Strong Family, Weak State: Hegel's Political Philosophy and the Filipino Family

by Lukas Kaelin

If the Outsider's eyes are sympathetic, we discover a dimension of our society that we ignore becuase we are used to it. Lukas Kaelin, a Swiss philosopher, taught at the Philosophy Department of the Ateneo de Manila University in 2006-2008. Interested in the affairs of his host country, he decided to write his observations on the relationship between the family, civil society and the state. For indeed we should be concerned that entrenched dynasties tend to inhibit the Philippine state's freedom to act at all levels, from the national to the regional to the local. Kaelin's framework is relatively new in the Philippines: Hegelian thought. Misinterpreted in the past as too abstract, Hegel's thought is now enjoying a significant rediscovery worldwide for its profound analysis of still relevant themes, such as the relationship between the family and the state, or the distinction between the private and the public spheres.

—Fernando N. Zialcita, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ateneo de Manila University

Genres: Philosophy

236 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Oward Bodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is not elegantly written, and its core arguments do not provide deep insight for readers who have studied the Philippines and Hegel independently. Nevertheless, it's a great primer for undergraduates and graduate students who are looking for tools to work with/through the problems facing Philippine modernity: how do rational institutions function "as they should" when the underpinning social logic is kinship-based, rather than individual? How can we understand the actually existing conditions of feudalism in the Philippines in the face of a working--albeit flawed--modern market? How critical are civil society, the police, and the state in their respective states of development in resolving the dialectic contradictions of the Filipino 21st century? Kaelin does a good job of reading Hegel alongside prominent Filipino thinkers (e.g. F. Landa Jocano) in a worthy attempt to address these issues.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

can't believe the first book I finished is this >:( bye

If I had to say anything it's that it felt rigid. There's a wall between me and the author or something. It doesn't help that the book flows pretty badly. I still use it as a reference for my written works since he *does* makes some relevant points. But it feels impersonal, and not in a good way. Could have been better. It felt like I was reading someone's draft instead of their finished work.

It felt incomplete but I can't tell if it's my lack of knowledge or his.