NGEC 1 UNDERSTANDING THE SELF MODULE 7

Activity: Two sides of the same planet

AUGUSTINE CHRISTOPHER D. SAID

BSED ENGLISH 1B

WESTERN: EASTERNERS:

-Love marriages are common -Arranged marriages are

common
-People are not as traditional -People are conservative and
and conservative than those traditional.
people in the east. -Freedom may be restricted.
-Westerners are relatively freer - People may express their
than people in the east. emotions in a subtle way.
-People may express their -Easterners give more priority
emotions openly and directly to family and elders.
-Westerners give preference
to the individual

1.Is the Philippines really a collectivist society? Why? Give examples

and if true, How does this shape our idea of self?

- Yes, the Philippines is a collectivist society, they prefer to impose collectivism than
individualism because they all want to help and evolve each other. To illustrate that, a
one person in family who is a breadwinner in their home that has a stable life and job
and they receives sufficient salary every month, the first thing they’d do is to share their
money to their family for its own needs and wants. That’s how collectivist filipinos are.
Collectivism values our personal life, it teaches us to socialize and communicate with
others, it teaches us to make good relationships with others, and it teaches us to meet
social expectations and harmonies that are very important in collectivist culture as well
as in ourselves.
2.If you are to choose between individualistic and collectivist society,
which do you prefer and why?

- I’ll choose to live in a individualistic society because showing independence to oneself

is a must and very important to me, and also to other people there who preferred
individualism. I want to be self-reliant and stand on my own feet because I don’t want
everybody to think that I'm weak and dependent despite of hurdles. Obstacles, and bad
experiences I’ve encountered and dealt, I will still rise and be the main character of my
own story.