Loob Korn Kammathep

In Philippine culture, loob or kalooban refers to one's inner self, or, more specifically, to the internal dimension of a person's identity. Its external counterpart is ''labas'' - the physical, outward appearance. Loob is a core concept in Filipino Psychology, a field which is unthinkable without both the internal and external dimensions, "''loob''"/"''labas''".

Loob or kalooban has been compared to similar concepts in other Southeast Asian and Oceanian cultures, such as the Indonesian concept of ''batin'' or ''kebatinan''.

Loob as a psycho-moral reality: Katauhan at Pagkatao

''"Walang sarili kung walang loob."''

According to a publication by Dionisio M. Miranda entitled ''Loob--The Filipino Within'', Loob can be viewed as a ''psycho-moral reality''. This part of the publication says that Loob is made of two more concepts, and these are katauhan and pagkatao.

From this, katauhan and pagkatao seem like similar concepts, but they translate to ''personality'' and ''character'', respectively, which are often used interchangeably but are two very different things.

Personality (psychological), according to Loob as a psycho-moral reality, embodies the traits, attitudes or habits that distinguish one individual from another. It is ''the complex or one's behavioral and emotional tendencies''. It is not just the structure or the organization of these qualities, but it is the whole of these qualities that gives form and meaning to an individual and his existence.

It is more or less ''static'' in the way that it is the basic or initial particularity of a person, what makes him different from everyone else. It could eventually be viewed from static to ''dynamic'' (changing) terms.

Moral character, on the other hand, is understood to be mainly dynamic and secondarily static. It is related to personality in the sense that character is based on personality and is initially determined by it. In the concrete sense, character is the aspect which constitutes one's ethnicity which structures him not only as subject (''ako'') but further as a moral subject and moral agent.

Content-wise, it is the values and attitudes, principles and norms, ideals and projects that lend the person his moral form (''kaloobang makatao''). In the generic sense, it responds to perceptions of realities of good and evil, right and wrong, appropriate and inappropriate and so on.

Personality as Katauhan, Character as Pagkatao

The core of both personality and character is the ''ego'' or the self. ''Sarili'' (self) manifests itself either as personality or as character.

Loob as Katauhan (Personality)

* Makes us distinct/unique from others
* Static
Under ''Katauhan'' are the following distinctive constituents:

Malay (Awareness, Consciousness)

* One needs to be active; "awareness is not awareness unless it is active"
** ''Malay''/Awareness about the environment/external aspects and about yourself
** ''Pagbabalik-loob'' (returning to one's true self)

Dama (Could be internal or external)

* Sensitivity to your surroundings
* This is the most visible form of ''Katauhan''
** Emotions (specific and objective)
** Sensations
** Desire (combination of both)

Ugali (Behavior, Tendency, Habit)

* As ''biological'' (predisposition; habit)
* As ''will'' (goals, instincts; how you act)
* As ''how one decides/decision making'' (action, will)

Loob as Pagkatao (Character)

* More on one's moral aspect
* Dynamic not real
Under Pagkatao are the following distinctive constituents:

Isip (Mind, Thinking, Sense)

* As thoughts, content of consciousness, awareness (''malay'')
* As intelligence (''talino''), wisdom (''karunungan'')
* As reasoning (''katuwiran'')
** Intelligence, skill, critically analyze (logic)
** faithful to what they know to be true, reality (''katotohanan'')
* As one's affirmation/stand (''paninindigan'') - action of one's thoughts; there is a moral aspect to these actions
** Beliefs, principles

Bait (Goodness - Intrinsic, Critical, Practical)

* Intrinsic, innate (everyone has goodness within themselves)
* Intuitive (in ''Isip'', the discrimination of goodness occurs discursively)
** The language consistently associates ''bait'' with the more positive emotions and sentiments.
** Knowing what is acceptable and what is not.
** This kind of ''bait'' may initially characterize the ''katauhan'' of the self (''sarili'') for example, as a kind of natural endowment. In being consistent with the self (''sarili'') over time, this defines the ''pagkatao'' (character) of a person. In other words, "''bait'' must not remain merely natural; it must also become personal."
* Practical
** There are "levels" of ''bait'' (ex. ''kulang sa bait'' (lacking in common sense), ''nasiraan ng bait'' (mad, crazed, psychotic) etc.)
** There is actually a "set" amount of ''bait'' (it should be just right; no more, no less)

Kalooban

* Right or wrong (''tama o mali''; moral will)
** ''Kusa'' (indicative moral will) refers to both purpose and intention.
** ''Sadya'' (moral imperative) where the ought that is presented is a value for the person himself (when an object is encountered as a force, therefore imperative) either as something that is already part of his nature or something needed to perfect it.
** ''Pasiya'' (moral decisions of the will) is that which takes a clear and concrete stand for or against such options (characteristic choices). ''Kalooban'' as decisive will looks similar to ''isip'' as ''paninindigan''. However, ''isip'' is more theoretical and generic; ''kalooban'' is more practical and concrete.

Concepts whose expression involves "loob"

The word ''Loob'', simply taken as 'inside' and not a construct, is also used for "''looban''," which means an interior compound, or community; and for the term "''manloloob''", which means 'robber', literally 'someone who enters'.

As a core concept of value, ''Loob'' and its variants are a critical aspect of numerous Filipino value constructs, of which the following are examples:

See also

*Culture of the Philippines
*Filipino Psychology

Sources

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Philippine culture