Division of City Schools

COMMONWEALTH HIGH SCHOOL

Ecols St. Brgy. Commonwealth,
Quezon City

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

2nd Semester – SY 2020 – 2021

INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON

WEEK NO. WORK SHEET NO. 11 QUARTER 2nd Quarter

TOPIC INTERSUBJECTIVITY
CONTENT STANDARD The learner understands intersubjective human relations
PERFORMANCE STANDARD The learner performs activities that demonstrate an appreciation for the talents of
persons with disabilities & those from the underprivileged sectors of society
LEARNING COMPETENCY The learners will able to:
1.Realize that intersubjectivity requires accepting differences & not imposing on others
2.Explain that authentic dialogue means accepting others even if they are different
from themselves
3. Performs activities demonstrating an appreciation for the talents of persons
w/disabilities (PWD) & those from the underprivileged sectors of society

ACTIVITY 1:

Portrayal through Pantomime: Act out like a–-- 1. Washing machine, 2. Electric fan, 3. Floor mop

Answer these: 1. How did you feel while playing the role of an object?

2. Imagine in real life-----that some persons are turned into objects as tools used by others. Do you think they would feel the same way
as you did? Why or why not?

READING:

Some people treat others as mere objects because they only look at others’ bodies as machines. Some factory
owners don’t care if their workers don’t get enough sleep or food as long as they meet the quota needed to be
produced in order to meet the demand for the output for the day.

We hear of maids in the Middle East or the Domestic Helpers being maltreated, mistreated, shouted at, laughed at,
hurt or made to live in subhuman conditions because their “amo” or boss see them as machines that can cook, wash,
clean.

Prostitutes aren’t respected because they are only viewed as bodies that give pleasure to clients.

The human person isn’t an object. She only appears to be one because of her body. Her body is what makes her a
thing like other things.

But you cannot just treat a person as a thing without hurting the person’s feelings. This is because the human
person also has an inner reality. This inner reality is encapsulated in the concept of an embodied spirit. This is why we
don’t refer to humans as objects, but as subjects. For this reason, the human person is expected to treat others as
fellow subjects, and not as objects in service of other subjects. This relationship among subjects is what philosophers
call inter-subjectivity.

Definition of INTERSUBJECTIVITY by Gabriel Marcel

+ Intersubjectivity is “the realm of existence to which the preposition with properly applies” (Marcel, 1950). There are instances in
which we use the preposition with ---- it doesn’t simply mean being together physically through aggregation like the way the
passengers in a jeepney are together. Their bodies may be touching, bumping, impinging on one another’s flesh, and yet we do not
say that the passengers are with each other. They may be facing each other, in the same way the family members on a dinner table
are faced toward each other, but the presence of each one with another is not a co-presence. Each one may be concerned with her
bag, cellphone, his destination, money. Much like the song, “people talking without speaking, people hearing without listening.”

When does the jeepney (or the dinner table in the house) turn into a realm of intersubjectivity?

Let’s suppose that one passenger exhibits a bewildered face and feels lost where to drop off. She then turns to ask another
passenger for directions going to Quiapo. The other passengers turn to her sense off bewilderment to answer her question. One
would tell her to go down in this unloading zone, take another jeepney, and so on and so forth. Another would probably tell her about
the dangers of pickpocketing in the area. Another would tell her of an easier shortcut route to her destination. The passenger smiles,
takes in their answers, the thanks them.
In that brief moment, all the strangers in the jeepney weren’t just present to themselves but opened their presence to that
lady. In that one moment in time, they were with the other.
 The other becomes present to us when we are available to them and, in turn, they are available to us.
 Via intersubjectivity, we transcend the labels that society puts on us and we recognize an incalculable inherent value of a
person.
 As Marcel would point out, this preposition “with” “doesn’t properly apply..to the purely objective world.” We don’t say, “I’m
with my table,” or “I’m with this dog.” Rather, “I’m beside this table,” or “I’m walking my dog.” The preposition “with” properly
applies to the realm of persons, as subjects, not objects.
 Intersubjectivity is a “dynamics” (Gannaban,2021) signified in being with other persons as co-subjects, co-presence --------
an openness of each one’s presence to the presence of the other.
 Ironic: famous pop song line says “But though you’re still with me, I’ve been alone all along.” There are instances when we
are beside our friends or family but we’re not really with them, especially, if all you or they do is check on personal
cellphones non-stop. They do not talk nor even take time to look at each other.
 To mutually respect each other as subjects, that is intersubjectivity.

To-be-is-to-be-with

Marcel argues that there’s more to human life than the vital signs (checked for example in COVID-19 patients) we share with the
animals. This is evident in some people who experience depression, the loss of drive to live.
For Marcel, there’s a seeming contradiction because we use two different senses of the word “living.” One refers to the scientific
definition, the other points to a more specific form of living which Marcel singles out as “human living.” Human living is living for
something other than itself” (Marcel 1950). The center of human life is outside of itself. This is captured best in Jesus Christ’s
teaching, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39).

This is Marcel’s intuition about human life. He tests this by imagining the life of slaves who get enraged by their situation. When
slaves are reduced to mere objects or instruments and aren’t given due respect as a person, there’s a voice deep down, “There
must be more to life than bearing this yoke imposed unjustly upon me.” The cruel master might reply, “What’s there to complain, I
give you money, why not be contented?” what the cruel master fails to see is that human life isn’t just about biological sustenance.
Human life has to have meaning.
For Marcel, we find that meaning not in ourselves but outside of ourselves---in the other. His argument is that life is human as it is
propelled or has direction towards something other than itself.
The cruel master of the slave who is only concerned of his wealth from using the slave is no different from an animal who preys as
a predator only for his selfish survival.
 Or the Dead Sea in Israel that receives and receives all the waters and not share or does not have an outlet for its to give out water
from itself, that is why the rich salt builds up and kills all the fish & animals in it.

In contrast, people who live for others are those who feel more fulfilled.
We learn about the lives of heroes of faith and country who give their lives for others, and we wonder where they draw their strength
and superabundant love. Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it (Luke 17:33). For Marcel,
these are the people who embraced the reality of human living. Living a human life. Intersubjectivity recognizes one’s own being as
a being-with-others; humanized as one de-centers oneself from himself. It’s supported by genuine communication founded on
mutual respect.

ACTIVITY 2:

1. Study the song The Sound of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel). How does the lyrics explain intersubjectivity?

Hello darkness, my old friend,

I've come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.

In restless dreams I walked alone

Narrow streets of cobblestone,
'Neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.

And in the naked light I saw

Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence.
 "Fools," said I, "You do not know.
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you.
Take my arms that I might reach you."
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed

To the neon god they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming.
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sounds of silence.

Answer the following: 1. Translate to Tagalog: People talking without speaking, People hearing without listening.
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2. What do those lines from “The Sound of Silence” mean? What kind of relationship is described by the words: How does talking
differ from speaking? Hearing from listening? Give examples from everyday life experiences.
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3. Between hearing and listening, talking and speaking which do you prefer? Why?
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4. Describe who the people described in “The Sound of Silence” as “so near yet so far” are?

B. Read about the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee in Israel (Middle East)
1. Why is the Dead Sea dead?
2. Why is the Sea of Galilee full of life?
3. How do you relate this to a life that’s directed towards something other than itself?
4. What is your insight from the nature of the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea?

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING:

1. EXPLAIN INTERSUBJECTIVITY by using the following keywords:

a. mutual respect
b. genuine communication
c. “to be is to be with”
d. De-centering
e. “human living”
2. “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Jesus quoted in Matthew 10:39) How
does this explain de-centering, as a key word in intersubjectivity?

Journal Writing REFLECTion:

According to Marcel, “Human living is living for something other than itself.”
a. Give examples from your own life when you focused on the welfare/good of another person.
b. Describe your experiences when you met people who are selfish, self-centered, haven’t de-centered at all.

References:

Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person for SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (Core Subject), Brenda B. Corpuz, et. al.,
Lorimar Publishing Inc., 2016.

Introduction to the PHILOSOPHY of the Human Person, Senior High School Textbook, Roberto D. Abella, C&E Publishing,
Inc, 2016.