An Inquiry into the Problems Concerning Filipino Values and Norms

Abstract

This paper inquires into the problems concerning Filipino values and moral norms. Based on the interviews with the social science and philosophy scholars and the youth leaders in the Philippines, the study identifies the following problems: Filipino identity, distortion and dysfunctionalization, manifold ambivalence, dissonance, false justification and misuse, cynicism, and decline of moral courage. Analyzed based on Hans Kelsen’s concept of validity and efficacy, the problems prove to be radical given that the purported Filipino values system is actually a chaotic constellation of competing and conflicting pre-colonial, colonial, and postcolonial normative paradigms. Distorted, ambivalent, and dysfunctionalized, Filipino values and norms fail to provide effective normative guidelines. The proposed antidote of moral and values education is bound to be futile in the face of a severely mutilated social conscience.