Rudyard Kipling May Have Been Correct
Columpuss, Pure Logic and my eternal buddy the Dragon Slayer:
Thanks guys. The last few posts are some of the most candid and insightful that I have read for quite some time. It's reassuring, at least for me, to realize we all go through the same struggles in our efforts to understand.
I think that the reason we continue to be surprised by some aspects of human behavior is that the linear model of Western thought, or "rationality" simply does not apply here. Because it does not apply, we are unable to predict with any accuracy the response of the population to given sets of circumstances and stimuli. The fact is, that the attitudes and thought processes of Filipinos in particular and Southeast Asians in general, are governed much more by mystical or "non-rational" forces than is true in the West. Logical positivism, or the "if A then B" approach is simply inappropriate.
Pure Logic has implied at least, that it's the basic cultural and/or social assumptions that we do no understand. I agree. If we did understand these, or at least if we could define them, perhaps the behaviors would make perfect sense. We're simply making judgments from the wrong paradigm because it's the only one available to us.
In the Philippines, which is generally described as the only "Christian" country in SE Asia, we compound our mistakes by assuming that, because it's Christian, it must be grounded in the same Judeo/Christian belief sets as the West. The fact is though, that Christianity here is a very thin patina overlaying centuries of more tribalistic, pantheistic and mystical beliefs and it is these, more than Christian precepts, that govern behavior and thought.
There's a premise in logic that differences in belief are not subject to resolution through logical argumentation. This is true because differences in beliefs are grounded in different assumption,s and logic cannot resolve such differences. The point is that we see life through the prism of our own sets of assumptions and the Filipinos do likewise. The two sets are, however, extremely different most of the time.
It would be interesting to hear more on this subject from those with Filipino antecedents who were actually raised in the West. Perhaps they would understand, far better than I can, the specific differences in the two belief structures. I would imagine that they would have a difficult time reconciling the two.
Perhaps the only lessons to be learned are first, to acknowledge the fact that "East is East and West is West" and that the two are different and may be, in some cases, irreconcilable. Second, perhaps we should continue to try to explain to Filipinos why we act the way we do and third, we should never stop trying to undertand the basis for their behaviors and beliefs.
I have not touched on the conundrum of the guys who continue to send money to women they have met on the Internet. Perhaps it's a matter of nobility on their part; perhaps it's a way of sustaining a non-threatening relationship; or perhaps it's a genuine desire to cultivate something durable and meaninful. I would guess that the motivations are as varied as the number of guys engaging in the practice. I do not know, and I doubt I will ever understand it.
GE
