A philosophical analysis of Philippine popular values

Abstract

It is the purpose of this thesis to analyze Filipino popular values from a philosophical point of view. These values are: pakikisama, euphemism, go-between, utang na loob, amor propio, hiya, and bahala na. In order to get a deeper insight into these values it seems necessary to discuss first the Filipino social structure which greatly influences the formation and functioning of the Filipino value system. Hence, this chapter. To understand Filipino social structure, the writer will present first the meaning and importance of the study of social structure followed by the meaning and importance of kinship system in general; then, the Filipino kinship system and family will be discussed. Thus, this presentation will be divided into four sections: I. Meaning and Importance of the Study of Social Structure II. Meaning and Importance of Kinship System III. The Filipino Kinship System IV. The Filipino Family The essay entitled "Filipino Social Structure and Value Orientations" by F. Landa Jocano which appeared in the number two lecture series of the Filipino Cultural Heritage1 will be utilized mainly in this study. I. Meaning and Importance of the Study of Social Structure To have an insight into the personality, world view, or value system of people, it is important to understand first and foremost the structuring of their society. This must be so since the development and functioning of such personality, such world view and value system is so correlated with the peculiar structure of the society that any attempt to study or describe one without the other would produce a confusing picture. This was noted by Henry in his study of the Kaingang Indians, and by Singh in his article on Indian and Filipino value system: "the physical and social structure of the village has great, influence in shaping the value system of villagers. It is, therefore, proper and fitting to study the social structure of the Filipinos before analyzing their values and value system. Social structure as used here refers to the pattern of behavior, a continuous and largely predictable repetition of human actions which could be determined best through an analysis of a society's kinship system, an established highly useful approach according to Parsons.