Sikolohiyang Pilipino: 50 Years of Critical-Emancipatory Social Science in the Philippines
June 24, 2013 in Books, Talks, Papers, CDs, Websites, Cultural Studies, Historic Context by geejay langlois
by Narcisa Paredes-Canilao, University of the Philippines Baguio
and Maria Ana Babaran-Diaz, University of the Philippines Baguio
http://www.discourseunit.com/arcp10/Philippines%20I%20765-783.pdf
Abstract
Sikolohiyang Pilipino, or efforts of Filipino psychologists and social scientists to indigenize Psychology in the Philippines started in the 1960s, further crystallized into a distinct movement from the mid-1970s and continued to flourish in the 21st century. Using the broad outlines of critical-emancipatory social science, we argue in this paper that Sikolohiyang Pilipino since its inception in the works of V.D. Enriquez, was meant and has proven to be a
liberated and liberating psychology (literally malaya at mapagpalayang sikolohiya), and may therefore be a unique type of criticl psychology in the Philippine setting. We first examine the academic and cultural circumstances that led to the movement of Sikolohiyang Pilipino, then describe its aims, methodologies, advocacies and theoretical contributions and how these resulted in the establishment of professional organizations, research programs, and curricular offerings.
The movement from the traditional academic psychology as taught in the universities was brought about by dissatisfaction with too much emphasis on Western theories particularly on the tendency for quantification to emulate the scientific method to examine human phenomena. The end of the colonization period in the Philippines brought with it the beginning of a post-colonial psychology that focused on indigenous knowledge, practices, and methods.
Key words: Critical-emancipatory social science, critical psychology, decolonization, indigenization, indigenous psychology, mainstreamed psychology, liberated and liberating psychology, mainstreamed psychology, pantayong pananaw, Philippine Psychology, pilipinolohiya, Sikolohiyang Pilipino.