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Towards A Practical And Empirically Grounded Account Of Útang-Na-Loób As A Filipino Virtue, Jacklyn A. Cleofas

Philosophy Department Faculty Publications

Although there are existing philosophical accounts of útang-na-loób (debt of good will) and the suggestion that this Filipino cultural practice can be considered a virtue is not new, questions remain about how morally desirable forms of útang-na-loób can be separated from its problematic involvement in nepotism, patronage politics, life-long servitude, corruption, and other forms of injustice. In this paper, I develop a practical and empirically grounded account of útang-na-loób as a Filipino virtue by using a neo-Aristotelian framework that allows for the incorporation of research from the social sciences into virtue-theoretic recommendations for action. I argue that útang-na-loób must be …