Author

The nature of human beings, along with the elements of the human psyche, plays a major role in human behavior, and has been the subject of controversy since the beginning of history. It has been explored both by ancient philosophers and by modern scientists, and views as to the nature of human beings have ranged from it being innately good to being innately evil.
According to Plato, human psyche consists of a hierarchy of three distinct elements: the element of reason; the “spirited” element of emotions; and the irrational element of bodily needs, desires, and appetites. Of the three elements, Plato valued reason the most and the appetites the least, considering the role of reason to be the maintaining of the proper balance and harmony among all the elements.
In a particular person, Plato said, one or another of these elements will be dominant, and will result in the person having a distinct kind of personality, and a particular type of goal in life. Where reason is dominant, the primary goal of a person is knowledge and truth. Where the spirited element is dominant, the person lives mainly for success and public acclaim; and where the appetites are dominant; the person strives mainly for money to satisfy his desires.
For Descartes, he viewed those human beings as a physical mental dualism, being comprised of a physical substance and a mental substance, with each being a distinct and independent substance from the other. Physical substances and all of nature, he said, behave like the “workings of a clock,” mechanically responding to other bodies, or stimuli, which impact upon them. Descartes saw the physical systems of human beings, like the circulatory and digestive systems, as belonging to this “clockwork system;” but the thinking, rational, moral, and spiritual nature of human beings, he considered to be aspects of a person’s mental substance, and not part of the clockwork system.
Descartes viewed the mental substance of man as being the true “Self” of man, the “I” in his famous proposition, “I think, therefore I am.” However, another philosopher, David Hume, dismissed as “nonsense” the notions of mental and physical substances, as there are no sense perceptions of the existence of a mental substance. Hume also viewed the existence of the “Self” of a person as being nonsense, as there are no sense perceptions of the existence of a continuous, distinct, and identically same Self, or human essence, underlying an individual throughout his lifetime. He saw the Self to exist as a phenomenon that just collects and reacts to stimuli.
The twentieth century philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre also believed that the individual has no underlying enduring essence, or “Self”. He saw the “Self” of a person existing only as a consciousness, which is conscious of a stream of impressions from various sources. However, in Sartre’s view it is the consciousness of a person that makes the individual a distinct, totally separate and different type of being from other kinds of beings, and from the material things of the universe.

Henrick, secretary of Papal Nuncio, and Felix

In his writings Sartre, often used the term “conscious being” in referring to human beings. According to Sartre, other beings and material things lack this ability of consciousness of self.
Thus, several different views of the essence of human beings were held by these philosophers: one view being that a person consists of the three distinct components of reason, the spirited element, and the appetites; another, that a person is comprised of a mental and physical substance, with the mental substance being the true Self of a person and having a spiritual nature; and the opposing view, that there is no true knowledge of the existence of a mental substance, or an underlying Self.

Author

We were having a conversation with my grandma in the living room and telling me that she would love to tell a story about living in heaven. As respect, I sat down on the chair and then listened. Her story was so interesting and of course that was full of values. I was so inflated especially when she told me to stop doing things which are not ought to be valued, because in our family I was called “the black sheep” whereas all of my siblings are good. The story of my grandma goes this way; once upon a time there was a golden palace in the kingdom of Negara near down the river of the great diamond fairies which was owned by the royal blooded couples. Inside the golden palace, there was a beautiful young maiden who’s serving the royal blooded couples. Unfortunately, the beautiful young maiden in the golden palace was living in a great misery and threatened her like a dog. She always got a punishment though she never did anything wrong and never had committed any mistakes, but, at the end the blame were charged onto her. Despite of the many punishments that she received from the royal blooded couples still she never afraid and never even escaped from her wolves-like masters, the royal blooded couples. What she always did was to pray and pray until when the beautiful young maiden was taken by the Lord of lords and her body was ascended into heaven. A year after the ascension of the beautiful young maiden, the royal blooded couples died in a car crush. Their souls were taken to the office of St. Peter the authorized person in the heaven’s door. The royal blooded were welcomed by St. Peter and they were guided going to their newly house which they will leave forever. But before they reach their house suddenly they began to stop and was asking to St. Peter about the big gloomy house that was glistened by the diamonds and silvers around, then St. Peter answered that the big house they were referring was the house of their servant then. The royal blooded couples were so shocked after hearing that the big house was owned by the beautiful maiden.

Henrick in Siargao

On the way to their newly house, they murmured and keep thinking that they were sure when they reach their newly house it must be more striking than what they saw from the house of the beautiful maiden. One step more, the royal blooded couples saw a four-cornered house beside the pig sty without a roof and even a wall around. Then St. Peter told them: “the newly house is for both of you. Both of you will be going to stay there.” A whirlwind reaction from the royal blooded couples hit St. Peter and asking him why. St. Peter explained everything why. The mean reason why they are going to leave with the four-cornered house is that, first they never bring with them the materials needed for the house construction and lastly, they never even deposited such amount for the construction. The story ended up with justice to the beautiful young maiden and besides the royal blooded couples was enlightened with what they have done before during their life on earth.

By: Henrick Tagalo MMCS Fourth Year 2006

Author: Henrick Tagalo

Fourth Year 2006
“Music, artful arrangement of sounds across time”
Before I entered the world of music, I was indifferent at the time when it comes to music. My hobby then, was to play basketball but not music, because I hate music. When I heard the sound of music my mind goes out of nowhere and it seems that music was like a whirlwind which causes headache on my mind. My family loves music, they play music everyday and my father is a good musician. He knows how to play guitar and knows how to dance through the bit of music. My mother loves music too and in fact she is the Celine Dion of the Family and knows how to dance also like my father.
During our family reunion, I learned that all of my relatives love music too. They are musicians too, for the reason that they know how to play any kind of instruments. I could say that our family is a group of brass band which all of the instruments are enjoined together. I believe that I have a blood of a musician but I don’t know how to play the instrument and I hate listening to music.

At the last day of our family reunion, my parents were both obliged to show their talent and skills in music. When they began to play the instrument and my mother sang softly the rhythm of music, I felt something which I couldn’t explain why but it seems that I began to love the music when my mother sang the song entitled Hey Jude by the Beatles. The harmony of the song and its lyrics slowly enter into my soul and slowly manifest that music is important in every life and without music there will be no life. That day was my unforgettable day because it was the time when I converted into the world of music. I began to develop my skills in music and right people will identify me as a musician like my parents. It is true that in loving music there will be no such impossible things. As what the song says, love moves in mysterious ways. To those who are not lover of music someday there will come a time that the love that you have will move mysteriously going into the world of music. This is what I am experiencing right now. Therefore, I thank music for the song it brings and for lessening the problems of people.

By: Henrick Tagalo

Author

I was about to attend a party when my cousin asked me to send a text message to our uncle reminding him to bring the camera including the film. Without expecting anything else, aside from my uncle’s reply, my phone beeps twice and began reading the message. I was shocked when I read the message, because the message that was meant for my uncle was sent to other person whom I never know. It was really a wrong sent. Her reply on my phone was so ridicule telling:” why do you want to remind me to bring my camera including my film?” With a great shame, I automatically responded her apologizing about the wrong sent of message. Later on, my phone beeps again. As I look at my phone it was her again saying, by the way, where did you get my number? I replied; that was just an accident and I really don’t know your number. She replied:” ah, I see.”
One week later, I sent a message to her and asked her about her name and place. Amazingly, she replied as I thought she never would. She told me her name and her place. She’s Zita Conney from Ireland. After asking her she also asked me the same question. Then, I told her the truth that I am living from New Zealand. At that day, our conversation was going deeper. She asked me if how old I am then I told her, I am 20 yrs of age. She responded and told me that we have the same age. We talk a lot and began to know each other deeper. I ask her if how many siblings does she have, then she told me that they are 3 in the family and she was second to the last and she have an older brother and younger sister. I replied to her and telling her that we are the same. Me too, we are 3 in our family I am second to the last and have an older brother and younger sister. She responded with a shocking reaction, huh? Are you kidding? For her to find out that I am telling her the truth I’ve given her my biodata through an email. Then after receiving the biodata she sends a message and telling me that she believes in me. In our conversation, we always got the same thoughts or ideas. One month later, we decided to meet in person for us to know our physical appearance. We decided to meet at Sydney, Australia. When I arrived at the airport I felt excited and nervous and telling myself to please stay calm. A minute later, my phone beeps and finally it was her telling me if where should be our rendezvous. My heart pumps like a drum while sending a reply message. I told her that we will meet at the coffee shop seems that day was a rainy day. When I began to step closer to the door at the coffee shop, I’ve seen a beautiful woman sitting on the chair and it seems that she was waiting for someone to come. Without much a do, I move closer to her until I finally get on to where she was sitting. I ask the beautiful woman, Zita, are you looking for someone? Then she smiled and asks me, is that you, Henrick? I also responded a smile at her and told her, yes, I am, Zita. That was an exciting moment for us when we began to see each other in person. Zita was working at the call center in Ireland and I was working at my uncle’s motor shop in New Zealand. We live simply with a happy life until we finally decided to get married and work within the same place and that place is the place where our love begins and that is Sydney, Australia. During our wedding celebration, we announce to all singles that they shouldn’t have turn off their cell phone because they might missend their message or receive a wrong message which might be the right person that they have most awaited in their entire life. I and Zita live happily ever after and got a dozens of offspring. Thanks for a wrong message! Before everything’s happened, the very auspicious things. I say to myself that receiving a wrong number is just a waste of time and beside it could just make my day into exasperation due to some nonsense things. I really dumped such things like that. But when I’ve recognized Miss. Zita Conney now Mrs. Zita Conney Tagalo on the cell phone, accidentally, at that time I began to change my self and saying; even in nonsense things there would still be a great value of knowing such person whom I do not know from the start and suddenly becomes the very important person of my whole and entire life. Therefore, when I met this kind of experience, I would now say and believe in saying goes, “small things are big things”.