Living one's own philosophy: An analysis of Lorenzo M. Tanada's nationalist philosophy

• Main Author: Sarza, Beverly Asistol
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2005
• Subjects: Philosophy; Nationalists; Politicians
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/3324
• Institution: De La Salle University

This research endeavored to discover Lorenzo M. Tañadas philosophy of nationalism and how his life serves as its very embodiment. It was also the objective of this study to show that Tañadas philosophy of nationalism could serve as a model for the emancipation of philosophy from its incarcerating concept that it is merely a realm of pure or abstract ideas devoid of any concrete practice. In order to fulfill these aims, the researcher utilized the descriptive, analytic, and the traditional method of philosophy as espoused by Gripaldo. As a result, this research discovered that Tañadas philosophy of nationalism is threefold: axiological, humanitarian, and economic. The axiological dimension responds to the sociological, moral, religious, and mental problems of the nation through prescribing nationalism viewed as the citizens primary virtue being its immediate remedy. Humanitarian nationalism, which coincides with the Hayes Formula and somehow resembles Rousseaus, is centered on the great concern for the masses or the common tao, respect for popular sovereignty or the emphasis on democracy and the belief in the natural law from where liberty, social equality, and national unity emanate. Finally, economic nationalism is the same nationalism that is operating in the economic sphere and is aiming for an independent and sovereign nation coupled with economic independence. Furthermore, this study discovered that Tañada lived a life dedicated to the fulfillment of his philosophy of nationalism. He became more active in the advancement of nationalism when he founded MAN and be its first chairperson wherein he prioritized in establishing a nationalist centered education that would remedy the root cause of todays ailment which breeds in the minds of the youth colonial mentality. When he became a legislator, he authored numerous bills and drafted laws that manifest his philosophy, such as the nationalization of the economy, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and the Tañada Picketing Law. Even as a private citizen, he incessantly campaigned for the nations independence from Martial Law, the removal of American Military Bases, and closure of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. Hence, Tañada did not only mouth his philosophy, he also crystallized and concretized it making him a genuine philosopher of nationalism who belonged to the realms of both ideas and experiences.