INDIGENIZING THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

FILIPINO SOCIAL THINKERS

The Filipino people have also produced a number of individuals that have extensively studied
the different traditions and attitudes of society, particularly that of Philippine society itself.
1. JOSE RIZAL (REFORMIST)

José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda

 He believes intelligence is the solution to the ills of the country.
 Their consciousness should be freed from fanaticism, docility, inferiority, and
hopelessness. Fanaticism is a belief or a behaviour that implies an a-critical and
zealous attitude towards political, religious or ideological causes, and that insists
on very strict standards with no tolerance for different ideas or opinions. The
fanatic knows that The Truth is on his side and he hates any other point of view.
 He started La Liga Filipina with the job of enlightening the minds of the people.
 Believed in Agnostic Deism – the view that God created the universe with its law,
never to interfere with it again.
 “Human problems are irrational human creations and can be solved through rational
solutions. If reason commits mistakes, only reason can correct them.”
 “What is the use of independence if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of
tomorrow?”

2. ANDRES BONIFACIO (REVOLUTIONIST)

 Founded Katipunan/KKK. (Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak

ng Bayan)
 His philosophy of revolution was published in the revolutionary newspaper,
“Kalayaan”.
 Transformed the blood compact (sandugo) as a kinship contract.
 According to him, a revolution of war is justified when there is breach of contract.

3. EMILIO JACINTO (REVOLUTIONIST)

 He capitalized on the idea of a free reign of reason, of the freedom to think and do,
rather than the freedom to will and do. (Gripaldo, 2002)
 “In a colonial situation where both will and thinking are suppressed, where
intellectual fanaticism is the rule, where one’s will is conditioned to submit to
tyranny, it is intellectual liberty that comes primary.”
 Filipinos must get rid of slavery; must embrace liberty again with a price, a bloody
revolution.

4. MANUEL LUIS QUEZON (POLITICAL PHILOSOPHER)

  Political pragmatism & political operation for an eventual Philippine independence.
 Political Pragmatism – “one must fight for a goal but if obstacles towards that goal
are difficult to summon then one must fall back to an alternative that is better than
nothing provided it’s in the right direction.”
 Believed in Social Darwinism – governments are products of political struggles for
survival.
 “Partyless Democracy” – political parties influence the politician, the people.
 Believed in the democratization of education for all, national language, and justice.
 Equal access to essential raw materials.

5. JOSE P. LAUREL (POLITICAL PHILOSOPHER)

 Individuals cannot forever remain in solitude

 Social differences
 “Human rights cannot be guaranteed unless the citizens first do their obligations
towards the state.”
 “Good governance is founded on righteousness and foreign relations must be
based on full reciprocal rights and privileges between and among nations.”

6. RENATO CONSTANTINO (NATIONALIST)

 Colonial experience has developed a captive consciousness. An effect of this “crab

mentality”. This is the tendency to those on top of the hierarchy to push those below
while those below to pull down those up above.
 “When one makes a nationalist choice, he or she chooses not for himself or herself
alone but for the entire nation as well.”

7. R. ESQUIREL EMBUSCADO (DISSECTIONIST)

 As a painter, he believed that the task of an authentic artist is to cut the umbilical
cord of the past, to make use of the present, and to protect that present to the open
future. He called this art of “dissectionism.”
 True art must not be part-oriented, but present-future oriented.

8. CIRILO BAUTISTA (POLITICAL THEORIST)

 “RubberToner” – a poem
 “History can be read as a poem in the same way a poem can be read as history.”
 Metaphysics is the study of the most general features of reality, including existence,
objects and their properties, possibility and necessity, space and time, change,
causation, and the relation between matter and mind.

9. CLARO R. CENTEZA (META PHYSICIAN)

 To “exist” is to “stand out.”

  To “exist” is “to make a difference.”

10. ROLANDO M. GRIPALDO (CIRCUMSTANTIA LIST)

 “free choice” - Choices are done in situations, which are of 2 broad types: rational
and non- rational.

11. ISABELO DELOS REYES (LABOR ACTIVIST/ ANTHROPOLOGIST)

 Father of Filipino Socialism

 Initiated labor strikes against American business firms
 Founded ‘El Ilocano’
 He organized the first labor union, Union Obrera Democratica Filipina
 Mother Tongue based Multilingual Education

12. TEODORO M. KALAW

 Published Cinko Reglas de Nuestra Moral Antigua (Five Rules of Our Ancient Morality) in
1935 which prescribed five traits to the traditional Filipino character; (1) courage, (2)
chastity, (3) courtesy, (4) self-control, and (5) family unity. It is the duty of schools to
develop these virtues. Dr. Camilo Osias.

13. CAMILO OSIAS

 “TAYO” concept
 Believes that education must secure for every Filipino the fullest measure of
efficiency, freedom, and happiness

14. VICENTE SINCO, FRANCISCO DALUPAN, CONRADO AQUINO

 Liberal Education – an approach to learning that empowers individuals and repairs

them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change.
 Sinco envisioned the need for well-trained teachers as one of the essential factors to
improve the quality of the educational program in schools.
 Aquino also stressed that those responsible for the education of the citizens must
also educate them in the fullness of their rational nature.

INSTITUTE OF PHILIPPINES CULTURE’S STUDY ON PHILIPPINE VALUES

-Founded in the 1960 at the Ateneo de Manila University through the leadership of Fr. Frank
Lynch, S.J.
-was created with the aim of conducting research which could contribute in capacity-building
and knowledge building of uncovering the predominant Filipino values.

Philippine Values
The Uniqueness of the Philippine Value System
Each culture has an array of unique characteristics that make it different from other cultures.
The Filipino culture is no different. Filipinos value other things than most when it comes to
values within their society. Values guide behaviors, which can gauge cultural distinctions
among groups of people, nations, or individuals. (Capuno et al., 2013) Because of this impact
that values have on Filipinos as a society, it is important that one knows the significance of
each one, and how every core Filipino value is inter-connected and woks together to build a
functioning Filipino society. Here are a number of unique Philippines values that one should
know:
1. The importance of Family – the Filipino family is not simply the sum of its members since
distinctive associations and nuances in various relational phenomena in the society
contribute to its fuller picture. Still, how these common views or characteristics of Filipinos
are shared among family members and with the society at large weighs great relevance.
(Capuno et al., 2013) Society at large is affected by the relationship of the family. Filipinos
place a great amount of importance on close family ties that it is arguably the most
practiced Filipino value at present.
2. Participation in Religion – Mercado notes in his work Enculturation and Filipino Theology
that Filipinos have three favourite images of Christ: Hesus Nazareno, Sto. Nino, and the
Crucified Christ. Mercado also points out that in the Filipino adaptation and participation in
religion, “the interpretation, however, will be colored by culture.”(Mercado,2011) Filipinos
are a very religious people not only within the Catholic faith, but also with the different
religious followings that they are a part of.
3. Pakikisama: Filipino Solidarity – Manuel Dy, Jr. mentions in his book Contemporary
Social Philosophy that “a Filipino ethics must value solidarity.” (Dy, 2013) Filipinos are
known not only for their strong family ties, but also with a spirit of kapit-bisig or solidarity.
Filipinos can go beyond the divisions of race or location to unite and fight for what they
believe in. Such a spirit manifested itself in the People Power Revolutions. And, as Dy notes,
“Pakikipagkapwa springs from an inner conviction that the other, though belonging to a
different region or faction, is a fellowman, like me a human being who deserves to be
respected, attended to , loved.
SIKOLOHIYANG FILIPINO
It is an Indigenous Psychology. The scientific study of the ethnicity, society and culture of a
people and the application to psychological practice if indigenous knowledge rooted in the
people’s ethnic heritage and consciousness. Virgilio G. Enriquez (1994).
Distinctions among the forms of Psychology in the Philippines
a. Psychology in the Philippines

Refers to a series of events related to the field of psychology in the Philippines. (e.g. number
of degree programs and journals, the amount of research conducted) ang pinakamalaki o
kabuuang anyo ng sikolohiya sa kontekstong Pilipino.
b. Psychology of Filipinos
Refers to any theories or knowledge of Filipino nature regardless of source, Western or local
palasak na anyo sapagkat pinakakaraniwan o madaling Makita.
c. Filipino Psychology

Refers to a psychology based on the Filipino’s true thoughts, feelings, behaviors and must
derive from indigenous Filipino sources, language, and methods. Nilalayong anyo,
sikolohiyang bunga ng karanasan, kaisipan at oryentasyong Pilipino.

Core Values

Kapwa

 The concept of kapwa (shared identity) is the core of Sikolohiyang Pilipino and
heart of the structure of Filipino values.

Pakikipagkapwa
 It means treating the other person as kapwa or fellow human being.

Two Categories of Kapwa

A. Ibang Tao (other people)
There are five domains in this construct:
1. Pakikitungo: civility- In Confucian ethics, right behaviour meant right demeanour
towards authorities (Parents, Elders etc.)
2. Pakikisalamuha: act of mixing – This is a social value that is primarily communitarian and
Confucian. It espouses the ability to adapt.
3. Pakikilahok: act of joining- this translates to participation of the entire community to help
a person,
4. Pakikibagay: conformity – This runs into conflict with individuality which many Filipinos in
fact willingly throw away in favour of conformity with demands of those who are in charge.
5. Pakikisama: being united with the group.

B. Hindi Ibang Tao (not other people) There are 3

domains in this construct:

1. Pakikipagpalagayang-loob: act of mutual trust

2. Pakikisangkot: act of joining others

3. Pakikipagkaisa: being one with others

Filipinos value conformity because unlike non-Asian countries, its culture is predominantly
Christian, This runs into conflict with individualism (kanya-kanya) which was brought about
by Western colonialism.

Filipino Values
Hospitality - the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guest, visitors, or
strangers
Utang na loob - debt of gratitude
Bahala na - fatalism or determination and being risk taker. Bahala na ang diyos (God will take
care of us)

Pivotal Interpersonal Value

Pakiramdam - shared inner perceptions. Filipinos use damdam, or the inner perception of
others emotions, as a basic tool to guide his dealings with other people.
Linking Socio-Personal Value
Kagandahang-Loob – shared humanity. This refers to being able to help other people in dire
need due to a perception of being together as a part of one Filipino humanity.
Accommodative Surface Value
Hiya – Loosely translated as “shyness”
Utang na Loob – Norm of reciprocity, Filipinos are expected by their neighbors to return
favors whether these were asked for or not when it is needed or wanted.
Pakikisama and Pakikipagkapwa – Smooth interpersonal Relationship or SIR, as coined by
Lynch (1961 and 1973). This attitude is primarily guided by conformity with the majority.

Confrontative Surface Value

Bahala Na – Bahala Na translates literally as “leave it up to god (Bathala)” and it is used as an
expression, almost universally, in Filipino culture. Filipino engage in the bahala na attitude as
a culture-influenced adaptive coping strategy when faced with challenging situations.
Lakas ng Loob – this attitude is characterized by being courageous in the midst of problems
and uncertainties.
Pakikibaka – Literally in English, it means concurrent clashes. It refers to the ability of the
Filipino to undertake revolutions and uprisings against a common enemy.

Societal Values
Karangalan – Loosely translated to dignity, this actually refers to what other people see in a
person and how they use that information to make a stand or judge about his/her worth.
Puri – the external aspect of dignity. May refer to how other people judge a person of his/her
worth. This compels a common Filipino to conform to social norms regardless how obsolete
they are.
Dangal – the internal aspect of dignity. May refer to how a person judges his own worth.
Katarungan – Loosely translated to justice, this actually refers to equity in giving rewards to a
person.
Kalayaan – freedom and mobility. Ironically, this may clash with the less important value of
pakikisama or pakikibagay.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF A PARTICULAR LANGUAGE FOR DISCOURSE

Language
Language impacts the daily lives of members of any race, creed, and region of the world.
Language helps express our feelings, desires, and queries to the world around us. Words,
gestures and tone are utilized in union to portray a broad spectrum of emotion. The unique
and diverse methods human beings can use to communicate through written and spoken
language is a large part of what allows to harness our innate ability to form lasting bonds
with one another.

Formal and Informal Language

Formal language is less personal than informal language. It is used when writing for
professional or academic purposes like university assignments. Formal language does not
use colloquialisms, contractions or first-person pronouns such as ‘I’ or ‘We’.

Informal language is more casual and spontaneous. It is used when communicating with
friends or family either in writing or in conversation. It is used when writing personal emails,
text messages and in some business correspondence. The tone of informal language is more
personal than formal language.

Discourse
"Within social science discourse is mainly used to describe verbal reports of individuals. In
particular, discourse is analyzed by those who are interested in language and talk and what
people are doing with their speech. This approach the language used to describe aspects of
the world and has tended to be taken by those using a sociological perspective," (Ogden
2002).
 Communication
It is simply the act of transferring information from one place, person or group to another.

PANTAYONG PANANAW
It is a programmatic discourse developed as a response to the westernized perspective of
the study of Philippine history and historiography. Considered as the most theoretically
advanced and productive in terms of the number of research outputs on the indigenization
of the social science, the Pantayong Pananaw introduces a communication-based theoretical
innovation that is focused on the study of Philippine Historiography.

Pantayong Pananaw

Answers the question: For whom do we write history?

Zeus Salazar
- Born on April 29 1934
- Graduated summa cum laude on Bachelor’s Degree in History in University of the
Philippines-Diliman (UP) in 1955
- In 1968, completed Doctorate in Ethnology at Universite de Paris
- In the mid-1970s he developed his lifelong crusade for a nationalist brand of history
which became a staple perspective for the next generation of History of students: The
Pantayong Pananaw
- According to Salazar, there are 3 perspectives by which Philippine history was and is
being written- Pangkayong pananaw, Pangkaming Pananaw, and Pantayong Pananaw.

1. Pangkayong Pananaw (“From-you-for-us” Perspective)

- This perspective is use by Western historians, foreigners or outsiders in talking
about or in referencing a particular culture, its people, and their customs.
- The scholars involved in the writing of “pangkayo” type of history are those from
the West for the consumption of the West.
- To illustrate: The British would say, “You Filipinos are different from us in many
aspects.” (Kayang mga Pilipino ay iba sa amin sa maraming bagay.)

2. Pangkaming Pananaw (“From-us-for-you” Perspective)

- A native talks to outsiders or foreigner regarding his or her own society and
culture.
- Made by the Filipinos for the consumption of the West.
- One’s own language may or may not be used.
- To Illustrate: While talking to American visitors, the Filipino would say, “Unlike
you, we Filipinos don’t believe in divorce.” (Hindi tulad nnyo, kaming mga
Pilipino ay hindi naniniwala sa diborsyo.)
3. Pantayong Pananaw (“From-us-for-us” Perspective)
- Philippine history must be written and consumed primarily by Filipinos.
- The use of Filipino Language in transmitting language.
- “We Filipinos” (Tayong mga Pilipino) implicitly means that those who are
communicating or conversing with each other are all Filipinos, excluding
outsiders, foreigners, or non-Filipinos.
- Salazar states that a community, society, or culture can claim to have pantayong
pananaw only if all its members use concepts and manifest habits and behaviors
whose meanings can be understood by all, including the relationship between
meanings.
- Local Language for Discourse
Philippine History should be written in the local language or dialect for 2
important reasons:
1.) The local terms, when transposed to Western language, lose their actual
meanings and historical significance.
Example:
 Revolution- Himagsikan
- Revolucion- from Latin “revolvere” which means “to go around”
- Himagsikan- combining the root words “hin-bagsik-an refers to a
“collective act of letting out ones’s ferocity for some reason.”
2.) Concept of talastasang bayan (national discourse)- our history should be
discussed among ourselves and not for others. The use of local language
characterizes pantayong pananaw perspective.