Philosophical Presuppositions of Theoretical Approaches to Counseling

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Philosophical Presuppositions of Theoretical
Approaches to Counseling
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• Psychoanalytic deterministic, topographic,
  dynamic, genetic, analytic, developmental,
  historical, insightful, unconscious,
  motivational
• Adlerian holistic, phenomenological,
  socially-oriented, teleological,
  field-theoretical, functionalistic
• Person-centered humanistic, experiential,
  existential, organismic, self-theoretical,
  phenomenological, person-centered,
  here-and-now-oriented

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• Gestalt existential, experiential, humanistic,
  organismic, awareness-evocative,
  here-and-now-oriented, client-centered,
  confrontative
• Transactional Analysis cognitive, analytic,
  redecisional, contractual, interpretational,
  confrontational, action-oriented,
  awareness-evocative, social-interactive
• Behavioral behavioristic, pragmatic, scientific,
  learning-theoretical, cognitive, action-oriented,
  experimental, goal-oriented, contractual
• Rational-emotive therapy rational, cognitive,
  scientific, philosophic, action-oriented,
  relativistic, didactic, here-and-now-oriented,
  decisional, contractual, humanistic

4

• Reality therapy reality-based, rational,
  antideterministic, cognitive, action-oriented,
  scientific, directive, didactic, contractual,
  supportive, nonpunitive, positivistic,
  here-and-now-oriented
• Trait and factor scientific, empirical,
  decisional, informational, educational,
  vocational, evaluative, data-based,
  past/present/future-oriented, action-oriented,
  technological, person/environment-interactive,
  problem-solving, objective, systematic, didactic,
  interpretive and
• Eclectic integrative, systematic, scientific,
  comprehensive, organismic/environmental,
  cognitive, past/present/future-oriented,
  behavioral, educational, developmental,
  humanistic, analytical, decisional.

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Psychophilosophical Foundations of Guidance and
Counseling in the Philippines
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• The Philippines, although young as a republic,
  has a long history.
• Its culture is laden with several layers of
  Eastern and Western influences.
• Although located in Asia, home to the worlds
  greatest religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism,
  Mohammedanism, Shintoism and Confucianism, it has
  become and remained Asias only Christian
  country. This is partly because of its
  geographical location and of its core religion
  which is animism.

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• Rediscovered by its colonizers not as a nation
  but as composed of different groups of people
  tracing their roots from the barangay, in essence
  small independent family units.
• The people bowed to the cultural and other
  influences of those who visited its shores and of
  those who stayed to dominate it and yet
  preserved its own indigenous cultural artifacts.

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Bases for Philosophical Assumptions in the
Philippines (Axel, 1993, as cited by Wehrly,
1994)

• Key Beliefs or Ethical Life
  Philosophy

• Christianity

Buddhism

• Gods love for all creatures is a basic belief.
  Salvation (saving from sin or resurrection from
  death) is gained by those who have faith and show
  humility towards God. Brotherly love is
  emphasized in acts of charity, kindness, and
  forgiveness. Jesus teachings insist on justice
  and mercy toward all people.

• Buddhism attempts to deal with problems of human
  existence such as suffering and death.
• Life is misery, unhappiness, and suffering with
  no ultimate reality in the world or behind it. An
  endless cycle of existence (birth and rebirth)
  continues because of personal desires and
  attachments to the unreal self.
• Understanding the cause of all human suffering
  and misery as due to desire, and the ultimate
  transcendence of all desires, leads to
  nirvana(blowing out), a state of happiness,
  peace and love.
• The middle path of life avoids the personal
  extremes of self-denial and self-indulgence.
• Visions can be gained through personal meditation
  and contemplation good deeds and compassion also
  facilitate the process toward nirvana, or
  enlightenment.
• The end of suffering is in the extinction of
  desire and emotion, and ultimately the unreal
  self. Present behavior is a result of past deeds
  overcoming attachment to personal desires and
  worldly things leads to nirvana.

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Bases for Philosophical Assumptions in the
Philippines (Axel, 1993, as cited by Wehrly,
1994)

• Key Beliefs or Ethical Life
  Philosophy

• Animism

Islam

• All living things are related. Respect for powers
  of nature and pleasing the spirits are
  fundamental beliefs in order to meet basic and
  practical needs for food, fertility, health, and
  interpersonal relationships and individual
  development. Harmonious living is comprehension
  and respect of natural forces.

• God is just and merciful humans are limited and
  sinful. God rewards the good and punishes the
  sinful. Mohammed, through the Koran, guides and
  teaches people truth. Peace is gained through
  submission to Allah. The sinless go to Paradise
  and the evil go to Hell.

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• The Filipino counselor may or may not be
  conscious of it but it is possible that his or
  her philosophical presuppositions are anchored in
  his or her religion or belief system, hence, the
  incongruity of what guidance counselors claim to
  be their philosophy (rooted in the West) and
  their identified focal points and goals in
  counseling.
• Western philosophy emphasizes the individual
  while Filipino philosophy emphasizes the communal.

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Filipino Philosophy(Mercado, 1974)

• The Filipino looks at himself as a self, as one
  who feels, as one who wills, as one who thinks,
  as one who acts as a total whole as a
  person, conscious of his freedom, proud of his
  human dignity, and sensitive to the violation of
  these two. (p. 71).
• The Filipinos holistic view of himself,
  his concrete way of thinking, his non-dualistic
  worldview indicates that he thinks differently
  from the Westerners. Logical thinking requires
  abstract thinking which does not seem to be
  present among the majority of Filipinos, hence,
  they reason in a different way. (p. 79)

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Filipino Philosophy(Mercado, 1974)

• The Filipino's thinking is subjective, concrete,
  and imprecise, he has to reason intuitively and
  inductively. This psychological way of thinking
  is ultimately due to the non-dualistic or
  synthetic world view wherein the subject is in
  harmony with the object. (p. 89)
• Non-dualistic means the difference between the
  subject and object is not stressed so that both
  are in communion.

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Filipino Philosophy(Mercado, 1974)

• Philosophy of
• Time

• The Filipino has "harmony with nature" compared
  to the Westerner who has a "mastery-over-nature"
  orientation. To a Filipino, harmony is the theme
  of the universe and he does not tamper with the
  ways of Nature. To a Westerner, nature is a tool
  which is to be exploited so he tampers with the
  balance of nature. (Mercado, 1974 Wehrly, 1998).
  The Westerner then wants to be master of time.
  He can make the night his day. He makes time and
  time does not make him.

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Filipino Philosophy(Mercado, 1974)

• Philosophy of
• Time

• Western time is linear, conditioned by the spaced
  linearity of past, present and future (Mercado,
  1974, p. 112). It is a limited resource, measured
  in precise units and is lineal (Wehrly, 1998, p.
  132).
• Cosmic time for the Filipino is cyclic, spiral
  and dynamic. It is not a resource. (Mercado,
  1974 Wehrly, 1998). The past is remembered and
  the present is experienced. The past is
  remembered and the present is experienced.

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Filipino Philosophy(Mercado, 1974)

• Philosophy of
• Time

• For the Westerner time wasted is gone forever,
  hence, the saying "Time is gold" or "You can't
  turn back the hands of time." But for the
  Filipino "there is always tomorrow, a philosophy
  which is reflected in his maxims." Examples are
  Paglipas ng dilim may araw pang darating (When
  darkness passes there is still another day) or
  May araw pa bukas (There is still tomorrow).
  (Mercado, 1974, pp. 112-113)

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Filipino Philosophy (Mercado, 1974)

• Human time for the Filipino is not subject to
  mathematical calculations. It is not oriented to
  space but to man's consciousness. The Filipino
  remembers the past in terms of consciousness and
  not in terms of linear time.
• Q What time do you turn on the radio in the
  morning?
• A When the cock crows for the second time at
  dawn.
• Q Can you recall when this barrio was split
  into two barrios?
• A That was the time when the price of rice went
  down to 75 centavos a ganta.
• Q About how long do you listen to your radio in
  the morning?
• A Most of the time whenever it is turned on.

• Philosophy of
• Time

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Filipino Philosophy (Mercado, 1974)

• The Filipino has a "non-dualistic concept of
  space". Space to a Filipino is "non-lineal." He
  measures space "through his existence. He does
  not measure his hometown in terms of distance but
  in terms of meaningfulness. A meaningful place
  can be the center of one's life, and other places
  are measured by it." (Mercado, 1974, pp. 127-128)
• Example Meaning of Uuwi ako.

• Philosophy of
• Space

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Filipino Philosophy (Mercado, 1974)

• The Filipino harmony-with-nature world view
  leads to a synchronistic view of causality. The
  Filipino intuitively delves into the causality of
  phenomena in contrast to the objective mind of
  the West. Health is viewed in relation with
  nature-harmony. Whereas Western physicians
  consider themselves as agents or causes of
  healing, Cebuano doctors of medicine as well as
  local healers (mananambal, herbolario) only
  consider themselves as effecting the conditions
  for the cure, which ultimately is God's work
  (Lieban, as cited by Mercado, 1974)

• Philosophy of
• Causality

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Filipino Philosophy (Mercado, 1974)

• Philosophy of
• Causality

• A Filipino then may attribute illness to the
  disturbance of a spirit's abode (such as a tree)
  which was cut without asking permission from the
  spirit which inhabits it. Or he or she may
  attribute it to the disturbance of the spirits of
  the departed.

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Filipino Philosophy (Mercado, 1974)

• Western ethics stresses rights, like the right to
  liberty and the right to the pursuit of
  happiness. Filipino ethics stresses duty doing
  good is an obligation. Another aspect of the
  Philippine philosophy of law is its interiority.
  "The Filipino views the law from its interior
  aspects whereas the Westerner looks at it from
  without." (p. 150)

• Philosophy of
• Law

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Filipino Philosophy (Mercado, 1974)

• The Filipino wants to be in harmony with himself,
  with his fellowmen, and with nature. And if he
  aspires for harmony, he does not need external
  laws for that. The 'law' is within himself. Even
  if he thinks concretely, his intuitive mind leads
  him to be attuned in general to such harmony ....
  to impose a thing which is foreign will
  ultimately be ineffective, because the unwritten
  law which is behind the Filipino's behavior will
  be followed.

• Philosophy of
• Law

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Filipino Philosophy (Mercado, 1974)

• In short, the Filipino (1) emphasizes the "duty"
  aspect of the law and less the "right" aspect
  (2) sees the law as predominantly interior and
  (therefore unwritten) and considers (3) the law
  in the concrete. All three characteristics are
  customary, and affect the nature of Philippine
  society. (pp. 152-153)

• Philosophy of
• Law

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Filipino Philosophy (Mercado, 1974)

• To the Filipino, God's existence is a fact. There
  is no need to prove as he intuits God's existence
  through nature and because of his harmony with
  and closeness to nature.
• In short the Filipino's philosophy of God is a
  reflection of his social philosophy as well as
  his general philosophy of harmony.

• Concept of
• God

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Filipino Philosophy (Cannel, 1999)

• We believe in "tawos (people that we cannot see)"
  and that "these tawos are as many as there are
  those who can be seen. Like ordinary people,
  these tawos are male and female, adult and
  children. There are those who are maboot (good)
  and some are aggressive (maisog). Their world is
  co-existent with the visible world, but is also
  misaligned to it or is an inversion of the world
  we see.

• Concept of
• The spirits and the departed ancestors

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Filipino Philosophy (Cannel, 1999)

• What we see as ricefields may be a road for the
  tawo, and they may have their houses (which are
  often said to be palatial) where we have our
  water-pumps or pigsties sometimes a house and
  the tawo's houses actually partly overlap. From
  this arises the main inconvenience which causes
  illness, for unwary ordinary people are forever
  bumping into them, treading on them, or most
  unfortunately, urinating on them." (pp. 84-85)

• Concept of
• The spirits and the departed ancestors

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Filipino Philosophy (Cannel, 1999)

• Filipinos venerate their departed ancestors as
  well. There is a continuous relationship between
  the living and the dead. It is not unusual for a
  son to "talk to his departed father" for guidance
  as the Filipino assumes that the departed souls
  are still interested in the living members of
  their family. Hence, on All Soul's Day, it is not
  unusual to see Filipinos flock to the cemeteries
  to be with their loved ones. Among the rich, it
  is not unusual to see the burial place of members
  of their family to have living rooms, toilet and
  bath and dining rooms.

• Concept of
• The spirits and the departed ancestors

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Filipino Philosophy (Cannel, 1999)

• They celebrate important family occasions with
  the dead as they believe that these departed
  family members are also entitled to be part of
  family gatherings. The dead are believed to share
  the food of the living. A butterfly seen during
  family gatherings is interpreted as a
  representation of the departed member of the
  family who is perceived to be present during this
  important family occasion.

• Concept of
• The spirits and the departed ancestors

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Filipino Philosophy (Mercado, 1974)

• The Filipino generally believe in the innate
  goodness of man as manifested in the concept of
  'mercy' (luoy/awa/asi). Luoy connotes compassion
  or pity. It is also connected with giving." (p.
  175) The use of pagkalooban (sharing one's
  interiority) as another word for awa is an appeal
  to one's human-heartedness, or to show innate
  goodness. Awa as benevolence or kindness
  corresponds to kagandahang-loob and
  kabutihang-loob.

• Filipino Behavior

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Filipino Philosophy (Mercado, 1974)

• Luoy/awa/asi converge into the Filipino interior
  dimension of natural goodness.... The Filipino is
  ordinarily vulnerable to the pleas for mercy."(
  p.176) A person uses the plea of mercy as his
  "last" possible means for helping himself. This
  plea is not based on the title or merit or on
  something deserved. Rather, it is a request from
  someone superior to share his innate goodness.
  Someone who does not show mercy is called "walang
  habag" or is "matigas ang puso" or "matigas ang
  loob." Hence, most Filipinos tend to show
  luoy/awa/asi.

• Filipino Behavior

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Filipino Psychology (Jocano, 2002 Mercado, 1974)

• The
• Filipino
• as a
• Social
• Being

• Philippine society is based on seniority.
• "Ranking and seniority with corresponding
  authority exists in the family... The eldest has
  rights and authority over the younger. ...
  Parental authority is so strong that it extends
  to the choice of the children's profession.
  Likewise the interests of the family prevail over
  individual interests.

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Filipino Psychology (Jocano, 2002 Mercado, 1974)

• Companion' (kuyog/kasama/kadwa) seems to
  characterize the Filipino's social orientation.
  From birth a baby is never left alone. Neglectful
  parents are censured for leaving
  (pasagdan/pabayaan/bay-an) a child alone." (p.
  95) When one is sick, he or she is expected to
  have a bantay (companion) even if in a private
  room in a hospital. When one dies, the corpse is
  never left alone during the wake.

• The
• Filipino
• as a
• Social
• Being

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Filipino Psychology (Jocano, 2002 Mercado, 1974)

• The companion phenomenon on a larger scale is
  the Filipino's communitarian spirit. He tries to
  be in harmony with the community. The anti-social
  or the non-conformist is branded as pilosopo
  (literally, philosopher). 'Magpilosopo' is to
  think and behave independently in a
  non-conformist way and is not appreciated.
  Whereas the American child is trained to act
  independently, the Filipino child is trained to
  be dependent on his family and reference group
  (sakop).

• The
• Filipino
• as a
• Social
• Being

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Filipino Philosophy (Jocano, 2002 Mercado, 1974)

• A successful Filipino businessman will not
  consider his office as individual, for his sakop
  has a moral claim to it. So he thinks it is
  natural for him to hire his relatives and friends
  for he thinks that they can be trusted.
• When conflict arises between deciding on the
  individual's interests and that of his group, the
  latter usually prevails

• The
• Filipino
• as a
• Social
• Being

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Filipino Philosophy on Social Relationships
(Quito, 1991)

• The Filipino philosophy on social relationships
  (pilosopiya ng pakikipagkapwa-tao). This is
  reflected our positive and negative views of the
  nature of man. To the Tagalogs, "isang uri ng
  karunungan ang gawaing pakikibagay" (working for
  harmony is a form of intelligence). To the
  Ilokanos, "kung masarap ang iyong ulam, patikman
  mo ang iyong kapitbahay"(if your viand is
  delectable, let your neighbor have a taste of
  it). (p. 22) Man is bad if it is difficult to
  deal with him ("mahirap pakisamahan") or if he is
  selfish ("makasarili").

• The
• Filipino
• as a
• Social
• Being

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Filipino Philosophy A Summary

• The Filipino is more communitarian than
  individualistic. Blessings and punishments are
  collectively reaped by a Filipino's sakop.
  His/Her misdeeds would tend to be felt by his/her
  sakop resulting in a collective form of
  guilt/shame.
• According to Mercado, the "following are
  instances where one earns 'curse'
  (gaba/busong/lunod) disrespect of older person,
  disobedience to parental authority, harming a
  priest, ridiculing others for their physical
  deformities, abusing the natural resources (which
  are considered the gifts of God) such as wasting
  food or not sharing surplus food with others.
  (pp. 183-184)

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Filipino Philosophy A Summary

• The mabuting tao (good person) is someone who has
  may hiya, may utang na loob, at may pakikisama.
  All of these three spin off from the concept and
  value of pakiramdam (feeling for another)
  (Mataragnon, 1986, as cited by Enriquez, 1990).
  Meanwhile, the masamang tao (evil person) can be
  characterized as one who does not exhibit the
  accommodative values of hiya, utang na loob, at
  pakikisama. If one is walang hiya (one who lacks
  a sense of karangalan or honor/propriety), people
  might just say that the person was not taught
  properly by his parents.

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Filipino Philosophy A Summary

• If one is walang utang na loob (lacks adeptness
  in respecting a shared identity, karangalan and
  kagandahang-loob), others might just avoid this
  person. If one is walang pakikisama (inept at the
  level of adjustment), he/she can improve
  him/herself by learning how to relate with
  others. But if one is walang kapwa tao, he or she
  has reached rock bottom. (Enriquez, 1990). The
  person has no shared identity with fellow humans
  (kapwa). According to Enriquez (1990), "without
  kapwa, one ceases to be a Filipino and human."
  (p. 293)