The Impacts and Influences of Western Thoughts to Filipinos

Western Thoughts has been a persistent and constant influence across the world in the last few
centuries. Some great thinkers and philosophers assume that Westernization is the equivalent
of modernization, a way of thought that not everyone agrees on. There are some cultures that
despite the great influence of the west, they still managed to preserve their own and not
persuaded. Although if this topic will only be focused on the Filipino Culture, there is no doubt
in saying that we are indeed one of those who are following the footsteps of the west.

There has been an ongoing debate on the make-up of Philippine culture, because this will
generally determine whether Philippine Psychology is to be placed under the area of either
Asian psychology or Western psychology. Obviously, Filipinos culture has been greatly
influenced by the west: our education, music, show business, lifestyle, fashion and even on
infrastructures.

Filipino Thoughts
Filipino historical experience gives birth to Filipino philosophy. The Filipinos towards the last
decade of the nineteenth century began to absorb the Enlightenment ideas that came from the
West. These ideas helped trigger the Philippine Revolution against many colonizers and
molded leaders who are very known because of their deeds during the revolution.

The early Filipino thinkers were the reformists like Jose Rizal, revolutionists like Andres
Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto and the Political Thinkers like Manuel Quezon and Jose Laurel,
they were all Enlightenment thinkers. They believed in the human capability to solve human
problems. Human potentialities can be realized to the full except that in certain instances, there
are hindrances.

The Age of Enlightenment stresses the dominance of reason; contractual agreements;

inevitability of progress; deistic, humanistic, or mechanistic religious persuasions; reliance on
human effort to solve human problems; human rights; education as an instrument to progress;
and the like. It was also the period of scientific pursuits and progress and the period of
economic theorizing.

Filipino Psychology
Filipino Psychology is anchored on Filipino thought and experience as understood from a
Filipino perspective. The fact that we have been influenced by many nations and have been
occupied for a long time by Spain and then the Americans by a few decades really does makes
sense of why we have a very broad and versatile ways on dealing with things. The Japanese
came and then the Americans again. Filipinos like to be influenced and perhaps a little too
much. The downside of this is that we sometimes take pride on the fact that we can copy other
cultures and perhaps make their practices even better than the original.

Filipinos have been marked as great imitators, especially on the music industry. Some take this
as a compliment but we can't just help but feel offended by this.

Another influence brought by the west to the Filipinos is our natural attraction towards 'white'
people. There are millions of Filipina girls who live in the West like America, Australia, Canada
and so on. These Filipino Western girls prefer to date white men only. Most of them do not like
to date Filipino men who live in the West. As a result, millions of Filipino girls back home saw
these beautiful white men with Filipino girls as perfect matches. That’s one of the reasons
Filipina girls dream to get married with such a beautiful white guy.

Filipino women dating white men are considered as high status in this country. As you know,
most Filipino people look dark-yellow so they want to marry a white man for brighter future
for themselves and their children.

Filipino Philosophy
Philosophy could be seen in different ways. On the one hand, it is an educational search typical
of any western philosophy. On the other hand, it is purely a quest for wisdom which is
characteristically eastern. If given the perspective that philosophy is a pursuit for wisdom in
general, Filipino philosophy is indeed a philosophy.

In the Philippines, philosophy is understood in its popular level depending on the background
of the individual. Sometimes the term even has a negative connotation. For example, when you
say, "ka-pilosopo sa imo…” as interpreted in its vernacular context, it means the exact opposite
of its original sense. It is sad that for us Filipinos the word for wisdom connotes “foolishness”

The Filipino philosophies are basically Western in orientation. Such a historical path is brought
about necessarily by the people’s colonial experience such as Christian religion, English
language and Western philosophical ideas and carried over to contemporary times.
The Impacts and Influences of Western Thoughts to:

Filipino Thoughts
Filipino Psychology
Filipino Philosophy

Submitted by:
Jethro Aranas, BSDC 3A

Submitted to:
Atty. Gerardo C. Erebaren, Ed.D.