Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI - Western Visayas
Schools Division of Iloilo
P.D. MONFORT NATIONAL SCIENCE HIGH SCHOOL
P.D. Monfort South, Dumangas, Iloilo
Disciplines and Ideas in the Social Sciences (HUMSS 11 – Plato)
Quarter 4: Module 2
Indigenizing the Social Sciences: Is there a “native” intellectual foundation for
social thought?
What is the form and function of a Filipino Social Science?
Why do we need to have a Filipino social science – an Agham Panlipunang Pilipino? Why do we need to make
the systematic study of society more attuned to the Filipino? More than an intellectual “selfie” of what we do
here in the Philippine academic scene, the struggle for a Filipino-led academic social science is about believing
in the idea that the Filipino has something to offer to global study of society. This means that we do not only
copy or implement established models from the West, but we also actively theorize based on our own set of
realities and experiences.
The history of our nation, the nature of our society, and the character of our people should influence the way
we understand the processes of our lives and surroundings. In essence, Social Science could not be
separated from the realities of a given society and this should always take into account its history, people, and
surroundings.
Pambansang Photobomber is what they call the building which serves as an unwanted backdrop to the
iconic monument of the national hero, Jose Rizal. It is located in Luneta Park, Manila where the
condominium building seems to distract viewers and distorts the immaculate and postcard-worthy scenery of
the Rizal Shrine.
Is it really just a matter of perspective” or do we recognize the fact that the issue of national dignity,
tradition, and heritage is a reality that must be given due consideration and respect? It is ironic to note that the
monument of Jose Rizal, who epitomizes the Filipino struggle for dignity and honor, is now the subject
of controversy due to an allegedly blatant disregard for not only the national hero but also for our
national history and memory.
Indigenization
-is a process in which there is a purposive and conscious effort to translate and interpret foreign academic
concepts, canons and methods.
-refers to a process, in fact, a tedious and long process, of acceptance and understanding, in which those foreign
concepts and idea are made relevant to a specific group of people whose culture and history differ very much from
the originators of the said “imported” ideas.
Nevertheless, importing of ideas is not at all bad; what is important is that these are “translated” into one’s
cultural, social and psychological milieu. By translations, we mean, we do not only look for a direct semantic
equivalent of it, but also look for its parallel in our culture. Hence, we adopt yet we discriminate too. With ideas,
we refashion, reconfigure, reconstruct, and reinterpret, in accordance with our needs as a thinking, sensible,
rational, and discriminating group of people. In this case, we require imported Social Science ideas to respond to
the needs of the Filipino and to make those ideas work for the Filipino. We require that within our own cultures
and history, we offer concepts that will serve as our contributions to global social ideas.
What we need to do is to discover our core values as Filipinos by a meticulous and sensitive self-examination.
Needless to say, the concepts that should capture the essence of being a Filipino, are the concepts found in the
Filipino social world, consciousness and experience.
Indigenization, without its complicated and highfalutin academic jargon, is probably the most common
social process that we have ever seen in life. The process of indigenization is at work ever since humans
thought of importing and borrowing ideas from one another.
An already indigenized Social Science is an ideal scenario. It is an ideal situation where our thoughts,
ideas, and manner of reasoning are all products of our own of thinking, culture, environment, social context,
etc. During this envisioned state, we no longer look for outside ideas, theories, or methods when dealing
with our own problems and conditions.
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Pioneer Filipino social scientists, especially during the pre-World War II era, have been educated in the
centers of learning in the US, the colonizer of the Philippine islands. Right after World War II, second generation
Filipino social scientists were also trained in the same country, but not for long. Eventually, recently arrived social
scientists as well as home-grown Filipino intellectuals clamored for a more relevant and in the language that we
use in this section, “indigenized” academe. Indigenization movement gained momentum.
Three Strands of Agham Panlipunang Pilipino (Filipino Social Science)
In contemporary times, three strands of Filipino Social Sciences have trailblazed the Philippine academe and are already
enshrined in Philippine intellectual history. The indigenized form and structure of the said discipline is not only as a
separate track of academic social science but also as a Filipino contribution to the discipline of social science in general.
This is the Filipino contribution to the global field of social inquiry.
Pantayong Pananaw/Bagong Kasaysayan, Pilipinolohiya, and Sikolohiyang Pilipino were spearheaded by Zeus Salazar,
Prospero Covar, and Virgilio Enriquez. Incidentally, all of them are from the University of the Philippines, of the same
generation, and were part of the intellectual ferment for the Philippine academe during 1970s. Salazar is a historian-
ethnologist, Covar is an anthropologist, and Enriquez is a psychologist. All of them attempted to come up with a
Filipino academic discipline based on the idea that Filipino culture, society, and language should provide the
necessary tools, concepts, and discourse consciousness, social relations, and social organizations. Only a
contextualized and culturally sensitive theorizing and methodology could sufficiently explain who we are as people.
Eventually, these attempts gained momentum, attracted like-minded intellectuals in search for meaning and purpose of
study, and converted nonbelievers by showing them how futile it is to depend on Western concepts and models in
explaining the Filipino. In every culture, every group of people must have a model in social reality and phenomenon that
can be explained and interpreted. These three strands of Agham Panlipunang Pilipino are now full-blown schools of
thoughts that are being taught not only in the University of the Philippines but also in many universities and colleges in
the Philippines. They were also made part of the intellectual discussions in international academic circles.
Pantayong Pananaw posits that history is not only about recording of events, much like the tradition of
historia/histoire/history of the West but also about finding meaning in past events. That is why we are very lucky that
we have a rich discourse on this matter based on the indigenous concept, kasaysayan, which is about the past based
on the idea of saysay or meaning. Salazar went on to propose a new timeline or periodization of Philippine history,
which he calls Bagong Kasaysayan (or new history) based on the internal logic of historical events and not on the
traditional and colonial parameters of periodization such as the coming of the colonizers in successive periods.
Pilipinolohiya (or Philippine Studies) also states that the Philippines and the Filipinos must be studied and
investigated using methodologies and conceptual tools drawn from Filipino culture, society, and experience. Just like
in Pantayong Pananaw and Bagong Kasaysayan, language is of ultimate importance because it is only through the local
language that a talastasan and dalumat as intellectual discourses could be created among the Filipino scholars and
Filipino scholars and Filipino public in general. Ideologically, Pilipinolohiya is a response to the seeming academic
imperialism of which and powerful Western nations. Almost all of them have established cooperation agencies and
specialized study centers in developing countries in order to maintain their influence and control under the guise of
economic cooperation and pursuit of intellectual interests. Hence, Philippine Studies as an intellectual project has been
established in the US, Europe, Japan, and recently, China and Korea, not for the benefit of the Filipinos themselves but
for the benefit of the sponsoring nations who wish to understand the Philippines and its people. Pilipinolohiya maintains
that we should have our own purpose, set our own intellectual course, and steer our own ideology in the service of
the Filipino and for the betterment of our society.
The aims and intellectual premises of the Sikolohiyang Pilipino (or Filipino Psychology) do not stray away from those of
Pantayong Pananaw and Pilipinohiya. Like the first two, Sikolohiyang Pilipino, which was conceptualized and
developed during the same intellectual ferment of the 1970s, debated upon the usefulness and appropriateness of
Western models of psychology in defining the Filipino psyche. What Enriquez argued was that those psychological
explanatory models as well as research techniques on human personality may not be enough to enable the
psychologist to dig deeply into the Filipino consciousness. Rather, a more culturally sensitive approach beginning with
pakapakapa, pakikipagpalagayang-loob, and onwards to pakikisangkot and pakikiisa (they do not have direct
equivalents in the English language) should be the starting point of every social research. Such research takes into
consideration the people and their social world whether they are being investigated by an outsider or of fellow Filipinos.
Thus, it is not the surface meanings that should matter like establishing smooth interpersonal relationships among
community members but a deeper concept of loob and kapwa, which underscore the pakikipagkapwa as the Filipino
way of dealing with the “other”. Ultimately, the other is a kapwa, which is also an extension of oneself.
Agham Panlipunang Pilipino achieves two things:
(1) carry out a culturally sensitive and socially appropriate method and theory, and
(2) contribute to the building of common consciousness among Filipinos across regions of the country.
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Sikolohiyang Pilipino
According to the Asian Journal of Social Psychology (2000 3: 49-71),
Sikolohiyang Pilipino or Filipino Psychology refers to the psychology born out of the
experience, thought and orientation of the Filipinos,
based on the full use of Filipino culture and language. It is indigenous in nature as its theoretical
framework and methodology are all based from the indigenous practices of the people.
According to the Father of Sikolohiyang Pilipino, Virgilio Enriquez, the concept takes into
account the study of emotions and experienced knowledge (kalooban and kamalayan),
awareness of one’s surroundings (ulirat), information and understanding (isip), habits
and behavior (diwa), and the soul (kaluluwa).
And, noticeably, it uses the Filipino language in identifying or rediscovering indigenous
concepts. This is so because the Filipino language provides a conceptual identifying mark
pertaining to the different modes of social interaction and what transpires in the process. It is
worthy to note that the very objectives of sikolohiyang Pilipino are to promote the Filipino
national identity, nurture the consciousness of the people regarding their being Filipinos, enjoin
social involvement and promote the psychology of language and culture.
A. Four Filiations of Sikolohiyang Pilipino
1. The Academic-scientific psychology. This indicates that the psychology that was taught
and learned in Philippine schools at the very beginning was in the tradition of Wilhelm Wundt’s
brand of psychology, while it was at the same time Western or American in nature.
2. Academic-Philosophical psychology. This was first adopted by the Jesuit priests turned
professors at the University of Santo Tomas and the teaching of psychology as an aspect of
philosophy was later done in other schools in the country. It was still Western in nature.
3. Ethnic Psychology. In ethnic psychology, there was now the integration of the indigenous
Filipino psychological orientation and methodologies which were primarily based from Filipino
culture. Further, under this tradition, superstitious beliefs and other practices and traditions have
been integrated.
4. Psycho-medical Religious Psychology. According to this tradition, healing or medical
techniques were done in accordance with religious beliefs. In the actual scenario, in the
Philippines, we have always associated medications and the healing process with our religious
beliefs which are attached with the Catholic dogma.
B. Approaches and Methods.
The following are the methods and approaches usually observed in the actualization of
Sikolohiyang Pilipino:
1. Pakikipagkwentuhan. In this method, a researcher engages her participants in the umpukan
in a story-telling and the former serves as the facilitator. You would see then a scenario where
the researcher would be throwing a concept or a topic and the kalahok will proceed with their
kwentuhan. It is easier to elicit ideas through this method because it has
become a part of the daily endeavor of the people.
2. Panunuluyan. This method presupposes that the researcher has asked permission from the
host family, who also happens to be the kalahok in the study, to stay in their dwelling while the
study is being conducted. When a researcher decides to makituloy with her kalahok, it is
imperative that she could entice the kalahok to participate actively in the study because of a
sense of acceptance (pagtanggap) and familiarization (mas nakikilala) and a state of magaan
ang loob.
3. Pagdalaw-dalaw. It is the opposite of panunuluyan because in this method, the researcher
simply drops by or visits the kalahok. Despite the short period of time spent by the researcher
with the kalahok, the dalaw itself would make the latter feel important, thus, would give an
active participation in the research.
4. Pagtanung-tanong. As different from pakikipagkwentuhan, pagtanungtanong as a method
depends on how the researcher logically and clearly constructs her questions for the kalahok to
understand and answer.
5. Pakikiramdam. To find out whether her kalahok is ready to participate in the study or not,
the researcher must use her pakiramdam or her emotions or feelings, because it is a part of the
social construct among us Filipinos to have talas ng pakiramdam towards how others may think
and feel and this would allow an easier processing of one’s study.
References
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Alejandria-Gonzalez, Maria Carinnes P., and Elizabeth T. Urgel. DIWA Senior High School Series:
Discipline and Ideas in Social Sciences. Makati City, Philippines: DIWA LEARNING SYSTEMS INC, 2016.
Tatel, Carlos Jr. P. “Discipline and Ideas in Social Sciences.” Manila, Philippines: REX Book Store, 2016.
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