Loob at Kapwa: Mga Unang Hakbang 1 Patungo sa Isang Pilipinong Birtud-Etika Gamit si Sto. Tomas de Aquino

Abstract

In this article we introduce a Filipino Virtue Ethics, or an Ethics of “Loob” and “Kapwa” using the comprehensive philosophical resources of Aqui- nas, on the one hand, and the research of Filipino scholars, on the other. The result is a virtue ethics that is thoroughly relational and inter- personal, in contrast with the more individual-based Thomistic ethics or modern ethical systems. This new systematization of concepts allows for a greater depth of interpretation of popular Filipino “values” (which we insist are in fact “virtues”) such as “kagandahang loob,” “utang na loob,” “bahala na,” “lakas ng loob,” and “hiya,” an interpretation which enables us to bring out their truly positive characteristics.