Reflecting on the notions of the "Self" and "Other"

SELF AND OTHER

In the course of defining the self, we always associate the related term “other.” In its broader sense, self is usually negated with the concept of other. Self is translated in Filipino as the sarili but if you will try to look for a direct translation of other in Filipino the closest word that can be identified is iba but the most commonly used term by Filipinos is kapwa. In this sense, we usually think that the other is a word that is entirely separate from the so called self since there has been a distinct diving line between the self and the other. Looking in a more complex rationality, the term kapwa is a joined representation of looking into others as a collective group joined and in connection with our own selves. In a simple sense, sarili can never be separated with the kapwa.

Pakikipagkapwa-tao is a popular value that is mostly shared by Filipinos. This value has been thought to everyone since childhood and is expected to be practiced until maturity. We also have this favorite line na “Palagi kang makipagkapwa-tao.” If I will be asked on how do I perceived the notion of self and others I must say that the other and self are just separate entities in terms of semantic consideration but looking at it through the lens of Philippine culture this two things are different and connected in a way. Different natures of existence are possessed by these two different terms. The self is seen as a representation of who you are, what you do, what you think, what you act, what you like or don’t like, what you wish and so on and so forth that has a reference towards the inside, the you, the self. On the other hand, the term other can be seen as what are they, what they do, what they think, what they act, what they like and don’t like, what they wish, thus, the point of reference is still coming the self in relation to what is about the people around the one pertained to as the self. In a broader sense, in order to define the self you must see the other; looking at them as binary opposite. They are different in a distinct sense of difference but connected in rationalizing the essence of the two.

Looking at it through anthropological perspective, the notion of the “other” has been linked to colonialist and imperialist view of the West over the non-West nations. It has been a derogatory term that has been linked several unequal at irrational thinking of describing and looking to other peoples in the world. But as for me the notion of “other” or “kapwa” in the Philippine context has been linked to our social and cultural awareness that the sense of being a human has been always and will always be linked to the existence of the others. We value differences thus we must accept and believe that the other is always a part of our self. The interrelatedness and difference of the self and other lies on the existence and rationality of both terms. In the end, what matters most was the reality that one can’t stand alone. The self is different from the other but there will never be an “other” if there was no existence of the so called “self.”

***(A reflection paper submitted as a requirement for NSTP-CWTS class, 01 September, 2014)***