Cultural and Human Values

What are cultural values?

refer to the held standards in a society or community of what is acceptable or unacceptable, right or wrong, workable or unworkable. These values can mostly be recognised by noting which people get honour or respect.

ideas, beliefs, attitudes, opinions and principles that are considered important to a society impacting the way people behave and highly influencing the choices they make.(acceptable or unacceptable in the society)

collection of a society's ideas of what is good, right, fair and just. It is also an assumption of what the society can base ethical action on.

Cultural values, at the simplest level, are commonly shared concepts about what is right, wrong, possible or impossible, true or false and so on. The arena of cultural values can be as small as each individual's personal set of decisions as to what is acceptable or not.

The individual can be firmly set in deciding that existing cultural values are just fine and that no new or different ones are wanted or needed. The individual can be flexible, from being widely traveled, for example, and capable of adhering to the cultural values of many societies in the world. The individual can be required to adjust values as life conditions change.

Cultural Values in the Philippines

Irrationalism

  This refers to a certain superstitious beliefs of Filipinos that still practiced up to now. People still believed in gods of the nature and spirits and offer them foods and placate the sprits to heal the illness and provide them a good harvest. It is rarely practiced in the urban areas but in rural areas it is a common practice. Filipinos common irrationalism is shown in fatalism or the ‘bahala na’ syndrome. We always looked upon what fortune can make us. We are the captain of our life so whatever happened in our life depends on the decisions we made. 

Social Belongingness

 . Filipinos want to be accepted by the group or to the community, so, sometimes Filipinos are doing things just to please somebody. We are not true to ourselves. Sometimes we avoided to be franked to others just not hurt others feelings, because we are so sensitive.

 Close family ties

 . The family is the most important in our life. We are totally dependent with our family. We are doing things for the common good or for the benefits of the family. Children should obey their parents because if they will defy parental advises it will bring misfortune or their life becomes tragic.

Sense of debt gratitude.

In Filipino term, it is “utang na loob”. We are obliged to do something in return for what others do for us. We are very particular in stressing this owing a debt of gratitude, that’s why we are always expecting for repayment. This value has been taken advantage by others especially the politicians. This “utang na loob” may result to faithfulness and a cause for graft and corruption. 

Emphasis on authority

. Father is the head of the family; Mayor is the head of the town and whatsoever. We give more emphasis to what the person is. The status of the person depends on his wealth and acquisition of land. 

Personal improvement

. Most Filipinos are aiming to raise their family in standard living. We believed that we will obtain success only when we will finish our education. Education has played a major role in obtaining success that’s why parents would sacrifice themselves just to send their children to school. In return, older brother and sister would help their younger ones to go to school and would not get married until they help their parents.

Values relate to the norms of a culture,  but they are more global and abstract than norms. Norms provide rules for behavior, in specific situations, while Values identify what should be judged as good or evil. While norms are standards, patterns, rules and guides of expected behavior, values are abstract concepts of what is important and worth while.

What are the Human Values?

• There are five stem values and many sub-values or virtues that come from the main values. Together they make up the tapestry that forms an individual character, containing all that makes a human being noble, caring and kind.

"Human values are conceptions of

basic categories of desired."

human values are cognitive representations of human motives. They are not direct perceptions of needs nor are they other feelings. Values are conceptions, by reason reshaped ideas of what is good and desired for an individual.

Values are unconditionally desired to everyone. Their importance can be judged only relatively - in relation to other values. No higher measure ("supervalue") exists which could be used to judge the importance of human values.

There are not many values, because they are the broadest motivational categories. There are as many personal values as there are basic human motives (biological and social).

Human values are an individual matter, because each person judges what is good and important and what is not.

These judgments relate to things that are good and important for him personally, for a social group he belongs to or the society as whole and in general

The taxonomy of human values should answer questions:

• "Which human values exist in reality?“

• "How many human values exist?" • "How can we classify human

values in a logical system (What are the relations among human values)?"

Because human values are the conceptions of basic categories

of desired and because their number is the same as the

number of basic human motives, the following list

consists of human values and sub-values:

The five human values

These values operate at all three levels of our awareness

Conscience

Sub-conscience

Higher Conscience

LOVE – Using the power of energy

Love is not an emotion, affected by the sub-conscious mind, but is a spontaneous, pure reaction from the heart. It is the power of love which causes one person to wish happiness for another and take pleasure in their well-being. A beneficial energy (love) is directed towards the other person. As this energy flows through our own body first, it also enhances our own health. Love is having an unconditional positive regard for the good of another. It is giving and unselfish. Love is essential if children are to grow up healthy in mind and body. Love is the unseen undercurrent binding all the other four values together.

Peace - Using the tool of the mind We smile when we are happy and contented. Contentment is gained when we cease to want to give ourselves all the apparent 'good' things conveyed to us through our five senses. When our will is sufficiently strong to enable us to discern the difference between real needs and superfluous desires, we cease to be driven by the urge to own more and more things. Inner agitation stops and we are left feeling peaceful. When there is peace in the individual, there will be peace in the family, when there is peace in the family, there will be peace in the community. In order to learn self esteem, calmness and freedom from anxiety are necessary. These qualities are fostered by the Program's components, namely silent sitting and the self-reflective exercises in some of the group activity sessions.

Truth – Discrimination and Intellect

The desire to know Truth has prompted mankind to ask some of the great questions such as “Who Am I” or “What is the purpose of this life”? Learning to speak the truth is a vital step in the formation of a strong character. Voicing an untruth is an anti-social act and causes confusion in the mind of both the speaker and the listener and leads to anti-social behaviour.A quotation used in a lesson to stimulate thought and questions, may later come to mind to provide guidance and choice in a life situation. Choosing to refer to this higher level of awareness and to consciously exercise moderation in our behaviour leads to better health and greater contentment.

Right Conduct - Using the tool of the body

Information is received through the five senses, i.e. smell, taste, sight, touch and hearing. When this information is referred to the conscience, the resulting action will be beneficial. Every action is preceded by a thought. If the thought is consciously seen and noted, it aims to assist and is unselfish, the action will be good for oneself and others. If our minds are busy, or we are daydreaming, the action may be useless, clumsy or harmful to ourselves and others. 

Non Violence – Awakening the Spirit Within

For the non-violent person the whole world is his family. When the former four values are practised (i.e. the conscious mind is keenly aware, love is overflowing, there is peace and actions are undertaken without harm or violation to anything else. It is the highest achievement of the human to live and with encompassing respect for all life living in harmony with nature and not hurting by thought, word or deed. This program recognises two aspects of non-violence; psychological and social.

Thinking with love is truth,

Feeling with love is peace,

Acting with love is right conduct,

Understanding with love is non-violence.

Sathya Sai Baba