Ezekiel John M.

Evardo

BS Psychology 3-1

Chapter 2
The Self in the Social World
I would like to emphasize (because it wasnt emphasize in the report) the two
concepts very essential to our culture the concepts of individualism and collectivism.
As discussed, individualism pertains to independent self, and identity is pretty much
self-contained whereas collectivism pertains to interdependent self, and identity is
defined more in relation to others.

It wasnt mentioned that Filipino Culture is a collectivist culture. As supported by

the Father of Sikolohiyang Pilipino, Dr. Virgilio Enriquez, Filipino culture prefers mixing.

How true is that our culture prefers mixing? We can see that in our food culture,
for example. Adobo, contrary to the popular belief that it is a Spanish dish, is an
authentic Filipino dish. It might have came from the Spanish word adovar which means
to marinate, but the Spaniards never brought soy sauce or vinegar to our country
because it is us who really have the condiments of such, like soy sauce and vinegar.
We have just borrowed the concept of marinating, using our ingredients, and finally
giving an authentic Filipino taste for the Filipinos. Another one; try searching for the
entire Canton region, or perhaps the entire China, for a Pansit Canton, and guess what
you wont find any. Even bistek, which is believed that was brought by the Americans
and somehow quoted as the Filipino version of beef steak, is authentically ours
because Americans would never put calamansi on their steak, and calamansi is oriental.

One of the best examples that support the statement Filipino culture prefers
mixing is the very concept of Sikolohiyang Pilipino Kapwa. Kapwa is somehow
equated to shared identity. Kapwa could never have any English counterpart for it is
something that people living in another culture could never have such orientation of
themselves. It is somehow (I will try my best to define it) the fusion of yourself with your
entire environment, meaning the self in the other, or shared self. Americans could
never understand such concept well, look at their problems of racism, still growing
steadfast. Why, you ask? It is because their culture is individualist.

Look at how Freudians, Behaviorists, and even the Greeks view and study our
personalities. Freud viewed people as an iceberg, Jung as a mandala, Aristotle as
social animals, Skinner as animals, Bandura as a Xerox machine (yes, this is a joke)
all comparing personality of us into a single entity. This shows that their frameworks are
highly individualistic in nature. But we cannot have such proposition in our culture,
because we see ourselves on a collective note. They study personality, we study
personhood (two both different concepts seemingly synonymous but actually different).

Individualist culture also has its pros. Individualist culture doesnt promote
conformity, which, when used excessively, could destroy your self-identity by just
conforming to every trend and flow the society and culture has to offer. Individualist
culture also has its cons, too. It may serve a greater impetus to a not unified way of
thinking, probably increasing skin color discrimination unlike in our culture.

My point is that we should be aware and proud of having a collectivist

culture, but that doesnt follow that collectivist culture is far better than
individualist culture. Both type of culture has its pros and cons, and no culture is
dominant than the other.

But because I have my bias and personal opinions, I prefer a collectivist culture
because I was raised here. It is very sad that our countrys culture is continually being
destroyed by cultural domination. Skin color discrimination is very rampant these days,
acquiring it from western propaganda. Standards of beauty being altered by mass
media claiming that white, tall, slender Filipina beauty is more preferred rather than of
our true features (which is most likely a half Filipina, half *insert foreign nationality
here*). Fashion, music, way of thinking, social networking, all things that would benefit
public consumption all of them, are currently under the propagandas of the west the
neocolonialism as what they want to coin such phenomenon. The time of today, Self in
the Social World, viewing ourselves on such various standpoints and lenses, our selves
were chained under the propagandas of the west. We are taken away from our original
culture, and I dont know if that is innovation or alienation.

Malaya at mapagpalayang disiplina para sa lahat!