Bless the gin

Abstract

The main purpose of this research is coming to understand how the cultural cognitive framework in which people live and think, influences their moral views, manifesting under form of everyday moral statements and choices. More specifically, this research will focus on how the influences of institutional, public and embodied aspects of local morality shape the moral views of a small community. Firstly, the concept of morality will be discussed from an anthropological perspective, its history and past misapplications. In the empirical part, the data collected on the aforementioned aspects of local morality will be outlined, and a 'moral sample', drinking behavior and the social role of alcohol, will be related to the various dimensions of the local moral system. The central question that inspires the anthropological fieldwork is thus as follows: How are moral views of a small, indigenous kalanguya community in Luzon, Philippines, guided by the local moral system?