Rizal and the Field Theory

Joseph Reylan B. Viray

€
I have the supreme pleasure today to be among friends from OKOR and Filipino you
th who are neither ashamed of Jose Rizal nor afraid of his profound ideas. €We are
so fortunate that the OKOR was able to gather all of us in this venue to talk a
bout RIZAL and his greatness. €And perhaps, by committing to our memory the greatn
ess and patriotism of the National Hero, we could be able to make a difference. €O
r we could be able to make this country--which Rizal loved so much—a great nation
of the world.
I am tasked this morning to talk about Rizal and the Field theory. €I know that so
urces about the life and works of the National Hero are abounding and replete. €Th
ey are readily available. Young people like you may have accessed, at one point,
a number of websites, online books, and a few antiquated books about Jose Rizal
. €In fact, I would admit, my knowledge about Rizal may not be at par with yours o
r with some professed experts of Rizalism and Rizal. €However, with this lecture,
I would try to offer you a new insight on how to look at and perceive the greatn
ess of the MAN. €I would be employing a socio-psychological theory which emerged m
ore than a century after the death of Rizal---the FIELD THEORY. €
Alongside with this task, I obligated myself to at least make you sensitive and
possessive of an open mind, heart and will to rightly read the field/social envi
ronment and interact with it, which would, in the process, enable positive chang
e to take place in the future. € € € € €
-----
Field Theory was developed by a charismatic German-born social psychologist--Kur
t Lewin. Lewin viewed the social environment as a dynamic field which interacts
with human consciousness.€ If we adjust elements of the social environment, then p
articular types of psychological experience predictably ensue.€ In turn, the perso
n's psychological state influences the social field or milieu.
Slide: €circles—Field theory assumed that there are two distinct individuals: €those w
ho are sensitive and open minded about the outside field (Fig. A) and those who
are not (Fig. B). € € € €
Jose Rizal could be categorized under the first category and his contemporaries
may perhaps be categorized under the second category. €While his contemporaries we
re not open minded and sensitive, Rizal’s sensitivity towards the outside field wa
s at the highest degree. €He understood his place in the social environment or dyn
amic field he was in. €This was the reason why in his generation, not all his cont
emporaries turned out to be like him. € Dr. Rizal, even at an early age because of
his disgust over the abuses and injustices he keenly observed, imposed upon him
self a purpose—that is to avenge the victims of these injustices and to help his b
eloved nation achieved freedom from all kinds of oppression. €
Rizal projected himself to the future by setting his goals and dreams about the
state of his country. €This confirms a central feature of the field theory—that is a
person’s behavior is always oriented toward a goal; the person is always trying t
o do something; that intention is what matters most.
To illustrate further this point, I will provide some basic accounts of the life
of the national hero and how his interaction with his social environment made h
im yearn for a particular goal—to liberate and avenge his exploited people. € € € € € €
>>In € 1872, when Rizal was only eleven, his sensitive mind was shocked by the exe
cution of the native priests—GOMBURZA—who died in Luneta without due trial and witho
ut competent evidence that would link them in the infamous Cavite mutiny. €Not lon
g after the incident, Dona Teodora was arrested upon a preposterous accusation o
f a disgruntled lieutenant of the civil guard, and with much humiliation, she wa
s made to walk from Calamba to the provincial capital, where she was confined in
jail for years without trial. €And Rizal himself was brutally assaulted and injur
ed by a civil guard for having failed to bare and bow his head before the latter
, whom he did not recognize in the darkness of the night. €These injustices and cr
uelties awakened the imagination of the young Rizal. € In his own words, he said,
“…At the sight of those injustices and cruelties, my imagination was awakened while I
was a child and I swore to dedicate myself some day to avenge so many victims,
and with this idea I have been studying, and this may be read in all my works an
d writings. €God will someday give me the opportunity to carry out my promise. “
This clearly indicated his early resolve to devote every moment of his life to t
his self-imposed mission. €He really worked hard. €He persevered to prove to the Spa
niards that Filipinos were not intellectually inferior and did not deserve all t
he inhuman treatment. €His efforts were revitalized by the forces in the field to
achieve his goals. €
I’ll show you how.
>> At an early age, Rizal developed his belief that the hope of his country lay
in education. €He imbibed this from his parents, uncles, and his professors in the
Ateneo. €This was articulated in his insightful poem “Through Education Our Motherl
and Receives Light”. €
Quite interestingly, Rizal’s early education was attributed to his unusually gifte
d mother—Dona Teodora. €Dona Teodora laid Rizal’s intellectual foundation along variou
s lines such as literature, philosophy, languages, sciences and mathematics. €His
uncles, Teodora’s brothers, likewise were responsible in the physical and artistic
development of the young Rizal. €
The Parish priest of Calamba Father Leoncio Lopez greatly influenced Rizal’s chara
cter. €Rizal was a constant visitor in the Convento. €He would silently observe the
manners and conduct of the curate. €And at times, the Priest discussed matters of
interest to thinking Filipinos and found an eager audience in the little Jose. €Wi
ttingly or unwittingly, these comportments and thoughtful ideas have been instil
led in the mind of the little boy. €
Before he was age 21, Rizal decided, with the assistance of his elder brother Pa
ciano, to further his studies in Europe. €Though not wealthy enough to send Rizal
to Europe, the family supported him in his decision. While studying in Europe, h
is motivation to help his country did not wane. €It was even fueled by the radical
ideas and liberal theories he came to learn while studying in various courses. €I
t was in Europe that he used his literary genius to express his disgust and abom
ination over the exploitation and abuses of the Spanish conquerors. €The field in
which Rizal was in, again, aided him to realize and devote himself to his goals.
€Had it not been for Viola and Ventura he could not have published and distribute
d Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. € And had it not been for the monetary co
ntributions of family members and friends, Rizal’s education in Europe would have
ended before he could have acquired noble education and training. €In turn, Rizal
through his novels and education, was able to inculcate and instill a certain aw
areness and/or radical consciousness in his specific social field/situation or e
ven in the Filipino social consciousness. €
Thusly, Pepe Rizal, though arguably possessed with remarkable qualities even in
his younger years, was not born great. €To reiterate, he was indeed a product of h
is interaction with the social environment. € €
Future Desired Goals
In field theory, the INEXISTENT FUTURE comes out from the existing field. € €
The brand of field theory of Lewin suggests that in achieving future desired goa
ls, one should analyze each situation according to the interplay of driving forc
es and restraining forces. €Only through and by eliminating or mitigating the rest
raining forces, that one can truly achieve the desired future goal. €Only then can
change occur. €To expound this point, I invite you to concentrate on the figure a
ppearing on the screen. €
Notice that the equilibrium between the driving forces and the restraining forces
maintains the status quo, no change is apparent. €However, by eliminating or miti
gating the restraining forces, driving forces are push through the status quo to
wards the Desired Outcome/Change. €
In the life of Rizal, there are a number of driving forces that we enumerated in
the earlier part of this paper. €Dona Teodora, uncles Manuel, Jose Alberto, Gregor
io, Padre Leoncio Lopez, Paciano Rizal Viola, Ventura, Saturnina and husband Man
uel Hidalgo, his professors in Ateneo. €Admittedly, these driving forces which hel
ped Rizal may be limitless in number. €Almost all his friends and even acquaintanc
es in various countries he had been to, at some point, contributed in achieving
his goal. €
>>The genius of Rizal was his ability to turn restraining forces into driving (f
orces). €For instance, he was of nervous temperament, always trembling. €To overcome
this, he indulged in shooting. €He was even later recognized as a topnotch sharp
shooter in Europe among his Filipino colleagues. €
Rizal was born sickly. €“From childhood his shoulders were high and his chest narrow
, with a tendency to sickliness.” He realized that he has to overcome this tremend
ous handicap. €With the help of his uncle Manuel, “He corrected this in the gymnasiu
m by fencing 30mins every day.”
His exile in Dapitan is initially a restraining force. But because of his positi
ve outlook, things turned out to be different. In his letter to Blumentritt in 1
893 December 19, Rizal manifested this positive outlook: €
“I am very fatalistic, like an oriental that I am, and I believe that from the pre
sent evil can be gathered much future good—flowers grow in putrid manure. €From pres
ent misfortune, I shall get something good some day. €I believe I have the seed. €Wh
at will be will be.” € € €
His goal being always in his mind, he could not really afford to stop and do not
hing even in his exile. €In Dapitan, he made a wooden machine which could produce
6000 bricks a day; he constructed a dike in order to have a depository for dry s
eason; he taught young people for free; finished writing a book on Tagalog gramm
ar; he established commercial company; and taught Mindanao folks to unite for tr
ading and free themselves from the Chinese merchants. €This is how he masterfully
turned the restraining forces into something helpful. €He said, with all the bored
om the island offered: €
“ I am very far from the incessant and indefatigable scientific life of civilize E
urope where everything is discussed. But on the other hand, I am nearer nature. €I
hear constantly the song of the sea, the murmur of the leaves, and I see the co
ntinuous fluttering of the palms stirred by the breeze.”
€ Here, we could easily grasp the psychological constitution of Rizal. €He always foun
d some positive things from seem negative elements of the social environment. €Thi
s state of mind of Rizal teaches us how to do away restraining forces in our que
st for the INEXISTENT FUTURE/GOAL/CHANGE. €
Challenge to the YOUTH and to all of US
We are living in a dynamic field or social environment. €This social environment a
nd forces within it are giving us some clues of our collective fate or to borrow
the term of Lewin our interdependent fate/our future. €But until and unless our b
oundary lines remain thick and untilled (borrowing the term of the proponent of
theory U) the interaction between the visible (the outer world) and the invisibl
e (psychological/spiritual) could never truly provide us with right resolve towa
rd a great purpose or intention. €By employing Rizal as a model, and how he was ab
le to understand his place in the dynamic field, we could deliver the INEXISTENT
FUTURE from the womb of the present field.
Predicated from the above presentation, I suggest the following:
WE MUST HAVE AN OPEN MIND AND MUST BE SENSITIVE TOWARD OUR SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT. €
WE MUST CULTIVATE RIGHT INTENTION AND PURPOSE.
WE MUST TURN RESTRAINING FORCES INTO DRIVING FORCES. €
WE MUST HAVE A POSITIVE OUTLOOK.
WE MUST AVOID EXCUSES. €BECAUSE EXCUSES ARE POTENT RESTRAINING FORCES. €
WE MUST HAVE THE WILL POWER TO EFFECT CHANGE.
To truly know something, try to change it. € Lewin
€By utilizing the life of Dr. Rizal as a model, let us end the apathy of those who
lack concern for their country; and strengthen the resolve and dedication of th
ose who love it but do not know how to start to action. €Who knows, one from our n
umber might become another great man who could instill great influence to effect
change.
€
LET US TOGETHER DELIVER THE FUTURE from the womb of the present FIELD.
€