Idealism

Idealism denies the existence of mind-independent objects. For the idealist, to be is to be perceived; objects
are nothing more than our experiences of them.
The attraction of idealism is its economy. We dont have direct access to the external world, it is generally
agreed; all we can access directly are our experiences. Why, then, postulate the existence of anything beyond
our experiences? The idealist refuses to do so, holding that our experiences dont represent objects, but rather
constitute them, that there is nothing beyond them.
For the idealist, then, objects only exist insofar as they are perceived. If I shut my eyes, then unless there is
someone else perceiving the objects that surround me, those objects will cease to exist, at least until I reopen
my eyes and perceive them once more.
Setting aside its initial implausibility, the main difficulty with this view is that it cannot explain the consistency of
our experiences of the world. Why, when I reopen my eyes, do I see the same objects that I saw before? What
causes me to perceive those objects rather than any others? Why, if two observers look in a single cupboard,
and then compare what they saw, will both observers reports tally?
Berkeley, the most famous idealist, had both an answer to this problem and a way of avoiding the absurd
suggestion that everytime I blink my study passes out of and back into existence in a fraction of a second: this
answer is God.
God, according to Berkeley, is constantly perceiving everything. Though I may blink, and so stop perceiving my
study, God continues to perceive it whether my eyes are open or shut. My study, therefore, never passes out of
existence, for it is always perceived by God.
What is more, God explains the consistency in our perceptions. Though there may be no mind-independent
objects causing our experiences, and so ensuring that our various experiences are mutually consistent, there is
nevertheless something outside us causing our experiences and ensuring that they are consistent: God. God
thus plays a central role in Berkeleys idealism.

in philosophy, any view that stresses the central role of the ideal or the spiritual in the interpretation
of experience. It may hold that the world or realityexists essentially as spirit or consciousness,
that abstractions and laws are more fundamental in reality than sensory things, or, at least, that
whatever exists is known in dimensions that are chiefly mentalthrough and as ideas.
Thus, the two basic forms of idealism are metaphysical idealism, which asserts the ideality of reality,
and epistemological idealism, which holds that in the knowledgeprocess the mind can grasp only the
psychic or that its objects are conditioned by their perceptibility. In its metaphysics, idealism is thus
directly opposed to materialismthe view that the basic substance of the world is matter and that it
is known primarily through and as material forms and processes. In its epistemology, it is opposed
to realism, which holds that in human knowledge objects are grasped and seen as they really arein
their existence outside and independently of the mind.
As a philosophy often expressed in bold and expansive syntheses, idealism is also opposed to various
restrictive forms of thought: to skepticism, with occasional exceptions, as in the work of the British
Hegelian F.H. Bradley; to logical positivism, which stresses observable facts and relations and
therefore spurns the speculative pretensions of every metaphysics; and sometimes to atheism, since
the idealist sometimes extrapolates the concept of mind to embrace an infinite Mind. The essential
orientation of idealism can be sensed through some of its typical tenets: Truth is the whole, or the

Absolute; to be is to be perceived; reality reveals its ultimate nature more faithfully in its highest
qualities (mental) than in its lowest (material); the Ego is both subject and object.

F.H. Bradley, detail of a portrait by R.G. Eves, 1924; in the collection of Merton College, Oxford.
Courtesy of the Warden and Fellows of Merton College, Oxford; photograph, Thomas-Photos

APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING IDEALISM

SIMILAR TOPICS

philosophy of law
realism
I-Thou
process philosophy
Latin Averroism
philosophy of religion
Kantianism
pluralism and monism
irrationalism
pragmatism

What idealism is may be clarified by approaching it in three ways: through its basic doctrines and
principles, through its central questions and answers, and through its significant arguments.

Basic doctrines and principles

Six common basic conceptions distinguish idealistic philosophy:
The union of individuality and universality
Abstract universalssuch as canineness, which expresses the common nature oressence that the
members of a class (e.g., individual dogs or wolves) share with one anotherare acknowledged by
many philosophers. Many idealists, however, emphasize the concept of a concrete universal, one that
is also a concrete reality, such as humankind or literature, that can be imagined as gatherable into
one specific thing. As opposed to the fixed formal abstract universal, the concrete universal is
essentially dynamic, organic, and developing. Thus, universality and individuality merge.
The contrast between contemporaneity and eternity
Whereas most philosophers tend to focus on matters of contemporary concern, idealists always seek
a much wider perspective that embraces epochs and eras in the broad sweep of history. In the words
of the 17th-century rationalist philosopherBenedict de Spinoza, they strive to view the contemporary
world under the aspect of eternity. Thus, in spite of the extensive formative influence of culture,
idealists claim that their philosophy transcends the parochialism of a particular culture; and idealisms
are found, in fact, in all the major cultures of the world.

Benedict de Spinoza, painting by an anonymous artist; in the Herzogliche Bibliothek,

Imagno/Austrian Archives/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The doctrine of internal relations and the coherence theory of truth

It seems natural to suppose, as nonidealists usually do, that the consideration of two things in their
relatedness to one another can have no effect on the things themselvesi.e., that a relation is
something in addition to the things or terms related and is thus external. On that basis, truth would be
defined as a relation ofcorrespondence between a proposition and a state of affairs. The idealist
believes, however, that reality is more subtle than that. The relationship between a mineral deposit
and the business cycle, for example, is an internal one: the deposit of an ore changes when prices
render it profitable to mine the mineral. Similarly, it is part of the essence of a brick that it is related
to a wall or pavement. Thus, terms and relations logically determine one another. Ultimate reality is
therefore a system of judgments or propositions, and truth is defined in terms of the coherence of
those propositions with one another to form a harmonious whole. Thus, a successful spy is judged
either a hero or a villain only in relation to a total system of international relations, an
accepted philosophy of history, and the moral judgments involved. There are therefore degrees of
reality and degrees of truth within a system of truth cohering by internal relations, and the truth of a
judgment reflects its place in that system.

The dialectical method

BRITANNICA STORIES

IN THE NEWS / ARTS & CULTURE

A New Home for African American History and Culture

DEMYSTIFIED / SPORTS & RECREATION

Why Does K Stand for a Strikeout in Baseball?

SPOTLIGHT / SOCIETY

The Controversy over Female Genital Cutting


IN THE NEWS / SCIENCE

Pinning Down Humanitys Out-of-Africa Migration

See All Stories

Idealism seeks to overcome contradictions by penetrating into the overall coherent system of truth
and continually creating new knowledge to be integrated with earlier discoveries. Idealism is thus
friendly to all quests for truth, whether in the natural or behavioral sciences or in art, religion, and
philosophy. It seeks the truth in every positive judgment and in its contradictory as well. Thus, it
traditionally uses thedialectical method of reasoning to remove the contradictions characteristic of
human knowledge. Such removal leads to a new synthetic judgment that incorporates in a higher
truth the degree of truth that was present in each of the two lower judgments.
The centrality of mind in knowledge and being

ST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

hats In a Name? Philosopher Edition

Idealism is not reductive, as are opposing philosophies that identify mind with matter and reduce the
higher level of reality to the protons andelectrons of mathematical physics. On the contrary, idealism

defends the principle that the lower is explained by the higherspecifically, that matter can be
explained by mind but that mind cannot be explained by matter. The word spirit can be substituted
for mind or even placed above it, and at one time spiritualism was used, especially in Europe, as a
synonym for idealism.
The transmutation of evil into good
CONNECT WITH BRITANNICA

Nearly all idealists accept the principle that the evils with which humankind has to deal may become
ingredients in a larger whole that overcomes them. The American Hegelian Josiah Royce held that
the larger whole is the Absolute Mind, which keeps evils under control as a person might hold a viper
under the sole of his boot. Along with that doctrine of the sublimation or transmutation of evil, Royce
incorporated into his metaphysics a point from the irrationalism of Arthur Schopenhauer, itself
avoluntaristic form of idealism, that is to say that the world is my idea. Schopenhauer, however,
was probably the only idealist who defended the converse principle that good is transmuted into evil.

Arthur Schopenhauer, 1855.

Archiv fr Kunst und Geschichte, Berlin

Basic questions and answers

In defining philosophical idealism in its historical development as a technical metaphysical doctrine,
three most-difficult and irreducible questions arise. From the efforts to answer those questions there
has been created an extensive literature that is the corpus of philosophical idealism.
Ultimate reality
The first of the three questions is metaphysical: What is the ultimate reality that is given in human
experience? Historically, answers to this question have fallen between two extremes. On the one
hand is the skepticism of the 18th-century empiricist David Hume, who held that the ultimate reality
given in experience is the moment-by-moment flow of events in the consciousness of each
individual. That concept compresses all of reality into a solipsistic specious presentthe momentary
sense experience of one isolated percipient. At the other extreme, followers of Spinoza adopted his
definition of ultimate substance as that which can exist and can be conceived only by itself.
According to the first principle of his system of pantheistic idealism, God (or Nature or Substance) is
the ultimate reality given in human experience. In the early 19th century the German
philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel said that this dogmatic absolutism was the lions den
into which all tracks enter and from which none ever returns. In answering the first question, most
philosophical idealists steer between Hume and Spinoza and in so doing create a number of types of
idealism, which are discussed below.

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, oil painting by Jakob von Schlesinger, c. 1825; in the
Deutsche Fotothek, Dresden

The given
BRITANNICA LISTS & QUIZZES

ANIMALS QUIZ

Capybaras

PHILOSOPHY & RELIGION LIST

Murder Most Horrid: The Grisliest Deaths of Roman Catholic Saints

HISTORY QUIZ

U.S. Presidential Firsts

SCIENCE LIST

10 Ways of Looking at Cells

The second question to arise in defining idealism is: What is given? What results can be obtained
from a logical interpretation and elaboration of the given? According to idealists, the result, though it
is frequently something external to individual experience, is, nevertheless, a concrete universal, an

order system (like the invisible lattice structure of a crystal), or an ideality in the sense explained
earlier. In Hegels words: What is real is rational, and what is rational is real. Idealists believe that
the collective human spirit of intellectual inquiry has discovered innumerable order systems that are
present in external nonhuman reality, or nature, and that that collective creative intelligence has
produced the various sciences and disciplines. That production has required a long period of time
called history. But history was antedated by the achievements of ancestors who created languages
and religions and other primitive institutions. Consequently, the logical interpretation and elaboration
of the given is actually the complete transformation of Earth by its various inhabitants. An inherent
part of the collective intelligence is the spiritual force that idealists call the spirit of philosophy.
Change
The third question is: What position or attitude is a thinker to take toward temporal becoming and
change and toward the presence of ends and values within the given? According to
idealists, reason not only discovers a coherent order in nature but also creates the state and other
cultural institutions, which together constitute the cultural order of a modern society. Idealistic
political philosophers recognize the primacy of this cultural order over the private order or family
and over the public orderthe governing agencies and economic institutions. The conservation and
enhancement of the values of all three orders constitute the basic moral objective of every people. A
useful distinction drawn by the German philosopher Ernst Cassirer, a member of the Marburg school
of Neo-Kantianism (see below Types of philosophical idealism: Western types), between the efficient
and the formative energies of a people emphasizes the way in which those moral forces function: the
efficient energies are the conserving, and the formative are the creative forces in society. It is on the
basis of that distinction that idealists have made a contribution to international ethics, which charges
that no country has a right to use its efficient energies to exercise power over another people except
to further the formative energies of that people, to enrich their cultural order. Ethically, then, there
can be no power over without power for; i.e., economic exploitation is wrong.
Modern idealists have also created an idealistic philosophy of history. The 20th-century Italian
idealist Benedetto Croce expressed it in the formula every true history is contemporary history; and
at the same time in France, the subjective idealist Lon Brunschvicg agreed. There are close relations
between the philosophy of history and the philosophy of values.

Benedetto Croce.
H. Roger-Viollet

Basic arguments
Four basic arguments found in the literature of idealism may be briefly summarized.
Esse est percipi: To be is to be perceived
According to this argument, all the qualities attributed to objects are sense qualities. Thus, hardness is
the sensing of a resistance to a striking action, and heaviness is a sensation of muscular effort when,
for example, holding an object in ones hand, just as blueness is a quality of visual experience. But
those qualities exist only while they are being perceived by some subject or spirit equipped with
sense organs. The 18th-century Anglo-Irish empiricist George Berkeley rejected the idea that sense
perceptions are caused by material substance, the existence of which he denied. Intuitively he
grasped the truth that to be is to be perceived. The argument is a simple one, but it provoked an
extensive and complicated literature, and modern idealists considered it irrefutable.

George Berkeley, detail of an oil painting by John Smibert, c. 1732; in the National Portrait
Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery, London

The reciprocity argument

Closely related to the esse est percipi argument is the contention that subject and object are
reciprocally dependent upon each other. It is impossible to conceive of a subject without an object,
since the essential meaning of being a subject is being aware of an object and that of being an object
is being an object to a subject, that relation being absolutely and universally reciprocal.
Consequently, every complete reality is always a unity of subject and objecti.e., an immaterial
ideality, a concrete universal.
The mystical argument
In the third argument, the idealist holds that in the individuals most-immediate experience, that of
his own subjective awareness, the intuitive self can achieve a direct apprehension of ultimate reality,
which reveals it to be spiritual. Thus, themystic bypasses normal cognition, feeling that, for
metaphysical probings, the elaborate processes of mediation interposed between sense objects and
their perceptions reduce its reliability as compared with the direct grasp of intuition.
It is significant that the claims of that argument have been made by numerous thinkers, in varying
degrees idealistic and mystical, living in different periods and in different cultures. In ancient Greece,

for example, it was made by Plato, to whom the final leap to the form of the Good was mystical in
nature. In Indian Hindu Vedantaphilosophy, it was made by the 8th-century monistic
theologian Shankara and by the 11th-century dualistic Brahmin theist Ramanuja. In Buddhism the
claims were made by the sometimes mystical extreme subjectivism of the Vijnanavada school
ofMahayana (represented by Ashvaghosha in the 1st and Asanga in the 4th century) and in China by
the Zen school and by the 7th-century scholar Hui-neng, author of its basic classic Liu-Tsu tanching (Platform Scripture of the Sixth Patriarch). In Islamic lands it was made by Sufis (mystics)
in particular, by the 13th-century Persian writer Jalal al-Din Rumi. And in the West during the late
19th and early 20th centuries, it was made by several distinguished idealists: in Germany, by the
seminal modern theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher; in France, by the evolutionary
intuitionist Henri Bergson, by the philosopher of action Maurice Blondel, and by the Jewish
religious existentialist Martin Buber; and in English-speaking countries, by the Scottish
metaphysician James Frederick Ferrier and the American Hegelian William E. Hocking.

Ramanuja, bronze sculpture, 12th century; from a Vishnu temple in Thanjavur district, India.
Courtesy of the Institut Franais de Pondichry

The ontological argument

This famous argument originated as a proof of the existence of God. It occurred to the 11th-century
thinker St. Anselm of Canterbury, as an intuitive insight from his personal religious experience, that a
being conceived to be perfect must necessarily exist, for otherwise that being would lack one of the
essentials of perfection. Gods perfection requires his existence. Some idealist philosophers have
generalized the argument to prove idealism. They distinguish conceptual essences that exist only in
the intellect from categorial essences that actually exist in re (in the thing). Every actual reality,
therefore, is a unity of one or more categorial essences and existence; and again, that means that it is

an immaterial ideality or concrete universal. According to Hegel, the ideality of the finite is the
main principle of philosophy.

TYPES OF PHILOSOPHICAL IDEALISM

Berkeleys idealism is called subjective idealism, because he reduced reality to spirits (his name for
subjects) and to the ideas entertained by spirits. In Berkeleys philosophy the apparent objectivity of
the world outside the self was accommodated to his subjectivism by claiming that its objects are
ideas in the mind of God. The foundation for a series of more-objective idealisms was laid by the
18th-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant, whose epochal work Kritik der reinen
Vernunft(1781; 2nd ed. 1787; Critique of Pure Reason) presented a formalistic ortranscendental
idealism, so named because Kant thought that the human self, or transcendental ego, constructs
knowledge out of sense impressions, upon which are imposed certain universal concepts that he
called categories. Three systems constructed in Germany in the early 19th century by, respectively,
the moral idealistJohann Gottlieb Fichte, the aesthetic idealist Friedrich Schelling, and Hegel, all on a
foundation laid by Kant, are referred to as objective idealism, in contrast to Berkeleyssubjective
idealism. The designations, however, are not consistent, and when the contrast with Berkeley is not at
issue, Fichte himself is often called a subjective idealist, inasmuch as he exalted the subject above the
object, employing the termEgo to mean God in the two memorable propositions: The Ego posits
itself and The Ego posits the non-Ego (or nature). In contrast to the subjective idealism of Fichte,
Schellings is called an objective idealism, and Hegels is called an absolute idealism.

Immanuel Kant, print published in London, 1812.

Photos.com/Jupiterimages

All those terms form backgrounds for modern Western idealisms, most of which are based either on
Kants transcendental idealism or on those of Fichte, Schelling, or Hegel. Exceptions are those based
on other great idealists of the pastPlato,Plotinus, Spinoza, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, and others.
A revised form of Spinozas spiritual monism, for example, which held that reality is one substance
to be identified with God, was formulated by the idealist logician H.H. Joachim, a follower of
Bradley.
Unwilling to accept any of the above titles, one school of modern idealists adopted the motto Back
to Kant and were thus called Kantian idealists. Edward Caird, who imported German idealism into
England, and the German proponent of the philosophy of as if, Hans Vaihinger, who held that
much of humans so-called knowledge reduces to pragmatic fictions, were Kantian idealists or
Kantian transcendentalists. On that tradition are based the idealisms of the austerely religious
essayist Thomas Carlyle in Sartor Resartus (183334) and of the New
England transcendentalism ofRalph Waldo Emerson. It must be stated, however, that Kant preferred
the name critical idealism to that of transcendental idealism.
Another group of idealists, adopting the motto From Kant forward, founded the so-called Marburg
school of Neo-Kantian idealism. They rejected the idealisms of Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel and the
classical Newtonian dynamics presupposed by Kant and built instead upon the
new quantum and relativity theories of modern physics. Founded in the late 19th century
by Hermann Cohen, champion of a new interpretation of Kant, and his colleague, the Platonic
scholar Paul Natorp, who applied Kants critical method to humanistic as well as to scientific studies,
the school underwent a remarkable development, especially under the leadership of Cassirer, who
was noted for his profound analyses of human beings as animals that create culture through a unique
capacity for symbolic representation.
Theistic idealism was founded by the 19th-century medical instructor Rudolf Hermann Lotze, who
became a broadly learned metaphysician and whose theory of the world ground, in which all things
find their unity, was widely accepted by theistic philosophers and Protestant theologians. For Lotze,
the world ground is the transcendent synthesis of an evolutionary world process, which is both
mechanical and teleological (purposive); it is an infinite spiritual being, or God. In England the
absolute idealism of T.H. Green, a philosopher influenced chiefly by Plato and Kant, was shared by
his disciple, the more-Hegelian thinker Bernard Bosanquetwhose views were based upon Lotzes
idealismand by Bradley, the somewhat skeptical metaphysician of the movement.
Theistic absolutism was represented by a pioneer of modern philosophical theology,F.R. Tennant,
and by the German American theologian Paul Tillich. It differed from the personalistic form of
absolute idealism in accepting the traditional theologicalmonotheism that is essential to
the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religions. It revived classic arguments for the existence of God that
were rejected by Kant and appealed to advances in the physical, biological, and behavioral sciences
to support those revisions. The cosmological argument, for example, was restated as the continuing
relation of the cosmos to a world-ground that is spiritual in essence; thus, the concept of God as

a first cause is rejected. The concept of the fitness of the environment to life and to human history
and other scientific concepts was used to modernize the teleological argument. Nevertheless, all of
that revision was kept within the framework of idealistic metaphysics and epistemology. A theistic
spiritual pluralism, which interprets reality in terms of a multitude of interacting
psychic monads(elementary units), was developed by the English philosopher James Ward. On the
other hand, an atheistic spiritual pluralism, which holds that reality consists entirely of individual
minds and their contents, was espoused by the Cambridge Hegelian J.M. Ellis McTaggert.
During the late 19th century, a movement known as American Hegelian idealism arose in the United
States. It found vigorous early expression in the work of W.T. Harris, a central figure in a Midwestern
group of scholars known as the St. Louis school. In its later development, American idealism split
into two branches: one of the aforementioned Bradley-Bosanquet type and a second of the RoyceHocking type, so called because it was founded by Royce and developed by his disciple Hocking.
The American philosopher of religion Borden Parker Bowne founded another important American
school, that of personalism, a Kantian- and Lotzean-based variety oftheistic idealism similar to the
spiritual pluralism of Ward. Whereas most previous idealisms had stressed the rational as the highest
category of reality and hence as its paradigm, personalism saw in the centred structures of
personhood, both finite and infinite, an even higher category, displaying dimensions richer than the
rational alone.Personalism was influentially developed in the United States, most notably through
the Methodist philosopher E.S. Brightman, known for his defense of the doctrine of a finite God, and
through the journal The Personalist, edited by one of Bownes disciples, R.T. Flewelling.
Personalism was also found in the work of the French philosopher C.B. Renouvier and in that of
several Latin American philosophers.
To the above types should be added the vitalism, or creative evolutionism, ofBergson, which first
found in the apprehension of subjective time an arguably more-valid insight into reality than in that
of an objective space-time order and then, extending this metaphysics to the cosmic level, claimed to
discerned there an idealistic lan vital (or vital impetus) that is more fundamental than matter, which
subsequently appeared in the role of a husk born of the mechanization of the lan. In the same
tradition, the voluntarism of Blondel, a unique theory of belief in God as a live option that must be
deliberately willed by the self before it can be found to be true in experience, was an important
contribution to idealistic philosophy. The Spanish philosopher Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo developed
a unique type of idealism, more literary than philosophical. He stressed the significance of each
individual and argued for personal immortality.
Alfred North Whiteheadnoted for his early 20th-century collaboration with Bertrand Russell in
mathematical logic and for his process philosophywho was profoundly influenced by Bradley,
created an original idealistic philosophy of science, a highly complicated form of metaphysical
idealism; and the American metaphysician Charles Hartshorne was a representative of Whiteheadian
idealism, although rightly claiming originality. Epistemological idealism, of which the Kantian
scholar Norman Kemp Smiths Prolegomena to an Idealist Theory of Knowledge (1924) is an
excellent example, covers all idealistic theories of epistemology, or knowledge.

Alfred North Whitehead

Aesthetic idealism is devoted to philosophical theories of beauty in nature and in all forms of art.
Because Schelling claimed that art is the best approach to an understanding of philosophy, his system
is designated aesthetic idealism. Axiological idealism is a name referring to such philosophies as
those of Wilbur M. Urban and others who developed idealistic theories of value and valuation.
Ethical idealism deals with moral values, rights, and obligations. Several of the above-mentioned
philosophers, such as Fichte and Green, as well as the Plato scholar A.E. Taylor, the theistic pluralist
Hastings Rashdall, and the absolutist W.R. Sorley, could be called ethical idealists in the sense that
they produced well-thought-out systems of ethics. The writings of the German philosopher of life and
action Rudolf Eucken also provide an excellent example of ethical idealism.
Those classifications are not exhaustive. The actual existence of so many types of philosophical
idealism, however, proves its fertility and ubiquity.

CRITICISM AND APPRAISAL

Obviously, some of the types of idealism in the above classifications conflict with one another. For
example, spiritual monism and spiritual pluralism are opposite types; personalism rejects absolute
idealism; and atheistic spiritual pluralism is in sharp conflict with theistic spiritual pluralism. Those

and other debatable issues kept idealists in dialogue with each other, but each type tended to preserve
itself.
Over against those internal disputes stand the criticisms of the anti-idealists. The wide-ranging
American realist Ralph Barton Perry, for example, admitted that the primary approach of all
philosophers to the problem of ultimate reality must be through their own thought, using their own
ideas; but that is a human predicament that was unjustifiably exploited by the idealists, according to
Perry, and turned into the fallacious esse est percipi argument.
The famous Refutation of Idealism prepared by the meticulous Cambridge philosopher G.E.
Moore and a similar refutation by Russell rest upon the distinction between a subjects act of
perceiving and the perceptual object of this act, which they both called a sense datum. They
claimed that Berkeleys esse est percipi argument is vitiated by his failure to make this distinction.
Logical positivism claimed that a basic weakness in idealism is its incompatibility with
the verifiability principle, according to which a proposition is meaningful only if it can in principle
be verified (or falsified) through sense experience. So-called ordinary-language philosophy attacked
idealism by making a detailed analysis of its more technical terms in an effort to prove that they are
full of ambiguities and double meanings. Critics also severely attacked the ontological and the
mystical arguments for idealism. In the 19th century, Karl Marx and his followers borrowed and
adapted the dialectical argument of Hegel and used it effectively to develop dialectical materialism,
an archenemy of all idealisms. Marxism posed a formidable opposition to idealism in the 20th
century.

Karl Marx.
Courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum; photograph, J.R. Freeman & Co. Ltd.

Idealists considered all of the foregoing criticisms to be external. Instead of answering them in detail,
some idealists preferred to challenge the critics to make genuinely constructive efforts to build an
adequate substitute for idealisma system to be reached by seriously working at the problems from
within philosophy. To produce such a substitute would require careful reconsideration of the
arguments of at least some of the above idealistic systems.
Although it is now on the wane, at least in Western culture, the great idealist tradition has survived
many other historical periods of turmoil and has often been reborn in prolonged periods of settled
and peaceful social conditions. Will it rise again? Only the future holds the answer. But idealism
shows evidence of being, perhaps, a reflection of some permanent aspect of the human spirit, and it
may then be a perennial philosophy. In any case, it seems highly unlikely that such a rich heritage of
philosophical thought will vanish entirely.
FEEDBACK

Four General or World Philosophies

The term metaphysics literally means "beyond the physical." This area
of philosophy focuses on the nature of reality. Metaphysics attempts to
find unity across the domains of experience and thought. At the
metaphysical level, there are four* broad philosophical schools of thought that apply
to education today. They are idealism, realism, pragmatism (sometimes called
experientialism), and existentialism. Each will be explained shortly. These four
general frameworks provide the root or base from which the various educational
philosophies are derived.
* A fifth metaphysical school of thought, called Scholasticism, is largely applied in Roman Catholic schools in the
educational philosophy called "Thomism." It combines idealist and realist philosophies in a framework that
harmonized the ideas of Aristotle, the realist, with idealist notions of truth. Thomas Aquinas, 1255-127, was the
theologian who wrote "Summa Theologica," formalizing church doctrine. The Scholasticism movement encouraged
the logical and philosophical study of the beliefs of the church, legitimizing scientific inquiry within a religious
framework.

Two of these general or world philosophies, idealism and realism, are derived from
the ancient Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristotle. Two are more
contemporary, pragmatism and existentialism. However, educators who share one of
these distinct sets of beliefs about the nature of reality presently apply each of these
world philosophies in successful classrooms. Let us explore each of these
metaphysical schools of thought.
Idealism
Idealism is a philosophical approach that has as its central tenet that ideas are the only
true reality, the only thing worth knowing. In a search for truth, beauty, and justice
that is enduring and everlasting, the focus is on conscious reasoning in the mind.
Plato, father of Idealism, espoused this view about 400 years BC, in his famous
book, The Republic. Plato believed that there are two worlds. The first is the spiritual
or mental world, which is eternal, permanent, orderly, regular, and universal. There is
also the world of appearance, the world experienced through sight, touch, smell, taste,
and sound, that is changing, imperfect, and disorderly. This division is often referred
to as the duality of mind and body. Reacting against what he perceived as too much of
a focus on the immediacy of the physical and sensory world, Plato described a utopian

society in which "education to body and soul all the beauty and perfection of which
they are capable" as an ideal. In his allegory of the cave, the shadows of the sensory
world must be overcome with the light of reason or universal truth. To understand
truth, one must pursue knowledge and identify with the Absolute Mind. Plato also
believed that the soul is fully formed prior to birth and is perfect and at one with the
Universal Being. The birth process checks this perfection, so education requires
bringing latent ideas (fully formed concepts) to consciousness.
In idealism, the aim of education is to discover and develop each individual's abilities
and full moral excellence in order to better serve society. The curricular emphasis is
subject matter of mind: literature, history, philosophy, and religion. Teaching methods
focus on handling ideas through lecture, discussion, and Socratic dialogue (a method
of teaching that uses questioning to help students discover and clarify knowledge).
Introspection, intuition, insight, and whole-part logic are used to bring to
consciousness the forms or concepts which are latent in the mind. Character is
developed through imitating examples and heroes.
Realism
Realists believe that reality exists independent of the human mind. The ultimate
reality is the world of physical objects. The focus is on the body/objects. Truth is
objective-what can be observed. Aristotle, a student of Plato who broke with his
mentor's idealist philosophy, is called the father of both Realism and the scientific
method. In this metaphysical view, the aim is to understand objective reality through
"the diligent and unsparing scrutiny of all observable data." Aristotle believed that to
understand an object, its ultimate form had to be understood, which does not change.
For example, a rose exists whether or not a person is aware of it. A rose can exist in
the mind without being physically present, but ultimately, the rose shares properties
with all other roses and flowers (its form), although one rose may be red and another
peach colored. Aristotle also was the first to teach logic as a formal discipline in order
to be able to reason about physical events and aspects. The exercise of rational
thought is viewed as the ultimate purpose for humankind. The Realist curriculum
emphasizes the subject matter of the physical world, particularly science and
mathematics. The teacher organizes and presents content systematically within a
discipline, demonstrating use of criteria in making decisions. Teaching methods focus
on mastery of facts and basic skills through demonstration and recitation. Students
must also demonstrate the ability to think critically and scientifically, using

observation and experimentation. Curriculum should be scientifically approached,

standardized, and distinct-discipline based. Character is developed through training in
the rules of conduct.
Pragmatism (Experientialism)
For pragmatists, only those things that are experienced or observed are real. In this
late 19th century American philosophy, the focus is on the reality of experience.
Unlike the Realists and Rationalists, Pragmatists believe that reality is constantly
changing and that we learn best through applying our experiences and thoughts to
problems, as they arise. The universe is dynamic and evolving, a "becoming" view of
the world. There is no absolute and unchanging truth, but rather, truth is what works.
Pragmatism is derived from the teaching of Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914), who
believed that thought must produce action, rather than linger in the mind and lead to
indecisiveness.
John Dewey (1859-1952) applied pragmatist philosophy in his progressive
approaches. He believed that learners must adapt to each other and to their
environment. Schools should emphasize the subject matter of social experience. All
learning is dependent on the context of place, time, and circumstance. Different
cultural and ethnic groups learn to work cooperatively and contribute to a democratic
society. The ultimate purpose is the creation of a new social order. Character
development is based on making group decisions in light of consequences.
For Pragmatists, teaching methods focus on hands-on problem solving,
experimenting, and projects, often having students work in groups. Curriculum should
bring the disciplines together to focus on solving problems in an interdisciplinary way.
Rather than passing down organized bodies of knowledge to new learners, Pragmatists
believe that learners should apply their knowledge to real situations through
experimental inquiry. This prepares students for citizenship, daily living, and future
careers.
Existentialism
The nature of reality for Existentialists is subjective, and lies within the individual.
The physical world has no inherent meaning outside of human existence. Individual
choice and individual standards rather than external standards are central. Existence
comes before any definition of what we are. We define ourselves in relationship to
that existence by the choices we make. We should not accept anyone else's

predetermined philosophical system; rather, we must take responsibility for deciding

who we are. The focus is on freedom, the development of authentic individuals, as we
make meaning of our lives.
There are several different orientations within the existentialist philosophy. Soren
Kierkegaard (1813-1855), a Danish minister and philosopher, is considered to be the
founder of existentialism. His was a Christian orientation. Another group of
existentialists, largely European, believes that we must recognize the finiteness of our
lives on this small and fragile planet, rather than believing in salvation through God.
Our existence is not guaranteed in an after life, so there is tension about life and the
certainty of death, of hope or despair. Unlike the more austere European approaches
where the universe is seen as meaningless when faced with the certainty of the end of
existence, American existentialists have focused more on human potential and the
quest for personal meaning. Values clarification is an outgrowth of this movement.
Following the bleak period of World War II, the French philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre,
suggested that for youth, the existential moment arises when young persons realize for
the first time that choice is theirs, that they are responsible for themselves. Their
question becomes "Who am I and what should I do?
Related to education, the subject matter of existentialist classrooms should be a matter
of personal choice. Teachers view the individual as an entity within a social context in
which the learner must confront others' views to clarify his or her own. Character
development emphasizes individual responsibility for decisions. Real answers come
from within the individual, not from outside authority. Examining life through
authentic thinking involves students in genuine learning experiences. Existentialists
are opposed to thinking about students as objects to be measured, tracked, or
standardized. Such educators want the educational experience to focus on creating
opportunities for self-direction and self actualization. They start with the student,
rather than on curriculum content.

Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes individual

existence, freedom and choice. It is the view that humans define their own
meaning in life, and try to make rational decisions despite existing in an irrational
universe. It focuses on the question of human existence, and the feeling that there
is no purpose or explanation at the core of existence. It holds that, as there is no

God or any other transcendent force, the only way to counter this nothingness (and
hence to find meaning in life) is by embracing existence.
Thus, Existentialism believes that individuals are entirely free and must take personal
responsibility for themselves (although with this responsibility comes angst, a
profound anguish or dread). It therefore emphasizes action, freedom and decision as
fundamental, and holds that the only way to rise above the essentially absurd
condition of humanity (which is characterized bysuffering and inevitable death) is by
exercising our personal freedom and choice (a complete rejection of Determinism).
Often, Existentialism as a movement is used to describe those who refuse to belong
to any school of thought, repudiating of theadequacy of any body of beliefs or systems,
claiming them to be superficial, academic and remote from life. Although it has much in
common with Nihilism, Existentialism is more a reaction against traditional
philosophies, such as Rationalism,Empiricism and Positivism, that seek to discover an
ultimate order and universal meaning in metaphysical principles or in the structure of
the observed world. It asserts that people actually make decisions based on what
has meaning to them, rather than what is rational.
Existentialism originated with the 19th Century philosophers Sren
Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche, although neither used the term in their work. In
the 1940s and 1950s, French existentialists such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert
Camus (1913 - 1960), and Simone de Beauvoir (1908 - 1986) wrote scholarly and
fictional works that popularized existential themes, such as dread, boredom,
alienation, the absurd, freedom, commitment and nothingness.

Main Beliefs

Back to Top

Unlike Ren Descartes, who believed in the primacy of conciousness, Existentialists

assert that a human being is "thrown into" into a concrete, inveterate universe that
cannot be "thought away", and therefore existence ("being in the world") precedes
consciousness, and is the ultimate reality. Existence, then, is prior to
essence (essence is the meaning that may be ascribed to life), contrary
to traditional philosophical views dating back to the ancient Greeks. As Sartre put it: "At
first [Man] is nothing. Only afterward will he be something, and he himself will have
made what he will be."
Kierkegaard saw rationality as a mechanism humans use to counter their existential
anxiety, their fear of being in the world.Sartre saw rationality as a form of "bad faith", an
attempt by the self to impose structure on a fundamentally irrational and random
world of phenomena ("the other"). This bad faith hinders us from finding meaning in
freedom, and confines us within everyday experience.
Kierkegaard also stressed that individuals must choose their own way without the aid
of universal, objective standards.Friedrich Nietzsche further contended that the
individual must decide which situations are to count as moral situations. Thus, most

Existentialists believe that personal experience and acting on one's

own convictions are essential in arriving at the truth, and that the understanding of a
situation by someone involved in that situation is superior to that of a detached,
objective observer (similar to the concept of Subjectivism).
According to Camus, when an individual's longing for order collides with the real
world's lack of order, the result is absurdity. Human beings are therefore subjects in
an indifferent, ambiguous and absurd universe, in which meaning is not provided by
thenatural order, but rather can be created (however provisionally and unstably) by
human actions and interpretations.
Existentialism can be atheistic, theological (or theistic) or agnostic. Some Existentialists,
like Nietzsche, proclaimed that "God is dead" and that the concept of God is obsolete.
Others, like Kierkegaard, were intensely religious, even if they did not feel able
tojustify it. The important factor for Existentialists is the freedom of choice to believe
or not to believe.
,,,,
Pragmatism rejects the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality.[3] Instead,
pragmatists consider thought an instrument or tool for prediction, problem solving and action. Pragmatists contend
that most philosophical topicssuch as the nature of knowledge, language, concepts, meaning, belief, and science
are all best viewed in terms of their practical uses and successes. The philosophy of pragmatism emphasizes the
practical application of ideas by acting on them to actually test them in human experiences.[4] Pragmatism focuses on
a changing universe rather than an unchanging one as the Idealists, Realists and Thomists had claimed.[4]
The word "pragmatism" as a piece of technical terminology in philosophy refers to a specific set of associated
philosophical views originating in the late nineteenth-century. However, the phrase is often confused
with"pragmatism" in the context of politics (which refers to politics or diplomacy based primarily on practical
considerations, rather than ideological notions) and with a non-technical use of "pragmatism" in ordinary contexts
referring to dealing with matters in one's life realistically and in a way that is based on practical rather than abstract
considerations.

...

Were all tempted to use words that were not too familiar with. If this were the
only problem, I wouldnt have much to write about. Thats because were cautious
with words were unsure of and, thus, they dont create much of an issue for us.
Its the words that we think were using correctly that wreak the most havoc. We
throw them around in meetings, e-mails and important documents (such as
resumes and client reports), and they land, like fingernails across a chalkboard,

on everyone who has to hear or read them. Were all guilty of this from time to
time, myself included.
When I write, I hire an editor who is an expert in grammar to review my articles
before I post them online. Its bad enough to have a roomful of people witness
your blunderits something else entirely to stumble in front of 100,000! The
point is, we can all benefit from opportunities to sharpen the saw and minimize
our mistakes. Often, its the words we perceive as being more correct or
sophisticated that dont really mean what we think they do. There are 20 such
words that have a tendency to make even really smart people stumble.
Have a look to see which of these commonly confused words throw you off.

Accept vs. Except

These two words sound similar but have very different meanings.Accept means
to receive something willingly: His mom accepted his explanation or
She accepted the gift graciously. Except signifies exclusion: I can attend
every meeting except the one next week. To help you remember, note that
both except and exclusion begin with ex.

Affect vs. Effect

To make these words even more confusing than they already are, both can be
used as either a noun or a verb. Lets start with the verbs. Affectmeans to
influence something or someone; effect means to accomplish something. Your
job was affected by the organizational restructuring but These changes will
be effected on Monday. As a noun, an effect is the result of something: The
sunny weather had a huge effect on sales. Its almost always the right choice
because the noun affect refers to an emotional state and is rarely used outside of
psychological circles: The patients affect was flat.

Lie vs. Lay

Were all pretty clear on the lie that means an untruth. Its the other usage that
trips us up. Lie also means to recline: Why dont you liedown and
rest? Lay requires an object: Lay the book on the table. Lieis something you
can do by yourself, but you need an object to lay. Its more confusing in the past
tense. The past tense of lie isyou guessed itlay: I lay down for an hour last
night. And the past tense of lay is laid: I laid the book on the table.

Bring vs. Take

Bring and take both describe transporting something or someone from one
place to another, but the correct usage depends on the speakers point of view.
Somebody brings something to you, but you take it to somewhere else:
Bring me the mail, then take your shoes to your room. Just remember, if the
movement is toward you, use bring; if the movement is away from you, use take.

Ironic vs. Coincidental

A lot of people get this wrong. If you break your leg the day before a ski trip,
thats not ironicits coincidental (and bad luck). Ironic has several meanings,
all of which include some type of reversal of what was expected. Verbal irony is
when a person says one thing but clearly means another. Situational irony is
when a result is the opposite of what was expected. O. Henry was a master of
situational irony. In his famous short story The Gift of the Magi, Jim sells his
watch to buy combs for his wifes hair, and she sells her hair to buy a chain for
Jims watch. Each character sold something precious to buy a gift for the other,
but those gifts were intended for what the other person sold. That is true irony. If
you break your leg the day before a ski trip, thatscoincidental. If you drive up to
the mountains to ski, and there was more snow back at your house, thats ironic.
1

Imply vs. Infer

To imply means to suggest something without saying it outright. Toinfer means
to draw a conclusion from what someone else implies. As a general rule, the
speaker/writer implies, and the listener/reader infers.
1

Nauseous vs. Nauseated

Nauseous has been misused so often that the incorrect usage is accepted in
some circles. Still, its important to note the difference. Nauseousmeans causing
nausea; nauseated means experiencing nausea. So, ifyour circle includes ultraparticular grammar sticklers, never say Imnauseous unless you want them to
be snickering behind your back.
3

Comprise vs. Compose

These are two of the most commonly misused words in the English
language.Comprise means to include; compose means to make up. It all comes
down to parts versus the whole. When you use comprise, you put the whole first:
A soccer game comprises (includes) two halves. When you use compose, you
put the pieces first: Fifty states compose (make up) the United States of
America.
2

Farther vs. Further

Farther refers to physical distance, while further describes the degree or extent
of an action or situation. I cant run any farther, but I have nothing further to
say. If you can substitute more or additional, usefurther.

Fewer vs. Less

Use fewer when youre referring to separate items that can be counted;
use less when referring to a whole: You have fewer dollars, but lessmoney.
1

Bringing it all together

English grammar can be tricky, and, a lot of times, the words that sound right are
actually wrong. With words such as those listed above, you just have to memorize
the rules so that when you are about to use them, youll catch yourself in the act
and know for certain that youve written or said the right one.

Adolescent
Health

Practice
Update from
the National
Association of
Social Workers
Volume 2,
Number 2
September 2001

National Association of Social Workers

750 First Street NE Suite 700
Washington, DC 20002-4241
Phone: 202-408-8600
TTD: 202-336-8396
Fax: 202-336-8311
Web: www.socialworkers.org

Facts
The perceptions held by adults and
youth overestimate the percentage of
teens that are sexually experienced
(Child Trends, 2001).

Parents, Peers, and Pressures: Identifying the

Influences on Responsible Sexual Decision-Making
Sexual health is an essential part of good overall health and well-being. Sexuality is a
part of human life and human development. Good sexual health implies not only the
absence of disease, but the ability to understand and weigh the risks, responsibilities,
outcomes, and impacts of sexual actions, to be knowledgeable of and comfortable with
one's body, and to be free from exploitation and coercion. Whereas good sexual health
is significant across the life span, it is critical in adolescent health.
Adolescence signifies the onset of physical/sexual maturation and reproductive
capacity. Young people have a need and a right to know about their bodies and to be
educated and informed about their sexual health, yet they face many social, political,
and community barriers to receiving and gaining access to the right information. Sex is
often a challenging and difficult issue for both youths and adults to discuss. The
consequences of not talking about sex, however, can be severe:

The percentage of high school

students who have had sexual
intercourse has decreased from 54%
to 50% in the last decade (Kaiser
Family Foundation, 2000c).
Most Americans (7 out of 10) do not
believe that sexuality education
encourages sexual activity (Advocates
for Youth & SIECUS, 1999)
Risk of STDs and pregnancy are
primary influences in the sexual
decision-making of older teens (ages
15 to 17). Younger teens (ages 12 to
14) are more likely to cite parents,
teachers, and religious advisors as
primary influences (Kaiser Family
Foundation, 2000b).

Every hour of every day, two American young people contract HIV, 96
become pregnant, and nearly 350 more contract a sexually transmitted
disease (U.S. Public Health Service, 2001).

Although national overall rates of teenage pregnancy have declined, nearly 1 million teenagers become pregnant every
year (AGI, 1999). Although women, regardless of age, income, race, and ethnicity, experience unintended pregnancy, a
disproportionate number of them are low-income African American and Latina teenagers.

One-quarter of all new HIV infections in the United States are estimated to occur in young people under the age of 21
(Advocates for Youth, 1998). Sixty-four percent of adolescents ages 13 to 19 reported with HIV are females, and 84
percent are ethnic minority youths (CDC, 2000).

Social workers' involvement with youths and families often is related to a sexual health issue, including maternal and child health,
unintended pregnancy, sexual abuse and assault, or other problematic behaviors that occur with youths individually or with their
family and community system. Our proactive involvement on the issue is critical to help youths navigate the barrage of conflictual
messages about sex.

UNDERSTANDING THE INFLUENCES IN SEXUAL DECISIONMAKING

Making good decisions and responsible choices about sexual activity during the teenage years can have immediate and lasting
implications for overall health outcomes. How teenagers make decisions about relationships, abstaining or participating in sex, and
protecting themselves and others from sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy is influenced by numerous factors. Parents,
peers, the media, access to education and services, and a host of other factors influence decisions and subsequent health
outcomes. Understanding the context of decision making and the social influences provides significant insight for effective health
interventions. It gives instructive guidance for social workers' individual work with youths and families, as well as programmatic and
policy implications. Young people, sexually active or not, are influenced by a range of individual and social factors:

The Role of Parents and Family Dynamics

The role of parents in the lives and decision-making processes of youths is often underestimated. Although the transition to greater
independence is the hallmark of this developmental phase, parents clearly have a role and exert significant influence in the choices
young people make about sex.

Teenagers are most likely to seek sexual information from their friends (61 percent). Although they are least likely to seek
information from their parents (32 percent), a significant number of teenagers (43 percent) express a strong desire to have
more information on how to talk to their parents about sex and relationships (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2000a).

Nearly 80 percent of teenagers indicate that what their parents have told them and what their parents might think
influence their decisions about sex and relationships (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2000b).

The more that teenagers are satisfied with the motherchild relationship, the less likely they are to be sexually
experienced (Advocates for Youth, 1997). Conversely, poor communication with parents about sex and safe sex practices,
and parental substance abuse are also linked with risky sexual behaviors (Fraser, 1997).

Poor parentchild relationships are associated with depression in adolescents. For young men, this may lead to more

frequent use of alcohol, which is strongly linked with early sexual activity.

For young women, estrangement at home often leads them to seek and establish intimate relationships outside the family,
seeking the warmth and support they lack at home. Also, girls experiencing sexual abuse in the family are linked to
increased risk of teenage pregnancy (U.S. Public Health Service, 2001).

The Role of Peers

The peer group is an important factor in adolescent development and has some bearing on teenagers' decisions about sex.

Adolescents (ages 13 to 18) report that they are most likely to get information about sexual health issues from their peers
(Kaiser Family Foundation, 2000a).

Pressure to engage in sex increases during middle adolescence (Fraser, 1997). Peer group attitudes about sex influence
the attitudes and behaviors of teenagers.

Youths who resist engaging in sexual activity tend to have friends who are abstinent as well. They also tend to have strong personal
beliefs in abstinence and the perception of negative parental reactions. Youths who are sexually active tend to believe that most of
their friends are sexually active as well, that rewards outweigh the costs of sexual involvement, that sex overall is rewarding, and
that it is all right for unmarried adolescents over age 16 to engage in intercourse (Advocates for Youth, 1997).

The Role of the Media

The images that pervade the media (television, music videos, the Internet, and the like), are increasingly more explicit in sexual
content.

More than half (56 percent) of all television shows contain sexual contentaveraging more than three scenes with sex
per hour. For shows with sexual content, just 9 percent include any mention of the possible risks of sexual activity, or any
reference to contraception, protection, or safer sex (Kaiser Family Foundation, 1999).

Among young people 10 to 17 years of age who regularly use the Internet, one-quarter had been exposed to unwanted
pornography in the past year, and one-fifth had been exposed to unwanted sexual solicitations or approaches (U.S. Public
Health Service, 2001).

Although media images of sex and sexuality may be socially defined as a negative influence on teenage sexual decisionmaking, there is considerable potential for the use of media in conveying messages about responsible sexual behavior.
For example, more than one-half of high school boys and girls indicate learning about birth control and pregnancy
prevention from television (U.S. Public Health Service, 2001).

The Role of Communities, Schools, and Social Policy

The circle of influence on sexual decision-making extends beyond the individual and family system. Key considerations of these
extended influences include:

Impoverished communities that lack sufficient employment and educational opportunities, access to providers and
medical services, and overall social disintegration are associated with higher sexual risk taking (Fraser, 1997).

Schools have unique opportunities to provide education and information, as well as structured activities that discourage
unhealthy risk taking. Greater involvement in schools is related to decreased sexual risk taking and later initiation of sex,
pregnancy, and childbearing (U.S. Public Health Service, 2001).

Young women who were the least successful in high school are the most likely to become pregnant (National Association
of Social Workers [NASW], 2000). Substance use and abuse are also factors in sexual decision making. One-quarter of
sexually active high school youths reported using alcohol or drugs during their most recent sexual encounter (Kaiser
Family Foundation, 2000c).

Youths often encounter barriers in obtaining needed information and services regarding their sexual health. Policies on
medical confidentiality, parental involvement and consent, as well as the nature of sex education available to youths are
important considerations in sexual health outcomes.

The political focus abstinence-only sexuality education has greatly impacted the nature and scope of information and
services available to youth. This focus on abstinence-only until marriage however, contradicts the beliefs of the majority of
Americans who favor comprehensive sexuality education that includes abstinence as well as information on
contraception, pregnancy prevention, STDs, and HIV/AIDS (Advocates for Youth & SIECUS, 1999).

IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE

Defining Responsible Sexual Behavior: Individual and Community Responsibility
The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior (2001), has helped to frame the
dialogue on sex and sexuality in a manner that highlights the importance of good sexual health and identifies core components of
responsible sexual behavior that will positively impact individual and public health goals. Social workers working on behalf of health,
youths, and families can use these concepts in a manner that promotes prevention and positive youth development.
Individual responsibilities include

understanding and awareness of one's sexuality and sexual development

respect for one's self and one's partner

avoidance of physical or emotional harm to either oneself or one's partner

ensuring pregnancy occurs only when welcomed

recognition of tolerance and diversity of sexual values.

Community responsibility includes assurance that individuals have

access to appropriate sexuality education

access to sexual and reproductive health care and counseling

the latitude to make appropriate sexual and reproductive choices

respect for diversity and freedom from stigmatization and violence on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or
sexual orientation.

This framework can serve as the basis for workshops, counseling sessions, prevention programs, and other related services.

Getting the Boys Involved

Much of the attention to adolescent sexual health is dominated by teenage pregnancy prevention. Although this focus is laudable, it
is equally important to address the multiplicity of issues that lead young people to early experiences with sex and potential
parenthood. In addition, it is important that young people who need services and assistance be able to gain access to systems of
care and help before a pregnancy, which is often when young girls are identified.
Assisting all youths in establishing and maintaining good sexual health requires a focus on the appropriate socialization and
behaviors of both females and males.

Gender roles that accord higher permissiveness for males and passivity for females can negatively impact the sexual and
overall health of young girls and women, if they are unable to protect themselves against unintended pregnancy and
sexually transmitted diseases (U.S. Public Health Service, 2001).

Young men are more likely than young women to become sexually active at younger ages, 12 percent and 4 percent,
respectively. Males are more likely than females to report having had four or more sexual partners (Kaiser Family
Foundation, 2000c).

Not all men involved in teenage pregnancies are teenagers themselves, especially when very young teenagers or
coercive sex is involved. Whereas 63 percent of sexually active females ages 15 to19 have partners who are within two
years (older or younger), the younger the girl is when she has sex the first time, the greater the average age difference is
likely to be between her and her partner (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2000c).

Studies show that programs that provide direct counseling and role models for boys can delay the onset of sexual activity,
lead to effective use of birth control, and involve fathers in effective fatherhood practices (NASW, 2000).

Helping young people establish healthy relationships and communication with their peers and partners, to be mutually respectful of
one another, and to support greater equity in relationships and sexual decision making can make a difference in health outcomes.

MENTAL HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS

Because of our unique roles and diversified practice areas, social workers have the opportunity to bring to bear more contemporary
understanding of youth sexual behavior and subsequent outcomes. Issues of mental health, depression, low self-esteem, and
feelings of hopelessness may encourage adolescent participation in intimate relationships. The need for intimacy and connection,
coupled with the mortality rates of young men, particularly African American men, are important concepts to consider, particularly as
they relate to teenage pregnancy.

Additional Ways To Become Involved In Helping Youths and Communities Achieve Responsible Sexual Behavior:

In school settings, share information with other staff and health professionals on evidence-based intervention models.
Approaches that have been effective include community-based programs, school-based programs, clinic-based and
religion-based programs (U.S. Public Health Service, 2001).

Understand the connection between the psychosocial aspects of sexual decision making as a point of intervention. This
helps to expand the connection of issues beyond the use of contraception.

Be knowledgeable about health education and health services access in your local community.

Have resources and referral information available for youths and families in your community.

Advocate for policies that protect the confidentiality of youths seeking health care services.

Work with youths and families to facilitate communication about responsible sexuality.

Be knowledgeable about the reporting policies in your state (on, for example, statutory rape or suspected sexual
exploitation of children). The fathers of babies born to teenage mothers are likely to be older than the mothers: about one
in five infants born to unmarried minors are fathered by men five or more years older than the mother (AGI, 1999).

.....................
FIVE PRINCIPLES OF SEXUAL RESPONSIBILITY
1.

Having the Courage to Get Adequate Sexual Knowledge

In the past, having little or no sexual knowledge indicated that women were sexually inexperienced. Today
inadequate sexual knowledge is one of the major reasons we engage in sexual practices without fully
understanding the consequences of this behavior and the impact of poor decision-making where sexual matters are
concerned. Knowledge alone does not necessarily change risky behaviors, but it can provide the basis for decisions
that promise sexual health.
2.

Connecting Our Family Values to Sexual Socialization and Sexual Behavior

Parents need to take a much more active role in discussing any and all sexual topics. Most importantly, parents
need to be involved in all aspects of their childrens lives, gradually letting the children be responsible for
themselves. We cannot depend solely on schools and churches to educate our children about human sexuality. We
also need to be a part of the educational process. From these efforts, a new generation of knowledgeable and
responsible youths can emerge.
3.

Protecting One Another from Abuse and Exploitation

Black women are more likely to be sexually abuse than they are to get married or go to college. We also have to
stress disclosing negative incidents to a responsible person, and teach our children to do so. Children should have a
very specific idea of inappropriate ways of expressing affection. We have to aggressively control our childrens
exposure to any messages that would have them believe that they cannot be sexually responsible individuals.
Sexual irresponsibility is not a part of our culture.
4.

Valuing Our Ability to Control Our Own Sexual Decision Making

Adolescents are too often motivated by curiosity and the pressure to perform sexually as expressed by friends,
love, interest and the media. They are not learning to control their sexuality and protect their reproductive systems
in a responsible way. Adolescents who do not control their sexuality often continue these patterns as adults and
abuse their sexuality or allow it to be used by others. We need to learn how to control our sexuality and be able to
select a partner who will respect us and help us avoid unwanted sexual outcomes.
5.

Creating Respectful and Mutually Satisfying Relationships That Also Includes Sex

Do you recognize your needs and not just your wants? Do you believe in your skills and your worth as an individual? Answering yes
to these questions puts us on the path to healthy relationships. Healthy relationships involve learning how to compromise with
partners and at the same time not ceding all of our control to them. Our cultural and religious values emphasize relationships in our
lives. Our survival as women is contingent upon self-protection and decision-making. Only when we respect ourselves can we have
healthy relationships.

........

Adolescent Sexuality: Talk the Talk Before

They Walk the Walk

Adolescence can be tough enough to get through without questions of sex, sexuality, and sexual identity. But
adolescents are humans, too no matter how alien they may seem to their parents at times. Openly addressing
the all-too-human questions of sexual development, sexual desire, and the nature of the adolescents
developing sexual identity are critical. Sharing factual information with and giving good moral guidance to

your teenager is a vitally important part of helping your teen understand herself or himself. It can help your
child avoid devastating, and possibly life-threatening, errors in judgment.
Above all, it is critical that parents be truthful, honest, and available to their children, says Charles R.
Wibbelsman, M.D., FAAP, Chief of Adolescent Medicine at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco and a
member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Adolescence.
Parents often have their own agenda dont do this and dont do that. But they need to take a step back and
leave the judgments aside for this discussion, says Warren Seigel, M.D., FAAP, Chairman of the Pediatrics
Department and Director of Adolescent Medicine at Coney Island Hospital, Brooklyn, N.Y. The most
appropriate and important thing for a parent and a child or adolescent in dealing with questions about sexuality
and sexual health is an open channel of communication.

The Messages They Get

In todays hyper-sexualized culture of Internet sites, mass media entertainers, and 24/7 programming, the
traditional birds and bees lecture (or pamphlet handed to the child to read on her or his own) on reproductive
basics is completely inadequate. Carefully preparing children for the normal changes in their bodies as well as
the endless assault of peer pressure, media glorification of irresponsible sexuality, and advertising come-ons is
the only way to create a sense of security for parents and children alike.
There are a lot of things in the media that are not appropriate for a particular age, says Dr. Wibbelsman, who
is co-author of The Teenage Body Book and Growing and Changing. We dont put children on the street and
wish them luck before sendingthem out on their own. We hold their hands. We educate them about the risks.
And we trust them with increasing responsibility only as theyre old enough and show theyre ready to handle
it.
The media particularly and everything around us talks about sex, adds Dr. Seigel. Its hard to avoid it.
The only foolproof approach to sexual safety, of course, is to say no and defer sexual activity until later in
life. The good news is that as many as half of all adolescents do just that. But that leaves the other half at risk
many of them engaging in unprotected sex, exposing themselves to potentially grave disease and unwanted
pregnancy.
The most important thing to teach your child is responsibility, Dr. Seigel says. Discuss how to make
decisions and understand what the consequences of decisions will be. You can start by discussing decisions and
consequences that dont involve sex, and then move the conversation toward sexuality. After all, there are
consequences to having sex or not having sex, and every child is going to get a lot of misinformation along the
way from their peers and the media.
The pressures upon children from peers and also the media as mentioned above may actually offer one
of the most effective pathways to opening what must be an ongoing dialogue about sex and sexuality, not a
single talk or lecture. What to do, then? Its good to turn these encounters with the media into teachable
moments.

Seeing something in the media that is obviously sexually charged can be a springboard for conversation
between adolescent and parent, says Dr. Wibbelsman. Is the ad bad or good? Whats the ad trying to say?
Use this moment as an opportunity to teach and encourage, not to pronounce a harsh, dismissive judgment. By
engaging the child and building his self-esteem and her confi dence in her ability to make judgments, youre
showing him that you respect what hes learning and how shes growing in her decision-making.
After all, however adult their appearance, behavior, and attitudes may appear, adolescents remain closer to
childhood than adulthood, and children need ongoing parental guidance to prepare for adulthood. I know its a
lot of work, but parents need to monitor what their children see and be there, available to them, to provide
some context, says Dr. Wibbelsman. Find out whats in the movie, whats in the program, whats on that
Internet site before you let your child see or hear. And experience with him or her together, so you can discuss
it and use it to build trust between you.

Starting the Discussion

So when is the right time to start talking about sex with your child? Its a good idea to start laying the
groundwork for these conversations long before the onset of puberty. The more frequently and frankly sexual
matters are discussed, the easier and even more open such discussions are likely to be as you both grow
comfortable with talking about it. Lets face it, were all embarrassed to talk about sex with each other, Dr.
Seigel says. The easiest way to start is to be real with your adolescent: This is really hard for me to talk
about, and it was hard for me to talk about with my dad when I was your age. But its important to talk about,
and we have to talk about embarrassing things sometimes.
Keep reminding your child that you are in her corner every step of the way. Never let them forget that your
love is unconditional, Dr. Seigel says. Tell them, I am here with you, and I love you and I will be here with
you no matter what through all of this. Yes, its much easier said than done, but no less important.
So what should you talk about? Perhaps start with how sexuality is portrayed in the media and, far more
importantly, how it works in real life the potentially bad consequences and catastrophes than can be a
result of sexual activity, as well as the pleasure and positive results of responsible sexuality (remember: the job
here is to be honest.) You see a character in a TV show whos made a decision with regard to sex, Dr. Seigel
says. Start the discussion there, but dont make it your soapbox. If you harshly criticize what youre both
seeing, your child will assume theres no discussion to be had, and there goes your channel of
communication.
By approaching the topic carefully and conversationally, you and your child are much more likely to sort
through the complexities together.

Keeping the Channels Open

As your child matures physically, mentally, and emotionally opportunities will emerge for making
regular discussions about sexuality part of your continuing conversation. Obviously, changes in your childs
body as puberty begins are crucial markers for such conversations.

One area that should receive particular attention is urban myths bits of false information that everyone
knows, passed along from adolescent to adolescent (and even from generation to generation: Dont be
surprised to find that your child has heard some of the same myths and misinformation that circulated during
your adolescence). Make clear, for instance, that oral sex is not without risks, that unprotected intercourse
without ejaculation is not effective birth control, and so on. Its very important to get the facts straight from
the start, and share those facts with your child, says Dr. Wibbelsman. That builds trust, and that trust is
critical to guiding your adolescent through these challenging times.
In particular, be specific and accurate about the risks or pregnancy, the effectiveness (and limitations) of
different types of birth control, and the variety of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and their effects. (See
Helpful Resources at the bottom of this page for reliable resources of information on these subjects.)

Countering the Pressure

One key area to emphasize is that no one has the right to pressure your daughter or son to have sex. Peer
pressure and the media pressure that often stimulates it can be addressed by empowering your children
with your belief in their ability to withstand such pressure, a sense of values that are more important than
immediate gratification, and their absolute freedom to bring any concerns to you.
It is wholly natural for adolescents to have questions about sex and sexual identity. While attitudes toward gay
and lesbian identity (among other issues) remain tangled and complex, the crucial thing to bear in mind is that
all of us have such questions at one time or another. Parents need to be open about that and understand the
entire spectrum of sexuality and sexual orientation, and not try to funnel them into a particular niche or area,
says Dr. Wibbelsman. Accept the adolescents questions as part of growing up, because thats exactly what it
is. But at the same time, let the adolescent know what your views and values are. Know the difference between
facts and your opinion, and be clear about both.
But how to do it in a way that helps keep the channels open? Its a four-letter word, actually. The key is to let
adolescents know that you love them no matter who they become, Dr. Seigel says. They may turn out tall,
short, heavy, thin, healthy, or sickly but youll love them no matter what, no matter what decisions they
make. That is much easier said than done for many parents, but thats key to raising a healthy adolescent.
And dont hesitate to discuss values, morals, and ethics with regard to sex without lecturing, but with
guidance. By providing your child with a solid framework of information and values, youve taken a large step
toward making sure that when he or she becomes sexually active it will be with the knowledge, preparation,
and maturity that will mark the transition to sexual activity as an informed choice, not a risky accident.

.....
One in Ten Young Filipino Women Age 15 to 19 Is Already A Mother or Pregnant With First Child
(Final Results from the 2013 National Demographic and Health Survey)

Reference Number:
2014-057
Release Date:
Thursday, August 28, 2014

One in ten young Filipino women age 15-19 has begun childbearing: 8
percent are already mothers and another 2 percent are pregnant with their
first child according to the results of the 2013 National Demographic and
Health Survey (NDHS). Among young adult women age 20 to 24, 43 percent
are already mothers and 4 percent are pregnant with their first child (Table
1).
Early pregnancy and motherhood varies by education, wealth quintile, and
region. It is more common among young adult women age 15 to 24 with less
education than among those with higher education (44 percent for women
with elementary education versus 21 percent for women with college
education). Early childbearing is also more common in Caraga (38 percent)
and Cagayan Valley (37 percent) than other regions. The proportion of young
adult women who have begun childbearing is higher among those classified
as belonging to poor households than those in wealthier households (37
percent for young women in the lowest wealth quintile versus 13 percent for
women in the highest wealth quintile).
The survey also reveals that one in five (19 percent) young adult Filipino
women age 18 to 24 years had initiated their sexual activity before age 18.
Some of them would have had their first intimate sexual act before
marriage. The survey reveals that 15 percent of young adult women age 20
to 24 had their first marriage or began living with their first spouse or
partner by age 18. This proportion is lower than the proportion (19 percent)
earlier cited regarding initiation by young women of an intimate sexual
activity. Age at first marriage hardly changed over the years. A slightly
higher proportion (17 percent) of older cohort of women (age group 40-49)
had their first marriage at age 18 (Table 3).

Initiation of sexual activity before age 18 is more common among young

adult women with less education and those in poorer households. Over 40
percent of young adult women with some elementary education, compared
with only 7 percent of those with college education, reported having their
first intimate sexual act at age 18 (Table 2). Similarly, 36 percent of young
adult women in the lowest wealth quintile, compared with only 10 percent
of those in the highest wealth quintile, had their first intimate sexual act
before age 18. Across regions, the proportion ranges from 11 percent in
Cordillera Administrative Region to 27 percent in Davao. The proportion of
young adult women reporting first intimate sexual act before age 18 is 22
percent for rural areas and 17 percent for urban areas. Among young women
age 15 to 24, 2 percent reported initiating their sexual activity before
turning 15.
The 2013 NDHS is a nationally representative survey of almost 16,000
households and 19,000 women age 15-49. The survey was conducted from
August 12 to October 16, 2013. The 2013 NDHS is designed to provide
information on fertility, family planning, and health in the country. Other
important findings of the 2013 NDHS will be presented in a data
dissemination forum on September 2, 2014 at Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria,
Ortigas Ave. cor. ADB Ave., Quezon City.

....

The National Youth Commission, supported by the Department of Health and the
World Health Organization, convened the 2014 National Summit on Teen Pregnancy
last April 24. This summit, which saw the active participation of adolescent youth,
delivered a clear message: Adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH), or the
lack thereof, is fast becoming the defining issue of this generation of young Filipinos.
Without a robust response from all stakeholders, the Philippines is on track toward a
full-blown, national teenage pregnancy crisis.
Staggering facts support this call for concern. Recent (2014) data from the Philippine
Statistical Authority (PSA) reveal that every hour, 24 babies are delivered by teenage
mothers. According to the 2014 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality (YAFS) study,
around 14 percent of Filipino girls aged 15 to 19 are either pregnant for the first time
or are already mothersmore than twice the rate recorded in 2002. Among six major
economies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Philippines has the

highest rate of teenage pregnancies and is the only country where the rate is
increasing, per the United Nations Population Fund.
According to Josefina Natividad, YAFS coordinator and director of the University of
the Philippines Population Institute, young Filipinos have limited access to sex
education and ASRH services, especially if they are underage and unmarried.
Seventy-eight percent are not using any form of contraception or protection against
sexually transmitted diseases and infections when they are having sex for the first
time. While government programs aim to delay the beginning of childbearing and
hasten fertility decline, teenage pregnancies continue to increase. Perhaps it is really
time for a new and more collaborative strategy?
Data show that pregnant teenagers in the Philippines are mostly 17 to 19 years old.
They live with their mothers, parents, or relatives. The father of the child is, in most
cases, a teenage boy.
Reasons for becoming pregnant among teenagers include: unplanned sexual
encounters (getting caught up in the moment) and peer pressure; lack of information
on safe sex; breakdown of family life and lack of good female role models in the
family; and absence of accessible, adolescent-friendly clinics.
Teenagers from poor backgrounds are disproportionately represented among pregnant
teenagers. However, experts have argued that teenage pregnancy should be understood
as a symptom of dire economic conditions rather than a cause of it. Teenage
pregnancy perpetuates the cycle of poverty and inequality because most pregnant
teenagers have no source of income and face greater financial difficulties later in life.
This is because they drop out of school and are less likely to pursue further education
or skills training.
Teenage mothers face critical health risks, including: inadequate nutrition during
pregnancy due to poor eating habits; dangers associated with the reproductive organs
not ready for birth; and maternal death due to higher risk of eclampsia, among others.
Alarmingly, while maternal deaths are decreasing in the Philippines, teenage maternal
deaths are increasing. Ten percent of pregnant teenagers died in the last year,
according to the PSA. Data from the WHO also show a high and increasing incidence
of fetal death in Filipino mothers under 20.
At the end of the teenage pregnancy summit, the participants strongly endorsed a
comprehensive sexual education curriculum; forging a Batang Ina social movement;
and establishing adolescent-friendly spaces. The enactment of the Responsible
Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act was also recognized as an important step to
make ASRH services more accessible to those in need.
As an international child rights organization, Plan International believes that the rights
and needs of adolescent girls and boys, including their right to access ASRH services,
must be ensured. In our work in the Philippines, ASRH continues to be a priority in
line with our global Because I am a Girl campaign and national Batang Lusog
program.

We are implementing ASRH interventions in Southern Leyte and Eastern Samar,

where cases of teenage pregnancy are increasing. Youth-Friendly Spaces are being
established to provide peer education and counseling on ASRH and rights. This is
complemented by our response to eliminate gender-based violence in communities by
establishing Women-Friendly Spaces. These measures help prevent teenage pregnancy
by disseminating the right information about the risks and impacts of teenage
pregnancy on the teen mom and the infant. An exploratory study by Plan International
on the rising incidence of teenage pregnancy in Yolanda-affected areas is also being
designed.
In the face of numerous challenges that Filipino adolescents face every day
discrimination, gender-based violence, harmful gender stereotypesthey must be
equipped with the life skills and assets to help them make the best decisions for
themselves and their community. When adolescents choose to have sex, they have a
right to access not just information but also inclusive ASRH services.
At the end of the day, when an adolescent, especially a girl, knows her rights, is
empowered to choose, and is heard, she can improve not only her life but also the life
of her immediate and future families. So, maybe its time to have this discussion with
your (grand) daughter or niece now?
Carin Van der Hor is the director of Plan International Philippines and is the mother of
two teenage girls.

Read more: http://opinion.inquirer.net/74517/teenage-pregnancyamong-todays-filipino-youth#ixzz4LOgaaees

Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook
...
MANILA, Philippines Young, sexually active, and clueless.
That is how some unwanted pregnancies start out in the Philippines and elsewhere.
The problem traces its roots to the lack of access to appropriate sexual and reproductive health
information and services, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said.
"Adolescent fertility rates have declined in the last two decades in all countries with available
data, with the exception of the Philippines where there has been little change," the
UNFPA reported in February.

At present, there are nearly one billion young people aged between 10 and 24 living in the AsiaPacific region, accounting for more than a quarter of its population.
A "significant proportion" are sexually active.
"While for many the onset of sexual activity is associated with marriage, an increasing number
are initiating sex before marriage," the report said
Around one-third of adolescent pregnancies were conceived prior to marriage, an unpublished
analysis of the 2013 Philippine Demographic and Health Survey reported.
The burden carried by such adolescents is greater as they have insufficient knowledge and lifeskills regarding safe and consensual relationships, the UNFPA said. (READ: Young, pregnant,
and poor)
They also face barriers to accessing services and commodities needed to avoid unsafe sex and
its consequences. (READ: Is learning safe sex unsafe?)
The UNFPA stressed that poor sexual and reproductive health not only affects the youth
physically but also socioeconomically.
"These negative consequences extend to young peoples families and future generations, and
can perpetuate a cycle of poor health and disadvantage," the UNFPA said.
While improvements in the Philippines have been slow, South Asian countries have seen much
progress. Their adolescent fertility has fallen by nearly 40%, partly because of a reduction in
child marriage.
"Fertility rates are higher in settings where early marriage is prevalent and among rural girls
compared with those living in urban areas," the UNFPA observed. "Adolescent pregnancy is
also associated with less education attainment and lower socioeconomic status."

Forced, violent sex

Several adolescent girls and young women reported coerced sex.
In fact, in the Philippines, 15% of adolescent girls who had sex before the age of 15 reported
that their first encounter was forced. The rate is only 5% for those who had sex over the age of
15.

As a result, the 15-19 age group is at risk of the following:

Early and unintended pregnancy

Unsafe abortion

Sexually transmitted disease (STD)

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Such risks are especially high among young women who sell sex. They also have high rates
of multiple partners and sexual violence.
Adolescent female sex workers aged 14 to 17 were more than 3 times "less likely to negotiate
condom use with their clients than adult sex workers."
In addition, "rates of violence are also high among young female sex workers, men who have
sex with men (MSM), and young transgender people," the UNFPA said.
Around 50% of Filipino MSMs said their first sexual encounter with a man was forced.

Influences
There are various factors influencing risky sexual behaviors. One of them is alcohol, with 9% to
12% in the Philippines reporting binge drinking.
Lack of parental support or living away from one's family has also been associated with early
initiation of sex.
But some influences can be good. A study in the Philippines showed a link between delayed
sexual initiation and having a close relationship with parents.
Some influences, meanwhile, can be both harmful and good, the UNFPA suggested. "While
religious taboos may be a barrier limiting open discussion of sexual health and access to
services, a familys religious or spiritual beliefs can also be protective against risky sexual
behaviors."
Other factors that could pressure young people into sex are friends, the media, and gender
norms.

Condom or no condom?
In the Philippines, more than half of adolescent girls rely on short-acting methods like pills and
condoms.
Meanwhile, the use of more effective methods like intrauterine devices (IUD) and implants is
very low.
Not everyone uses condoms either. The UNFPA found that young people are "much less likely"
to use condoms with romantic partners, thinking that condoms imply promiscuity. (READ: Are
you afraid of condoms?)
This mindset is dangerous as it could lead to unwanted pregnancies and STDs.
In fact, self-reported STD among young Filipino men is at least 3 times higher than among older
men.
To improve such conditions, the UNFPA suggested the following:

Support research on sexual and reproductive health.

Strengthen laws granting the youth access to sexual and reproductive health information,
commodities, and services.

Improve sexuality education.

Increase youth participation in policy-making and programming.

In August 2014, the National Statistics Office (NSO) of the Philippines released the final
results of the 2013 National Demographic and Health Survey.

The survey shows that 1 in 10 Filipino women between the ages of 15 and 19 is already
a mother or is pregnant with her first child.

Why the rise in teenage pregnancy in Philippines?

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that about 16 million girls aged 15 to 19
and some 1 million girls under 15 give birth every year 95% of which occur in low- and
middle-income countries.

The Philippines is classified by the World Bank as having a lower-middle-income

economy, thus the WHO survey extends to our country, and is reflective of what we see
happening here.

This alarming rise in teenage pregnancy in Philippines may be attributed to economic

and educational factors.

The NSO survey results state that early initiation of sexual activity and early pregnancy is
often seen among women belonging to lower income households. It is also more
common among those with little or no formal education.

A young mom in the province with her two children

Others may also claim that societal factors and the media may also play a role in the rise
of teenage pregnancies. Journalist Teddy Locsin Jr., in a 2014 editorial on ANC, even
blamed the rise of teenage pregnancy on showbiz.

He cites the prominence of sexual themes in television and movies, day in and day out,
and states this as the reason why the desire for physical contact is ingrained into the
minds of the youth.

While we can speculate on the true reasons behind it, the reality is that teenage
pregnancy in Philippines is becoming far too common. Not only this, but the teenage
moms are getting younger as well.

Girls even as young as grade 5 students are giving birth as in the case of the 12-yearold girl who gave birth in Kalibo, Aklan in November 2014.

.....

Chapter 3
Research Methodology
3.1 Overview of the Chapter
This study was conducted in order to assess the challenges post by the new
accounting rules and practices in HK with regards to real estate industry. To be able to
gather the necessary data, the researcher utilized the descriptive method, using both
qualitative and quantitative approaches. Herein, the chosen responded were randomly
selected from various real estate industry in HK. The survey methods were the research
instruments used for the data-gathering.
The employees of real estate who have been chosen in this study accomplished
a survey questionnaire to evaluate the challenges facing the real estate industry in
Hong Kong. The results of the survey were then processed by computing the weighted
mean of each survey item. The computed values were compared to the Likert scale for
data interpretation. Relevant literatures were also used to support the gathered findings.
The credibility of findings and conclusions extensively depend on the quality of
the research design, data collection, data management, and data analysis. This
chapter will be dedicated to the description of the methods and procedures done in
order to obtain the data, how they will be analysed, interpreted, and how the conclusion
will be met. This section is to justify the means in which the study was obtained and will

help in giving it purpose and strength as it will then be truthful and analytical. All these
will help in the processing of the data and the formulation of conclusions.
Specifically, this research will cover the following: the research design and
method, the respondents or subjects to be studied (which will include the sampling
method), the data collection instrument, and the data analysis. These will be presented
below.
3.2 Research Methods
This study utilized the descriptive method of research. As widely accepted, the
descriptive method of research is a fact-finding study that involves adequate and
accurate interpretation of findings. Descriptive research describes a certain present
condition. Relatively, the method is appropriate to this study since it aims to describe the
present condition of technical analysis as it is used in the stock market. The technique
that was used under descriptive method is the normative survey approach and
evaluation, which is commonly used to explore opinions according to respondents that
can represent a whole population. The survey is appropriate in this study because it
enables the researcher in formulation of generalizations. Specifically, two types of
direct-data survey are included in this study. These are questionnaire survey and
interviews.Interviews with researchers, venture capital practitioners, and other
colleagues in the academy were conducted to provide further insight about the results of
the survey. The direct-data type of survey is a reliable source of first-hand information
because the researcher directly interacts with the participants. The questionnaire survey
respondents were given ample time to assess the challenges facing the real estate in
HK. Their own experiences with real estate in practice are necessary in identifying its
strengths and limitations.
The purpose of employing the descriptive method is to describe the nature of a
condition, as it takes place during the time of the study and to explore the cause or
causes of a particular condition. The researcher opted to use this kind of research
considering the desire to acquire first hand data from the respondents so as to
formulate rational and sound conclusions and recommendations for the study.
According to Creswell (1994), the descriptive method of research is to gather

information about the present existing condition. Since this study is focused on the
perception or evaluation of the consultancy firm's effective human resource
management, the descriptive method is the most appropriate method to use.
Two types of data were used: the primary and the secondary data. The
primary data were derived from the answers respondents gave in the selfadministered questionnaire prepared by the researcher. In addition, the
information obtained from the interview also provided primary research data
that supported the study. The secondary data on the other hand, were
derived from the findings stated in published documents and literatures
related to the research problem. These were based from the recent
literatures related to real estate in HK and the factors that challenge it and
the accounting rules and practices in HK and the concepts cited by the
respondents.
In terms of approach, the study employed both qualitative and quantitative
approaches. The quantitative approach focused on obtaining numerical findings was
used with the survey method. The interview on the other hand, made up the qualitative
approach of the study as this focused on personal accounts, observations, description
and individual insights of the respondents. This study employed the combined approach
so as to overcome the limitations of both approaches.
3.3 Direct-data Survey
Direct-data survey aims on collecting pertinent data about technical analysis.
Accordingly, direct-data survey is used to reveal the status of some phenomenon within
an identified class of people, organisations, or regions at a particular time through
questionnaire and interview to directly collect information (Brubaker & Thomas, 2000).
The aim of the survey is to obtain pertinent data to achieve the research
objective. The site of the study was the prime real estate industries and accountants.
Representative samples were taken using a random sampling approach. In this
research study, the critical examination of the HK government's accounting policy
regarding was made. The responses, observation and approval of the respondents
towards these policies were gathered.

In this study, the chosen respondents will be selected from industries and other
people who are related to real estate and decision-making. Interview questions will focus on
the research problems and questions. The dissertation used self-administered questionnaire as
the main tool in collecting data from a large number of respondents.

3.4 Respondents of the Study

The study will have respondents directly from the chosen real estate industries in
HK. This may include managers, accountants and other knowledgeable employees. All
of these participants were selected through random sampling. This sampling method is
conducted where each member of a population has an equal opportunity to become
part of the sample. As all members of the population have an equal chance of becoming
a research participant, this is said to be the most efficient sampling procedure. In order
to conduct this sampling strategy, the researcher defined the population first, listed
down all the members of the population, and then selected members to make the
sample. For this purpose, a self-administered survey questionnaire in Likert format was
given to the respondents to answer.
Herein, there were 100 participants for the questionnaire survey and five individuals
for the interviews. The respondents were given 5 days to complete the survey
questionnaire upon request. After collecting the questionnaires, the responses will be
tallied, computed, analysed, and recorded.
One the other hand, for the personal interviews, most of the interviewees were
given time according to their convenience. Choices were given for the interviewees who
will answer the interview questions, through phone, email, online conversation, chat or
personal interview. There were only five participants who were willing and/or had the
chance to share their time and talk about their experience in real estate.
3.5 Instrumentation
1. Content analysis
Content analysis was done to analyse communications in order to answer two
levels of questions the descriptive and the interpretive. Descriptive questions focused
on what the communication contains. Interpretative questions focused on what the

contents was likely to mean. The process entailed searching through one or more
communication to answer questions that an investigator brings to the search (Brubaker
& Thomas, 2000). Content Analysis was used to analyze and interpret the interviews.
2. Statistical Treatment
The Likert scale was used to interpret items in the questionnaire. These
responses were based on the respondents' assesHK Real Estatent of the current
investment process model. There were instances that the respondents were asked to
rate the effectiveness of implementing the phases in the investment process. The range
and interpretation of the five-point scale are shown in Table 2.
Table 2
The Five-point Likert Scale
Scale

Range

Interpretation

4.01 5.00

Strongly Agree

3.01 4.00

Agree

2.01 3.00

Uncertain

1.01 2.00

Disagree

0.01 1.00

Strongly Disagree

Weighted mean was used to measure the general response of the survey
samples, whether they agree to a given statement or not.
The formula in computing weighted mean is as follows:
Where:
f weight given to each response
x number of responses
xt total number of responses

The survey result was analysed with the use of statistical approach and Microsoft Excel
spreadsheets.

3.6 Ethical Considerations

As this study utilized human participants and investigated on real estate and
accounting rules and practices in HK, certain issues were addressed. The consideration
of these issues is necessary for the purpose of ensuring the privacy as well as the
security of the participants. These issues were identified in advance so as prevent
future problems that could have risen during the research process. Among the
significant issues that were considered included consent, confidentiality and data
protection.
In the conduct of the research, the survey forms and interview methods were
drafted

in

very

clear

and

concise

manner

to

prevent

conflicts

among

respondents. People who participated in the research were given an ample time to
respond to the questions posed on them to avoid errors and inaccuracies in their
answers. The respondents were given a waiver regarding the confidentiality of their
identity and the information that they did not wish to disclose. The respondents'
cooperation was eagerly sought after, and they were assured that the data gathered
from them would be treated with the strictest confidence, so that they would be more
open. This was done with the hope that this would promote trust between the
researcher and the respondents.