HomePhilosophia: International Journal of Philosophyvol. 20 no. 1 (2019)

FREE AND CREATIVE COMMUNAL COMPASSION: RECONSTRUCTING A CONTEXTUALIZED FILIPINO ETHICS OF SEXUALITY

Dalmacito A. Cordero Jr

 

Abstract:

Due to the increased cases of sexual impurity among the contemporary Filipino teens I felt the dire need to search for an appropriate approach in formulating a content of sexual ethic that is relevant for them. Three approaches were the subject of investigation namely: positive church norms; various cultural norms; and philosophically-oriented conception of the person. I realized that to generate a more comprehensive one, the approach should be based on the socio-cultural influences that affect their everyday life. This is where I suggest Ferdinand Dagmang’s solidarity ethics of malasakit at damay which essentially embodied this quality. However, this ethic needs to be reconstructed in order to be more contextualized and non-discriminatory for these teens. Thus, a new ethic called free and creative communal compassion is presented. This proposed ethic revolves around the concepts of caring community, purified intimacy, and free and creative show of compassion.