A CULTURE OF SMALLNESS: An Insight into the workings of Filipino Culture

Abstract

This study attempts to explore the concept of “Smallness” as conceptualized by Filipino contemporary author Nick Joaquin, a trait purported to be the aggregation of the negative characteristics of the Filipino value system. The preliminary objectives of this study is to verify whether his hypothesis holds true for the present Philippine Culture, and to determine the consensus between other authors and social institutions as to what comprises the essence of that said phenomenon. The nature of this study’s research design classifies it as an exploratory study, hence the author opted to use qualitative methods to acquire data. Three primary methods were used: literary analysis, key informant interview (KII), and the pakapa-kapa (probing) method, as presented in the compilation Sikolohiyang Pilipino: teorya, metodo, at gamit. A total of thirteen (13) respondents were interviewed using the latter two methods, six (6) using the pakapa-kapa, an informal method, and seven (7) using the KII. No qualifications were used to determine sample population of the former, given its informal nature, but in the latter method respondents were chosen according to their expertise in a particular field of study. The findings show that the perception of “Smallness” changed over time, although both past and present opinions agree that “Smallness” exists in Philippine Culture. Past proponents (authors) of the theory focused on the cause of “Smallness” by analyzing the social structure that conceived it, while later analysts directed their attention to the values formed by the culture spawned by the social system. The former argued that “Smallness” will continue to exist in society because it is embedded in our social structure, while the latter advocates that the human condition can transcend the values taught to us because people, as well as social systems, change over time. Hence “Smallness” is viewed thus as a dynamic concept that changes as the perception of the people changes.