Lia Kristen Sy Ong

11404205
INTFILO Incentive Paper
Last Saturday, August 12, the Philosophy department in partnership with the Samahan ng mga
Lasalyanong Pilosopo presented a talk named Philosophy of Work at the Teresa Yuchengco
Auditorium. The first speaker, Mr Malbarosa mentioned that Philosophy should be made to work
for homo faber. Philosophy is should be useful, allowing individuals to apply it in their daily
lives. Afterwards, he discussed the legacy of enlightenment. He explained that the enlightenment
was a philosophical, intellectual and cultural movement of the 17th and 18th centuries. He also
discussed how enlightenment thinkers questioned traditional authority and believed that
humanity can be improved through rational change. He explained how the enlightenment
stressed reason, logic, criticism and freedom of thought against blind faith and superstition. What
I learned from the first speaker was that in the period of enlightenment, scientists used
observation and logic to understand the physical world and promoted a belief in the sciences,
which has concrete proof and evidence as compared to faith.

The second speaker, Ms Elaine Tolentino presented the reflections on Confucian work ethic. She
asked the audience why the Chinese prefer their sons, daughters and other family members to
manage and take over the family business. Another question she asked was The Chinese are
not very fond of doing business using formal contracts, instead they prefer contracts based on
long-term relationships rather than written ones. Why?. She then explained her points and gave
personal experiences that supported her claims. She also shared her experiences and struggles
living in China and how she was able to adapt to their culture.

The last speaker, Mr Magno talked about zombies in the workplace and how we can avoid
turning into one. He presented key differences between a normal zombie and a zombie in the
workplace. A zombie is technically dead, characterized by the presence of rotting flesh and
missing body parts, non communicative and unemotional. On the other hand, work zombies are
dead in a sense that they have no life, passion, creativity. They spread negativity which can be
contagious. They are vulnerable to thought provoking exercises. Through his speech, I learned
that in order to reach our goals, we shouldnt be work zombies but we must be motivated and
passionate in everything we do.