Mark-Anthony C. Tungpalan and Abrillius Raffy C. Laguesma:

Decolonizing Knowledge: The Social Science, Issues, Concerns, and Recommendations.

Westerners have been too influential on almost every field of human knowledge. As Alan J. Bishop critique western mathematics being considered universal and widely accepted by the people from different cultures and perceived to be as a culture-free knowledge. In this assumption, cultures are disregarded for not having the avenues to construct knowledge with regard to mathematics. However, Bishop acknowledges that cultures have the ability to produce their own mathematical system unique from others but is dominated by power knowledge (specifically, mathematics) introduced by the Western dominant thoughts.

Philip G. Altbach added that the Western is too pervasive in influencing other non-western cultures by employing education to penetrate traditional educational system of non-western cultures. Altbach argued that aside from physical colonization there exists mental colonization (colonization of the mind) wherein education is involved.

The article of Syed Farid Alatas strengthens the monopolistic control as well as influence over Third World social sciences. In addition, the dependence of Third World scholars and intellectuals on Western social science is due to the idea that they can not construct original metatheoretical or theoretical analysis thus depending on patterns from researches in the West on research agendas.

Contending debates of the traditionalist and challengers, with regard to crisis in American higher education was laid down by John R. Searle. The basic arguments of the traditionalists are; there are intersubjective standards of rationality; it tries to get rid of the notion of provincialism, the idea that individuals are viewed as a member of the universal human culture, and liberal education should be propagated wherein it criticizes one’s self and one’s community. On the other hand, the challengers argue against the traditionalist that all cultures are not only morally equal but intellectually equal as well. Therefore, they proposed that multiculturalist democracy should be propagated wherein every culture must be represented equally.

As a result of these previous studies on colonialism (specifically colonization of the mind), non-western countries should respond through setting urgent actions to decolonize Western knowledge and values being forcibly impose to them. Decolonization in the social sciences seeks to free us from Western enforced knowledge. On the context of the Philippines, the decolonization process stated through discovering the implications of the colonization of the mind, which is considered as a hidden agenda that penetrates and modifies the indigenous knowledge structures. The Philippine educational system became as a sub-sector and sub structure of the hegemonic global economy wherein the country’s development is widely dependent on hegemonic structures, the Western. Thus, the roles of the Philippine social sciences are the following; first, to open the mind of Filipinos and be critical to foreign (Western) knowledge; second, to offer solutions to social dilemmas.

ISSUE
One emerging issue in the present day condition of the Philippines, is the misused of social research to legitimized the prevailing status quo. Those who hold seats in the government often make use of social researches to preserve the power bestowed upon them. For example, public officials (especially high ranking and high educational attainment) may demand researchers to conduct an assessment of the present condition of the society, where there exists a disturbance and instability in the status quo but through social research conducted by the scholars, the present condition could become the other way around. Politicians being endowed with power could influence and control the researchers to bring out a desirable outcome masking the existent status quo.

Most, if not, some high ranking officials in the Philippine government, for example, the current President of the Philippines (GMA), had acquired education from western schools particularly in Harvard University. The implication of this is that the way of thinking and decision making is mostly influenced by Western perspectives.

RECOMMENDATIONS
The misused of social research to legitimized the status quo should not be tolerated. The focus and purpose of social research should be on bringing out the truth and valid reality in the society and should not be use as a tool to deceive the people. Social research must serve its main functions as a political tool to initiate change in the society. Researchers should uncover the indigenous educational system, or if not, seek solutions to modify the Western perspectives and educational system to become applicable to the Philippine context.

Education from foreign or Western perspectives, specifically if related to the fields of administration cannot be a valid perspective for the Philippine context due to the fact that Western perspective could not at all be possibly applied across cultures for it is culturally-laden. Decolonization should start on the better bearing stage, elementary and high school accompanied by the decolonization in the academe. If such actions are to be successfully initiated, the possibility of developing an educational system, indigenous and uninfluenced by Western educational system, in cooperation with researchers, would be sufficient to start the decolonization process in the educational system and of the Philippines. Colonization of the mind is predominantly situated upon the academy (academe). Therefore, the academe/university and its role in decolonizing knowledge must be addressed. Unless these actions are done, the efforts of decolonizing knowledge and making other knowledge visible do not challenge the very effort/power we maintain to bring them to consciousness and to make them visible.-