Indolence of the Filipino People

Indolence does exist among the Filipinos, Rizal admitted, but it cannot be attributed to the troubles and backwardness of the country; rather it is the effect of the backwardness and troubles experienced by the country. One must study the causes of indolence, Rizal says, before curing it. Past writings on indolence revolve only on either denying or affirming, and never studying its causes in depth. The hot climate, he points out, is a reasonable predisposition for indolence. He therefore enumerates the causes of indolence and elaborates on the circumstances that have led to it. Filipinos cannot be compared to Europeans, who live in cold countries and who must exert much more effort at work. An hour’s work under the Philippine sun, he says, is equivalent to a day’s work in temperate regions.

-Paredes. Jose Victor