Department of Education - Region III

Schools Division Office of Olongapo City

MONDRIAAN AURA COLLEGE
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Subic Bay Freeport Zone

INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON

K to 12 BASIC EDUCATION CURRICULA / SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL – CORE SUBJECT

MODULE 6: INTERSUBJECTIVITY
Content: 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 and those from the
underprivileged sectors of society.
Learning Competencies:
6.1. Realize that intersubjectivity requires accepting differences and not to imposing on
others.
6.2. Appreciate the talents of persons with disabilities and those from the underprivileged
sectors of society and their contributions to society.

6.3. Explain that authentic dialogue means accepting others even if they are different
from themselves.
6.4. Perform activities that demonstrate the talents of persons with disabilities and those
from the underprivileged sectors of society.

Look at these photos, identify differences you can observe in people. How do you feel about
these differences?
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 Department of Education - Region III
Schools Division Office of Olongapo City
MONDRIAAN AURA COLLEGE
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Subic Bay Freeport Zone

Look at these photos, what differences can you

observe. What can you say about this
difference?
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Look at these photos, what differences can you
observe. What can you say about this
difference?
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Look at these photos, what differences can you
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observe. What can you say about this
difference?
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“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept and celebrate those
differences.” – Audre Lorde

“Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize
our need of one another. – Desmond Tutu

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 Department of Education - Region III
Schools Division Office of Olongapo City
MONDRIAAN AURA COLLEGE
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Subic Bay Freeport Zone

INTERSUBJECTIVITY.
Identify the persons to whom you are most likely to say the following statements.
 “How are you today?”
 “Did you hear the latest news?”
 “What do you think I should do with my life?”
 “I appreciate everything you have done for me.”
 “Without you, my life will have no meaning.”
 Who are the people that you consider the easiest to relate to?
 Whom do you find difficult to get along with?
 What does having a meaningful relationship with others mean to you?

Philosophy as a discipline recognizes the nature of human being with respect to

intersubjectivity. A person’s ability to socialize is one of the primary factors that set him/her apart
from all the other species in the animal kingdom.
What is intersubjectivity?
It refers to the shared awareness and understanding among persons. It is made possible by
the awareness of the self and others.
It also carries the meaning of a “unique relationship between distinct subjects” – the
characteristic of the human person to engage in a very intimate and personal relationship with others
who are different from him or her.
It is a concept coined by social psychologists to refer to subjective experiences (the sense of
touch, sight, taste, etc.) that groups of people agree upon shared collective definitions.
An example would be “Sandpaper feels rough” the sensation of roughness is subjective and
not something we can OBJECTIVELY share with others, but by using sandpaper as a medium to
share a concept (the concept of roughness) we can collectively agree on things that are rough, even
if our subjective experience differs.
How do we human persons relate with others?
Our ability to engage in a meaningful interaction with other people, our surroundings
and everything around us is rooted in our capacity for self-awareness and transcendence.
Your classmate is the other, or a being exists outside of yourself.
That object is also another, as it is a thing that also exists outside of yourself.

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 Department of Education - Region III
Schools Division Office of Olongapo City
MONDRIAAN AURA COLLEGE
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Subic Bay Freeport Zone

What Is the Key to Embrace Differences and Diversity?

ACCEPTANCE. Embracing differences and diversity in terms of attitudes, skills, physical
and mental attributes, and even choices and sense of decision making in life.
Love has always been the primary ingredient that fully manifests one’s experience of
intersubjectivity.
Intersubjectivity is viewed as how people interact with others and how others influence them
to become someone in the truest and sincerest sense of world. - Edmund Husserl
Intersubjective experience plays a vital role in the framework of a person as both an
objectively existing and experiencing subject. - Edmund Husserl
Interhuman experience is an emphatic experience, as one is mirrored by his kind and more
often or not, subrogates himself into another’s shoes.
Intersubjectivity is also about accepting people in different walks of life - people who may not
share the same views and beliefs as the others; people who may look beyond the ordinary;
people who have disabilities.
How Will Intersubjectivity Become More Meaningful?
People should open himself and accept the various possibilities brought about by diversity.
Accepting other people’s differences. “No two persons are exactly alike”
Every person in the world is different, and diversity is nothing but an ordinary phenomenon in
social realm.
Diversity makes a person human. Unfortunately, over the years, humans have learned to put
up wall to protect themselves from others.

Orientations in Viewing Culture

A. ETHNOCENTRIC. person who views his culture as the center of all culture
B. XENOCENTRIC. person who views his culture as inferior to another.

Which do you think develop unity amidst diversity?

CULTURAL RELATIVISM. one’s culture is neither inferior nor superior.
TOLERANCE AND DIALOG. by engaging in meaningful dialogs and truthfully listening to
their thoughts, one will accept another’s individuality without asking to conform culture,
beliefs, and traditions. One must treat others with the same amount of respect as he/she
wants to be respected himself/herself in order to live in a more peaceful and harmonious
world.

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 Department of Education - Region III
Schools Division Office of Olongapo City
MONDRIAAN AURA COLLEGE
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Subic Bay Freeport Zone

Which of the following actions is more reasonable?

You begin talking to your classmate, telling him or her about a funny experience you had in
school. You begin talking to the ballpen or notebook on your desk, telling it about a funny experience
you had in school.
You can only interact with objects when you need to use them. However, interacting with
other human beings are a more complex act.
Our human nature not only enables us to recognize the self that defines our individuality, it
also enables us to recognize that other human beings also possess a self.
This notion of recognizing the self in the other is philosophers define interpersonal relations,
“unique relationship between distinct subjects”
The unique phenomenon of the human gaze is considered a defining characteristic which
sets apart human interaction of other species – the way we act with other people is often influenced
by our ideas of how these people see us.
These actions are referred to as “seeming”- where an individual presents himself or herself in
a certain way when dealing with others.
Two ways of relating with others
I-IT Mode. I-it means that I am a person – but I see other people as objects or means to my
ends. They don’t have the same status as I do – we are not equal. I feel more entitled as I am the
center of my world.
My relationship with others is transactional. We exchange favors, and I make sure to get
more than I give. I am self-centered and not great at empathy. It’s not easy to see it your way. I
identify with my ego and its needs. I see myself as the center.
The human person treats his/her fellow human persons as objects, tool or instrument
This treatment falls under the utilitarian mechanism.
He/she uses others, like machine to achieve his/her purpose or interest.
He/she reduces them into a thing or utility- only what is useful is good.
“Man is an end in himself and should not be treated as an instrument or a tool.”
-Emmanuel Kant
I-THOU Mode
I-thou means that I see you as a person, too. You are equal and I acknowledge your
humanity, with all the associated fears and needs. We are both in the world, with the same rights
and duties. My relationship with others can be transformational.

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 Department of Education - Region III
Schools Division Office of Olongapo City
MONDRIAAN AURA COLLEGE
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Subic Bay Freeport Zone

We change who we are, and we give what we both would like to get. I am other-focused and
use both self-compassion and empathy and compassion. I can see it your way. I am more than my
ego and can transcend its fears. I see myself as part of the whole.
The human person considers his/her fellow humans as subjects and ends in themselves.
In this interaction, personal involvement, care and love.
Here, the lover and the beloved, who are both subjects love and care for each other.
Each protects and upholds his/her self-worth not because of individual usefulness but
because one or the other is valued, in itself, as a human person with dignity.
To be in an I-THOU relationship, the human person has to relate with others in full
human way- in doing so, he/she learns to become fully human. - Martin Buber
What characterizes a genuine human interaction?

DIALOGUE.
A deep and genuine relationship between persons is called dialogue
It happens when two persons truly acknowledge each other’s presence and treat each other
as equal.
Characteristics of Meaningful and Genuine Relationship
EMPATHY
The ability to share emotions. This emotion is driven by a person’s awareness that the other
is person with thoughts and feelings. It enables us to experience another person’s emotions such as
happiness, anger and sadness. Sympathy – “feeling with”; Empathy – “feeling in”
AVAILABILITY
It is the willingness of a person to be present and be at the disposal of another.
ETHICS OF CARE
It is an ethical theory that emphasizes the moral dimension of relationships and interactions.
This moral perspective encourages individuals to help other people most especially the
vulnerable. Advocates that people have moral obligation to respond to the needs of other people;
and one cannot turn a blind eye on the problems of others.

Let’s watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU0AMDpR7Os

Assignment: Write a reflection paper about your perceived most important talent. Discuss
why you’re not yet able to share it with others; and/or why is it important for you to share it
with others. What will be the impact of this talent if you’re going to share it with others?

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 Department of Education - Region III
Schools Division Office of Olongapo City
MONDRIAAN AURA COLLEGE
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Subic Bay Freeport Zone

LEARNING ASSESSMENT

NAME: ________________________________________ Track/Strand: __________________

1. Describe I-IT Mode. Give an example.

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2. Describe I-THOU Mode. Cite an example.
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3. If man is free, he is responsible for his actions, his choices. Why?

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Prepared by

LEO C. EUSANTOS, MPsy., LPT.

Professional Teacher

Note: The Learning Assessment part must be submitted together with the reactions on
the selected pictures and the essay output about, “My Most Important Talent.”