How would you describe

yourself?

I am…
I am not…
What is your deepest belief about life?
Who is your role model?
When you become successful who or
what do you attribute it to?
Do you prefer living alone or with others?
Filipino Philosophy is

•non-dualistic or Holistic
•It means that the body is one.
•Any part can assume the whole.
• Sarili points to the man’s being or personhood.
• Sarili means pagkatao.
• Self is not separate from personhood.
• It is the whole self.
• Sarili is a bigger umbrella which embraces loob and
katawan which is inseparable with soul and spirit.
The Filipino looks at himself as a self,
as one who feels and wills,
as who thinks and acts as a total whole
conscious of his freedom,
dignity and sensitive to the violation of
these.
•Worldview is a culture’s orientation toward
God, humanity, nature questions of
existence, the universe and cosmos, life,
moral and ethical reasoning, suffering,
death, and other philosophical issues that
influence how its members perceive their
world.
•Worldview is a way we interpret reality.
Faith and Religiosity
• Filipinos have deep faith in God.

Our innate religiosity enables us to comprehend and

genuinely accept reality in the context of God’s will and
plan.

Religious expressions is very tangible expressed everyday;

We relate to God like a human being –
thank, ask forgiveness, appease by pledges.

related to bahala na
which may be considered positively as a reservoir of
psychic
energy, a psychological prop on which we can lean during
hard times.
Weakness
• Passivity and Lack of Initiative

 Filipinos are generally passive and lacking in initiative.

 complacent and there rarely is a sense of urgency about
any problem.

 Too easily resigned to one’s fate. Filipinos are thus easily oppressed and
exploited.

 Success is considered a blessing from above, a result of good luck and faith.
Family
Filipinos possess a genuine and deep love for family.

•source of personal identity, emotional and material

support and
•one’s main commitment and responsibility

honor and respect given to parents and elders;

care given to the children;
the generosity towards kin in need,
and in great sacrifices one endures for the welfare of the
family.

sense of family results in a feeling of belongingness

and rootedness in a basic sense of security.
Weakness
• Extreme Family Centeredness
Excessive concern for the family creates an in-group to which
the Filipino is fiercely loyal to the detriment of concern for the
larger community or for the common good.
• the use of one’s office and power as a means of promoting the
interest of the family, factionalism, patronage and political dynasties,
and in the protection of erring family members.
Non-Dualism
• Filipinos do not like a partial, fragmented
view of life;
they like to see life as a whole.
Weakness
• Filipinos view the world in terms of personal relationships; no
separation between an objective task and emotional involvement.
• We tend to give personal interpretations to actions, i.e.,
“take things personally”.

• We tend to be uncomfortable with bureaucracy, with rules and

regulations and with standard procedures, all of which tend to be
impersonal.
 “Sakop”
• Sakop is the place where he says “TAYO”
• Tayo-tayo is where fellowship prevails.
• Sakop can be either one’s relatives,
fraternity members, barkada and the like.
• For indigenous Filipinos,
their concept of sakop is
tribe calling their members as “katribo”
Weakness
• Kanya-Kanya and Atin-Atin Syndrome

• Filipinos have a selfish, self-serving attitude that generates a feeling of envy and
competitiveness toward others, particularly one’s peers who seem to have gained
some status or prestige.

• The kanya-kanya syndrome results in the dampening of cooperative

and community spirit and in the trampling upon the rights of others.

• Regionalistic

• Discourages individualism
Kapwa
• Kapwa-tao = a fellow human being
Filipinos – open to others and feel one with
others regard others with dignity and respect
deal with them as fellow human beings.

Pakikipagkapwa-tao
Pakikipagkapwa-tao is a foundation
for unity as well the sense of social
justice.
Weakness
• Extreme Personalism
• Filipinos view the world in terms of personal relationships; no
separation between an objective task and emotional involvement.
• We tend to give personal interpretations to actions, i.e.,
“take things personally”.

Hiya – this controls to a large extent the behavior of the individual and most
likely, is generally dependent on what others will think, say, and do.
Because of hiya, a Filipino cannot say “NO” even if it is against his will to do
what is being requested.
Loob
• Loob or Kalooban
refers to one's inner self,
or, more specifically, to the internal dimension of a person's identity.
Its external counterpart is labas - the physical, outward appearance.

• Loob as Katauhan (Personality)

 Makes us distinct/unique from others
 Static

• Loob as Pagkatao (Character)

 More on one's moral aspect
 Dynamic not real
Concepts whose expression involves "loob"
• Lakas-loob – Courage (Inner force)
• Tibay ng loob - Inner strength, resilience
('Durability/strength of the inner self‘)
• Kabutihang-loob - Good naturedness ('Inner goodness/kindness‘)
• Kagandahang loob - Generosity, noblemindedness (Inner Beauty)

• Kapalagayang loob - Confidante, intimate

('One you would entrust your inner self with‘)
Weakness
Utang na Loob:
Infinite Responsibility – sense of gratitude/reciprocity
Pagtanaw is the unending gratitude but this is not enough because the
responsibility to others does not end since
Certain Utang na loob which cannot be repaid in kind and must remain
outstanding throughout life:
• We owe our lives to our parents
• If a man saved the life of another
• If someone is responsible for providing a much needed job
• If someone saved ones reputation from being tarnish
Two aspects of Utang na Loob:
• Positive Aspect
It can strengthen cooperation and loyalty

• Negative Aspect
During Election, it can hamper the process of democracy and thwart the
true will of the people.
Can cause of graft and corruption.

Inability to repay “utang-na-loob”will result in the individual being

labeled as “walang utang-na-loob” or “walang-hiya.”
Additional Notes: The Filipino Counselor
• The family is the main unit of Philippine society,
and Filipinos value family belongingness
(pagkapamilya; Enriquez, 1977). This family
orientation is very much a part of counseling
because Filipinos would rather go to family
members than trust strangers to help them solve
their problems.
• Counseling practices that work best involve the
family, and family systems therapies are
predominant, along with expressive therapies in
different modalities (Catipon, Dey, Garcia, &
Tarroja, 2011) such as play (Carandang, 2009),
art, and music for children.
• another predominant model in counseling is
client-centered Rogerian therapy, with elements
of spirituality.