UNIV Compendium

60
UNIV 2012 PHILIPPINES FINAL CONGRESS COMPENDIUM

Transcript of UNIV Compendium

Page 1: UNIV Compendium

UNIV 2012 PHILIPPINES FINAL CONGRESS

COMPENDIUM

Page 2: UNIV Compendium

About UNIV

About the theme

UNIV is an international gathering of university students, which since 1968 the Institute for University Cooperation (ICU) sponsors in Rome. Each year, several thousand students spend Holy Week in Rome, profiting from the cultural and historical riches that the Eternal City has to offer. Throughout the week, ICU provides students with various cultural encounters, conferences, roundtables, showrooms and concerts. All of these activities are occasions to delve more deeply into important matters relevant to the university, highlighting particularly the spirit of service towards those who are most in need.

It seems timely to reflect upon the language of beauty and upon beauty as a communicator of truth

and goodness, to which it remains closely linked. As Joseph Ratzinger noted in connection with the year 2000, Christianity’s best answer to a relativistic mentality is to be found precisely in Christian life.

UNIV Forum 2012 wishes to contribute to reflection on beauty, on its power to transform and inspire (in art, in science, in the life of peoples), on its power of attraction (in the media, for instance), on the possibility of learning to recognize beauty and on distinguishing true beauty from mere surface appearance.

Page 3: UNIV Compendium

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Inspiring the Disenchanted: Rediscovering Beauty

4

Does portrayal of Skin-Deep Beauty in Ads Affect Beyond Skin-Deep?

9

Women in Philippine Politics: The Beauty of Power and the Power of Beauty

14

Religious Formation Among University Students As a Path to Discovering the Beauty of the Truth

23

Harmony, Integrity and Clarity: An Appreciation Through the Natural Sciences

28

Beauty of Math: A Tool for Learning 33

Space and Aesthetics: A Phenomenological and Multi-sensory Approach

41

The Perception of Beauty of Blind Filipino High School Students

Beauty in the eyes of an Artist

47

52

Page 4: UNIV Compendium

4

Inspiring the Disenchanted: Rediscovering Beauty

Christine Joy B. Besanaa, Renee Claudia T. Villanuevab and Anna Katrina G. Violetab

aUniversity of the Philippines-Manila bAteneo de Manila University

Centuries ago, beauty was highly celebrated and very relevant to people’s everyday lives. Today, true beauty has turned away from

the limelight and into the shadows, to be noticed and appreciated only in fleeting moments. The contemporary world has turned us into “disenchanted zombies” who no longer view beauty as significant. There is, therefore, a need to rediscover beauty, its power to inspire, transform, uplift and liberate us from the shackles of a desensitized world. Using a philosophical view on beauty (mostly arguments by Plato and Kant), this paper would look at how beauty is being viewed today – beauty as a commodity – and how it affects how we interact and experience beauty. This paper would, then, shift to how people can rediscover beauty and meaning in the contemporary world.

ABSTRACT

Adviser: Imelda L. Areola

Page 5: UNIV Compendium

5

Throughout man’s history, beauty has come to be one of

those ideas that have dominated man’s thought. Yet, even after centuries of trying to find true beauty, man has yet to grasp it and fully understand it. In our search for beauty, we forget that beauty is all around us. As Gendler (2007) said, “We are starved for beauty, but in our hunger we keep thinking of beauty as something we can obtain, contain, possess, rather than as an essence that is always present” (p. 112).To make matters worse, we see beauty being commodified today, mostly through media. People, thus, believe that true beauty is the beauty portrayed by the media, that the only way to see, achieve, and experience it is through consumption.Yet, the world, life, and man are full of beauty. Beauty exists as an essence and it is always all around us. Beauty, we believe, has the power to liberate and inspire us. In a fast-paced world where meaning, hope and inspiration are hard to come by, beauty has never been so indispensable. The objectives of this paper are:

1. To look at how beauty is being commodified today and how it influences our experience of beauty;

2. To deepen the understanding of people regarding true beauty;

3. To explore how true beauty can be rediscovered and experienced in the contemporary world; and,

4. To look into the implications of experiencing true beauty.

According to Plato’s Ladders of Love (1925), the first step to beauty is the beauty of the body. This beauty of the physical is what drives us to love beauty in the first place; without it, we will not be able to fall even more deeply with beauty. Plato (1925) then ascends from the beauty of the body to the beauty of the soul, where one has to dig deeper for them to see.It is through this beauty that we are able to love and care for someone regardless of how he or she looks. Even if the body does not remain the same, we can still love as long as the soul is there. The third ladder is the beauty of laws and institutions, which gave us the foundation of what to believe, say, and do. Above all of these is the beauty of knowledge (Plato & Harold, 1925).It is through this level of beauty that we are able to understand why humans, laws, nature and

SUMMARY

Page 6: UNIV Compendium

6

institutions are beautiful.Through this understanding, we come to the highest level of beauty: the beauty of beauty. It is where we are able to realize that finding beauty in things is not only limited to romantic love. Rather, love that is unconditional. It is through this that we are able to experience justice, truth, hope and most importantly God.

In his Judgment of Beauty, Kant started to question: What is it really that leads people to say that one is beautiful? Kant believes that beauty must be realized first, for one to find pleasure in its beauty (Kant, 1914).This judgment is “focused more on the form of something, rather than the content” (Kant, 1914).Kant then moves to the second and third standards of beauty, which is that aesthetic judgment is universal and necessary (Kant, 1914).Finally, Kant believes that beauty must be purposive without a purpose (Kant, 1914).

Commodification is a Marxist term used to refer to the transformation of things usually not considered commodities into of economic value.The commodification of beauty is something that not most people are able to see; however, if you pay close attention to what is happening around the world today, this issue is evident everywhere, especially in the media. We see most people

in the media that are branded “beautiful” are young, thin, tall, fair-skinned, and have long-flowing hair.In response, people try to experience this “beauty” by starting to buy products which seem to give the illusion that this is real beauty.

When the Filipino youth is asked regarding beauty, we see that commodification of beauty has, indeed narrowed their view of the beautiful. Many do not see their own beauty, are pressured to stay young and wish to be someone better-looking. It is important also to note that the youth is also aware that there are other forms, other sources and other ways to experience beauty if they take a second to look and see. And yet they still find it hard to experience beauty.

Commodification of beauty has handicapped us in a way that it has made it difficult for us to see beauty without all its sparkle and glamour. There is a monopoly of beauty that can only be sold as such, nothing more and nothing less. So we buy things endlessly to make us a step closer to that perfect being we want to become but we fail to realize that this thing that we take so much effort to achieve is even seasonal and not lasting. Because of this, true beauty that is rightfully ours, pure and everlasting, is lost among the fields of pretension and discontent.

Page 7: UNIV Compendium

7

Beauty is present. Beauty exists.Beauty is not only seen. It is heard, smelled, tasted, touched, felt. It is not only the eyes that experience true beauty; it is the whole being. True beauty does not give just momentary satisfaction. Beauty inspires us, moves us to yearn for something deep, the indescribable, and moves us to action (Ratzinger, 2002).

For us, however, to truly experience beauty, there is a need for openness and vulnerability (Gendler, 2007, p. 78). True beauty allows space for imperfections. Beauty is not experienced by avoiding and ignoring the ugly and the painful but by embracing and suffering it (Ratzinger, 2002). True beauty is not an escape. It is when we couple imagination with reality, when we see the potentialities, the possibilities, the goodness in the reality that we truly experience beauty (Santayana, 1986).

Understanding this liberates us from yearning for deceptive beauty and helps us embrace ourselves, our lives, and enables us to see that all around us, beauty exists. True beauty invites us to be more aware of our surroundings, to truly live life,

not in isolation but in participation with reality; because it is when we see beauty in things when the world is at its busiest that we know that we are experiencing true beauty.

When we truly understand and experience beauty, we experience its power to inspire, liberate, and transform us. Yet, the very point of beauty is not just for humans to experience it and welcome it into their lives, but to also recreate it. Man is not merely a spectator of beauty; man is also an artist who captures beauty so that others may also see.

As Ratzinger (2002) said, true beauty moves us into action. This action, we believe, is to share the beauty one discovers. Beauty can also be illustrated through a smile, a kiss, a random act of kindness, an effort to transform society, loving a person. The arts suddenly are not the only medium to share beauty. The world becomes our canvas, a place to share beauty and amplify it. It is our jobs, as artists, to bring out the beauty we see in the world. With the world as our canvas, we as artists can paint a better society one paintbrush stroke at a time.

Page 8: UNIV Compendium

8

Burnham, D. (2001). Kant's aesthetics.Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 7 Nov. 2011 from http://www.iep.utm.edu/kantaest

Ferriols, R. S.J. (2002). PambungadsaMetapisika (ix-xx), 1-12. Quezon City: ORP.

Gendler, J. R. (2007). Notes on the Need for Beauty: An Intimate Look at an Essential Quality. New York: Marlowe and Company.

Kant, I. (1914). Critique of judgement. New York, New York: Cosimo, Inc. 27 Nov. 2011 Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=yBFsrJqNtygC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0

Nahm, M. C. (1956). Creativity and freedom.The Artist as Creator: An Essay of Human Freedom. Baltimore: The John Hopkins Press, 3-62.

Nahm, M. C. (1956). The “great analogy.”The Artist as Creator: An Essay of Human Freedom. Baltimore: The John Hopkins Press, 63-83.

Plato, & Harold, F. (1925).Symposium.(Vol. 9). London, England: Harvard University Press. Retrieved 3 Nov. 2011 from http://www.kennydominican.joyeurs.com/GreekClassics/PlatoSymposiumE.htm

Plato & Jowett, B. (2008). Phaedrus. Lexington, KY: Forgotten Books.

Ratzinger, J. (2002).“The Feeling of Things, the Contemplation of Beauty.” Meeting at Rimni.Rimni, Italy.

Santayana, G. (1986). The Sense of Beauty: Being the Outlines of Aesthetic Theory. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. Retrieved 26 Nov. 2011 fromhttp://www.gutenberg.org/files/26842/26842-h/26842-h.htm

Sparshott, FE. (1963).‘Beauty’: The term and its relations. The Structure of Aesthetics. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 59-90.

Wojtyla, K. (1999) Letter to Artists. Rome, Italy: Vatican.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Page 9: UNIV Compendium

9

Does Portrayal of Skin-Deep

Beauty in Ads Distort Female

Adolescents’ Self-Concept?

Mariel Cassandra P. Santiago and Reginet P. SamsonPhilippine Women's University-JASMS

It is common for media companies to feature attractive and well-known individuals in different advertisements (ads). Ads can

now be digitally enhanced to achieve images with utter perfection. With ads featuring pencil-thin, flawless-skinned and airbrushed models and celebrities, studies have shown that these resulted to a distorted image of beauty and of viewer’s self-concept. Four cases of seventeen-year-old girls with various degrees of ad attention and self-image are presented in this paper. While quantitative researches claim that there is a widening number of women not satisfied with their appearance, the qualitative research conducted shows that it cannot be completely and directly attributed to the skin-deep beauty presented in many ads.

ABSTRACT

Adviser: Rosalinda A. Barcelona

Page 10: UNIV Compendium

10

Advertising is beneficial to both advertisers and the

public. However, advertising faces criticisms from different members of society. One criticism is how depictions of physical beauty in ads lower the self-esteem of many people, particularly women. Hence, this study, in line with UNIV 2011 theme on beauty, aims to find out if skin-deep beauty that is shown in many ads has, in fact, beyond skin-deep effects –that is, it affects a person’s self-concept.

This research aims to validate the result of earlier studies that images of attractive, physically appealing models and celebrities in ads cause disfiguring concept of beauty and poor self-concept among women. This paper sets to find out if such representation in ads plays a large part in causing negative self-image or there are other aspects that may have more profound effects to the person’s self-concept.

The subjective description of beauty is what puts advertising into a gray area. For O’Guinn, Allen and Semenik, appeals on beauty and prestige in ads are neither illegal nor unethical because beauty and prestige varies from one person to

another.In order to properely answer

to this criticism, more research should be done. Qualitative Research based on observation and interview is chosen as a means of investigating the posed problem. Since this research strives to verify if beauty in ads distorts self-concept and the extent of its effect on notions of beauty, and because the casual relationship between beauty in ads and self-concept is not so apparent, a qualitative research is more appropriate. Also, behaviors of research participants in field observation are more natural compared to a controlled environment of an experimental research.

In this research, the four participants, all seventeen-year-old female college freshmen, represent a case. Case A has high ad attention and positive self-concept, Case B has low ad attention and positive self-concept, Case C has high ad attention and negative self-concept, and Case D has low ad attention and negative self-concept.

Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory is used as theoretical framework and serves as the ground for data collection and data analysis. The theory asserts that

SUMMARY

Page 11: UNIV Compendium

11

internal factors, external factors, and behavior interact in varying degrees and influence media effects, or for this study, advertising effects.

The mere fact that the study produced four different cases with different levels of ad attention and self-image proves that the portrayal of skin-deep beauty in ads is not directly and exclusively the cause of distorted self-concept among female teenagers. Obviously, the self-image of cases B and D cannot be directly ascribed to beauty in ads because they do not give much attention to them. The self-referencing observed in Case A is more directed towards other forms of media than ads. Also, her positive self-concept may be because of her close family and peer relationships. The negative self-image of Case C may come from the pressure she gets from trying to please the people around her and not mainly and exclusively due to her high ad attention. In all cases, external factors, particularly family and peer relationships, appear to have more significant effect on the formation

of the participants’ self-concept.It is clear that while

prior quantitative studies link a connection between the proliferation of skin-deep beauty in ads and consumers’ reducing postive self-image, that link could not be concluded as casual. What is established in this study is not cause-and-effect relationship, but rather an interaction of internal factors, external factors and behavior that determine the impact of advertising effect. This supports Bandura’s social cognitive theory where most studies in media effects are based.

This implies that every sector of society –the government, education system, the Church, and the family –has the capacity and, therefore, the responsibility to uplift people’s self-concept. It is not the responsibility of mass media alone to educate people on what is real beauty and to uplift people’s self-concept. Moreover, advertising must develop itself and answer its critics through conducting different studies concerning advertising effects.

Page 12: UNIV Compendium

12

Bester, Garfield. "Personality Development of the Adolescent: Peer Group Versus Parents." South African Journal of Education, 2007: 177-190.

Bryant, J., & Thompson, S. (2002). Fundamentals of Media Effects. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Frith, K., Shaw, P., & Cheng, H. (2005). The Construction of Beauty: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Women's Magazine Advertising. International Communication Association.

Gottschall, J. (2007). Greater Emphasis on Female Attractiveness in Homo Sapiens: A Revised Solution to an Old Evolutionary Riddle. Pennsylvania.

Lefrancois, G. R. (1996). The Lifespan 5th ed. California: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Leung, Jin-Pang, and Kwok Leung. "Life Satisfaction, Self-Concept, and Relationship with Parents in Adolescence." Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 1992: 653-665.

Martin, B. A., Veer, E., & Pervan, S. J. (2007, February 21). Self-Referencing and Consumer Evaluations of Larger-Sized Female Models: A Weight Locus of Control Perpective. Springer Science + Business Media, LLC.

Miranda, G. S. (1991). Advertising Revised Edition. Metro Manila: National Bookstore, Inc.

O'Guinn, T. C., Allen, C. T., & Semenik, R. J. (1998). Advertising. Ohio: South-Western College Publishing.

Petri, H. L. (1996). Motivation Theory, Research, and Applications. California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.

Pollay, R. W. (1989). The Distorted Mirror: Reflections on the Unintended Consequences of Advertising. In R. Hovland, & G. B. Wilcox, Advertising in Society Classic and Contemporary Readings on Advertising's Role in the Society (pp. 437-476). Illinois: NTC Business Books.

Sandage, C. H. (1989). Some Institutional Aspects of Advertising. In R. Hovland, & G. B. Wilcox, Advertising in Society Classic and Contemporary Readings on Advertising's Role in Society (pp. 3-10). Illinois: NTC Business Books.

Sirgy, J. M. (1982). Self-Concept in Consumer Behavior: A Critical Review. Journal of Consumer Research , 287.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Page 13: UNIV Compendium

13

Strickland, Bonnie. The Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology, 2nd ed. Michigan: Gale Group, 2001.

Swinson, J. (2011, August 10). False Beauty in Advertising and the Pressure to Look 'Good'. Retrieved October 20, 2011, from CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/08/08/swinson.airbrushing.ads/index.html

Vacker, B. (1993). Bauty and the Beast (of Advertising). Advances in Consumer Research Volume 20 , 345-351.

Wimmer, R. D., & Dominick, J. R. (1997). Mass Media Research an Introduction 5th ed. California: Wadsworth Publishing Co.

Page 14: UNIV Compendium

14

Political Beauty Contest: Philippine Politics

in FocusAlbertine June M. Din, Thea Alyssa F. Fabay,

Marcella Maria L. Karaan, Denesse C. Ramirez, Elliane Somes and Marietta B. Trimpe

University of Asia and the Pacific

Various scholars have attributed women’s political participation to the concept of beauty. This research shed light on the role

of beauty in women’s political participation and empowerment. The study made use of mixed method approach: interviews were conducted with a member of the academe and a woman politician and established a survey of 95 randomly selected voting-aged university students from UP, UA&P, ADMU, DLSU, and UST. The results and findings of the study point to the greater importance of transcendental beauty than deceptive beauty of women when participating in elections, legislation, and decision-making process, thus, supporting the writing of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger on the Contemplation of Beauty.

ABSTRACT

Adviser: Danica Elaine M. Ang

Page 15: UNIV Compendium

15

Beauty and the impression of women being in politics are

two ideas that are not necessarily directly correlated but are often associated with each other. Beauty is such an ambiguous concept that it has caught the attention and interest of great philosophers. Women, on the other hand, have had a huge share in history that many scholars and researchers have been interested to trace the significant evolution of their participation in different aspects of society. Originally being widely considered as inferior to men especially in the Western countries, women’s roles have expanded from being just wives and mothers, to going out of their domestic duties and entering education and trade, to being political pawns behind their fathers and husbands, to holding leadership positions in the government and social organizations.

Many have already been challenged to find out what women have that they have undergone such a colossal transformation in their recognition as members of the society, paving way for them to have power in politics. Seeing beauty as having such close association with the image of women made people think if beauty itself has any effect

on the way women are looked at and looked up to. And with beauty being a profound and abstract concept already long debated by philosophers and thinkers throughout history, the researchers also aimed to find the definition of ‘beauty’ that best connects it to how women have acquired the important positions that they are holding now.

The study is grounded on Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s (now Pope Benedict XVI) The Feeling of Things, the Contemplation of Beauty. The reference to beauty as “truth” is not the conventional way of looking at beauty that is purely based on appearance or external beauty. Cardinal Ratzinger gave particular emphasis on transcendental beauty—both internal and external—a notion of beauty that is not only pleasurable and appealing. On the one hand, transcendental beauty refers to the beauty of truth which lies in the acceptance of suffering for it is that is beautiful which actually wounds. On the other hand, “deceptive and false” beauty pertains to beauty that is only deemed appealing and pleasurable which does not bring about man’s eagerness to see and know the truth and exemplify it for

SUMMARY

Page 16: UNIV Compendium

16

the good of others. This paper analyzed the

seeming correlation between beauty and women’s political participation and empowerment. The researchers operationalized the variable beauty as (1) transcendental beauty, which refers to competence, trustworthiness, intelligence, and dedication to serve the public; and (2) as deceptive beauty, which pertains to physical appearance, and likability/charisma. The variable political participation and empowerment was taken in this study as women’s capacity to hold elective positions in the government, capacity to lobby / influence decision-making process by participating in civil society organizations, and capacity to influence legislation through party list representation.

The study made of use of mixed method approach: interviews were conducted with a member of the academe and a woman politician and established a survey of 95 randomly selected voting-aged university students from UP, UA&P, ADMU, DLSU, and UST. Respondents for the survey produced two groups: those who have voted and those who have not yet voted. In order to determine the direction and strength of correlation between the two variables, Pearson r was used.

The results of this study show that beauty does matter for women

in Philippine politics: the shallow concept of beauty only as physical attractiveness which is referred to as deceptive beauty by Ratzinger (2002) is relatively of lesser importance than transcendental beauty, which the researchers operationalized as the qualities of a good politician like competence, trustworthiness, intelligence and dedication to serve the public.

The data gathered suggests that women with pleasing physical appearance have an edge in politics – affirming the “beauty premium” effect or the advantage of women in politics due to physical attractiveness or deceptive beauty. However, with regard to the seeming relationship between beauty and women’s capacity to hold elective position, despite the role played by deceptive beauty to seat female politicians in the government, the respondents are highly aware of the importance of the dedication to serve the public, competence, intelligence and trustworthiness of the candidate. In the case of influencing decision-making processes in CSOs, despite Rep. Magsaysay’s thought that only the “sosyal” or the elites and have nothing to do can make time to join the non-government organizations, the data from the respondents show that it is necessary for the women behind CSOs to be competent, intelligent and dedicated to serve

Page 17: UNIV Compendium

17

the public for them to support CSOs. This shows that the deceptive beauty helps these CSOs only at the initial encounter with the public, or until the voters start to be curious of the background of the politicians. The importance of transcendental beauty was once more highlighted on the effect of beauty on female politicians’ capacity to influence legislation through the party list system. Both the interview with Rep. Magsaysay and the data from the survey show that it is the advocacy, hence not the deceptive beauty, that the people support.

The results somehow affirm that there has been no change of man’s concept of beauty as being complexly intertwined with goodness. Since the time of Plato, man already had the notion of goodness as an important concept to fully understand beauty. Plato had presented that beauty and goodness are inseparable; Aristotle contended that goodness is different from beauty; St. Aquinas resolved this by saying that though beauty and goodness are inseparable, they are distinguishable because as beauty does not arouse the need to possess, it is the goodness of a beautiful thing that makes it desirable; up to the present Pope Benedict XVI who drew the clear line between deceptive beauty and transcendental beauty which is

basically the relation of the two to the good and willing the good for others.

The data gathered through interviews and the survey acknowledge the importance of charisma and physical appearance, or beauty which is only seen as appealing and pleasurable and Pope Benedict XVI calls deceptive beauty, if eyeing for any political position or influence. However, both sources also recognize that though there is an existing “political beauty premium,” it will not get any female politician that far in her political career, for the voters consider highly their transcendental beauty which will be clearly seen in their tenure.

This present study is deemed relevant in the society today for it has vital contributes in the growing literature regarding the direct or indirect relationship between beauty and politics, in providing a clear view and understanding of the increasing role and importance of women in the society, particularly in politics, in highlighting the role and importance of beauty in women’s entrance and influence in the political arena, and in increasing awareness of the future voters regarding the probable subtle influence of beauty in their choice of candidates.

Page 18: UNIV Compendium

18

abs-cbnNEWS.com. (2010, January 11). Retrieved October 25, 2011, from abs-cbnNEWS.com: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/01/11/10/renewable-marriage-proposed

ADB's Civil Society Center. (2007). Retrieved October 25, 2011, from http://www.adb.org/Documents/Reports/Civil-Society-Briefs/PHI/CSB-PHI.pdf

Andersen, K. (1996). After suffrage: women in partisan and electoral politics before the New Deal. Chicago: Chicago University Press.

Anonuevo, C. A. (2000). An Overview of the Gender Situation in the Philippines. Retrieved October 25, 2011, from Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung: http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/philippinen/50069.pdf.

Archambault, S. (2000). Pearson R. Retrieved April 19, 2010, from Wellesley College:

http://www.wellesley.edu/Psychology/Psych205/pearson.html

Bachelet, M. (2011, September 29). UN Forum: Boosting women’s political participation vital for democracy. UN News Centre. Retrieved From: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=39607&Cr=gender+equality&Cr1=

Baker, P. (1984). The Domestication of Politics: Women and American Political Society 1780-1920. The American Historical Review. Retrieved September 19, 2011, from http://www.jstor.org/pss/1856119.

Banducci, S., Karp, J., Thrasher, M. & Rallings, C. (2008). Ballot Photographs as Cues in Low-Information. Wiley Periodicals.

Berggren, N., Jordahl, H., & Poutvaara, P. (2006). The looks of a winner: Beauty, gender and electoral success. IZA, paper no. 2311. Bonn: IZA. Retrieved June 13, 2011, from http://www.ftp.iza.org/dp2311.pdf.

Camelot International. (2007). Women in the Middle Ages. Retrieved from: http://www.camelotintl.com/village/women.html

Carritt, E. F. (1931). Philosophies of beauty From Socrates to Robert Bridges being the sources of aesthetics theory. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) (2006), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Morocco, Combined Third and Fourth Periodic Reports of States Parties, CEDAW/C/MAR/4, CEDAWNew York, NY.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention & National Center for Injury

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Page 19: UNIV Compendium

19

Prevention and Control. (2003). Costs of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in United States. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/pub-res/ipv_cost/ipvbook-final-feb18.pdf

Chakrabarti, O. (2010, October 06). UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women Announces Additional US$10 Million in Grants to Fund Grassroots Efforts to Protect Women and Girls. UNIFEM Press Release. Retrieved From: http://www.unifem.org/news_events/story_detail.php?StoryID=1178

Chan Robles Virtual Law Library. (1987). The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the

Philippines. Retrieved August 30, 2011, from Chan Robles Virtual Law Library: http://www.chanrobles.com/article5suffrage.htm

Chen, P. Y., & Popovich, P. M. (2002). Correlation: Parametric and nonparametric

measures. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.

Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.).

Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates.

Colegrove, C. (2000). Women in the Oikos: The Stranger Within. Retrieved from: http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/showcase/colegrove1.html

Collier, J. F. (1974). Women in Politics. Women, Culture and Society. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.

Council of Europe. (2002). Stop Violence Against Women. European States: Council of Europe Staff Members.

Czuba, C. & Page, N. (1999). Empowerment What Is It?. Extension Journal, Inc.

Division for the Advancement of Women of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (2007). Online discussion on women, political participation and decision-making in Africa. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/TechnicalCooperation/docs/Online%20Discussion%20Report%20Africa%20FINAL.pdf

Evans, J. A. (1998). Theodora Wife of Justinian I. An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors. Retrieved from: http://www.roman-emperors.org/dora.htm

Gabriela Women's Party. (2007, March 20). Her Story. Retrieved October 24, 2011, from

Gabriela Women's Party: http://gabrielawomensparty.net/about-us/her-story

Henn, M., Weinstein, M., & Foard, N. (2006). A Short Introduction to Social Research. `London: SAGE Publications.

Page 20: UNIV Compendium

20

Heywood, A. (2007). Politics (3rd ed.) New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Htun, M. (2007, August 20). Women, political parties and electoral systems in Latin America. Retrieved from http://www.idea.int/publications/wip2/upload/Latin_America.pdf

iKnowPolitics. (2011, September 25). Saudi Women Given Voting Rights. Aljazeera. Retrieved From: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/09/2011925124652136164.html

Inter-Parliamentary Union (1995). Women in Parliaments 1945-1995. Worldwide Statistical Survey. Retrieved June 13, 2011, from http://www.ipu.org/PDF/publications/women45-95_en.pdf.

Jansen, L., (2009, December 4). Rights: Women’s Treaty a Powerful Force for Equality. Inter Press Service. Retrieved From http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49545

Johnson, R. B., & Onwuebbuzie, A. J. (2004). Mixed Methods Research: A Research Paradigm

Whose Time Has Come. Educational Researcher , 33 (7), 14-26.

Lovenduski, J. (2005). State feminism and political representation. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Lutz, G. (2009). The electoral success of beauties and beasts. FORS Working Paper

Series, paper 2009-2. Lausanne: FORS. Retrieved June 13, 2011, from http://www2.unil.ch/fors/IMG/pdf/FORS_WPS_2009-02_Lutz-3-3.pdf

Mason, M. K. (2011). Ancient Roman Women: A Look at Their Lives. Retreived from: http://www.moyak.com/papers/roman-women.html

Moghadam, V. & Roudi- Fahimi, F. (2003). Empowering Women, Developing Society: Female Education in the Middle East and North Africa. Retrieved From: http://www.prb.org/pdf/EmpoweringWomeninMENA.pdf

Naidoo, K. (2003). Speech at the 'Divided Societies' conference, Armagh, 14-10-03

Olivola, C. Y., & Todorov, A. (2010). Elected in 100 milliseconds: Appearance-Based Trait

Inferences and Voting. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior , 34 (2).

Pateman, C. (1970). Participation and Democratic Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Potter, M. (2004, June). Women, Civil Society and Peace-building: Paths to Peace Through the Empowerment of Women. Training for Women Network.

Page 21: UNIV Compendium

21

Procurement Watch Incorporated. (2009, December 23). Retrieved September 19, 2011

QWERTY Attorney. (2010, March 30). List of Party-Lists in 2010 Elections. Retrieved October

25, 2011, from QWERTY Attorney: http://qwertyatty.wordpress.com/2010/03/30/list-of-party-lists-in-2010-elections/

Radek, K. (2001). Women from Renaissance to the Enlightenment. Women in Literature. Retrieved from: http://www2.ivcc.edu/gen2002/Women_from_the_Renaissance.htm

Ratzinger, J. (2002, August). The Feeling of Things, the Contemplation of Beauty. The

Crossroads Initiative.

Rosar, U., Klein, M., & Beckers, T. (2007). The Frog Pond Beauty Contest: Physical attractiveness and electoral success of the Constituency candidates at the North Rhine-Westphalia state election of 2005. Oxford, Germany: European Journal of Political Research.

Rosenberg, S. & McCafferty, P. (2007). The image and the vote manipulating voters' preferences. The Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 51, No. 1. (Spring, 1987), pp. 31-47. Retrieved June 13, 2011., from http://www.jstor.org/pss/2749056

Rousseau, J.J. (1968/1702). The Social Contract. New York: Oxford University Press.

Sadik, N. (1994). The Right to Reproductive and Sexual Health. Retrieved from: http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/women/womrepro.htm

Scruton, R. (2009). Beauty. Oxford: Horsell's Farm Enterprises Limited.

Sommerville, J. P. (2011). Theories of property, liberalism, gender and John Locke. Retrieved from: http://history.wisc.edu/sommerville/283/283%20session09.htm

Spring, A., & Groelsema, B. (2004, August 6). Enhancing Civil Society Organizations and

Women’s Participation in Ethiopia: A Program Design for Civil Society and Women’s Empowerment. Washington, D.C., USA: Management Systems International.

Springer (2010, June 15). On the face of it, voting's superficial. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 1, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2010/06/100615105330.htm

Page 22: UNIV Compendium

22

Stangor, C. (2007). Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences. New York, U.S.A.:

Houghton Mifflin Company.

Stevens, P. (2001). Joan of Arc. Garden of Praise Free Educational Materials. Retrieved from: http://gardenofpraise.com/ibdjoan.htm

Stokes, W. (2005). Women in contemporary politics. London: Polity Press.

Thomas, R. (1996). Surveys. In T. Greenfield, Research Methods: Guidance for

Postgraduates. London: Arnold.

Tour Egypt. (2011). Cleopatra VII Ptolemaic Dynasty. Retrieved from: http://www.touregypt.net/cleopatr.htm

Tsfati, Y., Elfassi, D. M., & Waismel-Manor, I. (2010, July 9). Better-looking politicians get

more media coverage. International Journal of Press/Politics.

United Nations Development Fund for Women. (n.d). The Tragic Reality of Violence: Facing the Facts of Violence Against Women and the Millenium Development Goals. Retrieved From:http://www.unifem.org/attachments/products/MDGsAndGenderEquality_4_TragicRealityOfViolence.pdf

United Nations Women. (2010, June 30). Grantees of the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women Win Global Accolades. UNIFEM Press Release. Retrieved From: http://www.unifem.org/news_events/story_detail.php?StoryID=1120

University of Haifa (2010, July 9). Better-looking politicians get more media coverage. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 1, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2010/07/100708094601.htm

Wallace, H. (2008). Women’s Education according to Rousseau and Wollstone craft. Feminism and Women’s Studies. Retrieved from: http://feminism.eserver.org/theory/papers/womens-education.txt

Women Power Inc. (n.d.). Ano ang Women Power Inc. (WPI)? Retrieved October 25, 2011, from Women Power Partylist: https://sites.google.com/site/womenpowerpartylist/home/vision-and-

mission

Women’s International Center. (1994). Women’s History in America. Retrieved from: http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm

World Health Organization. (2005). WHO Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence against Women. London, UK: Garcia- Moreno, Henrica, Watts, Ellsberg & Heise.

Page 23: UNIV Compendium

23

Religious Formation Among

University Students As a Path to

Discovering the Beauty of the Truth

Angela Marie Cielo and Marie Paz QuilnatUniversity of the Philippines-Los Baños

Religious formation has been seen by past studies as a significant factor in the development of the person. The research aims to find

out whether there is beauty in the truth, whether religious formation is a means to discover the truth, and whether religious formation is attractive. A literature survey was done and questionnaires were also distributed to students who receive religious formation. The literature revealed that St. Thomas’ primary standards of beauty are present in the truth. The analyses of the answers of the students, meanwhile, revealed that they see their religious formation as an important and attractive means to discover the truth. Religious formation can be given more support and be made more appealing so that it can have a positive impact on more people.

ABSTRACT

Adviser: Christy Daguia

Page 24: UNIV Compendium

24

Beauty is truth, truth beauty,--- that is all Ye know on earth,

and all ye need to know. (“Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats)

The philosophy of beauty, as opposed to mere aesthetics, teaches us that beauty and truth are one. The ultimate Truth and the ultimate Beauty are One and the same - the Absolute. This leads us to deduce that, thru philosophy, Beauty is Truth and Truth, Beauty.

In this paper, the following questions are studied:

1. Is there beauty in the truth?2. Is religious formation a

means to discover the truth?3. If religious formation

enables one to know the truth and if truth is beautiful, is religious formation, then, attractive or pleasing among the university students?

Aristotle, Plato, and St. Thomas Aquinas are some of the most popular philosophers who have discussed beauty in their writings. Aristotle emphasized some characteristics that art requires in order to be good. Plato was most famous for his belief that art or anything beautiful for us here in our world is just a replica of Beauty. For St. Thomas Aquinas, Beauty is essentially the object of intelligence.

Many varieties of the meaning of truth have been formulated by men, but the most believed theory is the correspondence theory, which states that “true beliefs and true statements correspond to the actual state of affairs” (Macmillan, 1969). The ideas of St. Thomas Aquinas, Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates are also commonly seen to be consistent with the correspondence theory (David, 2005).

Religious formation refers to the growth and development of a person, focusing on one’s spiritual and interior life, interactions with others in ordinary life, and spiritual practices (prayer, confession, attending Mass, etc.). Apart from being a process, spiritual formation is also a journey through which we open ourselves to God to have a deeper familiarity with Him. Amidst the modern phenomena of skepticism, relativism, and nihilism, Blessed Pope John Paul II gives a call to action to restore man’s confidence in his aptitude to arrive at the truth. He also reiterates the need for man to search for the truth in the context of his relationship with the Supreme Being.

A study about the relationship between religious formation and identity definition (Hunsberger

SUMMARY

Page 25: UNIV Compendium

25

et al., 2001) shows that there is a relevant connection between one’s spiritual commitments and the knowledge of the truth about oneself. Religious formation is essential in order to deepen one’s conviction about the truths of one’s belief.

In order to determine the possible effects of religious formation, a short questionnaire was distributed to students from the University of the Philippines Los Baños, who attend activities such as doctrine classes, regular confession, and Holy Mass in the campus. With this, the researchers were able to evaluate whether the amount of religious formation is proportional to the beauty of the truth.

Beauty has four primary standards according to St. Thomas: actuality, proportion, radiance, and integrity (ST, I.39.8c). All of Thomas’ properties of Beauty are present in truth as well. Therefore, truth is beautiful. In addition to facilitating a person’s search for her identity, religious formation is also a vehicle to teach certain “civic values” to young people.

The respondents were able to answer correctly the questions that were supposed to determine if religious formation leads them to the truth. Questions like what is the purpose of their life, the meaning of death and explaining the phrase "Man is a social being"

were answered based on the Church teachings.

Among the students surveyed, most are eager to attend the formative activities of their faith, and they find these sessions helpful. They were able to cite 3 things they learned from their formation, as well as significant issues which for them are the most important things they have learned from these activities. They have tried to practice these lessons in their everyday life. It can be derived from the answers of the students that they have become aware that a Higher Being provides for them: “I’ve learned that you should never underestimate God’s absolute irrevocable sovereignty.”

In conclusion, it was found that the properties of beauty as enumerated by St. Thomas – actuality, proportion, radiance, and integrity – are present in truth. Among the university students interviewed, they found that one important means for them to discover the truth is through receiving religious formation. Through the activities which strengthen their faith, they are able to define their identity better as well as find more meaning in the events of their lives and in their surroundings.

Religious formation can be made attractive by starting while kids are still young, in the form of songs, story-telling, and comic

Page 26: UNIV Compendium

26

books, among many others, to make it more attractive to different types of learners. For more students to learn more about these

activities, support can be given to organizations and activities that provide religious formation.

A Model of Beauty - Thomas Aquinas' Wholeness, Balance, and Radiance (http://ezinearticles.com/?A-Model-of-Beauty---Thomas-Aquinas-Wholeness,-Balance,-and-Radiance&id=1586188)

Alvira, Tomas, Clavell, Luis and Melendo, Tomas. 1982. Metaphysics. Ediciones Universidad de Navarra, S. A. (EUNSA).

Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Contra Gentiles (SCG). 5 Volumes. University of Notre Dame Press, 1975.

Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologiae (ST). Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province. Westminster: Christian Classics, 1981.

Balčiūnienė, Inga and Mažeikienė, Natalija. 2006. Citizenship and moral education in religious education textbooks. // Caught in the Web or Lost in the Textbooks? Bruillard, E., Aamotsbakken, B., Knudsen, S.V., Horsley, M. (eds). Eight International Conference on Learning and Educational Media, IARTEM, International Association for Research in Textbooks and Educational Media., ISSN 1402 – 9693. Paris: STEF, IARTEM, IUFM, de Basse-Normandie, p.151-157.

Beauty is Truth (http://www.abstractconcreteworks.com/essays/beautyistruth/BeautyIsTruth.html)

Blessed Pope John Paul II. 1998. Fides et Ratio. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_14091998_fides-et-ratio_en.html. Accessed on November 7, 2011.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd edition.

Cherry, Mark (ed). 2004. Wood, Jay W: “INTELLECTUAL VIRTUES AND THE PROSPECTS OF A CHRISTIAN EPISTEMOLOGY”. The Death of Metaphysics; The Death of Culture: Epistemology, Metaphysics, and Morality. Texas, USA.

David, Marian (2005). "Correspondence Theory of Truth"in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Page 27: UNIV Compendium

27

Gilson, Etienne. The Arts of the Beautiful. Dalkey Archive Press, 2000.

Glendon, Mary Ann. 2004. “University students today: portrait of a generation searching.” http://www.univforum.org/pdf/Glendon_UniversityStudentsToday_0807_ENG.pdf. Accessed on November 7, 2011.

Habermas, Jürgen, Knowledge and Human Interests(English translation, 1972)

Hamilton Reed Armstrong, Art, Beauty & Imagination – A Catholic Perspective

Hamilton Reed Armstrong, Is “Beauty” an objective reality or only in the eye of the beholder? http://www.agdei.com/beautyandbeholder.html Accessed November 9, 2011

http://old.religiouseducation.net/member/02_papers/latini.pdf

http://stphilipsbemidji.org/Religious%20Formation.html

http://www.basilicaparishstv.org/faith_formation-childrens_faith_formation-religious_formation_in_the_home

http://www.renovare.us/SPIRITUALRENEWAL/WhyBecomeLikeJesus/Whatisspiritualformation/tabid/2572/Default.aspx

Hunsberger, Bruce, Pratt, Michael and Pancer, S. Mark. 2001. Adolescent Identity Formation: Religious Exploration and Commitment. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, Oct 2001, Vol. 1 Issue 4, p365-386.

Pieper, Josef. The Four Cardinal Virtues, University of Notre Dame Press; 1 edition (March 31, 1966)

Llano, Alejandro. “The Boldness of Reason and the Obedience of Faith”. http://www.univforum.org/pdf/640_Llano_Boldness_of_Reason_ENG.pdf. Accessed on November 7, 2011.

Macmillian, 1969, Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Vol.5, "Pragmatic Theory of Truth", 427

May, Todd, 1993, Between Genealogy and Epistemology: Psychology, politics in the thought of Michel Foucault' with reference to Althusser and Balibar, 1970

Maurer, Armand. About Beauty: A Thomistic Interpretation. Houston: Center for Thomistic Studies, 1983

Michael Spicher, Medieval theories of Aethetic, 2010, http://www.iep.utm.edu/m-aesthe/ Accessed November 9, 2011

Philosophy Beauty and Truth - The True Philosophy of Beauty (http://www.mother-god.com/philosophy-beauty.html)

Page 28: UNIV Compendium

28

Harmony, Integrity and Clarity:

An Appreciation through

the Natural Sciences

Lou Dominique DL. Aguinaldo, Cecile C. Dungog and Ginarey S. Guion

University of the Philippines-Manila

Discussion on beauty is often confined in the realms of art or if extended, to other subjects in the humanities. This study aimed

to demonstrate how science can be a search for beauty as well. The principle meaning of beauty is manifested by three basic features: harmony, integrity and clarity. Science is the continuous search for the truth. Scientific knowledge has been continuously growing since the age of classical science. Identified gaps in knowledge are presently being filled in through the molecular approach. This brings us a step closer to harmonizing, completing, and clarifying previous knowledge. Synthesis of these observations implied despite the practical nature of science, the concept of beauty remains an integral part of scientific process.

ABSTRACT

Adviser: Maria Rita G. Esguerra

Page 29: UNIV Compendium

29

When things are known, their truth and their goodness

bring pleasure and delight to the person who beholds them. They are rendered beautiful.

St. Thomas Aquinas discussed the principle meaning of beauty as manifested by three basic features. The concept of harmony or proportion involves quantity –something mathematical and quality, that is, agreement or analogy; for example, cause to effect, Creator to created. Completeness or integrity basically pertains to wholeness. The last feature of beings manifesting beauty is clarity. It is often discussed in literature as the radiance or splendor. This last element refers to the shining clarity through which beauty confers delight.

Everything which has harmony or proportion, completeness or integrity and clarity or radiance is objectively beautiful, meaning pleasing to the will insofar as it is known by the intellect or senses.

Beauty is often discussed in the confinement of the zone of art or if extended, to other subjects in the humanities. In view of this, can we apply beauty to scientific knowledge?

This study aimed to

demonstrate how science can be a search for beauty as well through search and synthesis of collated literature. To be able to deliver a concrete, focused and comprehensive discussion on how beauty is not just confined to aesthetics and art but would also have a role in the scientific process, a specific, relatively young branch of science was chosen: molecular biology.

Man dedicates himself to science because of his nature to seek to know, and to use scientific knowledge to respond to the needs of life.

As in the arts, so in science the perception of “beautiful” has a dual character: on the one hand it is related to the person, having subjective substance, functioning as a psychological motive for the acquisition of knowledge. On the other hand, it has ontological foundations and it is identified with truth.

In the faculty of natural sciences, source of beauty is their cognitive object, nature. Poincare wrote that the scientist does not study nature with a utilitarian aim, but because he derives enjoyment from its beauty, which functions as the only motive in the quest

SUMMARY

Page 30: UNIV Compendium

30

for knowledge. J. W. N. Sullivan believed that the discovery of harmony in nature should be evaluated aesthetically. Moreover, R. Fry recognized the aesthetic enjoyment derived from nature as a motive for the scientific process.

Aestheticians of science place aesthetic values as much in the object of their research as in the scientific theories and in the experience of the scientist. Methods and conclusions that have simplicity, extraordinary brevity and new and original ideas, that create surprise and offer solutions and completeness to multiple problems, leading to clarity in knowledge, are carriers of aesthetic value and beauty. Because of its aesthetic dimension, science, for many has insightful character that identifies absolute truth with ontological beauty. It is interesting to mention at this point the older position of Benedetto Croce that each scientific work is also a work of art.

Scientific knowledge has been continuously growing since the age of classical science. However, significant gaps in knowledge have also been identified. Presently, to address these, the popular approach is to go molecular. For example, in tracing the evolutionary lineage of a plant, comparative anatomy and morphology had been useful in establishing relationships. But still,

many are still unclassified due to limitations of the method. But with the advent of genome sequencing methods, evolutionary studies have now began rolling again. In the field of medicine, diseases were usually diagnosed through clinical manifestations. Today, molecular diagnostic tools have enabled faster, cheaper, more efficient and more accessible diagnostic kits for this purpose.

Molecular biology is a relatively young branch of science that unites studies on genetics, physics and structural chemistry on genes. Having seen the potential of molecular biology, in the late 1960s to early 1970s, scientists had redirected their research agenda using molecular techniques to investigate unsolved problems in other fields.

The core mechanism of molecular biology is its central dogma. Molecular biology cannot be discussed without touching on this. The central dogma simply shows how proteins, and thus traits, are produced.

Perfecting the central dogma did not rely on a single study alone but through several thought and experimental efforts. Basically, what is depicted in the central dogma is the flow of information. Attention to direction of the flow shows order and precision in

Page 31: UNIV Compendium

31

encoding and production of the desired trait. This is in harmony with what has been previously established that information is stored in one kind of molecule and then processed in order to achieve the desired product. Knowledge, understanding, and application of the central dogma have resulted to clarification of biological concepts not only in the molecular level but also in other levels of organization.

Sarkar argues in a book discussing the philosophy of biology how an aesthetic choice, formalism, has governed certain scientific disciplines in the twentieth century. Formalism defined by pursuing form for its own sake - as embraced in art where form becomes the subject and in architecture where form dominates function. In the

same way that formalism in the arts is mimicked by the pursuit of the smallest particle in physics in the hope that principles found at that level will explain phenomena at other levels of organization, it is also manifested in molecular biology.

Synthesizing the literature collated, it can be observed that there has been continuous effort in harmonizing, completing, and clarifying previous knowledge as gaps are being continuously filled in as research in molecular biology is being continued. From this it is also implied that despite the practical nature of science, the concept of beauty remains an integral part of scientific process. Other branches of science are recommended to be explored to further support this conclusion.

Page 32: UNIV Compendium

32

Alvira, T., Clavell, L., Melendo, T. 1991.Metaphysics. Philippines: Sinag-Tala Publishers, Inc.

Astbury, W. 1961.Molecular biology or ultrastructuralbiology?Nature 190, 1124.

Cheek, L. W. 2010.Pacific Northwest. Retrieved November 2, 2011, from The Seattle Times: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw/2011668037_pacificpsailing02.html

Darden, L and Tabery, J. 2010. “Molecular Biology”.The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 11 Nov 2011 from http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2010/entries/ molecular-biology/.

Gemtou, E. 2009.The role of beauty in art and science.Anistoriton Journal (11).

Girod, M. 2007. A conceptual overview of the beauty and aesthetics in science. Studies in science education 43(1): 38-61.

Holliday, R. 2006. Physics and the origins of molecular biology.Journal of Genetics 85(2): 93-97.

John Paul II. 16 December 1998. Reflections on encyclical fides et ratio: search for truth is search for God. Vatican City: L’Osservatore Romano.

Philip, J. C. (2011). Analysis of Scientific Truth.Calvin Research Group Academic Module , 1-5.

Sanguineti, J. 1992. Logic. Philippines: Sinag-Tala Publishers, Inc.

Tauber, A. 1997. The elusive synthesis: aesthetics and science. USA: Springer.

Wan-Ho, M. 2011.Why Beauty is Truth and Truth Beauty. Making Visible the Invisible. Lecture conducted from University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, UK.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Page 33: UNIV Compendium

33

Beauty in Math: A Tool for LearningIsabelle Geronimo, Kristine Joy Martin, Yroen Guaya Melgar

and Ivy ZuñigaUniversity of Asia and the Pacific

General Mathematics (GE Math) is one of the courses required to all university students. In order to stress math’s holistic

implications and better address students’ math anxiety, this paper advocates an approach of highlighting the integrity or unity, clarity, and proportion in the subject, which according to Aquinas are the defining elements of beauty. Through a qualitative analysis of some of the University of Asia and the Pacific’s GE Math subjects (i.e. Logic, Algebra, and Geometry), it was observed that all of them manifest the three elements of beauty. Thus, various teaching methods, in correspondence with the learning styles of students, are proposed so that beauty in GE Math is highlighted.

ABSTRACT

Adviser: Eva M. Rodriguez

Page 34: UNIV Compendium

34

Many people recognize that the appreciation and learning

of Mathematics has humanistic and holistic implications. It roots from the fact that the person who is studying the subject is multidimensional. Consequently, the learning of Mathematics, more particularly the process involved, has implications on the person’s economic, intellectual, personal and socio-cultural aspects.

Although learning Math has a lot of benefits, it cannot be denied nonetheless that many children fear studying the subject or have math anxiety. One factor contributing to students’ lack of enthusiasm for Math is their inability to see the beauty in it. Such relationship between math anxiety, inability to see beauty in Math and the rate of learning of the subject is empirically proven by a survey conducted by the researchers at the University of Asia and the Pacific. Using the OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) correlation, it was found that there is a negative correlation between the students’ ability to see beauty in math and the anxiety they feel for the subject. Meanwhile, there is a positive correlation between the students’ ability to see beauty in math and the ratings they gave for

their learning of the subject. Considering this relationship,

it can be therefore deduced that showing the beauty in Math is an important tool to address the problem of students’ Math anxiety; eventually improving the rate of the students’ learning. Using Aquinas’ definition of beauty, this paper first identified the elements of beauty in Math and then proposed ways by which Math’s beauty can be used to facilitate effective teaching and learning of the subject.

In order to do so, this study employed a qualitative analysis of Aquinas’ definition of beauty and its properties supplemented by commentaries of other philosophers. Focusing on university students’ Math learning, College Math syllabi and references were specifically reviewed in order to identify how the different properties of beauty are actually manifested in Math. It particularly used familiar topics from three (3) of the basic fields of mathematics: Logic, Algebra, and Geometry. Logic deals with statements or propositions, operations and relations between them. Algebra deals with real numbers, their properties, relations and operations applied on them. Furthermore,

SUMMARY

Page 35: UNIV Compendium

35

Geometry deals with points, lines, planes and other geometric figures and the relationships they form with one another.

In Summa Theologica (Part 1, Question 39), Aquinas’ defines beauty as:

“Beauty includes three conditions, integrity or perfection, since those things which are impaired are by the very fact ugly; due proportion or harmony; and lastly, brightness or clarity, whence things are called beautiful which have a bright color.”

From this definition, one can say that any subject, may it be tangible or intellectual, is beautiful as long as it possesses these three elements of beauty.

The first element of beauty, integrity or perfection, implies unity or oneness of the parts that make up an object and this involves coherence and congruence of its parts (Alexander, 1920). A unifying thread that ties together its different components must therefore exist for an object to be considered beautiful. This unity or integrity is clearly manifested in proving arguments or propositions in Logic, Geometry, and Algebra.

According to Aquinas, integrity may also be manifested in the unity of subjects and in the unity of principles (i.e. basic laws or assumptions). In Euclidean Geometry, for example, common

notions, postulates, and axioms are used to prove different propositions. Also, in Logic, there are rules of inference and rules of replacement. Lastly, in Algebra, theorems and basic axioms are also used to prove relationships of equations. All of these show the unity of principles present in Math.

The second element of beauty is clarity, from the Latin word “claritas”, which means brightness, clearness, or splendor. Splendor, according to Jacques Maritain (1920), refers to the splendor of intelligibility. Clarity may be a material or spiritual quality. In Math, the focus is on spiritual clarity, more specifically, intellectual clarity. This type of clarity is associated with intelligibility and truth, in such that in things that possess clarity, it is easier to apprehend the truth in them.

The element of clarity can be found in Logic’s use of truth values and truth tables. “Every statement is either true or false, so it is possible to speak of the truth value of a statement, where the truth value of a true statement is true and the truth value of a false statement is false” (Copi & Cohen, 1998). Through this distinction, the statements are given accuracy and precision. Similarly, clarity is also shown in Algebra, in the sense that the subject can represent factual and relational information into an

Page 36: UNIV Compendium

36

accurate, concise, unambiguous manner, which is known as algebraic notations.

The last element of beauty, proportion, is associated with harmony and arrangement. It is from the Latin word “proportionem”, which means comparative relation of parts to one another or to the whole. Proportionality exists parts have due relation to each other, forming a harmonious arrangement. According to Aquinas, the beautiful is “well-ordered according to intelligence” (Umberto and Bredin, 1988).

In Logic and Euclidian Geometry, proportion is exhibited in making inferences or justifications. Before one can infer, the argument that one make should be based from the previous statements and premises. Simply, without the preceding statements, no valid inferences can be made. It could be said that there is a relation between the sufficiency of proof and the due relation of statements to the proof of the proposition.

Clearly, it can be seen that the elements of beauty (clarity, unity and proportion) are manifested in the main subjects of the General Math course (Logic, Algebra, and Geometry). This fact can be used in facilitating the teaching and learning of the General Math course in universities. The researchers, while taking note of the correspondence

between the various teaching styles of teachers and learning styles of students, suggested some teaching methods found in previous studies, which can be adopted in order to highlight the elements of beauty in Math that shall facilitate an easy and efficient learning.

Unity in mathematics can be highlighted through integration of lessons by teachers in general. For sensory and/or visual learners, providing concept maps and clustering of mathematical topics could also be very beneficial, whereas for intuitive and/or verbal learners, additional discussions about relationships of concepts can be given. To benefit sequential learners, teachers can give seat works allowing them to figure out how the topics can be integrated by providing them the specifics, while global learners can focus on the broader topics. By doing so, students will see that the math concepts are interconnected, and this will facilitate their understanding.

Also, unity can be highlighted by asking students to solve freely (i.e. without a format) a single problem. While the reflective one can be favored by having a chance to analyze the problem himself, active learners can then be benefitted by initiating the discussion of the answers provided by their other classmates; they are able to share their own processes and participate

Page 37: UNIV Compendium

37

in class as well; one of the best ways to learn Math effectively according to the survey conducted.

Explaining the reason behind every theory, postulate, definition and concept can further highlight unity in math, but also that of clarity. Encouraging students to justify their statements based on given premises allow them to see the how truths are reflected or seen in each of the concepts, definitions or theories (Miller, 2003). On the students’ part moreover, they can further research on the background of their current lessons and initiate a discussion among themselves, either during class discussion or outside class. Intuitive, verbal, reflective, and/or global learners can greatly be helped with this technique.

Actual experimentations can also be done to highlight clarity in math, which is beneficial to the active and/or sensory students in particular. From the survey conducted by the researchers, most of the students favored doing more exercises, especially if applied to real life, because these facilitate better understanding of the theoretical concepts they have learned from the book.

Finally, in order to highlight proportion in math, it is crucial to adhere to a proper sequencing of lessons that will emphasize the patterns and relationships between

concepts. For sequential and/or sensory learners, the teacher’s presentation of topics in an orderly fashion can be effective. For visual learners, on the other hand, an orderly way of writing the lessons on the board can greatly facilitate their understanding. However, if one’s instructor jumps from topic to topic, students can ask their teacher to fill in the skipped steps, or fill it in themselves by consulting references. If ordering lessons won’t effectively work for global and/or intuitive learners, they could first skim through the entire chapter or operations to get an overview. Since they can learn in large jumps, it is likely that they absorb the material almost randomly and see the underlying patterns themselves.

Proportion is also emphasized by continuously giving exercises with similar form but with a slightly varied data. By doing so, students gradually but surely learn the process of solving specific types of problem because patterns are elucidated through repetition. Reflective students can discover the logic behind every word problem while they repeat similar operations. Through procedural understanding, sensory and/or sequential students become more familiar with each concept as they understand how one procedure relates and leads to the next procedure. Students will begin to understand that same rules

Page 38: UNIV Compendium

38

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adler, M. J. (2001). On Beauty. Mortimer Adler, Great Books, Philosophy, Great Ideas. Retrieved October 10, 2011 from http://www.thegreatideas.org/apd-beau.html

Aquinas, T. (1920). Summa Theologica. (Fathers of the English Dominican Province, Trans.). (Original work published 1274). Retrieved October 20, 2011 from http://www.op.org/summa/a4/summa.pdf

Aquinas, T. (1993). Commentary on the Posterior Analytics of Aristotle. (F. R. Larcher, Trans.). Charlottesville, Va.: InteLex Corp. (Original work published 1268). Retrieved November 6, 2011 from http://dhspriory.org/thomas/PostAnalytica.htm

Aquinas, T. (1994). Commentary on Aristotle’s de Anima. (K. Foster, O.P. & S. Humphries, Trans.). Notre Dame (Ind.): Dumb ox books, cop. (Original work published 1268). Retrieved November 6, 2011 from http://dhspriory.org/thomas/DeAnima.htm

Betts, P., & K. McNaughton. (2003). Adding an aesthetic image to Mathematics education. International Journal for Mathematics Teaching and Learning.

Bourne, M. (2011, July 24). The Math behind the beauty. Retrieved October 10, 2011 from http://www.intMath.com/numbers/Math-of-beauty.php.

Christmas, P. & J. Fey (2008) Communicating the Importance of Algebra to Students. Retrieved on October 26, 2011 from http://www.learner.org/courses/learningMath/Algebra/pdfs/AlgebraChapter7_1.pdf

Combining math and medicine to treat leukemia. (2008, June 19). Retrieved November 26, 2011, from e! Science News: http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/06/19/

Copi, I.M., & Cohen, C. (1998). Introduction to logic. (10th ed.). New York: Macmillan.

to solve simple problems are also applicable in solving the complex algebra problems.

Indeed, identifying and highlighting the three elements

of beauty (i.e. unity, clarity, and proportion) in Math concepts is an important tool to make teaching, as well as learning of the subject more desirable, enjoyable and effective.

Page 39: UNIV Compendium

39

Domínguez, T. A., L. Clavell & T. Melendo. (1991). Metaphysics. Sinag-Tala: Manila, Philippines.

Eco, U., & H. Bredin. (1988). The aesthetics of Thomas Aquinas. Google Books. Retrieved August 6, 2011, from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=ZzFGZq4U4goC&pg=PA242&lpg=PA242&dq=thomas+aquinas+on+beauty+-+unity,+clarity,+proportion&source=bl&ots=1WNrMxogy5&sig=IZf98ZkjutYaeMzyJ6iRj7P3kPI&hl=en&ei=5IKnTqunJeqNmQXcs6CkAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&sqi=2&ved=0CEMQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q&f=false

Elders, L. (1993). The metaphysics of being of St. Thomas Aquinas. Retrieved October 20, 2011, from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=H1TDk33xO6wC&pg=PA138& lpg=PA138&dq=aquinas+definition+of+beauty+-+metaphysics&source=bl&ots= 1_oxyUC_Up&sig=3X7EfxTPbDkFDb17TJHMqr1WEfw&hl=en&ei=5ISfTt3TA6PBiQeRlMzHBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&sqi=2&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=aquinas%20definition%20of%20beauty%20-%20metaphysics&f=false

Gottlieb, D. (2007). Functions and the Unity of Mathematics. Purdue University. Retrieved October 8, 2011 from 10.1.1.57.5981.pdf

Graumann, G. (2003). General education in mathematics lessons: An introduction to humanistic holistic education.. Retrieved from http://math.unipa.it/~grim/SiGraumann5.PDF

Harms, W. (2011, October 20). Brain study reveals how successful students overcome Math anxiety. UChicagoNews. Retrieved October 11, 2011 from http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2011/10/20/brain-study-reveals-how-successful-students-overcome-Math-anxiety

Joyce, D. E. (1996). Euclid’s Elements. Clark University. Retrieved October 20, 2011http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~djoyce/java/elements/bookI/bookI.html#props

McBride, T. M. (2002). Beauty, Contemplation, and the Virgin Mary. Retrieved October 10, 2011, from http://www.christendom-awake.org/pages/mcbride/beauty.htm

Miller, M. (2003). How can you prevent Math anxiety and motivate students to study Math?. Retrieved October 14, 2011 from http://www.homeschoolMath.net/teaching/motivate.php

Miller, M. (2003). Four habits of highly effective Math teaching. Retrieved October 16, 2011 from http://www.homeschoolMath.net/teaching/teaching.php

Page 40: UNIV Compendium

40

Mission College. (2009, November 18). Math study skills: overcoming Math anxiety. Retrieved October 18, 2011 from http://salsa.missioncollege.org/mss/stories/storyReader$9

New Jersey Mathematics Curriculum Framework (2011). Standard 11 — Patterns, Relationships, and Functions. Retrieved October 21, 2011 from http://dimacs.rutgers.edu/nj_math_coalition/framework/ch11/ch11_k-12o.html

Perry, A. B. (2004). Decreasing Math anxiety in college students. College Student Journal, 38(2), Retrieved October 11, 2011 from http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/College-Student-Journal/119741942.html

Phillips, M. C. (1998). The causes and prevention of Math anxiety. Retrieved October 26, 2011 from http://www.Mathgoodies.com/articles/Math_anxiety.html

Rossnan, S. (2006). Overcoming Math anxiety. Informally published manuscript, Palm Beach County Schools. Retrieved October 16, 2011 from http://www.coe.fau.edu/centersandprograms/Mathitudes/Math Anxiety Research Paper 2.pdf

Stevenson mathematics. (2011). Retrieved November 27, 2011 from http://carmelmath. weebly.com/index.html

Weerapana, A. (2010). The Role of Technology in Economic Growth. Retrieved November 26, 2011, from http://www.wellesley.edu/Economics/weerapana/econ102/ econ102pdf

Page 41: UNIV Compendium

41

Space and Aesthetics: A Phenomenological and Multisensory Approach

Geolette Marie Y. EsguerraUniversity of the Philippines-Diliman

The idea for beautiful cities and environments has always existed in art through literature, painting, sculpture, and even music.

Through these works of art, the city can be explored, dissected, understood, and enhanced, by experiential aesthetics and multi-sensorial means (that concern not only the visual sense but also the aural, olfactorial, degustatorial, and tactile senses). The power of aesthetics is then wielded in order to help with understanding the totality of the city experience. This paper takes a phenomenological viewpoint in understanding the way cities are perceived and proposes a multi-sensory approach. A case study on a particular town in Baler, Quezon, helps to illustrate how a renewed aesthetic sense can be developed, leading to a fuller appreciation of our existence.

ABSTRACT

Adviser: Stephanie N. Gilles

Page 42: UNIV Compendium

42

What makes cities beautiful? For an architect, this is easy to

answer. We say: The form, the lines, the symmetry and order (or lack of such), the rhythm and scale, the purity of intent. For the layperson, these words doe not correspond to anything. After all, they do not have the visual vocabulary to see this city outside of what they experience. Although what they know is this: The city has something... that which they cannot describe, a certain je ne sais quoi that makes it the best place to live in, something that gives happiness and pleasure.

Yet it is this type of individual that cities are for. It is this kind of individual that architects and planners design cities for. It is the same person that we ask, upon the start of any project: What kind of community would you want to have? And upon evaluation, we ask: How do you like your city now?

We have a lot of questions, yet we never ask the right kind, enough to make sure that cities are always lived in, relocation sites are relevant, and that spaces always feel right. Yes, that’s right, we want spaces to feel right, rather than just look right (although it’s part of it). Most of all, we want cities to be experienced right.

Of Cities and BeautyThe idea for beautiful cities

and environments has always existed in art through literature, painting, sculpture, and even music. In this regard, the city can either be idealized in high esteem, deconstructed, and at worst vilified and exposed for its wrong doings, through works of art. Through the works of artists and writers of the past, these ideas of the city are propagated and established, and mixed with historical knowledge and mythologies, these works add to our knowledge of cities. It is through understanding of these texts and works of art, that the experience of cities can be studied in the context of architecture and urban design. In knowing how artists and writers experience cities, architects can extrapolate an experience of the city that can be basis for future designs. This paper takes a phenomenological approach in understanding the way cities are perceived in cities and architecture through works of art.

Much of how we perceive cities, and of architecture in this regard, depend on the visual, especially with the prevalent system built on rationality and structure and one that performs exclusively with form

SUMMARY

Page 43: UNIV Compendium

43

and function at the forefront. Yet the approach is not entirely satisfying, as it takes away only from sight to ignore all other senses—that of the sense of smell, hearing, taste, and touch—which, when combined, take into account the totality of the experience. Would it hurt to pursue a different line of thought in understanding the city, this time taking on a multi-sensorial route, sweeping through the entire range of sensory landscapes in an attempt to understanding space.

This idea that the phenomenological approach to looking at cities is not a new one—it has been around since the height of phenomenology as a pursuit some forty years ago, yet the idea to use this in the Philippine context is pursued by only a few scholars such as Prof. Nonoy U. Ozaeta and Rene Luis S. Mata. They seek to interpret this theory through their own practices and bodies of work like Ozaeta’s Towards an Understanding of Place, where he redefined place and placemaking using the phenomenological approach through structures in Sariaya and Quiapo. This research takes off from a similar phenomenological approach that is also based on the works on Martin Heidegger, Has-George Gadamer, Henri Lefevre, and Christian Norberg-Schulz.

Without us knowing it, much of the way cities are understood is not through the rigidity of maps and diagrams, nor by the rigidity of the comprehensive development plan—instead, it is through the different senses that cityscapes are understood, albeit not consciously. This idea persists in the collective memory of each culture, and is the very thread that keeps the ‘Spirit of Place’ of the city alive despite the struggle against homogenization that is part and parcel of globalization.

By exploring how the city can be dissected, understood, and enhanced, through experiential aesthetics and multi- sensorial means (those which concern the visual, aural, olfactorial, degustatorial, and tactile senses), the power of aesthetics is wielded in order to help with understanding. As these threads are woven together in a matrix of scapes—it is used to interpret different cities, so that in design and planning, the architect will not be left in the dark with what the rest of the world is feeling and sensing, or in the very least, provide a criteria that can be applied in understanding all cities. Theories on Aesthetics and Beauty

There are various approaches on this topic. Several philosophers who took the realist bent would

Page 44: UNIV Compendium

44

base their views on aesthetics on the works of St. Thomas Aquinas, such as Jacques Maritain. He stated that there are two types of beauty: (a) Transcendental beauty – or ontological beauty, stemming from being, along with unity, truth, and goodness that transcend all categories because it is a property of everything that exists. Everything that is is beautiful. (b) Aesthetic beauty – What the senses perceive: through the 5 senses. Not all things are beautiful to us. Not purely intellectual like Transcendental beauty, it is a human phenomenon and is perceived through the senses.

Others followed the Phenomenological and multi-sensory approach, such as Christian Norberg-Schultz, who maintained that changes in structure of cities have resulted in the loss of a sense of place and meaning in human settlements. It deals with establishing the ‘spirit of place’ or ‘genius loci’ which talks about the phenomena of place as a way of understanding and perceiving a city. In his description of genius loci: four levels are recognized: (1) Topography of earth’s surface (Physical-visual), (2) Cosmological light conditions (Physical-visual), (3) Buildings (Physical-visual), and (4) Symbolic and existential meanings in the cultural landscape (Phenomenological-multisensorial).

Aesthetics and the SensesIn general, spaces should be life-

enhancing, it should change one’s existence, elevate it such heights that experiencing the environment brings about positive impressions to one’s being. Holistically, it is experienced in some works of art that have transcended their time, hence creating a consistent experience for its users regardless of the era: “The live encounter with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater weaves the surrounding forest, the volumes, surfaces, textures and colours of the house, and even the smells of the forest and the sounds of the river, into a uniquely full experience,” according to Juhani Pallasmaa in his work The Eyes of the Skin. An architectural work is not experienced as a collection of visual pictures, but in its fully embodied material and spiritual presence.” (Pallasmaa 44). Hence, appreciating the aesthetics of architecture cannot just rest on the visual, but requires the use of the other senses. These sensescapes flow into the other to complete the picture, allowing its very existence to memory, imagination, and dream. “[The] chief benefit of the house [is that] the house shelters the daydreaming, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace,” says Gaston Bachelard.

A higher appreciation of

Page 45: UNIV Compendium

45

spaces and greater perception of its aesthetics enables us to “structure, understand, and remember the shapeless flow of reality and, ultimately, to recognize and remember who we are.” (Pallasmaa 71). It helps us see our place in

the world, as well as enhances the experience of being in the world. As we identify the spaces we live in with our memories and experiences, it is through the renewed aesthetic sense and thereby fuller appreciation of our existence.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bachelard, Gaston. The Poetics of Space. France: Presses Universitaires de France, 1958.

Bandyopadhyay, Soumyen; Lomholt, Jane; Temple, Nicolas; and Tobe, Renée. The Humanities in Architectural Design: A Contemporary and Historical Perspective. Oxon: Routledge, 2010.

Berger, John. The Sense of Sight. USA: Vintage International, 1993.

Cavanaugh, William; Tocci, Gregory; and Wilkes, Joseph. Architectural Acoustics: Principles and Practice. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2010.

Choi, Esther and Marrikka Trotter (Ed). Architecture at the Edge of Everything. Cambridge: Workbooks Inc. and M.I.T., 2010.

Croome, D.J.. Noise, Buildings, and People. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1977.

During, Simon. The Cultural Studies Reader. Oxon: Routledge, 1993.

Foy, George Michelsen. Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute Silence. New York: Scribner, 2010. Kindle edition.

Gadamer, Hans-Georg. “The Ontological Foundation of the Occasional and the Decorative.” In Rethinking Architecture Ed. Neil Leach. New York: Routledge, 1997.

Harris, Cyril. Handbook of Noise Control. USA: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1979.

Harvey, Sheila and Ken Fieldhouse (Ed). The Cultured Landscape: Designing the Environment in the 21st century. London: Routledge, 2005.

Heidegger, Martin. “Art and Space.” In Rethinking Architecture. Ed. Neil Leach. New York: Routledge, 1997.

Keizer, Garret. The Unwanted Sound of Everything We Want: A Book About Noise. New York: Public Affairs, 2010. Kindle edition.

Page 46: UNIV Compendium

46

MacDonald, George. “Phantastes.” The Complete Works of George MacDonald. O’Connor Books, 2010. Kindle edition.

Mallgrave, Harry Francis. Architectural Theory: An Anthology from Vitruvius to 1870. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2006.

Norberg-Schulz, Christian. “The Phenomenology of Place.” In Theorizing A New Agenda for Architecture. Ed. Kate Nesbitt. New York: Princeton, 1996.

O.M.A.; Koolhaas, Rem; Mau, Bruce. S,M,L,XL. New York: Monacelli Press, 1997.

Ozaeta, Emilio. “Towards an Understanding of Place: Place-making and Archetypal Structures in Sariaya and Quiapo.” ESPASYO: Journal of Philippine Architecture and Allied Arts Vol 2. Ed. Gerard Rey Lico. Philippines: NCCA, 2010.

Pallasmaa, Juhani. “The Geometry of Feeling: A Look at the Phenomenology of Architecture.” In Theorizing a New Agenda for Architecture. Ed Kate Nesbitt. New York: Princeton, 1996.

Pallasmaa, Juhani. The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses. Great Britain: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2005.

Prochnik, George. In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise. New York: Doubleday, 2010.

Rykwert, Joseph. The Seduction of Place: History and Future of the City. New York: Vintage Books, 2002.

White, William. “Roar of the City Has Musical Undertone; The Tonic ‘Noise Patterns’ Found in New York, Chicago, Boston and in London.” The New York Times. January 4, 1931. Special Features.

Page 47: UNIV Compendium

47

The Perception of Beauty

of Blind Filipino

High School Students

Isabel Maria Victoria D. Diaz, Junette Fatima D. Gonzales, Paulina Regine S. Miranda and Marella Therese A. Tiongson

University of the Philippines-Diliman

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But how about those who can’t see? What is their perception oBut how about those who can’t

see? What is their perception of beauty, and what are the factors that affect it? This study sought to answer these questions by interviewing ten blind Filipino high school students about their perception of beauty in general and specific categories. Questions that probed their blindness, profiles, experiences, and opinions about beauty were asked. Their answers were qualitatively analyzed and common themes were found. The researchers’ hypothesis, that the blind are by circumstance and condition more predisposed to appreciate inner beauty, was proven true. The participants’ general notion and descriptions of beauty are consistent with the transcendental qualities leading to beauty – oneness, truth, goodness. While they rely on sighted people in part for their notion of beauty, they do not take this to be the primary definition. Rather, they believe that kalooban – the inner beauty of a being – is what makes it beautiful in their eyes.

ABSTRACT

Adviser: Dr. Marie Therese AP Bustos

Page 48: UNIV Compendium

48

Aristotle was once asked of why people spend much time

with the beautiful. “That,” the great philosopher replied, “is a blind man’s question.” In society today, many may think that blind people don’t give much importance to beauty. The common concept of beauty is a quality that lies on the mere surface of an object and it usually strikes people first when they see or hear it. Indeed, the senses of sight and hearing are the so-called superior senses that perceive the beautiful qualities of an object best – but if a person lacks any of these, it does not necessarily follow that he or she is incapable of grasping beauty. Sometimes, that person is someone who can discover the deeper and real meaning beauty.

They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But what if the beholder is blind? Beauty takes many forms and is all around. It can be recognized and appreciated well beyond what the eyes can see. By using the other senses and looking beyond the beauty seen on the surface, a more meaningful and lasting understanding of beauty can be arrived at. Currently, however, this is made more difficult because of society’s bias towards sighted people, especially when talking

about beauty. The Philippines is composed of about 100 million people, and among them exist about 500,000 people who are blind and visually impaired. Filipinos have always had a deep love of beauty – so it is impossible to conclude that blind Filipinos are unable to share in this appreciation. This research aims to discover the concept of beauty of blind Filipino high school students. They are the chosen group, for they have experienced enough in their lives to form a concept of beauty; at the same time, they are from the same age group as the researchers and their opinions will be relevant to the youth. This will be done by asking questions that probe their blindness, profiles, experiences, and opinions about beauty. It considers their individual experiences when forming their concept of beauty and will look for common themes in their responses.

There is little available research done on aesthetics and blindness in the Philippine context. Because this research is exploratory, it only includes the perception of ten Filipino blind high school students from a small special supplementary education class at the Quirino High School, Quezon City, Philippines. The selected students are not

SUMMARY

Page 49: UNIV Compendium

49

meant to represent the whole Filipino blind community but only to provide the researchers with a glimpse of the group’s perception on beauty. Thus, there is a limitation in generalizing for the whole visually impaired population. The method of collecting data only involved one scheduled interview session with the students, a self-report of their profile, and an interview with their special education teacher. The information gathered was constrained by the amount of time available for the interviews.

The concept of beauty has indeed developed through time and at present, many have belittled the concept of beauty to what is external. Many factors have contributed to such a development such as culture, media, education and the like. The information that these factors offer to people is perceived by the senses and in turn, it is abstracted to produce the concept of beauty in individuals. One of the participants said that, after he became blind, he stopped caring about how people looked like. He felt that people spent too much time caring about “empty” things like appearances. Sacks (2003) shares the thoughts of Lusseyran, a blind philosopher, who speaks against the “idol worship” of sight. He sees the task of blindness as reminding people of their other deeper modes of perception and their mutuality.

Feeling, taste, and touch “blend into a single fundamental sense, a deep attentiveness… a sensuous, intimate being at one with the world which sight, with its quick, flicking, facile quality, continually distracts us from.”

This research aimed at studying the perception of beauty of the blind resulted to discovering that despite the lack of one of the superior senses, the sense of sight, the blind are still able to grasp the notion of beauty – an even deeper one. From the results of the interviews, the answers of the students revolved around certain qualities which – if taken from a philosophical perspective – are considered the transcendental properties of beings. The students, without any background on philosophy, have developed a perception of beauty that goes beyond the mere surface appearance of beings and reaches the deeper meaning of beauty composed of the following qualities: unity, truth, goodness, harmony, brightness, and completeness. They agree with the philosophers who place a spiritual definition of beauty, something more than the superficial, is more appropriate for true beauty. The results prove that besides the many factors that have contributed to the “changes” in the conception of beauty, there still remains a universal standard of true beauty

Page 50: UNIV Compendium

50

as something that transcends the physical.

Through this study, the power of beauty has been demonstrated in the ability of the blind to deeply grasp what they cannot physically see with their own eyes. Despite having a disability, the blind have been empowered with their own perception of true beauty and in the process of doing so, are empowering the sighted who have taken for granted the essence of beauty and have been blinded by their worldliness. Therefore,

the researchers recommend more in-depth studies on aesthetic education to lessen the bias towards the superficial definition of beauty. Also, there should be an increase in studies, workshops, interactions, seminars and campaigns for awareness on different disabilities to empower not only the disabled but also society as a whole. As one participant said, “One can only appreciate light when one has truly experienced and has been immersed in the depths of darkness.

beauty. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved December 20, 2011, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/beauty

Brennan, R.E.( 1959). Thomistic psychology: A philosophic analysis of the nature of man. New York: The Macmillan Company.

Cataract Foundation Philippines (14 Sept. 2011). “Prevalence of Blindness and Vision Impairment in the Philippines." SEE and HEAR. Retrieved from http://cataractfoundationphilippines.blogspot.com/2011/09/prevalence-of-blindness-and-vision.html.

de Torre, J. M. (1980). Christian philosophy. Manila: Sinag-Tala Publishers, Inc.

Feeney, D. (2007). Toward an Aesthetics of Blindness: An Interdisciplinary Response to Synge, Yeats, and Friel. New York: Peter Lang.

Glenn, P.J. (1951). Criteriology: A class manual in major logic.

Heath, H.B.M and Schofield, I. (1999) Healthy Ageing: Nursing Older People. London: Mosby.

Lige, C. (17 Feb. 2006) "Confusing Encounters - Senses in Film and Architecture | Mustekala.info." Numerot, Museopedagogiikka Ja Taiteen Välittäminen

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Page 51: UNIV Compendium

51

3/11, Volume 43 | Mustekala.info. Retrieved from http://www.mustekala.info/node/44.

Mendocino College. (12 Mar. 2009). “Blind Culture.” Mendocino College. Retrieved from http://www.mendocino.edu/tc/pg/5530/blind_culture.html

Sacks, O. (28 July 2003). “The Mind’s Eye” The New Yorker. Retrieved from http://homepage.newschool.edu/~quigleyt/vcs/sacks-mindseye.pdf

Sanguineti, J.J. (1992). Logic. Manila: Sinag-Tala Publishers, Inc.

Soodik, N. (23 Oct. 2011). "The Beauty of the Blind." Ragged Edge Online. Ragged Edge Online. Retrieved from http://www.raggededgemagazine.com/departments/reading/002881.html.

Weisser, R.(12 Oct. 1999) “Proc. of A Status Report on the Library for the Blind in the Philippines - 65th IFLA Council and General Conference.” IFLA - The Official Website of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. Retrieved from http://archive.ifla.org/IV/ifla65/65rw-e.htm

World Health Organization (1980): International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps, Geneva: World Health Organization.

Page 52: UNIV Compendium

52

Beauty in the eyes of an Artist

Mari Miyaharaa, Maria Paulina Savillob and Zarina San Josea

aUniversity of the Philippines-Diliman, bAteneo de Manila University

Beauty can be found not only in the material sense but also in how people use their talents to enhance the state of human

and spiritual life. This poster aims to define and explain beauty by appealing to the sight. This is presented through letras y figuras, a figural representation of the word “PULCHRUM.” The writers interviewed the artist and conceptualized a new poster based on the interview and their own interpretation of the original work. The writers then recommend that artists should be conscious of their responsibilities to communicate beauty, and through their art be heralds of and witnesses of hope for humanity.

ABSTRACT

Adviser: Floriedes A. Anda

Page 53: UNIV Compendium

53

The never-ending quest for authentic beauty can be

attributed a craving in every human spirit to be fascinated and to marvel. Because of man’s Divine design, he needs a sense of wonderment in the core of his being. Many search through secular entertainment and recreation to fulfill this God-given craving to be fascinated. Without having a sense of awe, man lives aimless and spiritually bored. This makes man vulnerable to Satan’s tactics because only a fascinated believer is strong and thus equipped to face temptation (People Get Ready Org, 2011). Beauty is defined by Catholic Thomist philosopher, the late Dr. Joseph Pieper in his book, The Four Cardinal Virtues as “the glow of the true and the good that flows out of every ordered state of being.” (Adgei, 2011).

In fact, the understanding of beauty cannot be divorced from two transcendentals, truth and goodness, to which it is intrinsically joined. This is because “the experience of beauty does not remove us from reality, on the contrary, it leads to a direct encounter with the daily reality of one’s life, liberating it from the darkness, transfiguring it, making it rational and beautiful (Benedict

XVI, 2011).”The objective of the project

is to define and explain beauty by appealing to the sight. This is presented through letras y figuras, a figural representation of the word “PULCHRUM.” The project also aims to show that beauty can be found not only in the material sense but also in how people use their talents to enhance the state of human and spiritual life. Each letter of the poster will depict certain instances within one’s life where beauty can be seen such as the following: astronomy, man, family, the arts, architecture, engineering, the seas and everywhere else.

The data for the project was gathered by first interviewing the artist of the drawing. The group then made their own interpretations of each letter and compared it with that of the artist’s.

People stargazing can be seen in the first letter of the artwork. This design explains that man can find beauty through peering into an entity that is spatially unattainable and yet there still is a way to see it. Another interpretation of the letter could be that beauty can be seen far out in space where the heavenly bodies, the skies, the stars, numerous moons, asteroids and comets can be

SUMMARY

Page 54: UNIV Compendium

54

found. One can see beauty in these creations of God which depicts that beauty is limitless as we do not know where space ends, and that beauty, paired with mystery evoke curiosity which promotes learning. “Authentic beauty as seen in these objects unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love and to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond.” (Benedict XVI, 2011) By gazing at the stars, the sun the moon and the rest of the celestial bodies one can both encounter and learn about God’s love for man (SAASTA, 2011). One can begin to ponder on the question, “Who made these beautiful changeable things, if not one who is beautiful and unchangeable?” (Sermo CCXLI, 2: PL 38, 1134).

Understanding the concept of style and fashion by women modeling during a photo shoot, the artist thought of this because she would always ask herself questions such as “Why is that when people wear more stylish clothes, they feel more confident?” and “Is the state of mind of a person affected by how beautiful he rates himself to be?” Finding beauty in man not only for his aesthetic value such as a well-proportioned body, flawless skin, or exquisite facial features, but also because he was created in the image and likeness of God who is the source of all beauty. This other

level of beauty, one which makes us resemble God in his in utmost truth and goodness and this we encounter and experience through our language, creativity, love, holiness, immortality and freedom, all of which separate us from all the other beasts in this world (Answers in Genesis.Org, 2011).

Letter “L” was designed to capture the beauty of a family as a unit, symbolized by the happiness felt by each one. This is manifested by a scene depicting a particular happy moment such as their baby taking his first steps. Beauty, like truth, brings joy to the human heart, and is that precious fruit which resists the erosion of time, which unites generations and enables them to be one in admiration (Benedict XVI, 2011). What keeps family ties strong is the beauty of rituals and traditions that mark holidays and give each a sense of continuity, belonging, and self.

Creature of the water swimming alongside a diver, emphasizes how large a whale is compared to a man, and how amazing that all creatures can live amongst each other. The beauty under the sea mesmerized people through the ages, a subject of infinite research and study for its diversity in flora and fauna (Allthesea.com, 2011).

Hands of men can make beautiful paintings. For the artist, painting is not just about seeing

Page 55: UNIV Compendium

55

things as they are, rather its beauty lies in one’s ability to imagine and create. An idea may be born from one’s imagination. In Blessed Pope John Paul II’s Letter to Artists (1999), he described the artists as dedicated in offering to the world creative work of new epiphanies of beauty. Pope Benedict XVI (1999) also said that the work of artists exude beauty, and like the truth, brings joy to the human heart, unites generations and allows them to be one in admiration.

Rhythm, shape, flow, and the grace show the beauty of a dance. There are many styles of dance but the artist found most graceful is the classical style ballet. This is a genuine art form that forms a path to the inmost reality of man (John Paul II, 1999). It has the unique capacity to communicate the message, breaks the barrier of language and culture for one can find a form of expression in this art (Lad, 1999). Martha Graham, dancer, when asked what was the meaning of her dance, she’d reply, “If I could say it in words, I wouldn’t have danced it.”

Unraveling and celebrating the mysteries of faith, especially the Eucharist can be done through architecture. Blessed Pope John Paul II in his Letter to Artists (1999) said the Church needs architects “to bring the Christian people together and celebrate the mysteries of

salvation (p. 10).”The artist designed the “U” with architecture and engineering in mind. According to her, the beauty of engineering and architecture is in seeing something materialize into something useful. McNamara (2009) said beauty in architecture provides an appealing and compelling way of turning men’s thoughts to God persuasively and devoutly (p. 21).

Man can broaden his horizons through art. Pope Benedict XVI (2009) said beauty touches man so intimately that it gives him "passion to engage with it every day." Quoting Herman Hesse, Pope Benedict XVI said, “art means revealing God in everything that exists.” The artist decided to draw it as a map to signify that beauty is universal, across boundaries and across cultures. “Beauty is everywhere,” she said.

According to Blessed Pope John Paul II “beauty is the visible form of the good.” When God created the world, “he saw that it was good.” Thus, beauty can be found in all of God’s creation. It is important for men to go beyond the material realities because all are capable of discovering the good even in the smallest things.

The poster showed that beauty cannot simply be found in fashion or in painting. Beauty is not only found in the material but inside man as well. There is beauty in being

Page 56: UNIV Compendium

56

part of a family; there is beauty in sharing one’s talent to the world. The poster showed that beauty is also beyond man. We see it in the heavens, in the seas, in the world.

Blessed Pope John Paul II in his Letter to Artists (1999) said all men are artists because they have been entrusted with “crafting” their own lives, to make it a masterpiece for God. Through man’s “artistic creativity” he appears more in the image of God. However he also said being an artist is a special vocation. Artists are capable of producing objects and giving form to the ideas in the minds. He emphasized the artists’ obligation to develop their talent for the benefit of humanity.

Artists have a great capacity to spark change. If they use their God given talent to really seek the beautiful and show it to the rest of humanity, they could go beyond the physical realities of the world, see the permanent and make it attractive. Art also especially helps people in contemplating and knowing about the Church and its history. It helps men reflect on God and raise their minds to him.

Pope Benedict the XVI called artists “custodians of beauty in the world (2009).” The Pope also encouraged artists not to be afraid of approaching the “first and last source of beauty.”

Page 57: UNIV Compendium

57

(n.a.). (2011). All the sea : Information on sea and sea life. All the Sea. Retrieved from http://www.allthesea.com/

Armstrong, H. (n.d.). Art, beauty and imagination. Art and beauty 2. Retrieved from http://agdei.com/Art&Beauty2.html

Belarmino, M. (Ed.). (2011). Upliftment of the human spirit: The true purpose of art. Documentation service (Vol. 24, no. 9). Mandaluyong, MM: Theological Centrum.

Benedict XVI. (2007). Sacramentum caritatis.

Burtnyk, K. Show great pictures: Make an economic connection. Astronomy stars. Retrieved from http://www.fest.org.za/astronomystars/pics02.php

(n.a.). (2011). Introduction to the beauty of God. People get ready. Retrieved from http://peoplegetready.org/worship/introduction-beauty-god/

John Paul II. (1999). Letter to artists.

Lad, K. (1999). Types of dance and different dancing styles. Buzzle.com. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/types-of-dances-and-different-dancing-styles.html

Lebow, R. and Garrison, T.S. (1989). Oceanus: The marine environment. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing.

McNamara, D. (2009). Catholic church architecture and the spirit of the liturgy. Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications.

Rendle-Short, J. (1981). Man: the image of God. Answers in Genesis.Org. Retrieved from http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/cm/v4/n1/man-image-of-god

(n.a.). (n.d.). The beauty of family traditions. Care pages. Retrieved from http://cms.carepages.com/CarePages/en/ArticlesTips/FeatureArticles/spotlight/family_traditions.html

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Page 58: UNIV Compendium

58

UNIV 2012 PHILIPPINES FINAL CONGRESS ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

AMI ALLARDENational Coordinator

GRACE CONCEPTIONAssistant Coordinator 1

YELLE CATABUIAssistant Coordinator 2

CECILLE GRULLAAssistant Coordinator 3

VIORY JANEOBalanghai Local CoordinatorKIM CAJUCOMBalanghai Assitant Local Coordinator

LORIE ANDADaniw Local Coordinator

MARI MIYAHARADaniw Assistant Local Coordinator

GELA ZAPANTAIraya Local CoordinatorBEA MENDIOLAIraya Assitant Local Coordinator

ZOHRA ESPERALTahilan Local Coordinator

AUDREY VIRGULATahilan Assistant Local Coordinator

CALAI CLARINOTanglaw Local CoordinatorKYRA VILLAMALATanglaw Assitant Local Coordinator

Page 59: UNIV Compendium
Page 60: UNIV Compendium