ELAINE VILLALOBOS

HISTORY 3 – BH

RIZAL’S PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHTS

CONTEXT

I. POLITICAL THOUGHTS

The political view of Rizal of the Philippines which was conquered by Spain should not be

taken advantage of but should be developed, civilized, educated and trained in self-

government. He pointed out and criticized in publications the evident backwardness of the

Spanish rulers method of governing the Philippines which resulted in slavery, forced labor,

and forced military service, abuse of power, exploitation, that any complaint against

authorities regarded as criminal, ignorance of the people, destitute and fanatic, thus

discouraging the formation of a national sentiment.

Rizal’s political philosophy demonstrated to be the study and application of reforms,

extension of human rights, training for self-government, and arousing the spirit of discontent

over oppression, brutality, and inhumanity.

These are being expressed in his popular novels namely El Filibusterismo and Noli Me

Tangere where these show the unjust ways of the Spanish government.
II. EDUCATIONAL THOUGHTS

Rizal’s concept of the importance of education is clearly expressed in one of his writing

entitled Instruction wherein he pursued improvements in education. He retained that the lack

of normal development of intellect of his country during the Spanish era was not due to the

Filipinos’ indifference, apathy or indolence as claimed by the Spanish government, but to the

neglect of the Spanish authorities of their access to education. For Rizal, his mission for

education is to raise the country to the highest seat of glory and to develop the Filipino

people’s mentality. Since education is the foundation of a nation’s development and a

prerequisite for social progress, Rizal declared that only through great education could the

Philippines or any country be saved from domination.

Rizal’s philosophy of education concentrated on the equipment of proper motivation in order

to strengthen the social forces that make education a success, to instill in the minds of the

young Filipino people an innate yearning to cultivate intelligence.

Like in the materials given, one very concrete example is the Women of Malolos. Rizal sees

these women as a ray of hope for the country. It. They pursued the establishment of the

school given there were conditions. Although Rizal did not personally know these women, he

was happy to know that these women are doing something to restore their dignity and worth.

III. RELIGIOUS THOUGHTS

Rizal was raised by a closely-knit Catholic family, was educated in the leading Catholic

schools of their time from elementary, secondary until college levels. Consistently, therefore,
 he should have been a propagator of strictly Catholic traditions. However, in later life, he

followed a different path in life philosophy, a philosophy of a different Catholic practice

combined with the use of Truth and Reason.

This change may have been the result of contemporary contact, companionship, observation,

research and Rizal’s independent spirit. As a critical observer, a clever thinker and a

passionate reformer, Rizal disagreed with the prevailing Christian propagation of the Faith by

fire and sword. This is shown in his Annotation of Morga’s Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas.

Rizal disapproved the Catholic belief that salvation was only for Catholics and that outside

Christianity, salvation was impossible. He also did not believe in the Catholic observation of

fasting as a sacrifice, nor in the sale of religious items such as the cross, medals, rosaries and

the like in order to propagate the Faith and raise church funds. He also criticized the

superstitious beliefs proclaimed by the priests in the church and in the schools. All of these

and a lot more are evidences of Rizal’s religious philosophy. I also learned that it is very

ironic for the church to keep some files of Rizal where in fact the church is against him

because they think that his works are opposing the church.

IV. ETHICAL THOUGHTS

Rizal’s ethical philosophy was based on the study of human behavior. The fact that the

Philippines was under Spanish control during the lifetime of Rizal led him to subordinate his

philosophy to moral problems. This was much more needed by the Filipinos during the time

because the Spaniards and the Filipinos had different and sometimes conflicting morals. The

moral status of the Philippines during this period was one with a lack of freedom, one with

predominance of foreign masters, one with an imposition of foreign religious worship,

 devotion, homage and racial habits. This led to moral confusion among the people, with

justice being suppressed, limited or restrained and the individual rights of the people were

oppressed.

To reinforce his ethical philosophy, Dr. Rizal had recognized not only the forces of good and

evil, but also the tendencies towards good and evil. As a result, he made use of the practical

method of appealing to the better nature of the foreign conquerors and offering useful

methods of solving the moral problems of the Filipinos.

To support his ethical philosophy in life, Rizal condemned the friars for abusing their

position as spiritual leaders and the ignorance and fanaticism of the native Filipinos,

counseled the Filipinos not to resent any criticism from the friars but to accept same as

reasonable and just, advised the masses that the object of marriage was the happiness and

love of the couple and not financial gain, crucify the priests who preached greed and wrong

morality and advised everyone should observe love and respect for parents.

V. SOCIAL THOUGHTS

It is the body of knowledge which relates to society including the wisdom which man's

experience in society has taught him is social philosophy. The facts dealt with are principles

involved in nation building and not individual social problems. The subject matter of this

social philosophy covers the problems of the whole race, with every problem having a

distinct solution to strengthen the people’s social knowledge.

Rizal’s social philosophy dealt with:

  man in society

 influential factors in human life

 racial problems

 social constant

 social justice

 social ideal

 poverty and wealth

 reforms

 youth and greatness

 history and progress

 future Philippines.

EXPERIENCE

I. POLITICAL THOUGHTS

During Rizal’s time, he criticized the Spanish government. What I witnessed is the lapses of

our government today which includes corruption, letting foreigners invade our natural land,

extrajudicial killings, as a result of the drug war, disregarding the importance of healthcare,

no sense of urgency towards the spread of COVID – 19, and no concrete plan on containing

the virus.

II. EDUCATIONAL THOUGHTS

 Rizal focused on improving the educational system to create a desire in the Filipino to youth

to cultivate intelligence. Today, I think the opportunity and access to free education should be

a top priority especially that there are many children who desire to learn yet lack financial

capacity to afford a decent school. The government should also reach out to those who are

living in the far rural areas and establish schools since these places almost always lack proper

means of transportation

III. RELIGIOUS THOUGHTS

Rizal grew up in a Catholic family educated in Catholic schools from elementary to college

but lived a life with principles contradicting the Catholic beliefs. I also do not believe in

church funds and statues since that is idolatry, which is prohibited in the bible. I support the

mandating of this course as opposed by the Catholic sector because of the criticisms of Rizal

about the Catholic Church in his era. We also do not collect statues to be displayed inside our

homes.

IV. ETHICAL THOUGHTS

Rizal criticized and corrected the abuses of the higher authorities and the friars in his time,

and advised the native Filipinos basic decency. He emphasized right from wrong so that other

people may follow on his wisdom. Before every decision I take in my life, I practice

questioning whether it is good or not, whether it is right or wrong.

V. SOCIAL THOUGHTS
 Rizal’s social philosophy dealt with man and how he interacts with his environment, his

situation, his problems, his issues, his choices, his past and his future. Interaction with

different people from different walks of life, I became aware of the how other people deal

with same issues differently. They react depending on their beliefs, experiences, choices,

advantages, disadvantages and dispositions in life. Especially at present, with the

implementation of the enhanced quarantine, which greatly affected the lives of the poor who,

sadly, can only make money that can get them through one day or one week. With the delay

of the food provided by the government, these left the poor hungry for days which forced

them to go out, defy the quarantine and got arrested. Clearly, these poor people have no

choice but to find food but I can still see people blaming them for going out given their

circumstances. These people who cannot see the suffering of the poor and hungry cannot

realize the choice that the poor had to make because they can afford not to go out and not be

hungry. These people can only speak through their experience and their perspective.

REFLECTION

I believe that there should be limitations when governing. Knowing one’s place is important.

Find viable remedies to problems and not solve everything with violence like taking lives of

other people since there are many innocent people who died because of the unjust system of

the government.

I also believe that we should not rely everything on the government. We must also do our

parts as citizens of this country and improve our own decision making processes. Rizal

wanted us, the youth, to be the future of our country, that is why I find this course very
 helpful in the foundation of our nationalism that would strengthen our mind to do better for

the betterment of our country.

Education is important because it is the foundation of successful society. Well-educated

societies have lower rates of violence and crime, and societies that emphasize accessible,

effective education see their economies improve as well. The knowledge learned in school

plays a major role in peoples' daily lives. Knowledge about history improves cultural

understanding. Lack of education causes ignorance. Schools teach the essence of decency,

morality, discipline, science and technology.

I also believe this course will serve as an eye opener for today’s youth, and prevent blind

followers to a very good religion that can sometimes be preached by people who are not. It

doesn’t really matter what religion to follow, I believe that what matters is the relationship

you create with your Creator and the way you live your life according to His teachings.

We must also guide our every step and decide if it’s right or wrong, good or bad, and not

motivated on personal agenda.

ACTION

The overall thought was to be better citizens for the betterment of the country. Through

history, we get an understanding of what happened and obtain an idea on what we can do.

This is possible through education. We could be better leaders and this is possible if we

establish values of what it takes to be one.

 In my personal opinion, I will develop study habits to get desirable markings. I will set goals

and be more productive. This would serve as a practice of improving time management and

prioritization and being more eager to achieve goals.

I will also use the social media platforms in order to spread information and educate others

about rights, to promote equality between men and women, eliminate all forms of

discrimination.

Lastly, as soon as I am capable enough, I will initiate and participate in events like feeding

programs, job fairs that need manpower which caters the poor, campaigns that address global

division between the rich and the poor and create programs that contribute to social progress.

EVALUATION