutions, the period from 1946 to 1972 faced considerable challenges in consolidating democracy. Persistent issues of corruption and scandal plagued Philippine politics, eroding public trust in governance. A high concentration of wealth and underlying ethnic conflicts further weakened the stability of democratic institutions. Patronage politics and the dominance of political elites continued to exert a significant influence, often prioritizing personal or familial interests over broader national development. The significant disparities in social and economic inequality also contributed to widespread discontent and instability. These persistent challenges ultimately culminated in President Ferdinand Marcos’ declaration of martial law in 1972 , marking a critical turning point in the trajectory of Philippine democracy.
The Shadow of Authoritarianism: Martial Law Under Ferdinand Marcos (1972-1986)
President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in the Philippines on September 21, 1972. The official justifications cited by the Marcos administration for this drastic measure included the growing threats posed by communist and Islamic insurgencies, as well as an increasing breakdown of law and order across the country. However, alternative perspectives suggest that Marcos’ primary motivations were to circumvent the constitutional limits on his presidential term and to conceal the vast accumulation of ill-gotten wealth by him and his allies. Initially, a segment of the Filipino public expressed support for martial law, hoping that it would bring about greater peace and stability in a nation grappling with rising unrest. Nevertheless, the long-term consequences of this period would reveal a significant erosion of democratic principles and a descent into authoritarian rule.
The imposition of martial law had a profound and detrimental impact on democratic rights, civil liberties, and governance in the Philippines. Democratic institutions were systematically dismantled, with President Marcos indefinitely suspending the Philippine Congress and imposing strict censorship on the press. Fundamental civil liberties, including freedom of speech, assembly, and expression, were severely curtailed, silencing dissent and limiting political participation. The martial law regime was characterized by widespread human rights abuses, including the arbitrary arrest and detention of political opponents and activists, prolonged detention without trial, systematic torture, and numerous cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Power became heavily concentrated in the executive branch, with Marcos ruling largely by presidential decree and through manipulated popular referenda. Furthermore, the martial law era witnessed significant economic mismanagement, rampant corruption, and the flourishing of “crony capitalism,” where Marcos and his close associates amassed immense wealth at the expense of the nation. This period of authoritarian rule marked a stark regression from democratic ideals, leaving a lasting legacy of human rights violations and economic instability.
As the years of martial law wore on, public disillusionment with the Marcos regime grew, fueled by the consolidation of political and economic power within the hands of the Marcos family and their inner circle. A pivotal moment that significantly galvanized the opposition movement was the assassination of prominent opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr. in August 1983 upon his return from exile. Under mounting domestic and international pressure, Marcos called for “snap” presidential elections in February 1986. However, these elections were widely marred by allegations of widespread fraud and manipulation, further inflaming public anger. Various groups across Philippine society, including student activists, religious leaders, and numerous civil society organizations, played an increasingly active role in resisting the Marcos regime, organizing protests and advocating for democratic reforms. The socio-political climate in the Philippines by the mid-1980s was thus characterized by a potent combination of widespread discontent, a strong desire for change, and a growing movement for the restoration of democratic governance.
The Dawn of a New Era: The People Power Revolution and the Re-establishment of Democracy (1986)
The culmination of years of resistance against the Marcos regime arrived in February 1986 with the People Power Revolution. From February 22 to 25, 1986, millions of Filipinos took to the streets, primarily along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) in Metro Manila, in a massive display of non-violent protest. The key causes of this historic uprising included the assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr., the widespread fraud in the 1986 snap elections, and the decades of oppressive and autocratic rule under Marcos. Several key figures played pivotal roles in the revolution. Corazon Aquino, the widow of the slain opposition leader, emerged as the unifying figure of the anti-Marcos movement. Cardinal Jaime Sin, the Archbishop of Manila, provided crucial moral and spiritual leadership, urging Filipinos to join the protests. A significant turning point was the defection of key military figures, including then-Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and AFP Vice Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos, who withdrew their support from Marcos and joined the side of the protesters. The revolution was remarkable for its largely peaceful nature, with unarmed civilians confronting tanks and soldiers, using prayer, flowers, and human barricades as their primary weapons. The culmination of the People Power Revolution was the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos, who, facing overwhelming popular pressure and the loss of support from key allies, was forced to flee the country along with his family. Corazon Aquino was subsequently inaugurated as the new President, marking the end of the Marcos dictatorship and the restoration of democracy in the Philippines. This historic event became a global symbol of the power of non-violent resistance in achieving political change.
The immediate priority following the People Power Revolution was the dismantling of the authoritarian structures established under Marcos and the re-establishment of democratic institutions. President Corazon Aquino’s administration took swift action, forming a revolutionary government to normalize the situation and issuing a transitional “Freedom Constitution” that restored civil liberties and dismantled the Marcos-era bureaucracy. A crucial step in this process was the appointment of a Constitutional Commission tasked with drafting a new permanent constitution for the Philippines. The resulting 1987 Constitution included several key provisions aimed at strengthening democracy and preventing a return to authoritarianism. It significantly limited the powers of the president, re-established the bicameral Congress, and proposed the creation of autonomous regions in the Cordilleras and Muslim Mindanao. The ratification of this new constitution marked a significant milestone in the restoration of democratic institutions and respect for civil liberties in the Philippines.
Navigating the Challenges: Philippine Democracy from 1986 to the Present
Despite the euphoric restoration of democracy in 1986, the Philippines has continued to face numerous challenges in consolidating and strengthening its democratic institutions. The early years of the post-Marcos era were marked by several coup attempts launched by disgruntled factions within the military, posing a significant threat to political stability. The Philippine political landscape has also been characterized by persistent political polarization and the enduring influence of elite-dominated politics, often hindering substantive reforms. The phenomenon of “people power” has resurfaced on occasion, such as during EDSA II in 2001, demonstrating the continued importance of public mobilization but also indicating potential underlying instability within the political system. Furthermore, the country has grappled with long-term violent insurgencies, particularly in the southern region of Mindanao, which continue to pose challenges to national unity and security.
A persistent and pervasive issue that has continued to plague Philippine democracy since 1986 is corruption. Endemic across various administrations, corruption undermines public trust in democratic institutions and acts as a significant impediment to equitable economic development. Numerous corruption scandals have surfaced over the years, including those that led to the impeachment of President Joseph Estrada in 2001 and the controversies surrounding the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Efforts to combat corruption have been made, such as the establishment of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) to recover ill-gotten wealth from the Marcos era. However, the deeply entrenched nature of corruption continues to be a major challenge for democratic governance in the Philippines, eroding accountability and distorting policy implementation.
The Philippines has also struggled with persistently high levels of economic inequality since the restoration of democracy. This significant disparity in wealth distribution can fuel social unrest and undermine overall political stability. The implementation of effective land reform and comprehensive poverty alleviation programs has faced numerous obstacles, hindering efforts to create a more equitable society. The potential for economic elites to exert undue influence on the political process remains a significant concern, further complicating the pursuit of policies that benefit the majority of the population. This enduring economic inequality poses a fundamental challenge to the promise of democratic governance for all Filipinos.
Despite these considerable challenges, Philippine democracy has also witnessed significant positive developments since 1986. The adoption of the 1987 Constitution itself was a crucial step, establishing a framework with stronger safeguards against authoritarianism. Electoral reforms have been implemented over the years, including efforts to modernize the voting process and enhance transparency. A vibrant and active civil society continues to play a vital role in promoting democracy, advocating for human rights, and demanding good governance. The rise of digital platforms and social media has also provided new avenues for political discourse, citizen engagement, and the mobilization of public opinion, although this has also presented challenges related to the spread of misinformation.
The post-1986 democratic landscape has been shaped by a succession of presidents, each leaving their own mark on the nation’s trajectory. Corazon Aquino’s presidency (1986-1992) was pivotal in restoring democratic institutions after the Marcos era. Fidel Ramos (1992-1998) focused on economic liberalization and achieving peace agreements with insurgent groups. Joseph Estrada’s term (1998-2001) was cut short by impeachment due to corruption allegations. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2001-2010) faced numerous controversies and impeachment attempts during her presidency. Benigno Aquino III (2010-2016) pursued anti-corruption efforts and initiated a landmark arbitration case against China over the South China Sea. Rodrigo Duterte’s administration (2016-2022) was marked by a controversial “war on drugs” that drew international criticism for its human rights implications. Most recently, the election of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2022 has brought the Marcos family back to the presidency, a development with significant historical and political implications. These presidencies and the events that unfolded during their terms have collectively shaped the ongoing evolution of Philippine democracy.
The Current State and Future Trajectory of Philippine Democracy
Contemporary Philippine democracy exhibits a complex mix of strengths and weaknesses. On the one hand, the country possesses established democratic institutions, holds regular elections, boasts a vibrant civil society, and maintains a relatively free press, although the latter faces increasing pressures. However, deeply entrenched weaknesses persist, including pervasive corruption, significant economic inequality, the enduring influence of political dynasties, the practice of vote buying, the proliferation of disinformation campaigns, and ongoing challenges to the rule of law. The rise of historical revisionism and the return of the Marcos family to power have also raised concerns about the erosion of democratic values and the potential for a diminished understanding of the nation’s past.
Looking ahead, the future trajectory of Philippine democracy will likely depend on the nation’s ability to address these persistent challenges. Ongoing issues related to political stability, corruption, and economic inequality remain significant hurdles to democratic consolidation. The current political dynamics and the leadership’s approach to these issues will undoubtedly shape the future of governance and democratic values in the country. The active engagement of civil society organizations and individual citizens in demanding accountability, transparency, and inclusive policies will be crucial in strengthening democratic institutions. Potential pathways for democratic development in the Philippines may involve further electoral reforms, stricter enforcement of anti-corruption laws, and more effective policies aimed at reducing economic disparities and promoting social justice. Ultimately, the resilience and future of Philippine democracy will hinge on a collective commitment to upholding democratic principles and fostering a political culture that prioritizes the well-being and participation of all its citizens.
Conclusion
The journey of democracy in the Philippines since 1935 has been a dynamic and often turbulent one, marked by periods of progress, setbacks, and significant transformations. From the initial establishment of democratic institutions under the Commonwealth era to the challenges posed by World War II and the subsequent struggle for independence, the Filipino people have consistently aspired towards self-governance. The dark years of martial law under Ferdinand Marcos represented a stark deviation from democratic norms, but the spirit of freedom and the desire for democratic rule ultimately triumphed in the 1986 People Power Revolution. However, the years since the restoration of democracy have not been without their own set of challenges, including persistent issues of political instability, corruption, and economic inequality.
Despite these considerable hurdles, the Philippines has demonstrated a remarkable resilience in its pursuit of democracy. The existence of democratic institutions, the holding of regular elections, the vibrancy of civil society, and the relative freedom of the press are testaments to the enduring commitment of many Filipinos to democratic values. However, the ongoing struggle against corruption, the deep-seated problem of economic inequality, and the persistent influence of elite politics continue to pose significant threats to the full realization of a just and equitable democracy. The recent political developments, including the return of the Marcos family to power, underscore the complexities of the nation’s historical memory and the ongoing debates about its democratic future.
In conclusion, the trajectory of democracy in the Philippines from 1935 to the present has been a testament to both the aspirations and the vulnerabilities of democratic governance. While significant progress has been made in establishing and restoring democratic institutions, the future consolidation and development of democracy in the Philippines will require a sustained and concerted effort to address its persistent challenges and to foster a political culture that truly embodies the principles of accountability, transparency, and inclusive participation for all its citizens.
For Karl, from Google Gemini AI Deep Research:
Analysis of the Defense Situation of the Philippines and Recommendations
Executive Summary
The defense situation of the Philippines is currently defined by a complex interplay of geopolitical pressures, internal security concerns, and ongoing efforts to modernize its armed forces. Situated in a strategically vital region, particularly concerning the South China Sea, the Philippines faces significant external challenges stemming from the assertive actions of a major regional power. Internally, the nation grapples with evolving cyber threats, disinformation campaigns, and the lingering presence of insurgent groups. Recognizing these challenges, the Philippine government has embarked on an ambitious modernization program for its military, while simultaneously strengthening its long-standing alliance with the United States and fostering new defense partnerships with other nations. This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Philippines’ defense situation, examining its military strength and composition, the threats it faces, its defense budget and alliances, the progress of its modernization efforts, and its inherent strengths and weaknesses. Based on this analysis, the report concludes with potential recommendations aimed at further enhancing the defense capabilities of the Philippines.
Introduction: The Strategic Context of Philippine Defense
The Philippines holds a pivotal geostrategic position in the Indo-Pacific region, an archipelago nation bordering the South China Sea, a critical artery for global trade and a focal point of increasing geopolitical competition. This location imbues the Philippines with significant importance in the context of regional power dynamics, particularly concerning the rise of a major power asserting expansive maritime claims. Historically, Philippine defense policy has evolved from a primary focus on internal security threats, such as communist and Islamist insurgencies, towards a more outward-looking posture aimed at safeguarding its territorial integrity and sovereignty. This shift has been largely driven by the escalating tensions in the South China Sea, where the Philippines faces direct challenges to its exclusive economic zone and territorial claims. The increasing assertiveness of a major regional power has necessitated a reassessment of defense priorities and a concerted effort to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to meet these emerging external threats.
Current Military Strength and Composition of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is composed of three main service branches: the Philippine Army, the Philippine Navy (which includes the Philippine Marine Corps), and the Philippine Air Force. As of 2024, the total active personnel in the AFP is estimated at around 150,000, complemented by a substantial reserve force of approximately 1,200,000 Ready Reserves. Additionally, the Philippines has a paramilitary force estimated at 35,000 individuals.
Philippine Army
The Philippine Army, with an estimated active strength of 201,250 personnel, has historically been the largest branch and has primarily focused on ground warfare and internal security operations. However, recognizing the evolving security landscape, the Army is now actively seeking to enhance its mobility, survivability, and firepower. A significant development indicating this shift towards external defense is the consideration of acquiring BrahMos anti-ship missiles, which would bolster the Army’s coastal defense capabilities. Furthermore, the recent procurement of a new Bell 412EPX aeromedical helicopter will enhance the Army’s operational support capabilities. This evolution suggests a move beyond its traditional internal security role towards a more comprehensive defense posture.
Philippine Navy (including the Marine Corps)
The Philippine Navy, including the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC), has an estimated active strength of around 39,500 personnel. The Navy is primarily responsible for safeguarding the Philippines’ extensive coastline and its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), with a focus on deploying fast response watercraft. In a significant step towards modernizing its fleet, the Navy recently acquired the guided missile frigate BRP Miguel Malvar (FFG-06), marking a substantial upgrade in its naval capabilities. The Navy is also anticipating the delivery of two HDC-3100 corvettes from South Korea in 2025 and 2026, along with six offshore patrol vessels also under construction in South Korea. Demonstrating an ambition to further enhance its maritime defense and project power, the Philippines has expressed a strong interest in acquiring at least two submarines. The Philippine Marine Corps, as the naval infantry arm, requires approximately 60 armored vehicles and has commenced procurement with an initial acquisition of seven vehicles from South Korea. These developments underscore a clear commitment to strengthening the Navy’s capacity for maritime security and territorial defense.
Philippine Air Force
The Philippine Air Force (PAF) has an estimated active strength of approximately 33,600 personnel. The PAF currently operates 12 FA-50PH fighter jets, and a contract for an additional dozen FA-50 Block 20 aircraft is expected soon, which would effectively double its fighter fleet. Furthermore, the Air Force has recently contracted for six additional A-29B Super Tucano light attack aircraft, with deliveries scheduled for 2026. In its pursuit of enhanced air power, the PAF is actively considering the acquisition of new multirole fighters, with Saab’s Gripen and Lockheed Martin’s F-16 being the primary contenders. The Air Force is prioritizing the procurement of additional multirole fighters, advanced surveillance platforms, and cutting-edge drones to significantly enhance its maritime domain awareness and interoperability with allied forces. These modernization efforts demonstrate a clear focus on improving the PAF’s ability to safeguard the nation’s airspace and provide crucial support for maritime operations.
Active and Reserve Personnel
The Philippines maintains a moderately sized active military force of around 150,000 personnel, complemented by a substantial reserve component of approximately 1,200,000 individuals. This significant reserve force represents a considerable potential asset for augmenting the active military in various contingencies, although the actual readiness and equipment levels of the reserve personnel would require further assessment. The military age for voluntary service in the Philippines ranges from 18 to 56 years old, and conscription is optional, primarily facilitated through programs like the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) and Basic Citizen’s Military Training (BCMT).
Analysis of External and Internal Security Threats and Challenges
The Philippines faces a complex array of security threats, both external and internal, that shape its defense priorities and resource allocation.
External Threats: Geopolitical Tensions in the South China Sea
The most pressing external security challenge confronting the Philippines is the escalating geopolitical tension in the South China Sea. A major regional power continues to assert expansive and often contested maritime claims, engaging in coercive gray-zone operations and the construction of dual-use infrastructure on disputed islands and reefs. This has led to increased incidents and confrontations with Chinese maritime forces, particularly in areas like Second Thomas Shoal and the Spratly Islands, where Philippine Coast Guard vessels and resupply missions have faced repeated harassment. The Philippines recognizes the critical need for enhanced interdiction capabilities to effectively patrol and safeguard its western exclusive economic zone, known as the West Philippine Sea. The potential for further escalation in these tensions poses a significant risk to regional peace and stability, underscoring the urgency for the Philippines to strengthen its defense posture and alliances.
Internal Threats: Cyber Security, Disinformation, and Insurgency
Beyond the external challenges, the Philippines also faces significant internal security threats, including the growing complexities of cyber security, the pervasive impact of disinformation, and the lingering presence of insurgent groups.
Cyber Security
The Philippines is experiencing a notable surge in cyber threats targeting various sectors, including government, education, finance, and telecommunications. These threats encompass a range of malicious activities, such as malware infections (particularly InfoStealers), sophisticated social engineering tactics (including phishing and smishing), system exploitations, Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, and increasingly concerning supply chain attacks. Geopolitical tensions in the region are also raising concerns about the potential for state-sponsored cyberattacks targeting the Philippines’ critical infrastructure and government systems. A recent incident in February 2025, where the Philippine Army detected a cyberattack on its network infrastructure, highlights the vulnerability of even critical military systems. Recognizing the severity of these threats, the Philippines has initiated a cyber systems acquisition project aimed at improving its cyber defenses and systems integration. The evolving cyber threat landscape demands continuous vigilance and significant investment in robust cybersecurity measures to protect national interests.
Disinformation
The Philippines’ political landscape is increasingly influenced by online activities, with social media platforms becoming battlegrounds for both domestic and foreign actors employing disinformation campaigns. These campaigns utilize troll armies and the spread of false or misleading information to sway public opinion and potentially destabilize the government. Notably, several accounts with links to a major regional power have been identified disseminating content aimed at undermining the current administration while promoting the interests of a previous one. Misinformation campaigns also constitute a significant portion of overall cyberattack activities. The proliferation of disinformation poses a serious threat to the Philippines’ political stability, democratic processes, and social cohesion, necessitating comprehensive strategies for detection, mitigation, and public awareness.
Insurgency
Historically, the Armed Forces of the Philippines has been heavily engaged in internal security operations against both communist and radical Islamist insurgent groups. Through sustained efforts, including a focus on civil-military operations, the AFP has achieved significant success in diminishing the effectiveness, legitimacy, and influence of groups like the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in the southern Philippines. The communist insurgency, while not entirely eradicated, has been largely contained to smaller pockets. The experience gained in these counter-insurgency campaigns remains a valuable asset for the AFP. However, continued vigilance and a focus on addressing the underlying socio-economic factors that can fuel unrest are essential to prevent the resurgence of these internal threats.
Philippine Defense Budget and Recent Trends in Defense Spending
The Philippine government has demonstrated a growing commitment to strengthening its defense capabilities through increased budgetary allocations.
Overview of the 2025 Defense Budget
In the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), the Department of National Defense (DND) received a total budgetary allotment of Php 271,924,071,000.00. This represents a substantial 12.3% increase compared to the Php 238,356,544,000.00 allocated in the 2024 GAA. The 2025 defense budget is allocated across various categories, including Php 163,551,336,000.00 for Personnel Services (PS), Php 79,392,899,000.00 for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), and Php 28,979,836,000.00 for Capital Outlay. A significant portion of the defense budget, amounting to Php 75,000,000,000.00, is dedicated to the Revised AFP Modernization Program. This modernization budget is further divided into Php 35,000,000,000.00 in programmed appropriations and Php 40,000,000,000.00 in unprogrammed appropriations. This increased financial commitment underscores the government’s prioritization of national security in the face of evolving regional challenges.
Trends in Defense Expenditure (2024-2025)
The trend in Philippine defense spending reveals a significant upward trajectory. Over the past eight years, the total budget for military upgrades has increased by 150%, from Php 30 billion in 2018 to Php 75 billion in 2025. Notably, there has been a growing reliance on unprogrammed appropriations for the AFP modernization, which have seen an eightfold increase from Php 5 billion in 2018 to Php 40 billion in 2025. However, guaranteed funding for modernization has slightly decreased from Php 40 billion in 2024 to Php 35 billion in 2025. The Philippines defense budget is estimated at $4.1 billion in 2024 and is projected to experience a robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 6% during the period of 2025-2029. In 2025, military spending accounts for 1.25% of the country’s GDP. This increasing trend in defense expenditure reflects a strategic response to the evolving security environment, particularly in the South China Sea.
Funding for the AFP Modernization Program
The Revised AFP Modernization Program has been allocated a total budget of Php 75,000,000,000.00 for 2025. Of this amount, Php 35,000,000,000.00 is in programmed appropriations, while Php 40,000,000,000.00 is designated as unprogrammed appropriations. The programmed amount represents a decrease from the Php 40,000,000,000.00 allocated in 2024. The executive branch had initially proposed Php 50 billion for the program in 2025, but Congress subsequently realigned Php 15 billion to unprogrammed appropriations. President Marcos approved the “Re-Horizon 3” initiative in January 2024, a comprehensive ten-year plan with an estimated cost of Php 2 trillion aimed at overhauling the AFP’s capabilities. Despite the increasing allocations, the modernization program faces a substantial funding shortfall, estimated at P2.1 trillion as of August 2024. This reliance on unprogrammed funds and the significant existing shortfall present considerable challenges to the timely and comprehensive realization of the AFP’s modernization goals.
Key Defense Alliances and Partnerships
Recognizing the complexities of its security challenges, the Philippines has actively cultivated and strengthened its defense alliances and partnerships.
The US-Philippines Alliance: Mutual Defense Treaty and Related Agreements
The alliance between the United States and the Philippines remains a cornerstone of the Philippines’ external defense strategy and a vital element of Indo-Pacific regional security. The 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) serves as the bedrock of this alliance, stipulating that an attack on either nation in the Pacific would trigger mutual defense obligations. This treaty has been reinforced over the years through agreements such as the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which facilitates joint military exercises, and the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), granting US forces access to designated Philippine military facilities. The US has designated the Philippines as a major non-NATO ally since 2003, further solidifying the strategic importance of this relationship. The two nations conduct a wide array of joint military exercises annually, including Exercise Balikatan, which focuses on enhancing interoperability and preparedness for various security challenges. The US is also committed to providing substantial foreign military financing to support the Philippines’ modernization efforts. The alliance is widely viewed as a critical factor in maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific region and deterring potential aggression.
Defense Cooperation with Other Nations (Japan, Australia, Canada, etc.)
Beyond its alliance with the United States, the Philippines is actively expanding its defense cooperation with other like-minded nations in the Indo-Pacific region. The defense relationship with Japan is growing, characterized by increased training exercises, logistical activities, equipment transfers, and intelligence sharing. In a significant step, the Philippines and Japan signed a Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) in July 2023, similar to the VFA with the US and Australia, facilitating smoother defense cooperation. Military training and exercises with Australia have also been stepped up, and a finalized agreement allows for enhanced logistical support between the armed forces of both countries. Canada and the Philippines have recently concluded talks for a key defense pact aimed at enabling joint military drills and boosting overall defense engagements, building upon a defense cooperation agreement signed in 2024. Furthermore, the Philippines is exploring the possibility of conducting joint maritime activities with France, Italy, and the United Kingdom to enhance its presence and capabilities in the South China Sea. These expanding defense partnerships underscore the Philippines’ strategy of diversifying its security relationships to address its multifaceted security challenges.
Military Modernization Programs and Acquisitions
The Armed Forces of the Philippines has been engaged in a long-term modernization program aimed at upgrading its capabilities across all service branches.
Overview of the AFP Modernization Program (Horizon Phases)
The revised AFP modernization program is structured into three distinct horizons: Horizon 1 (2013-2017), Horizon 2 (2018-2022), and Horizon 3 (2023-2028). In January 2024, President Marcos approved the “Re-Horizon 3” initiative, a significant overhaul of the original third phase with a projected budget of up to US35 billion over the next decade.[span_249](start_span)[span_249](end_span)[span_250](start_span)[span_250](end_span)[span_251](start_span)[span_251](end_span)[span_252](start_span)[span_252](end_span) The primary objective of this program is to address the long-standing shortfalls in the Philippines’ defense capabilities and facilitate a strategic shift from a predominantly internal security focus towards a more robust territorial defense posture.[span_253](start_span)[span_253](end_span)[span_254](start_span)[span_254](end_span)[span_255](start_span)[span_255](end_span) The total estimated cost for the entire modernization program is approximately US40 billion. This ambitious undertaking reflects the Philippines’ commitment to developing a credible and modern military force capable of safeguarding its national interests in a complex regional environment.
Recent and Ongoing Acquisitions by Service Branch
The AFP Modernization Program has yielded several recent and ongoing acquisitions across its various service branches:
* Air Force: The Philippine Air Force is poised to significantly enhance its air power with the expected acquisition of an additional dozen FA-50 Block 20 light fighters, which will double its current fleet. Furthermore, the PAF has contracted for six additional A-29B Super Tucano light attack aircraft, with deliveries anticipated in 2026. The delivery of S-70i Black Hawk helicopters also continues, bolstering the Air Force’s utility and transport capabilities.
* Army: The Philippine Army is actively considering the acquisition of more BrahMos anti-ship missiles from India, further strengthening its coastal defense capabilities. Additionally, the recent procurement of a new Bell 412EPX aeromedical helicopter will enhance the Army’s medical evacuation and transport capabilities.
* Navy: The Philippine Navy recently received the guided missile frigate BRP Miguel Malvar (FFG-06) in April 2025, a significant addition to its fleet. The Navy is also awaiting the delivery of two HDC-3100 corvettes from South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2025 and 2026, along with six offshore patrol vessels also under construction by the same shipbuilder.
* Marine Corps: The Philippine Marine Corps is in the process of procuring approximately 60 armored vehicles, with an initial batch of seven vehicles from South Korea’s Kovico expected to be the KMPV platform.
* Joint: A significant cyber systems acquisition project worth $613 million is underway to enhance the AFP’s cyber defense capabilities.
These acquisitions across the AFP demonstrate tangible progress in the ongoing modernization efforts, aimed at enhancing the Philippines’ overall military capabilities.
Challenges and Progress of Modernization Efforts
Despite the ongoing acquisitions, the AFP Modernization Program continues to face considerable challenges. A significant hurdle is the substantial funding shortfall, estimated at P2.1 trillion as of August 2024. Furthermore, only a portion of the 2025 modernization budget, Php 35 billion out of Php 75 billion, is guaranteed through programmed appropriations, with the remaining Php 40 billion contingent on unprogrammed funds. Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro noted that as of October 2023, only 10% of Horizon 1 and about 53% of Horizon 2 had been completed, indicating delays in earlier phases of the program. These challenges are compounded by budget limitations, the reliance on potentially uncertain unprogrammed funds, and the recognized need for internal reforms within the AFP to ensure efficient and effective spending. Nevertheless, the Philippines is actively realigning its modernization program to prioritize the strengthening of its territorial and coastal defense capabilities in response to the escalating tensions in the South China Sea.
Evaluation of Strengths and Weaknesses of Current Defense Capabilities
An objective assessment of the Philippines’ defense situation requires an evaluation of both its inherent strengths and the persistent weaknesses that need to be addressed.
Strengths in Counter-Insurgency and Personnel
The AFP possesses considerable experience and a demonstrated track record of success in counter-insurgency operations, having effectively diminished the capabilities of groups like the Abu Sayyaf Group. The military generally attracts dedicated and patriotic individuals from the middle classes, resulting in a high quality of personnel and a commendable combat record, exemplified by their performance in urban warfare during the Battle of Marawi. The AFP’s emphasis on civil-military operations has also proven effective in improving its legitimacy and building trust within communities affected by conflict. These strengths in counter-insurgency and the quality of its personnel provide a solid foundation for addressing internal security challenges.
Weaknesses in Territorial Defense, Air and Naval Power, and Cyber Security
Despite its strengths, the Philippines’ defense capabilities exhibit significant weaknesses, particularly in the realm of conventional territorial defense. The AFP is generally under-equipped for modern warfare, lacking sufficient heavy weaponry and advanced systems, especially in its naval and air power. The country’s air defense capabilities remain limited, with a relatively small number of fighter jets and surface-to-air missile systems that may not be adequate to provide comprehensive protection. The Philippine Navy, while undergoing modernization, has historically lagged behind its regional counterparts and still operates a significant number of older, second-hand vessels. Furthermore, cybersecurity represents a critical vulnerability, as evidenced by successful attacks on government and military networks, highlighting an urgent need for substantial improvements in cyber defenses. The ongoing modernization program, while crucial, has faced delays and funding shortfalls, hindering the timely acquisition of necessary defense assets. These weaknesses underscore the areas where the Philippines needs to focus its efforts and resources to enhance its overall defense capabilities.
Expert Perspectives on the Philippine Defense Situation
Analysis of expert opinions from scholarly articles and media reports provides valuable insights into the Philippine defense situation.
Analysis of Scholarly and Media Opinions
Experts generally concur that the Philippines must prioritize the development of its naval and air power capabilities to effectively address the growing external threats, particularly in the maritime domain. There is a widespread agreement on the indispensable role of the US-Philippines alliance in ensuring regional security and bolstering the Philippines’ defense capabilities. However, analysts also consistently point out the significant challenges and delays plaguing the AFP Modernization Program, primarily due to funding limitations, bureaucratic hurdles, and the complexities of strategic realignment. Several experts emphasize the long-term necessity for the Philippines to cultivate its own domestic defense industry to achieve greater self-reliance in meeting its defense needs. The strategic importance of the Philippines’ geographical location in the context of countering a major regional power’s influence in the South China Sea is also a recurring theme in expert analysis. Overall, expert perspectives underscore the urgency for the Philippines to strategically invest in its defense capabilities, strengthen its alliances, and overcome the challenges in its modernization program to effectively safeguard its national interests.
Views on Modernization Challenges and Alliance Effectiveness
Experts highlight that the success of the AFP Modernization Program hinges not only on increased financial resources but also on the implementation of crucial internal reforms within the armed forces. Concerns have been raised regarding the growing reliance on unprogrammed funds for the modernization effort, as this introduces a degree of financial uncertainty. While the US-Philippines alliance is widely acknowledged to be making notable progress, characterized by enhanced interoperability and cooperation, some analysts offer a more cautious perspective, suggesting that the long-term implications of US security commitments on the Philippines’ strategic autonomy warrant careful consideration. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the alliance in deterring potential aggression is perceived to be contingent on the allies demonstrating a unified and resolute response to any escalatory actions in the region. These expert views underscore the multifaceted nature of both the modernization challenges and the complexities of the Philippines’ most critical defense alliance.
Recommendations for Strengthening the Defense Capabilities of the Philippines
Based on the analysis of the current defense situation, the following recommendations are proposed to strengthen the defense capabilities of the Philippines:
* Enhancing Military Modernization and Procurement Processes: The Philippine government should prioritize securing consistent and reliable funding for the Re-Horizon 3 modernization program, exploring options beyond the potentially volatile unprogrammed appropriations. Implementing comprehensive reforms within the Department of National Defense and the AFP to streamline procurement processes, enhance transparency, and ensure the efficient and effective utilization of allocated defense funds is also crucial. A strategic focus on acquiring asymmetric warfare capabilities, such as advanced anti-ship and anti-air missiles, unmanned aerial and surface vehicles, and sophisticated cyber defense systems, can provide a cost-effective means of deterring aggression and addressing specific threats. Simultaneously, investing in the development of indigenous defense industry capabilities in areas where the Philippines possesses a comparative advantage will enhance self-reliance and reduce long-term dependence on foreign suppliers.
* Strategic Allocation of Defense Budget: The overall defense budget should be increased with a clear long-term roadmap, with the goal of reaching the benchmark of 2% of GDP, as suggested by defense experts, to adequately fund both modernization initiatives and essential operational needs. A greater proportion of the budget should be strategically allocated towards enhancing the capabilities of the Philippine Navy and Air Force, recognizing the critical importance of maritime and aerial superiority in addressing external threats and effectively protecting the archipelago’s vast territory. Furthermore, significantly increased investment in cybersecurity infrastructure, personnel training, and advanced threat detection and response technologies is essential to effectively counter the growing cyber threats emanating from both state and non-state actors.
* Strengthening Alliances and Partnerships: The Philippines should continue to deepen its strategic alliance with the United States through regular high-level engagements, an increased frequency and complexity of joint military exercises focusing on realistic threat scenarios, and enhanced intelligence sharing, ensuring the full and effective operationalization of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites. Simultaneously, efforts should be intensified to further cultivate and expand defense cooperation with key allies and partners such as Japan, Australia, Canada, and other like-minded nations in the Indo-Pacific region, through joint training, exercises, and exploring opportunities for the co-development or co-production of essential defense equipment. Active participation in regional security forums and initiatives will also be vital in fostering multilateral cooperation and building a collective security architecture in the Indo-Pacific.
* Addressing Specific Security Threats: The Philippines needs to develop and implement a comprehensive national cybersecurity strategy that involves the collaboration of all relevant government agencies, the private sector, and international partners to enhance overall cyber resilience and protect critical infrastructure. Investing in advanced maritime surveillance technologies, including long-range radar systems, maritime patrol aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles, is crucial for improving situational awareness within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and effectively detecting and deterring illegal activities. Finally, maintaining and adapting counter-insurgency strategies, with a continued focus on addressing the root causes of conflict through socio-economic development programs and strengthening civil-military relations in vulnerable areas, remains essential for long-term internal security.
* Developing Domestic Defense Capabilities: The government should provide robust support and incentives for the growth of the domestic defense industry, including dedicated funding for research and development initiatives, facilitating the transfer of relevant technologies, and potentially establishing special defense economic zones to attract investment and foster innovation. Prioritizing the development of local capabilities for the maintenance, repair, and overhaul of military assets will reduce reliance on foreign technical assistance and ensure greater operational readiness and sustainability. Investing in the education and specialized training of a skilled workforce capable of supporting a burgeoning domestic defense industry, including engineers, technicians, and researchers, is also a critical long-term objective.
Conclusion
The defense situation of the Philippines is characterized by a dynamic interplay of external pressures and internal challenges, demanding a comprehensive and adaptive approach. While the country has made notable strides in modernizing its armed forces and strengthening its crucial alliance with the United States, significant weaknesses persist, particularly in territorial defense and cybersecurity. The increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea underscores the urgency for the Philippines to continue its modernization efforts, strategically allocating its growing defense budget and leveraging its alliances and partnerships effectively. By prioritizing the recommendations outlined in this report, the Philippines can further enhance its defense capabilities, safeguard its national interests, and contribute to the broader stability and security of the Indo-Pacific region.
Thanks for this.
I too have many iterations of this in various LLMs
I wonder if it is possible to throw all the editions one gets into one further LLM, or maybe have a voting machine make the best of all editions.
Joey might know about voting machines, they are used in OCR technology. Different recognition engines give their votes somewhat like precogs in Minority Report. The average is what is passed with a % of certainty.
I have on occasion volunteered as an election worker (most election worker positions in the US are unpaid volunteer work). There can be errors in OCR in voting machines, but OCR has gotten pretty good to the point where the error rate is very minuscule to the point where it wouldn’t affect an election. There are also statistics models to predict election winners before the full count is finished and statisticians on hand to verify the model. How that works is when it becomes statistically improbable for the other candidate(s) to win, the winner is declared, though usually election offices refrain from releasing this data publicly as election offices in the US are supposed to be nonpartisan. News agencies do employ statisticians, who inform the news media on the probable winner. Generally OCR voting machines are quite safe as the machines themselves are (network) air gapped (meaning no internet connection) if there is a statistical discrepancy, the ballots can be hand counted. OCR voting machines are a lot more reliable than punch voting machines that may have physical errors in the paper punching process. The dangerous voting machines are direct recording machines (DRE), especially a DRE voting machine that doesn’t provide a printed voting receipt. There have been instances of DRE voting machine software misbehaving due to bugs and changing votes, or where DRE machines were inadvertently connected to the public internet. On an OCR machine even if it was connected to the internet, there is a physical paper ballot that can be independently audited.
Interesting new development in naval Mk 41 VLS being repurposed for land use. This system is like a mini-Typhon, but instead of 4 VLS tubes it has 1 VLS tube. Smaller missiles (like anti-air or medium range anti-ship) can be quad-packed within a launch tube. The USMC will be using this drone truck for its Expeditionary Fires initiative. Typhon is mobile but needs a tractor-trailer setup that is less mobile. The Philippines should look into buying tons of these “mini Typhon” trucks for the PA and PMC that can be distributed all over the place across the archipelago. Being that the Mk 41 is a modular system, it can use a whole array of anti-ship, anti-air, anti-ground missiles and ballistic missiles that the various Aegis naval vessels around the world can already use.
https://www.twz.com/land/usmcs-tomahawk-cruise-missile-launching-drone-truck-eyed-by-army
Gemini’s Deep Research is better than China’s Deepseek.
I love the pace of advancements. Sky net will happen sooner than later. Hopefully without the diabolical aspects.
At dinner with friends, I mused over a maki-e (Japanese lacquer art) collection and saw a few pieces of ceramic kintsugi (or kintsukuroi). Kintsugi is the Japanese version of East Asian (Chinese, Korean) and Vietnamese repairing of broken ceramics to repurpose the old by making it more beautiful in the process. At a basic level, the repaired ceramic uses metal staples or lacquer to join the broken or chipped pieces. However the repaired ceramic can become a piece of art in itself, to be enjoyed as it is to be made useful again.
Like maki-e and Mainland Asian lacquerware arts maki-e derived from, there is often deep meaning imbued by the artisan into the object. Repaired ceramics served a practical purpose of saving otherwise broken ceramicware. Ceramics manufactured in Southern China and Vietnam were very expensive as they were exquisite, and were often family heirlooms.
But beyond the practical, giving a repaired piece a new life but also beautifying it through valuable materials like lacquer and precious metals to make the repaired object more aesthetically pleasing is a metaphor. In Japanese, this is conceptualized in “wabi-sabi,” or appreciating the beauty in the imperfect, impermanent and incomplete that exists within oneself and objects around oneself. There is a famous story of Sen no Rikyū, a chanoyu (Zen tea ceremony) grand master whose teahouse’s doors were purposely constructed too low. The Japanese emperor on a visit to Master Rikyū’s teahouse was thus reminded of the importance of humility and honesty to self before tradition, mystery or spirit.
In a modern Philippines where things are often thrown away in landfills, the famous pinoy titos who can fix everything are slowly fading away. I sometimes imagine that in pre-Spanish times, the natives also consumed and tossed away haphazardly something once used in favor of the shiny and new. In a way, the Filipino collective consciousness has always valued new, often outside ideas or trends, rather than reflecting inwardly. Not that there isn’t anything wrong with taking on new ideas, but ideas apply better if there is a foundation to apply the ideas to, just like a surface that needs to be sanded down and primed before being given a fresh coat of paint. After all, one would not bulldoze a whole house that one lives in. Rather, rotted pieces are removed, replaced with firm new materials, and made suitable for weatherproofing with fresh new paint. The “bones” of the “Filipino house” are good and healthy, though some exterior parts may need replacing. Rather than reaching out wildly for perfection without objective targets, and coming up empty-handed, it may be better to appreciate what Filipinos are, and have, then build on that foundation however imperfect.
I probably should try to reduce my penchant for metaphorical musings hehe.
They can be quite interesting. I have realized that I am kintsugi, and some of the articles I wrote here are gold and silver veins with which I fixed myself. I was completely shattered when I arrived in Munich in February 1996, so to speak. But then again, a lot of writing and art is motivated by seeking and seeking might be a result of confusion, even pain. Freddy Mercury’s Bohemian Rhapsody is from a very fractured soul. Rizal’s Noli and Fili was him dealing with aspects of himself. He was the original feeling MC Filipino, the original selfie king, and his character Simoun dying was OA all the way to death, the original teleserye character. But if what one produces is not too self-centered but has some resonance with others, it is fine.
Good artists manage to find that balance. Popular artists strike a chord with more people. Populist politicians manage to strike chords of resentment. Pro-people politicians like Atty. Leni try to make the good chords resonate. Pilosopos like CV will nitpick not comprehend.
OK, might be some of my articles are just bronze and some are wax. Fortunately I am not kalbo so I don’t need floor wax on my head.
Yes, the kintsugi and the meaningfulness of the art form in Japanese culture is an allusion to the Philippines. At first glance kintsugi is the practical reuse of something broken, but the thoughtfulness of how the ceramic is repaired requires a degree of self contemplation. Out of the broken, shattered, something new and more beautiful can be created. For a human body a scar can be seen as ugly, or it can be seen as a symbol of perseverance and survival.
In a way, Filipinos are like a piece of ceramic (the original migration of Austronesians) that broke into multiple pieces of ethnic groups, further broken by the Spanish domination. I believe the charitable view of the American administration period is that the US tried to start putting the disparate pieces back together, though not perfectly.
There are more advanced kintsugi artists who repair the repaired work done by home or amateur repairmen, making sure the pieces fit more perfectly, complementing each other piece to lend strength to the integrity of the whole.
And so now the current generation of Filipinos must become like kintsugi master artists in a sense. Filipinos need to accept that much of what they were taught and believe does not contain the whole truth, and that chasing illusions, with ethnic groups trying to one-up or oppress the other, for the last 125 years has become a fool’s errand. Each broken piece of the nation must be seen as beautiful in itself. Each broken piece of the nation must be seen as valuable in itself. A common glue must join these unique broken pieces together, making the overall much stronger and more beautiful.
There is a part of Filipino culture undamaged or beautifully patched, and that is music. The video below is an interview with two of the musical greats behind the award-winning movie „Song of the Fireflies“ starring Morissette, Sarge Lacuesta and Rachel Alejandro, daughter of THE Hajji Alejandro. (Dear often dismissive Filipino readers, skip past the cringe-y intro of the two American music producers hosting the Filipino Fridays podcast if you must)
There are scenes from the movie never shown before. Also with songs. The interplay between Rachel’s character, the Bohol governor’s wife, and the Loboc music teacher Alma Taldo played by Mori, is typical city-country, elite-masa dynamic but NOT with the usual clichés.
I haven’t had a chance to watch this film yet as it’s not available on BD and I didn’t see any screenings at the independent theater nearby that usually plays foreign films. Will be looking forward to watching this sometime.
Probably every culture has its own musical history though, since bards (skalds, minstrels, etc.) were one of the earliest form of storytelling. Irish diaspora songs of the exodus from the Great Famine invariably bring me to tears, even though I’m not a very emotional person. During my travels through Eastern Europe, from Poland to Lithuania to Ukraine it seemed like everyone sang, especially the Ukrainians in their characteristic sing-song voices.
My ex also loved to sing, though she did sound like a half-dead cat being beaten to death every time. I did have a huge crush on a Cebuana when I was young whose fingertips would dance over her guitar as I listened in mesmerized trance, but it turned out later she confessed that she was a “tomboy” … haha.
I don’t see it coming on streaming yet any time soon, unfortunately.
Filipino cultural output is often hardly or badly distributed abroad.
Doesn’t American country music have Irish roots, among others?
That’s a shame then. It probably will be a while until I can watch the film.
American country music has its main roots in old-timey music (English folk music), Appalachian music (Scottish and Ulsterman music), and African American spirituals. Later American country music picked up elements of French folk music (Cajun) and Tejano/Mexican music. Cowboys themselves descended from Mexican and African American vaqueros, though the cowboy culture is now associated with Southern and Midwestern White Americans.