This 'Utang-na-loob' mindset
Towards a Practical and Empirically Grounded Account of Útang-na-loób as a Filipino Virtue
Jacklyn A. Cleofas
Title of
the journal/publication: Kritika Kultura
Filipinos are known to be extremely social and hospitable; they like to eat, drink, and hang out with their family and friends often. Filipinos are friendly and sweet, they usually make friends easily. And the most noticeable of them all, they smile a lot which makes it easier for strangers or even foreigners to feel at ease. However, there is a uniquely Filipino concept that is often brought up when a person's relationship with his/her parents is strained, this is called "Utang na loob". Although this(virtue) isn't only limited to his/her parents but this can be applied to anyone as long as an individual owes something, you owe it for a lifetime which is terrible and unethical. I even thought that this was only practice in the Philippines but I've learned that there is also a concept in the West similar to it and it is called "invisible debt".
First all before I get right into the journal/article, I just want to say that I have good parents, they aren't terrible and pretty sure they dont have that mindset like "Oh I have to give birth to... like 15 children so that I'll have a lot of kids to take care of me when I get old because they are indebted to me" lol. Also I'm not generalizing or stereotyping all traditional Filipino parents/ Filipinos, its just there are still people out there that still do this.
Base on the journal, the main idea was the in-depth understanding towards Utang-na-loob as a Filipino virtue and where, how, or when did it even started(its root). How this practice can be positive and negative sides that may or may not influence morally undesirable behaviors of Filipinos. How it came to be a natural behavior or instinct and that Filipinos are just emotionally sensitive.
The way it's practiced in this day and age leaves it lopsided in view of the holder of the debt and open for terrible abuses. With its perpetual nature and effect, it has a powerful psychological force on the deb tee - which the debtor can use to great effect. Also, poverty is prone in the Philippines which makes it much more effective to these people.
First all before I get right into the journal/article, I just want to say that I have good parents, they aren't terrible and pretty sure they dont have that mindset like "Oh I have to give birth to... like 15 children so that I'll have a lot of kids to take care of me when I get old because they are indebted to me" lol. Also I'm not generalizing or stereotyping all traditional Filipino parents/ Filipinos, its just there are still people out there that still do this.
Base on the journal, the main idea was the in-depth understanding towards Utang-na-loob as a Filipino virtue and where, how, or when did it even started(its root). How this practice can be positive and negative sides that may or may not influence morally undesirable behaviors of Filipinos. How it came to be a natural behavior or instinct and that Filipinos are just emotionally sensitive.
The way it's practiced in this day and age leaves it lopsided in view of the holder of the debt and open for terrible abuses. With its perpetual nature and effect, it has a powerful psychological force on the deb tee - which the debtor can use to great effect. Also, poverty is prone in the Philippines which makes it much more effective to these people.
Evidence that supports the main idea:
- Útang-na-loób is a Filipino practice that is associated with good and bad actions. On the one hand, filial devotion to ageing parents, who have devoted much of their lives to members of the family, is usually taken as a prime example of the practice.
- Útang-na-loób is generated in situations where people have no other recourse to sustain their livelihood except to ask others for special favors.
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