Csii Thought Paper

Far Eastern University
Assignment: Thought Paper on Cultural Relativism

SECTION 3
Culture, In The Eyes of a Filipino
Calugay, Joselle Joy A.

Moya, Carlos Joshua
Padilla, John Throi
Pelipog, Jude Gabriel
Culture is part of our daily lives as humans. It encompasses laws, beliefs,
norms, practices, values, attitude, artifacts, symbols, knowledge and everything that
an individual learns and shares as a member of a community.
When we travel to other places, we may be surprised by their culture because

we are not used to it; however, we as tourists must know how to deal with and adapt
to their culture so that we can fully experience things and moments once in a
lifetime. Cultural relativism refers to the practice of not judging a culture according to
our standards of what is right or wrong, unusual or not. Cultural relativism means to
say that there is no right and wrong, no universal truth in ethics, only customs of
different societies and various culture codes.The goal of this is to encourage
understanding of cultural practices that are not typically a part of one's own culture.
Instead, we should try to understand the cultural practices of other groups in their
cultural context.
May it be the 19th century or the 21st century, Filipinos are known to be more
family-oriented than other countries. Thanks to the religious influence of Spanish
colonisation through the Bible and Christianity, Filipinos were taught about festivals
in order to celebrate Saints, filial piety and the “utang na loob” culture that has been
passed on from generation-to-generation up to now. As a result, people here love
reunions, get-together and celebrating all sorts of holidays, in a single household if
possible. However, in other countries, only certain holidays, not all, would require a
reunion. While holidays can only last a day in other countries, in the Philippines, it
can last for a whole week (festivals, Christmas season, All Souls’ day, etc).
Additionally, here in our culture, Filipinos stay with their parents even past
their 20’s, sometimes even their 30s, and this would be viewed as totally acceptable.
Some of the reasons why this culture is only appropriate is because firstly, paying
rent would be costly, and secondly, there are “perks” in having to live with parents,
such as experiencing family meals and having home cooked food (which can also be
connected to familial love since these promote family connection, which Filipinos
value). In the U.S., you are considered past “factory warranty” by the time you are 18
and expected to be living independently. In conclusion, Filipinos focus and value
family more (even sometimes in choosing career or making life-time decisions,
which sometimes can be dangerous if the child’s dream doesn’t align with their
parents’ plans) and Americans focus more on individualism.
Another illustration of the difference of our culture to other countries is the

usage of honorifics. As kids, we were taught that it is only right to call someone
older with “Ate” or “Kuya”, even if they are only a year older. Other countries,
however, do not require these. What’s more is that they don’t even have a singular
word translation for “Ate” and “Kuya” since they do not have this custom.
Furthermore, here in the Philippines’ work culture, it is given that lower ranking
positions should call their superior or boss with “Sir” or “Ma’am”. This is to show
respect and acknowledgement that they are your upper colleagues. However, in
other cultures, they do not have this practice. Instead of feeling respected, they feel
uncomfortable when called more than their first name (i.e. putting Boss/Sir before
their name). For them, first name basis is considered as the norm.
For the majority of Filipino culture, we could blame religion on why the existing
beliefs and traditions are the way they are now. Whether it is the Roman Catholic or
the Muslim regions in the country, it is understood that religion must be taken and be
practiced seriously. Being devoted to a specific saint is normal for us Filipinos, even
if we are required to attend processions, fall in line for hours just to have your
handkerchief touched by a wooden sculpture that is believed to be holy. This,
according to James Fallows in his article called “A Damaged Culture,” is called
fanaticism. He has observed the Filipinos’ obsession with icons, buying and
patronising merchandise that has their idols’ face on them as long as it represents a
person whom they think contributes a great lot to the society. Religious as it may
seem, this however is deemed to be dangerous in some ways. Because of this
fanaticism, some people worship their “heroes” and “icons” even if they commit a
crime against humanity. In other countries, on the other hand, this is not being
observed, even if they are Catholics. Religion has been an integral part of shaping
our culture, that sometimes unexplainable occurrences are linked easily to God’s
doings.
Overall, It is beneficial to accept cultural relativism as it opens the door to

understanding various cultural elements and practices that are either disregarded
and unfamiliar to the general public. There are practices that are generally shared,
such as honorifics in terms of social conduct and the term “Filipino time”. However,
these practices should be avoided when considering the idea of a foreign workplace
since it could compromise professional ethics. The acceptance of these cultural
beliefs and aspects should lean to being justifiable and humane. There should be a
tolerance in cultural relativism as fully accepting the concept may cause
repercussions to the society’s beliefs and standards.
Whatever culture may we experience, wherever and whenever, may we be

more open-minded in discovering the beauty of cultural difference and truth,
whatever that might be.
References:
Fallows, J. (1987, November 1). From 1987: “A Damaged Culture” in the Philippines.
Retrieved September 10, 2022, from The Atlantic website:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1987/11/a-damaged-culture/5
05178/
Morillo, H. M., Capuno, J. J., & Mendoza, A. M. (2013). Views and Values on Family
among Filipinos: An Empirical Exploration. Asian Journal of Social Science,
41(1), 5–28. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685314-12341278

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Far Eastern University

Assignment: Thought Paper on Cultural Relativism

Culture, In The Eyes of a Filipino

Calugay, Joselle Joy A.

When we travel to other places, we may be surprised by their culture because

Another illustration of the difference of our culture to other countries is the

Overall, It is beneficial to accept cultural relativism as it opens the door to

Whatever culture may we experience, wherever and whenever, may we be

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