1 Filipino Values: Are they considered virtues by Aristotle?

Filipino Values: Are they

considered virtues by
Aristotle?
by: JEFFERSON S. BACKONG

Introduction
Values may be defined as those standards of which a group or society judges the desirability and
importance of persons, ideas, actions and goals. Values are shared convictions or beliefs in what are
considered contributory to the welfare of the group.1
On the other hand, Philippine Values is defined by the way people live their life as an influence of
one’s culture. The Philippines, being an archipelago, did not become a hindrance towards having a single
values system throughout the country and in whatever part of the country you may be, one will find the same
hospitality that the Filipinos are known for as well as many other values that have originated from our
forefathers.2
But according to Vitaliano Gorospe, if we are to discover our traditional values and make sure that
they contribute to the "just and humane society" and "total human liberation and development" of which our
Philippine Constitution speaks, we must ask some basic questions.
1) What is the philosophical basis of Filipino values?
2) What is distinctive about the Filipino value system?
A brief introduction to the philosophy of human values is necessary for an understanding of Filipino
values and values education. A Filipino experiences family closeness and solidarity (pagpapahalaga sa
pamilya), politeness (use of po or ho), hospitality(tuloy po kayo),gratitude(utang na loob) from "within", that
is, subjectively and emotionally, unlike a non-Filipino observer, social scientist, or psychologist who studies
Filipino values objectively from "without" or "from a distance". Such Filipino values as social acceptance
(pakikisama, amorpropio, economic security, pagmamay-ari),and trust in God (paniniwala sa Diyos,
bathala or Maykapal) find their philosophical basis in man's dynamic openness toward nature and the world
(e.g., the value of hanap-buhay ng magsasaka), one's fellowmen (the values of paggalang, hiya, katarungan,
pag-ibig), and God (the values of pananampalataya, pananalangin, kabanalan).3
Values are both subjective and objective. They involve a subject or person who values (e.g., a young
girl) and an object or value to be realized (e.g.,pagkamahinhin). There is an objective difference between
value and disvalue, pleasure and pain, life and death, poverty and affluence, heroism and cowardice, truth
and error, right and wrong, holiness and sinfulness. The difference is not only in the mind or a matter of
personal taste or preference. Values are not objective in the sense that they are found in some static heaven:
they are relational and embodied in person-value-types (ideal moral persons).4
What are Filipino values? What is distinctly Filipino in our value system? The Filipino value system
arises from our culture or way of life, our distinctive way of becoming human in this particular place and
time. We speak of Filipino values in a fourfold sense.5
First, although mankind shares universal human values, it is obvious that certain values take on for us
a distinctively Filipino flavor. The Greek ideal of moderation ormedenagan, the Roman in medio stat virtus,
the Confucian and Buddhist "doctrine of the Middle", find their Filipino equivalent in hindilabis,
hindikulang, katamtaman lamang.
Secondly, when we speak of Filipino values, we do not mean that elements of these Filipino values
are absent in the value systems of other peoples and cultures. All people eat, talk and sing, but they eat
different foods, speak various languages and sing different songs. Thus, we easily recognize Filipino,
American, Chinese, Japanese or any other foreign food, language or music. The difference lies in the way
these elements are ranked, combined or emphasized so that they take on a distinctively Filipino slant or cast.
For instance, in China, honesty and hard work may rank highest; Chinese and Japanese cultures give great
value to politeness and beauty; American culture to promptness and efficiency; and Filipino culture to trust
in God and family centeredness. In this sense of value-ranking and priority of values, we can speak of
dominant Filipino values.
1
http://ezinearticles.com/?Philippine---Filipino-Values&id=3101614
2
en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Philippine_Core_Values 
3
Vitaliano R. Gorospe, S.J., Understanding the Filipino Values System, Ateneo de Manila
(www.crvp.org/book/Series03/III-7/chapter_vi.htm)
4
Vitaliano R. Gorospe, S.J., Understanding the Filipino Values System, Ateneo de Manila
(www.crvp.org/book/Series03/III-7/chapter_vi.htm)
5
Ibid
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2 Filipino Values: Are they considered virtues by Aristotle?

Thirdly, universal human values in a Filipino context (historical, cultural, socio-economic, political,
moral and religious) take on a distinctive set of Filipino meanings and motivations. This is true not only of
the aims and goals, beliefs, convictions, and social principles of the traditional value system of the lowland
rural family but also of what Fr. Horacio de la Costa, S.J. calls the Filipino "nationalistic" tradition
(pagsasarili, pagkakaisa, pakikisama, pakikipagkapwa-tao, andpagkabayani).
A Filipino value or disvalue does not exist alone, in isolation or in a vacuum. Filipino values
like bahalana, utang na loob, hiya, pakikisama, pakiusap are clustered around core values like social
acceptance, economic security, social mobility, and are always found in a definite context or set of
circumstances. Both positive values and negative disvalues together form a characteristic constellation in
school (aralan at dasalan [studying and praying], kuwentuhan at laruan [storytelling and game], inggitan at
tsismisan [envying and gossiping]), which differs from the configuration found in government offices
(pagkakaisa [unity] ,pagkabayani [heroism], intriga [intrigue], palakasan [show of
power], sipsipan [bribery], palusot), in business firms (palabra de honor [word of
honor],delicadeza [finesse], "commission", "kickback", padulas [grease money], lagay [bribe]), or in
barangays or barrios (paggalang [honoring], pagdadamayan [comforting], bayanihan 
[cooperation], bahalana [come what may], utangnaloob [gratefulness], hiya [shame], pakiusap[appear],
palakasan [show of power]). To change a framework of values, it may be necessary to change the
constellation and context of those negative values that hinder Filipino and Christian development.
Fourthly, we can speak of Filipino values in the sense that the historical consciousness of values has
evolved among our people. The Filipino concept of justice has evolved from inequality to equality, and to
human dignity; from the tribe, to the family, and to the nation. Filipino consciousness of these different
values varies at different periods of our history. It is only in the last two decades that the Filipino people have
become more conscious of overpopulation and family planning, environmental pollution (Kawasaki sintering
plant) and wildlife conservation (Calauit Island), and the violation of human rights (Martial Law), active
non-violence and People Power (1986 non-violent Revolution).

Issues
Time and again in the past, we have been conquered and lived under different foreign rule. But these
did not deter us from fighting for our freedom and liberation and throughout all those years, our forefathers
have maintained and continuously practice the values that they have learned from their parents and
grandparents, values that were handed down from generation to generation. And even with the introduction
of new set of values from the people who have overpowered us for a time, our Filipino core values remained
intact and solid.
With the onset of technology and modernity, and the different temptations swarming around us, many
of these values have been put to the test. Some individual may have survived this test and continue to live on
with pride and dignity; others were sucked into that dark abyss of oblivion and nothingness making them
monsters and criminals indifferent towards the needs of others, completely losing their perspective in life and
the values that have been so important to them in the past.
But why do some people forget their values? Why some individual do chose to be on the wrong side
of the law? Is it because the values that they were taught are not the right values or is it because the values
that they have learned has the greater chance of being misuse or misinterpreted?
According to Gorospe, Filipino values are ambivalent in the sense that they are a potential for good
or evil, a help or hindrance to personal and national development, depending on how they are understood,
practiced or lived.6
It is to be understood then that a positive value can be turned into a negative one when it is being
misuse or it is being used to an extreme point devaluing the value itself. A positive value can become
negative when it becomes a hindrance not only to the personal development of an individual but also to the
progress of a community or the nation itself.
What are the different Filipino values then that are still being practiced in this present, modern world
of ours? If Aristotle is living in our present world today, will he consider these different values as virtues and
take them as his own?

6
Vitaliano R. Gorospe, S.J., Understanding the Filipino Values System, Ateneo de Manila
(www.crvp.org/book/Series03/III-7/chapter_vi.htm)

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3 Filipino Values: Are they considered virtues by Aristotle?

Let us then take a look at the different values that we, as Filipinos have been practicing for centuries
now and assess if they can be considered by Aristotle as virtues.
The Filipino Values
Filipinos practice and believes in many values many which are mentioned above in the introduction.
But one of the most distinct values that a Filipino practices even when they are in foreign land is the values
of hospitality and “pakikisama” or social acceptance.
Hospitality is a form of generosity and this is shown by inviting friends and visitors to come to their
home so they could offer them some comfort like food and bedding for the night most especially to those
who had traveled a long way. Other Filipinos on the other hand saved their best kitchen utensils, beddings,
curtains and even their fattest pigs and chickens for friends and visitors. In many far flung barrios, a host will
even butcher a cow or a carabao to honor the arrival of guests. In many parts of the Cordillera province,
some will give their visitors tokens for their visit or even remembrance such as special rice, a homemade
bolo, the traditional G-string, native skirt or even beads that cost thousands of pesos. In some places,
hospitality to visitors are shown as one by all the community members by means of organizing events such
as the performance of dances and songs that are native to a certain community.
Filipinos have always been well-known for their value of generosity; their hospitality even towards
strangers. This value of hospitality had been practiced by the Filipinos since time immemorial and has been
handed down from generation to generation. Hospitality is a consensual notion that each and every member
of a community practice and believe in. And this practice is a habitual practice, a practice that time and
again, Filipinos will do in order to show their spirit of camaraderie, generosity and unity.
“Pakikisama” or social acceptance is one of the most deeply-rooted values that Filipinos practice.
This may be attributed to the fact that for over hundreds of year, our nation has been under the rule of
different foreign countries and in order for the Filipino people to be socially accepted and not be under the
scrutiny of the foreign leaders, they tend to go with the flow of what is socially acceptable. “Pakikisama” is
also rooted in the belief that in order to avoid trouble and maintain the peace and harmony in any given
situation, one must agree with one another even if such one is opposed to the idea or situation. This value can
also be traced to the Filipino’s basic sense of justice and fairness and concern for other’s well-being.7
“Pakikisama” is a positive value because it encourages people to unite with one another in order to propel
the growth of each individual and help in the development of the community or the nation itself. On the other
hand, “pakikisama” can be very dangerous when it is used for some other things like “pakikisama sa
kabuktutan” by means of giving a bribe to a government official in order to fast-forward the process of some
documents or giving some money to policemen in order not to be ticketed for certain traffic violations.
Aristotle on Virtues
Aristotle considers an action or a quality a virtue if it possesses the following characteristics that he
laid down in his book Nicomachean Ethics.
The question now comes: Will Aristotle consider the Filipino value of hospitality and the
“pakikisama” as virtues if he is living among us right now in our present world?
Let us assess. First and foremost, for Aristotle an action is a virtue if it is doing good (good in action).
For an action to be doing good, it must be a practice or activity and must be grounded in common beliefs or
consensus. Let’s take the Filipino value of hospitality. Is it a practice that is grounded in common belief or
consensus? Yes it is. The Filipino value of hospitality is grounded in the common belief of generosity and
camaraderie. This value is grounded in the common belief that in order for us to led a happy and virtuous
life, one that is pleasing to the eyes of the Lord, we must learn to share our blessings and treat our friends,
neighbors and even strangers well so that when judgment day comes, we will be able to enter the kingdom of
God. Besides, Filipinos are naturally warm and kind-hearted that is why it is so easy for us to become so
generous and hospitable, sometimes to a fault.
What about the “pakikisama”? Is this practice grounded in some common belief or consensus? Yes it
is. As mentioned above, “pakikisama” is grounded on the common belief that in order to be socially
accepted in any given community, you need to get along with the others because if you don’t people will
tend to become unfriendly or hostile towards and you will be branded as “walang pakikisama”.
Hospitality and “pakikisama” are Filipino values that are not quantifiable. They cannot be measure in
diameter or kilometer. These Filipino values are relational because they are embodied in person-value types.
These values are interpersonal and interactive because it is being practice in order to foster the harmonious
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relationship between one person and another. Hospitality and “pakikisama” are complete values because it
both put every single person who believes in it in the same page. These values will not endure for a long time
if it contradicts the common ground of the people. These Filipino values are complete in the sense that when
a Filipino host show hospitality or when a person agrees to something in order not to fuel bad arguments and
as a sign of “pakikisama”, a fellow Filipino understands that these are being done or practiced because it is
the common consensus of the community.
Hospitality and “pakikisama” are both self-sufficient because it both fulfills the common need of the
Filipino people: the need to show goodness and kind-heartedness to one another, the need to be generous to
each other because it leads the way to a happy and healthy life (being a Christian nation), the need to be
united in order to foster the growth of the community. These needs are not exclusive with the Filipino people
because each country and its people have the same need. But these needs, for the Filipino people, who are
constantly embroiled in their battles against poverty and crime, being a developing nation is much more
extensive, much more deeply rooted in the need to rise above and show and prove to the world that Filipinos
are not just people who depends on other countries for its economic survival but are also self-sufficient
people; people who can take care of themselves and lead their nation into a state of self-sufficiency.
Both the values of Filipino hospitality and “pakikisama” involve the use of rationality and human
questioning. How can this be so? When a Filipino hosts, entertains a guest into his house, it is but human
rationality to serve his guest with good food and offer him comfortable beddings for the night. As a human
and rational being, would you allow your guest to eat food that is not in accordance with his system or that is
not good for his health? Of course not! If you have a guest who belongs to another religious sect and does
not eat certain types of food, will you serve him that forbidden food? Of course not! It is just a matter of
rational reasoning and a question of respect. “Pakikisama” on the other hand, more often than not involves
the question of rationality. Is it rational to go along with the flow in order to avoid trouble? Is it just to agree
with the majority in order to foster growth and development?
Hospitality and “pakikisama” involves the use of pain and pleasure. If the use of pain and pleasure is
right, I think it depends on the extremity or rationality of how one practices these values. Hospitality
involves the use of pain and pleasure: pain in the form of having to spend your hard-earned money for guests
and the pleasure at seeing that your guests are satisfied and comfortable. “Pakikisama” involves the use of
pain in the form of having to suppress your own feelings and opinions in order to get along with others and
pleasure in knowing that by swallowing your pride, you were able to help in some form of development or
maintain the peace and harmony in any given situation.
Are the values of hospitality and “pakikisama” involved external grounds? It does. The practice of
hospitality and “pakikisama” can be traced but to the old times where we are always subject to foreign rule.
It is because of these different foreign rules that Filipino people learned to get along with one another in
order to foster peace and unity among the people. It is because of these foreign rules that Filipino people
learned to become generous with one another in order to show that even in times of hardships and trouble,
the Filipino people are still united.
Did the values of hospitality and “pakikisama” produce a character in the persona of the Filipino
people? It did produce a character: the character of flexibility, adaptability and creativity. It is because of the
values of hospitality and “pakikisama” did the Filipino people learn to become flexible, creative and be able
to adapt to certain situations. Hospitality taught the Filipinos to be able to be creative and flexible in
addressing the needs and comfort of their guests. “Pakikisama” taught Filipinos the character of
adaptability, the ability to adapt in any given situation in order to go with the flow. It is because of these
characteristics that Filipinos are more preferred by foreign countries: in terms of jobs and services.
Hospitality and “pakikisama” are values that had been practiced for centuries by the Filipino people.
It has been practiced for years that it had become so habitual that it is very uncommon to hear of an
inhospitable or ungenerous Filipino, or a Filipino who doesn’t know how to get along with others.
Now the question arises: is there a downside to this value of hospitality? Is this being practiced by
some Filipinos to a fault? Is there any deficiency or excess in this value of the Filipino people? The answer is
YES. There is a deficiency and an excess in this value of hospitality.
As mentioned above, Filipinos are well-known for their hospitality that even when they are living in a
foreign land, they continue to practice it because it is what they believe in, and it is one of their values that
set them aside from other people. In what way does this practice of hospitality become an excess? As
mentioned above, some hosts give parting gifts to their visitors as a sign of their hospitality, gifts that cost a
lot of money. The value and practice of hospitality becomes an excess when even in hardships and economic
crises, people are still showing hospitality to a fault. Because it is known that Filipinos are well-known for
their hospitality, they go to the extreme of giving up their own comfort; their own food and bedrooms just to
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5 Filipino Values: Are they considered virtues by Aristotle?

ensure that their guests are comfortable and happy. And even if they are not financially capable to serve their
guests with good food or give them beautiful parting gifts, a Filipino will always find a way to do these
things even if it means he has to borrow money or sell some important personal belonging. Because of this,
the value of hospitality already becomes wastefulness or an extravagant. This extreme practice of hospitality
is attributed to another value that Filipinos believe in: the value of “hiya”.
Shame or “Hiya” is a very common Filipino value. It is said that Filipinos would go to great lengths
in order for one not to be ashamed. “Hiya” has a great influence on one’s behavior for one will do
everything, even if it is beyond his means just to save his reputation as well as the family. Filipinos feel
pressure to meet the status quo of the society when it comes to economic standing. One indication of this
might be a willingness to spend more than they can afford on a party rather than be shamed by their
economic circumstances.8 And it is for this reason, for this value of “hiya” that a Filipino host will go
beyond what he can afford in order to show his guest that he is a hospitable and generous host rather than be
branded as an inconsiderate one.
Does the value hospitality have a deficiency? Is this value lacking in something? I think it is. The
practice of hospitality can become an extreme practice by means of overdoing it and going beyond what one
can afford. On the other hand, it becomes lacking because when a host becomes over generous to his guests,
he becomes ungenerous to himself and his family. By ensuring that a guest had eaten a good food, or had a
beautiful parting gift even if it is beyond the capacity of the host, he deprived his family of their own food
and comfort. Whatever food that was given or whatever money that was spent for the guest was supposed to
be for the comfort of one’s own family. But since a Filipino host won’t risk being called as an inconsiderate
and ungenerous hosts, he will give whatever was allotted for his own family’s comfort. In the end, it is the
family that has to suffer for the consequences of being such a generous and hospitable host. In the end, the
generous host becomes parsimonious to his own family’s comfort.
On the other hand, “pakikisama” or social acceptance becomes a fault when it is done in
uncouthness. One downside to “pakikisama” is the tendency of it to be used in order to advance wrongdoings
or malicious activities. It is because of “pakikisama” that graft and corruption and the crime of bribery
abound nowadays. What is the deficiency of the Filipino value “pakikisama”? Its deficiency lies in the fact
that because of “pakikisama” one tends to be miserable or even angry. “Pakikisama” can turn to self-
loathing. Because we needed so much to be socially accepted, we needed so much to get along with others
that we tend to close our eyes to the bad things that is happening in our environment, in our community, in
our nation and in our life; and when this bad things reaches us and harm us, we tend to hate ourselves
because we did not have the courage and the strength to fight the evils of our time.
The Filipino values is always susceptible to discussion and deliberation and hospitality and
“pakikisama” for one are Filipino values that need to be revisited in order to address the growing concern
that these values are being practiced for the wrong reasons. Values, like people should always be discussed,
deliberated, rationalize in order to adapt it to the changing times.
Lastly, the practice of hospitality and “pakikisama” are both voluntary endeavors of the Filipino
people. No one forced these values into the lives of the people. Rather it was accepted and voluntarily
practiced because these are values that enrich and enhance the lives of the people if use for the right reasons.
Conclusion

In conclusion, we ask the question: are the Filipino values of hospitality and “pakikisama” good or
bad? Will Aristotle consider it as virtues and will he accept it as his own?

According to Gorospe and as mentioned above, the truth is that Filipino values are ambivalent in the
sense that they are potential for good or evil, a help or hindrance to personal and national development,
depending on how they are understood, practiced or lived. They can be used in a good or evil context,
e.g., pakikisama sa kabuktutan or sa kaunlaran. Filipino values have both positive and negative aspects
depending on the context in which they are found. In a social system or atmosphere of extreme insecurity,
the positive qualities of the Filipino take on negative and ugly appearances. For example, utang na loob can
lead to pakiusap, nepotism and "cronyism". Pagmamay-aring kapangyarihan (the possession of power) and
their abuse could lead to class distinction or the "malakas-mahina system". Hiya can

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become pakitangtao or gaya-gaya; machismo (tunay na lalake) is partly responsible for the

"querida system" and the doble kara morality.9

The Filipino values of hospitality and “pakikisama” possess, in my opinion, the twelve characteristics
of a virtue that Aristotle had laid down. Theoretically, seeing that it possess the most important elements of a
virtue, I opine that Aristotle would consider the Filipino values of hospitality and “pakikisama” as virtues
and accept and practice them as his own.

9
Vitaliano R. Gorospe, S.J., Understanding the Filipino Values System, Ateneo de Manila
(www.crvp.org/book/Series03/III-7/chapter_vi.htm)