Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Lesson 1: ASIAN AND FILIPINO VALUES

Singaporean Prime Minister (now Minister Mentor) Lee Kuan Yew pointed out thatthere
is a difference between Asian values from that of Western values. Minister Mentor Lee
stated a fundamental difference between Western concepts of society and government
and East Asian concepts.. East Asian values emphasize that an individual is not a
separate entity, but part of a family, which is then part of society. The Minister Mentor
in his view expressed:

I truly believe the process. Is Darwinian… if adopting Western values diminishes the
prospects for the survival of a society, they will be rejected. What Asians value may not
necessarily be what Americans or Europeans value. Westerners value the freedoms and
liberties of the individual.

One principal core of “Asian Values” is that Asians generally value communitarianism or
placing first the collective interest and welfare of the group, community, and state over
Western values of individualism that emphasizes the importance of having and
exercising individual rights and liberties. Dr. Rhoads Murphey, Professor of History at
the University of Michigan described traditional Asian society and its culture:

They also stressed, and still stress, the subordination of individual interests to the
common interest of the group… Individualism and individual expression, so highly
valued in the modern West, were seen as antisocial, disruptive selfish, and destructive
of the group interest.”

Even Filipino anthropologist, Dr. Felipe LandaJocano, Professor Emeritus at the Asian
Center of the University of the Philippines, and an authority on the subject matter or
Filipino society and culture showed evidence that individualism is not part of traditional
Filipino culture, pointing out to the elements of pakikitungo (to concede and to establish
good rapport or smooth interpersonal relations, pakikisama (to be sensitive, concerned,
and supportive), and pakikiramay (to sympathize and share sufferings). Dr. Jocano had
incisively identified three elements that constitute the Filipino value system:”

1. Halaga. It is the evaluative aspect as to what Filipinos find most virtuous which
constitute three dimensions:

1.1. Pagkatao or self-worth,

1.2. Pakikipagkapwa-tao or dignified relationship with others, and

1.3. Pagkamakatao or compassion.

2. Asal. It is the expression of the evaluative aspect of Filipino value system which
constitute three standards:

2.1. Kapwa or relational,

2.2. Damdamin or emotional, (3)) dangal or honor.

2.3. Diwa. This refers to the kalooban or inner self which in essence is
intertwined reason and emotion.

Much of Filipino values are stirred with emotions and concerned of their affective end-
results which may be a reason why Filipinos tend to always put in their minds the
concepts of hiya or shame, amorpropio or self-esteem, delicadeza or circumspection,
palabra de honor or word of honor, and utangnaloob or debt of gratitude. According to
Dr. Felipe Jocano:
Even an unguarded/unintentional comment, stare, reprimand can cause serious, often
fatal conflicts. Emotionalism is given higher premium than rationalism in handling
situations or in coping with conditions. Our rationality often involves deep emotionalism
particularly in interactions having to do with personal honor, dignity, and moral
principles.

Flipino values orientation lean towards having a fatalistic outlook as manifested by the
expressions bahalana or come what may, itinadhanangDiyos or God has destined,
ginuhitngtadhana or destiny has written, and napasubo or forced by uncontrollable
circumstances.

Filipino values orientation also tend to have greater attachment on personalities and
group affiliations such as regionalism or stronger sense of provincial affiliation. The
unswerving loyalty and commitment to persons with relational ties such as kamaag-
anak (relative), compadre (co-sponsor in a wedding or baptism), kasamahan
(colleague kapatiran (brotherhood in a traternity or religion), etc: the palakasan system
circumvention of rules and procedures due to strong tavoritism, and political
partisanshin or alignment to those in power as shown by a loyalista (loyalist), kapartido
(political part member) and kaalyado (political ally).

Filipino values also have the characteristic of being ambivalent, meaning it can have
both positive and negative judgment resulting from having a double standard mentality
instance, a frequently helptul person may be viewed as a good person but can also be
viewed as a person who only does so out of ingratiation for a vested interest or what
Filipinos term as sipsip. In the words of Ateneo de Manila University Theology
Professor, Fr. Vitaliano R. Gorospe S.J.:

..Filipino values are ambivalent in the sense that they are a potential for good or evil,
they may help or hinder personal and national development, depending on how they
are understood or practiced or lived.

Philosophy textbook author Ramon B. Agapay, also a former editor in-chief of Vision
Magazine of the University of Santo Tomas, College of Architecture had a set of criteria

Enumerated to serve as a practical guide in choosing values:

Preference for long-term over temporary things of value.
Preference for things of value favored by many.
3. Preference for essential over optional things of value.

4. Preference for things of value that give greater satisfaction.

Lesson 2: CYBERCULTURE

The internet is a system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard
internet protocol. This virtual space called cyberspace in the internet hasgenerated a
new and different environment apart from the physical world so that a new culture also
has emerged called cyberculture which prevails in the internet.

In 2010, the United Nations telecommunication agency reported that the number of
internet users worldwide has doubted in the past 5 years and will surpass the 2 billion
mark in 2010, with the majority of 226 million new users this year coming from
developing countries.

In March 29, 1994, the Philippine Network Foundation, a consortium of private and
public institutions, obtained the country’s first public permanent connection to the
internet.” Since then, the percentage of internet users in the Philippines has reached
million as reported by the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations
agency tor information and communication technology. The 25 percent translates to
roughly 24 million. Inside Network, a provider of news and research market data on
Facebook, reported that during February 2010, the number of Facebook users in the
Philippines exceeded 10 million.7

Given the ever increasing time spent on the internet by the growing number or netizens
(internet users) worldwide, it is undeniable and inevitable that an essentially new kind
of culture to develop. Cyberculture has evolved its own norms or expectations on the
appropriate use of the internet also called netiquette. To mention some online behavior
that netiquette disapproves of are:

Spamming. The sending of unsolicited or unsubscribed commercial email especially to

anonymous recipients.
Flooding. It consists of successive repetition of messages or filling an entire message
area with gibberish, in order to impede others from communicating.
In radio communications this activity would be considered as jamming.

Shouting. The use of all-caps or capital letters in all typed words indicates shouting and
may be interpreted as angry or impolite.
Flaming. An activity whereby an online user expresses a strongly held opinion without
holding back any emotion and provokes others to do the same in an exchange which
often lead to insults and hating.
Lesson 3: CHARACTERISTICS AND FUNCTIONS OF CULTURE

Culture possesses certain characteristics that describe its nature. These aspects of
culture are enumerated as follows:

Learnable. Culture is cumulatively learned. It is neither biologically inherited nor

instinctive, but is acquired through training, instruction, observation, and imitation.
Transmittable. Culture influences others attitudes, habits, and behavior through
language, social contacts, and interactions. Culture is like a virus that infects upon
contact and spreads in the population.
Universal. Culture is shared in common by members of a society which prescribes
expectations on everybody. It does not operate by itself but operates through
consensus and convention.
Dynamic. Culture changes over time as people respond to challenges and adapt to
situations and environments. It is this very characteristic that makes culture adaptive
and becomes man’s most effective strategy for survival.
Diverse. Culture varies among groups of people and places. This characteristic of
culture gives rise to different cultural identities or ethnic groups. Thus there is no
universal standard for judging cultures.
Culture functions in the following ways and from which we can realize the important
role of culture as well:

Adaptation. Culture makes it possible for man to adapt and integrate himself to his
environment by being creative and resourceful in coming up with ways and means of
survival.
Behavioral. Culture establishes patterns of acceptable social behavior Se etiquette,
protocols, good manners and right conduct, roles and duties, established by folkways,
mores, and laws.
Communication. Culture conveys and facilitates meanings through verbal and non-
verbal communication, written and non-written language, forms expression, and
symbolisms. S of
Material. Culture produces man-made things such as clothing, tools, instruments,
machines, equipment, structures, etc. made possible by technological know how.
Utilitarian. Culture contributes to overall human satisfaction as we develop ways to
make life more enjoyable, comfortable, easier, and rewarding such as recreational
activities, luxury and leisure, entertainment and arts, etc.
Lesson 4: CULTURAL VARIATION AND PERCEPTION

Cultures vary not because of comparative superiority of one over the other. It is said
that necessity is the mother of all inventions. It just so happens that people who need
more will be pushed more by their inner drives to attain something. These drives
consist of biological and psychological drives such as cravings, wealth, power,
greatness, success, etc. Differences in climate, geography, and history also determine
variation of culture because of the different exposures and experiences that man is
compelled to adapt.

In the past especially in the ancient times, Asia was way far more advanced compared
to the West. It is in Asia where civilization “emerge:” Asian civilizations contributed
much of the important inventions in the ancient times such as the wheel, paper,
printing, the first system of writing; the first literary works; the first governments and
laws, etc. Asia is the origin of major religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam. Asia is also the largest continent and richest in natural resource
which is not surprising why Westerners came to colonize Asia.

Today, the West has become the standard benchmark for almost everything such
product quality standards, education, professional practice, etc. The West had
contributed numerous inventions born out of the industrial revolution, space age
technology, and the digital information age which generates the impression that the
West is now more advanced than Asia and even generates the impression that
Westerners are better than Asians.

Cultural minorities living in the far flung interior and mountainous regions that live a
rudimentary life with no electricity, without the luxury and comforts in life, are
oftentimes misconstrued as primitive or backward far from the reach of civilization.
People with different lifestyles have different needs and lifestyle depends on the kind of
environment that a person lives in and the occupation that he has.

There are three viewpoints by which we perceive cultural variations:

Cultural Relativism. 1his views culture as relative; meaning culture only has meaning
when taken into context.
When taken out of context, it becomes meaningless and whatever interpretation or
meaning is derived out of context is incorrect meaning, It is wrong to compare another
culture from one’s own standpoint and it is wrong to presume and apply ones own
curural meanings with that of another. This also means that there is no universal
standard for judging cultures,

Ethnocentrism. The perception and assumption through comparison that one’s own
culture is far more advanced or superior to another.
A person with ethnocentric view regards one’s own culture as a benchmark standard for
all other cultures. Extreme ethnocentrism results in racism or discriminatory tendencies
towards that which is regarded as inferior. On the other hand, ethnocentrism develops
a sense of cultural pride and nationalism.
Examples: 2.1. Filipinos are world class workers, artists, and athletes.

2.2. Filipinos’ strong sense of regionalism makes them feel they have qualities better
than other provincial groups.

Xenocentrism. The perception that one’s own culture is comparatively inferior to others.
A person with xenocentric view regards other cultures as better such as that of foreign
culture. Preferences and admiration are inclined towards products, ideas, and styles of
other cultural groups.

Examples: 3.1. Japanese and American technologies are of excellent quality.

3.2. French perfumes are first-rate.

3.3. Russian vodka is the best in the world.

Lesson 5: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON CULTURE

Theoretical orientation depends on which aspects of cultural life or material interest is

the focus of examination. Below are some of the major theoretical perspectives on
culture:

Examples

Weakness
Proponents

Unilineal Evolutionism
New cultural forms emerge from older ones that pass through similar stages or degrees
of development

1.1. Nimism to polytheism to monotheism.

1.2. Savagery to barbarism to civilization.

1.3. Band to tribe to chiefdom to state.

It does not satisfactorily account for cultural variation, regression, and extinction. It
holds a racist and ethnocentric view with Western culture as comparative basis.

Edward Tylor, Lewis Henry Morgan

The statement of American pioneering anthropologist Lewis H. Morgan (1818-1881) is

an example of an ethnocentric view of unilineal evolutionism:
The Aryan family represents the central stream of human progress, because it produced
the highest type of mankind, and because it has proved its intrinsic superiority by
gradually assuming the control of the earth.

Examples

Weakness

Proponents

Cultural Diffusionism
Cultures originated from one or several culture centers which spreads and results in
borrowing of some elements of the introduced culture.

2.1. Westernization in former Asian colonies.

2.2. Spread of Bhuddism from India to East Asia

2.3. Some Japanese written characters borrowed from Chinese

It does not explain why a culture accepts, rejects, or modifies a trait that its neighbor
has, nor explains at first why a trait developed in the culture center. It also ignores
man’s adaptation to his local environment and his inventiveness.
Friedrich Ratzel, Leo Frobenius, Fritz Graebner, William Schmidt, William Perry, William
Halse Rivers, Grafton Elliot Smith.

Four types of cultural diffusion can be noted:

Expansion. Cultural elements which remain at original source spread outward spanning
regions which are adopted by people thereto.
Relocation. Cultural elements leave its origin and brought to places by migrating people.
Hierarchical. Cultural elements from higher degree of cultural achievement disperse and
impose to that which has lower.
Contagious. Cultural elements are transmitted from person to person through exposure
and influence and transmitted thereon to another within a population group.
German anthropologist, Leo Frobenius (1873-1938), introduced the concept of
“Kulturkreise” or culture centers which was influenced by his mentor-professor Friedrich
Ratzels anthropogeography. The culture circles refer to geographical areas of similarly
found cultural elements or traits in an attempt to trace diffusion patterns.

Examples

Weakness

Proponents

2. Historical Particularism
Each group of people has their own unique culture which developed independently and
influenced by local history, geography, and environment. Culture defines people rather
than race.

3.3. Supertitious beliefs developed base on encountered good and bad experiences.

3.2. Ivatan people of Batanes live in stone houses built to withstand typhoon.

3.3. Rizal observed the developed culture of indolence of Filipinos under the Spanish
period and attributed it to the hot tropical climate of the Philippines and unfair labor
practices among other causes.

It does not eek to formulate useful generalizations or universal theories as it

primarily sought to reconstruct individual histories or origins of suspected cultures

Franz Boas, Alfred Kroeber, Edward Sapir, Melville Herskovits, Robert Lowie, Margaret
Mead

German anthropologist Franz Boas (1858-1942), principal proponent of Historical

Particularism pointed out:

..the study of the present surroundings is insufficient: the history oe the people, the
influence of the regions through which it has passed on its migrations, and the people
with whom it came into contact, must be considered.

Examples
Weakness

Proponents

Anthropological Functionalism
Cultural elements and practices are interrelated and interdependent as a complex whole
which functions to meet the requirements of humans and persist because they serve a
purpose

4.1. Religion functions as a cohesive force in a group.

4.2. Laws regulate human behavior to promote common good.

4.3. Fixed marriages strengthen the position of a family by securing alliances,

wealth, or power.

It does not explain why certain specific cultural patterns arise to fulfill a need,
considering that it could also be fulfilled by alternative ways.

Bronislaw Malinowski, Arthur Reginald Radcliffe-Brown, Edward Evan Evans- Pritchard.

According to Polish anthropologist Branislaw Malinowski (1884-1942), leading

proponent of functionalism, there are three fundamental and universal needs of man
which are fulfilled by cultural institutions.

1. Primary Needs. These refer to biological needs such as nourishment and

procreation.
 2. Instrumental Needs. These refer to those institutions such as educational,
political, economic, etc. that provide the ways and means of securing primary
needs.

3. Integrative Needs. These refer to activities and practices that allow and enable
individuals to collectively cohere such as religion, magic, rituals, play, etc.

Malinowski gives the following basic needs with the corresponding cultural responses

Basic Needs

Cultural Responses

Metabolism

Commissariat

Reproduction

Kinship

Bodily Comforts

Shelter

Safety
Protection

Movement

Activities

Growth

Training

Health

Hygiene

Examples

Weakness

Proponents
5.Anthropological Structuralism

Cultural practices and phenomena can be analyzed via a system of signs between the
signifier and signified expressed in binary oppositions by which humans organize and
structure their experiences.

Rules or patterns of relationship between elements or terms instead of the independent

meaning of an element or term are the point of analysis

Subject-object, sender-receiver, good-evil, opponent-alley, right-left.

It does not account for human individuality and dynamic aspects of culture

ClaudeLevi-Straus, Ferdinand de Saussaure, Roman Jakobson, Marcel Mauss,

Jaquesderrida, Michel Foucault

French anthropologist Claude Lévi- Strauss (1908-2009) was the first to apply Ferdinand
de Saussure’s (1857-1913) structural approach in linguistics to anthropology. In the
analysis of the elementary unit of kinship for instance, Lévi-Strauss points out:

… the relation between maternal uncle and nephew is to the relation between brother
and sister as the relation between father and son is to that between husband and wife.
Thus if we know one pair of relations then it is always possible to infer the other.

Examples

Weakness
Proponents

6.Cultural Materialism

The level of technological advancement, availability of resources, economic value of

material things, and utilitarian benefits of a thing determine or influence culture.

6.1. Cows are considered sacred by Hindus because of valuable economic usefulness
especially in India’s subsistence economy

6.2. Pork is prohibited in the Muslim diet because of detrimental economic results from
raising pig especially in the subsistence economic lives of dessert nomads in the Arabian
Peninsula.

6.3.Many nations are drawn into wars because of economic interests.

Ignores social, political, and religious values.

Marvin Harris, Julian Steward, Leslie white, R. Brian Ferguson, Martin F. Murphy,
Maxine L. Margolis, Allen Johnson.

American anthropologist, Dr. Marvin Harris (1927-2001) presents a cultural materialist

paradigm built on three levels:

Infrastructure. The technological and behavioral ways by which human adapt to their
environment and produce their survival requirements.
1.1. Modes of Production. It consists of ways and means of satisfying the
requirements of human subsistence.

1.2. Modes of Reproduction. It consists of ways and means or controlling and

managing population size.

2. Structure. The patterns of social relationships and organize living in relation to the
political and domestic economy.

2.1. Political Economy. It consists of groups and organizations that perform the
functions of regulating the modes of production and reproduction within the socio-
cultural system.

2.2. Domestic Economy. It consists of groups and organizations that perform the
functions of regulating the modes of production and reproduction within the socio-
cultural subsystem.

3. Superstructure. The patterned ways by which people engage in behavioral and

mental activities.

3.1. Behavioral. It consists of ways people direct their actions and engage in
recreational activities.

3.2. Mental. It consists of ways people think, conceptualize, analyze, interpret, and
evaluate things.
Lesson 6: PERSONALITY

Concept of Personality

Confucius says: “By nature men are nearly alike, by practicability they get to be wide
apart” Men are by nature are alike because, at the basic level, human behavior is
motivated by a desire to satisfy certain needs. But we also hear the saying that “no two
persons are born exactly alike”. We may to some extent have similarities or
commonalities but not in the absolute sense. This individuality or “self” may be referred
to as personality whose etymology comes from the Latin word persona (mask).

Personality is the configuration of the total characteristic traits (mental, emotional and
behavioral) describing the individual self through patterns of thinking. Feeling, and
acting. The following are what constitutes personality:

Character. The term comes from the Greek word charakter (a.a.t.) meaning something
engraved or stamped and an exact representation. This pertains to. The mental traits of
a person such as intelligence, internalized ideas, values, and belief, line of thinking,
mental state and perception, and thoughts and motives
Temperament. The hereditary aspects of personality which are emotional tendencies
such as sensitivity, moods, irritability, distractibility, and tolerance level.
Behavior. It refers to all ways of voluntary or involuntary actions, reactions or response,
adjusting or coping to different situations.
Personality is not just inherited. It is a combination as they say of nature and nurture
resulting to what we call personality. There are two primary factors that contribute to
the personality development of a person:

1. Biological factors (Nature). These refer to heredity traits that have been passed
on genetically by parents and ancestors which include potentials, limitations, and
defects. These genetic codes are like computer programs that are executed by
the person as circumstances require.
 2. Social factors (Nurture). These refer to social factors which include cultural and
social factors as well because social factors are influenced by culture while
culture is influenced by the environment. All the three are interwoven and cannot
be separated.

As to which of the two has greater influence to personality, both primary factors would
almost equally play its share of role. Personality would be like a car. Its potential
performance on the road depends on its built specifications as incorporated by the
manufacturer. Its performance on the road would also depend on the driving skills
developed by the person behind the steering wheel in order to maximize the
performance of the vehicle as it was meant to perform when it was built. But again,
there is the road condition to consider, and those traffic rules and regulations that the
driver is expected to follow or may otherwise face sanctions. Personality is really
dependent on the interplay of a lot of involved factors.

Lesson 7: CULTURAL DETERMINISM ON PERSONALITY

Men live together in groups to depend on each other to obtain their needs while group
expectations press on them certain types of behaviors. Different cultures have
developed different ways of satisfying the needs of men which result in different
patterns of life.
Each culture is configured in a unique way that shapes personality. American cut
anthropologist, Margaret Mead (1901-1978), a pioneer in the cross-cultural study
personality, found in her researches that many differences between cultures are rooted
the way genders were distinguished and treated which impacts on the sexual
orientation and behavior of people known as cultural conditioning.

American cultural anthropologist, Ruth Benedict (1887-1948) pointed out that culture is
“personality writ large;” that is, individual personalities of the members of a society are
tiny replicas of their overall culture, while their culture is the summation of their
personalities.

Environmental differences account for cultural differences which in-turn account for
personality differences. The anthropological perspective on the relationship of culture
and personality was put forward by German anthropologist, Franz Boas (1858-1942)
leading cultural determinism or culture is what determines personality. Cultural
determinants are two-folds:

1. Internalization. The upholding of ideals, beliefs, morals, and values that influence
thinking and guide behavior which are both central to the constitution and
manifestation of personality.

2. Institutionalization. Social institutions mould and imbibe in the individual the

cultural pattern to follow, much like propaganda or a computer programs set of
instructions.

In view of cultural determinism, Dutch social psychologist Dr. Geert Hofstedes six- year
extensive research work led to the development of the Cultural Dimensions Theory. The
research revealed that certain dimensions of national cultures influence behavior
ofsocieties and organizations; a behavior that is a manifest of personality.Hofstede’s
cultural dimensions are based on the following

1. Power Distance. The extent to which the less powerful members of institutions
and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed
unequally. The Philippines scored 94 in Power Distance Index (PDI).
Higher PDI score in Power Distance Index indicates inequality, centralization, and
subordination within a hierarchical society. Lower PDI score indicate emphasis on
equality and opportunity.

2. Individualism-Collectivism. The degree of interdependence a society maintains

among its members. The Philippines scored 32 in Individualism (IDV).

Higher IDV score indicates that individuality and individual rights are paramount within
the society. Lower IDV scores typify collectivist societies with close ties and loyalty to
extended families and groups.

3. Masculinity-Femininity. The distribution of roles between the genders. The

Philippines scored 64 in Masculinity (MAS).

Higher MAS score indicates that society is driven by masculine gender culture of
competitiveness and aggressiveness. Lower MAS score indicate society is driven by
feminine gender culture of modesty and caring.

4. Uncertainty Avoidance. The extent to which the members of a culture feel

threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations.” The Philippines scored 44 on
Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI).

Higher UAI score indicates the country has a low tolerance for uncertainty and
ambiguity compensated by a rule-oriented society. Lower UAI score indicates more
tolerance for a variety of opinions.

5. Long-Term Orientation. The extent to which a society shows a pragmatic future-

oriented perspective rather than a conventional historical short-term point of
view. The Philippines scored 19 in Long-Term Orientation (LTO).
Higher LTO score indicates values orientation towards future-oriented and long-term
goals. Lower LTO score indicates values orientation of strong attachment to tradition
and short of sight of goals.