DILEMMA AND MORAL DILEMMA
moral principles are always compromised.
The term ‘dilemma’ refers to a situation in
which a person is forced to choose between
two (or more) conflicting options, neither
of which is acceptable to her.
Always remember that not all dilemmas
are moral dilemmas.
Moral dilemmas, also called ‘ethical
dilemmas’, refers to a situation in which a
person is forced to choose between two (or
more) conflicting options, neither of which
solves the situation in a morally acceptable way.
Example of a moral dilemma:
Moral Dilemma:
1. Continue her pregnancy and put her and her
baby’s life in danger.
2. Have an abortion and destroy her religious
and moral integrity.
Moral Dilemma are not your everyday
moral problems.
THREE CONDITIONS THAT MAKE A
MORAL DILEMMA
• The person or the agent of the moral
action is obliged to make a decision about which
course of action is best. (In Mary’s case, having
an abortion is perhaps her best course of action)
• There must be different course of action to
choose from. (In Mary has at least two options:
to continue her pregnancy or to have an
abortion.
• No matter what course of action is taken, some
• There is no perfect solution in Moral
Dilemmas.
□ Whether Mary continue her pregnancy or to
have an abortion, the basic moral principle of
protecting life (hers or her baby’s) will be
compromised.
In a moral dilemma, the agent seems to
be condemned to moral failure; no
matter what he does, he will do
something wrong, or fail to do
something that he ought to do.
LEVELS OF MORAL DILEMMAS
a. PERSONAL DILEMMAS
These include those that are experienced and
resolved on the personal level.
Examples of personal dilemma: If a person
makes conflicting promises, he/she faces a moral
conflict. When an individual has to choose
between the life of a child who is about to be
delivered and the child’s mother, he faces an
ethical dilemma.
b. ORGANIZATIONAL DILEMMAS
These include those ethical cases encountered
and resolved by social organizations
focused on business, medical field, and
public sector.
If a medical institution believes that human life
should not be deliberately shortened and that
unpreventable pain should not be tolerated, it
will encounter a conflict in resolving whether to
withdraw life support from a dying patient.
This is a common
moral dilemma faced by healthcare
organizations.
Businesses can face moral dilemmas in the
form of issues about corporate practices,
policies, business behaviors, and the conducts
and relationships of individuals in the
organizations. Other business-related dilemmas
pertain to the social responsibility of business,
employee’s rights, harassment, labor unions,
misleading advertising, job discrimination, and
whistle blowing.
In the public sector, government leaders and
employees have a moral responsibility to act in a
manner that is fair and unbiased, that is loyal to
the public by putting public interest before
personal gain, and that fulfills duties of
competency, integrity, accountability, and
transparency. Public officials may face
situations when they will have to decide whether
or not to favor a family, friends, or campaign
contributors over other constituents, political
party’s agenda over the good of the majority,
and accepting gifts if it is legally permitted but
creates the impression of impropriety.
c. STRUCTURAL DILEMMAS
These include cases involving network of
institutions and operative theoretical paradigms.
They usually encompass multi-sectoral
institutions and organizations, and they are
larger in scope and extent than
organizational dilemmas.
One example of structural dilemmas is the
“Kalusugan Pangkalahatan” or the
“Universal Health Care” wherein every
Filipino is entitled of the highest possible quality
of health care that is accessible,
efficient, equitably distributed, adequately
funded, fairly financed, and appropriately used
by an informed and empowered public.
Regarding this program, the biggest issue is the
budget allocation. The government can
allocate a bigger budget for health services, but
this would mean that the budget for other
sectors will be cut down.
Some questions that are ethical in nature
are…
1. What is good?
2. Who is a moral person?
3. What are the virtues of a human being?
4. What makes an act right?
5. What duties do we have to each other
‘ONLY HUMAN BEINGS CAN BE
ETHICAL’
Most philosophers hold that unlike animals,
human beings possess some traits that make it
possible for them to be moral.
Why are humans considered the only
ethical species?
1. Only human beings are rational,
autonomous, and self-conscious.
2. Only human beings can act morally or
immorally.
3. Only human beings are part of the moral
community. Why are humans considered the
only ethical species?
FREEDOM AS A FOUNDATION OF
MORALITY
Basically, morality is a question of choice.
Morality is practically choosing ethical
codes, values, or standards to guide us in
our daily lives. Philosophically, choosing is
impossible without freedom.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENT FOR
MORALITY: REASON AND
IMPARTIALITY
Reason as a requirement for morality entails that
human feelings may be important in ethical
decisions, but they ought to be guided by reason.
Sound reasoning help us to evaluate whether our
feelings and intuitions about moral cases are
correct and defensible.
Impartiality, on the other hand, involves the idea
that each individual’s interests and point of view
are equally important. Also called even
handedness or fair- mindedness, impartiality is a
principle of justice holding that decisions ought
to be based on objective criteria, rather than on
the basis of bias, prejudice, or preferring the
benefit to one person over another for improper
reasons.
THE MORAL AGENT AND CULTURE
(NEW CHAPTER)
• MORAL AGENT is “a being who is capable
of acting with reference to right or wrong.
• They are those agents expected to meet the
demands of morality (choosing between good
and evil).
❑ The agent has the capacity to conform to
some of the external requirements of morality
❑ The agent is a knower
❑ The agent should have the capacity to rise
above their feelings and passions and act for the
sake of the moral law
❑ Have an enduring self with free will and an
inner life.
❑ Have an understanding of the relevant facts
as well as moral understanding.
❑ Have moral sentiments such as capacity for
remorse or concern for others.
• Moral agents, is therefore someone who is
capable of doing things rightfully or wrongly.
• It sometimes also includes the idea of being
aware of the concepts of the rightness and
wrongness, or of what actions are considered
right and wrong.
A. CHARACTERISTICS OF MORAL
AGENTS
❑ Human being is a moral agent endowed
with all possibilities and capabilities to act
upon actions with moral considerations.
❑ He is a person who has the ability to
discern right from wrong and to be held
accountable for his or her own actions.
❑ He has moral responsibility not to cause
unjustified harm.
• CULTURE is an aggregate of the learned
beliefs, attitudes, values, norms and customs of a
society or group of people, shared by them and
transmitted from generation to generation within
that society.
• TYPES OF CULTURE
● High Culture – is linked with the elite,
upper class society, those families and
individuals with an ascribed status
position.
● Cultural diversity – is a concept relating
to culturally embedded differences
within society, it’s the fact that different
cultures exist alongside each other.
● Subculture – culture enjoyed by a small
group within society. In this sense it is a
minority part of majority culture. They
have distinct norms and values which
make them sub-section of society.
 ● Popular Culture – it borrows the idea
from high culture and popularizes it,
making it available for the masses; a
product of the media dominated world,
it is a positive force for it brings people
of different backgrounds together in a
common culture.
● Multiculturalism – it is depicted to be
very similar to cultural diversity, other
definition align multiculturalism with
different ethnic groups living alongside
each other.
● Global Culture – A global culture is a
key feature of globalisation, they
emerged due to patterns of migration,
trends in international travel and the
spread of the media, exposing people to
the same images of the same dominant
world companies.
• IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE
a. Culture affects perceptions.
How we perceive things is largely
affected by our judgement skills, preconceived
notions, attitude, and emotions. These factors
are closely linked with our culture. In perceiving
something as good or bad, our biases play a role
and so does our way of thinking. In judging
something as easy or difficult, our attitude and
our motivation levels play a key role. Our
culture determine the structure of our thinking
which influences our perceptions on the good or
bad.
b. Culture Influences Behaviour.
Culture affects perception and
perceptions drive behaviour. Thus, the culture
we belong to, has direct impact on
our behaviour. Moreover, our environment,
which has cultural influences, shapes our
behaviour. What our culture teaches is affects
the way we interact socially as much as it also
affects our moral behaviours toward others.
People from some cultures are found to be more
open in communicating even with strangers or
new acquaintances, while those from
conservative culture may not be so open.
c. Culture Shapes Personalities.
Our culture defines people’s
expectations from us. In the attempt to fulfill
them, we shape our behaviour and personality to
suit our culture. Our religions, traditions,
customs, all part of our culture, play a major role
in shaping our personalities. The way we
perceive a situation and react to it depends
largely on what we have learned from the
environment and the way we have been brought
up. These factors are closely linked to our
cultural values. Though our nature and education
also play a part in developing our personalities,
the culture we belong have a dominant role to
play. People born and brought up in the same
culture are often found to share certain
personality trait.
d. Our Culture shapes our value and
belief system, which influences our
personalities.
In a culture where children are taught to
be independent early in life, they grow up to be
individualistic. In a culture where boys and girls
are not treated as equal, children may become
aggressive and look at the opposite gender as
their enemy, or those treated as inferior may
grow up to be submissive. People from cultures
that take a more holistic approach are seen to be
more capable of understanding other
point of view. People from cultures that promote
individualism are found to be less capable of
understanding someone else’s perspective.
MORAL BEHAVIOUR
Critically, no one can simply say which
behaviour is a moral one because all behaviours
are. Relatively, it is the morals if the person or
the society that make them adopt those
particular behaviours. Morals are the prevailing
standards of behaviour that people have to
follow and act in accordance with one’s beliefs
in order to live cooperatively in groups. For
example, following your society’s rules of
good behaviour where honesty is highly valued,
telling the truth is important. In a society where
helping the poor is highly valued, giving money
to the poor is very much appreciated.
Moral behaviours are what one believes
to be the right things to do. No doubt cultural
and religious beliefs play a role in what one
thinks to be right and wrong. However, one may
believe that an individual can decide or act
morally even in the absence of religion. In this
case, no objectively moral behaviour exists.
ROLE OF CULTURE IN MORAL
BEHAVIOR
How important is culture in shaping our
moral behaviour?
• A culture is a “way of life” of a group of
people and this so called “way of life” actually
includes moral values and behaviour, along with
knowledge, beliefs, symbols that they accept,
“generally without thinking about them, and that
are passed along by communication and
imitation from generation to the next.
• Cultures is learned as children grow up in
society and discover how their parents and
others around them interpret the world.
• Many aspects of morality are taught. People
learn moral aspect of right or wrong from
transmitters of culture:
• CULTURE RELATIVISM is the principle
regarding the beliefs, values, and practices of a
culture from the viewpoint of the culture itself.
This is understood as uniqueness of every
culture from each other. Besides even under one
general culture. No one can really say in
categorical term that a particular culture is much
better or civilized than the others. Culture
emanates from how the people in the territory
appreciate, understand and interpret their
respective communities in response to their
relative needs, goals, challenges and seen
opportunities to sustain their existence
• ETHICAL RELATIVISM is the theory that
holds that morality is relative to the norms of
one’s culture. That is, whether an action is right
or wrong depends on the moral norms of the
society in which it is practiced.
(https://www.scu.edu/ethics/)
Cultural relativism is an affirmation that holds
that societies are dissimilar in their moral
standards, their laws and cultural protocols. To
expand, cultural relativism holds that what one
culture believes is immoral, another culture may
believe is moral (Vasquez). In essence, cultural
relativism is the view that morality is culture
dependent.
Moreover, ethical relativism denies the existence
of one universal moral law. Ethical relativism
supports the idea because cultures of societies
are dissimilar in astronomical ways they accept,
it follows that there is not one correct set of
precepts
everyone should adopt. According to the
definition, instead, people should follow the
moral laws and protocols that their own unique
society sets forth or accepts. For instance, how
the Western world is governed may not be
appropriate for cultures in different cultures
outside of the west.
• MORAL RELATIVISM
Are standards of right and wrong mere products
of time and culture? Is morality really a neutral
concept? Moral relativism is the view that moral
judgments are true or false only relative to some
particular standpoint and that no standpoint is
uniquely privileged over all others. Moral
relativism is the idea that there is no universal or
absolute set of moral principles. It’s a version of
morality that advocates “to each her own,” and
those who follow it say, “Who am I to judge?”
Moral Relativism can be understood in
several ways:
a. Descriptive Moral Relativism, also
known as cultural relativism, says that moral
standards are culturally defined, which is
generally true. Indeed, there maybe a few values
that seem nearly universal, such as honesty and
respect, but many differences appear across
cultures when people evaluate moral standards
around the world.
b. Meta-ethical moral relativism states that
there are no objective grounds for preferring the
moral values of one culture over another.
Societies make their moral choices based on
their unique beliefs, customs, and practices.
And, in fact, people tend to believe that the
“right” moral values that exist in their own
culture.
c. Normative Moral Relativism is the idea
that all societies should accept each other’s
differing moral values, given that there are no
universal moral principles. Most
philosophers disagree however. For
example, just because bribery is okay in some
cultures doesn’t mean that other cultures
cannot rightfully condemn it. Moral relativism
is on the opposite end of the continuum from
moral absolutism, which says that there is
always one right answer to any ethical; question.
Indeed, those who adhere to moral
relativism would say, “When in Rome, do as
the Romans do.” Meanwhile, Jeff
Landauer and Joseph Rowlands
(2001) believed that Moral Relativism
is an ethical judgment which claims that no
ethical system is better than another. It stems
from the fact that to judge an ethical system, it
must be judge by a moral standard. Since
every ethical system should evaluate itself as
the best and only moral system, and every
other system is flawed and immoral, it is
assumed that moral judgments about ethical
systems are meaningless.
THE MORAL AGENT: DEVELOPING
VIRTUE AS A HABIT (NEW CHAPTER)
• VALUE comes from the Latin word
‘VALERE’ which means ‘to be of worth.’
• VALUE means primarily, to price, to
esteem, to appraise, to estimate.
• It is an act of cherishing something holding it
clear and also the act of passing judgment upon
the nature and amount of its value as compared
with something else.
• VALUES or good moral values once they
are habitually practiced, they turned into virtues.
• HUMAN VALUES are the virtues that guide
us to take into account human
element when one interacts with another human
being. They are our feelings for the human
essence of others. It’s both what we expect
others to do to us and what we aim to give to
other human beings. These human values give
the effect of bonding, comforting and reassuring.
TYPES OF MORAL VALUES
Everybody wants to lead a happy and
good life. But achieving one is not just a
personal or individual practice of the moral
values, but being good to oneself and living
moral values with the other selves
a. Acceptance: having an objective
attitude toward others’ ideas and practices that
differ from your own.
b. Compassion: understanding the
suffering of others or self and wanting to do
something about it.
c. Courage: willingness to do
difficult things.
d. Equality: believing everyone
deserves equal rights and to be treated with
respect.
e. Fairness: acting in a just way,
sharing appropriately.
f. Generosity: willingness to give
resources, help or time to others.
g. Honesty: being truthful and
sincere.
h. Integrity: sticking to your moral
and ethical principles and values.
i. Kindness: being considerate and
treating others well.
j. Perseverance: persisting in a
course of action, belief or purpose.
k. Politeness: using good manners,
acting in socially acceptable way.
l. Respect: showing consideration for
the worth of someone or something.
m. Responsibility: being reliable in
your obligations.
n. Self-control: staying in control of
your words and behavior.
FORMATION OF MORAL VALUES
Moral values are the standards of good
and evil, which govern an individual's behavior
and choices. Individual's morals may derive
from society and government, religion or self.
When moral values derive from society and
government, they, of necessity , may change as
the laws and morals of the society change.
Upon discernment of an individual on
the importance of people, things or beliefs; one
acts relative to extent significance that he/she
may draw from them. It is in fact free to choose
which to value among the various alternatives.
The choice made is believed to inspire and
encourage human being to achieve one's goal in
life.
VIRTUE AND ITS FORMATION
Human beings are aware of various
moral values of which they have the option to
practice. Once these values are applied in order
to lead a good life, one is living in virtue, a
habitual good character. In essence, values and
virtues are inversely related. If one intends to
live a virtuous life, he/she must nurture that
value leading to attaining the relative virtue by
habitually practicing the same value. with this
we can say that virtues are good moral habits
which make the person even better to perform
those good actions well and consequently
function well as human beings.
For the Greek wisdom, knowledge is
inborn, while virtue is the knowledge and
practice of good habit, virtue is likewise a
natural endownment. Since virtue is inborn in
the mind and knowing is the source of all
wisdom, so the only way to acquire virtue is
simply to recall good restored in the mind.
Formation of virtue then is the acquisition of the
true knowledge in the mind which is the “good.”
Knowing and practicing virtue is knowledge for
one's self.
CARDINAL VIRTUES
a. Prudence is the virtue of knowing
what to do under peculiar circumstances which
enables one to see the best means to approach a
given situation.
b. Justice is a virtue of giving anyone
his/her due under no condition.
c. Temperance is the virtue of
curbing or managing the sensitive appetites.
d. Fortitude is a virtue of keeping resolute in the
face of overwhelming odds.
THEOLOGICAL VIRTUES
a. Faith is the virtue of believing in
God’s word without seeing.
b. Hope is the virtue of keeping trust in
Divine Providence.
c. Charity is the virtue of loving God
and His creatures.
MORAL CHARACTER AND ITS
FORMATION
At the heart of one major approach to
ethics- an approach counting among its
proponents Plato, Aristotle, Augustine and
Aquinas- is the conviction that Ethics is
fundamentally related to what kind of person we
are. Many of Plato’s dialogue, for example,
focus on what kind of persons we ought to be.
On the assumption, that what kind of
person one is constituted by one’s character, the
linK between moral character and virtue is clear.
We can think of one’s moral character as
primarily a function of whether he/she has or
lacks various moral virtues and vices.
FORMATION OF MORAL CHARACTER
Moral character is formed by one’s
actions. The habits, actions, and emotional
responses of the person of good character all are
united and directed toward the moral and the
good. Because human beings are body/soul
unities, actions of the body are actions of the
self, that is, human beings are self/possesing,
self governing, and self determining. In order to
be of good character, one must know the good,
act in morally good ways and be disposed and
inclined toward the good through the
development of virtues.
Character and action are intertwined so
intimately that one’s professional duties, or ven
what is perceived by others as one’s duties,
cannot override one’s conscience without
negatively affecting (and changing) one’s
character. For the physician to be of good
character, it is vital that he or she follow his or
her conscience in all things: in private life and
also in his or her profession, i.e, in the treatment
of patients (Mitchell, 2015)
MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Moral development occurs as we grow
and helps us choose between right and wrong.
The theory of Lawrence Kohlberg states that the
moral development of most people begins with a
desire to avoid personal punishment and may
evolve over time to a desire to make the world a
better and more just place for all people. It is
also a process through which we develop proper
attitudes and behaviors towards other people in
society based on the existing norms, rules or
laws, Moral decision is relative to actual
experiences that we are confronted with
particularly on moral issues that we encounter in
our lives. With that, we gradually develop our
moral skills in deciding upin difficult moral
situations in refernce to what one has
experiencd
through which one’s moral principle is
challenged.
ASIAN MORAL CHARACTER/BEHAVIOR
Asia possesses a distinct moral/ethical
behaviour that make us unique in our
culture, dealing with socio-political-
cultural difficulties and challenges.
❑ Asians stress personal orientation rather than
task orientation, the needs of the group is given
priority than for the individual.
❑ The value of modesty is also emphasized.
❑ Generosity and sharing are greatly valued.
Another distinct and prevalent influence
of Asian behaviours/moral traits can be
attributed to Confucianism that has deeply
influenced East Asian Behaviour.
❑ The East Asian lack of “personality” is
traced to the Confucian social institution of Li-
rules of propriety.
❑ The East Asian’s lack of principles moral
thinking is link to dyadic, relation-based
character of the Confucian ethic, its lack of
hypothetical reasoning on its hierarchical view
of human relationships.
❑ The East Asian’s lack of assertiveness is
rooted in the Confucian ideal of man as a
reflection of harmony in the cosmos and the
Confucian ideal of society as based on the
fulfilment of duties rather than the assertion of
rights. These characters kept establishing our
Asian identity, which makes us more resilient in
facing challenges such as inflation, climate
change, domestic problems and even political
difficulties in the region.
In the Southeast Asia which the
Philippines is a part of, Jeffrey Hay (2013)
provides a more distinct traits and characters that
are mostly Buddhism and Confucianism.
Southeast Asians generally don’t like
confrontation and rarely show visible signs of
anger. They have traditionally valued cool-
headedness, placidity and soft words. Outward
expressions of anger are considered boorish and
crude. Southeast Asians rarely loose their temper
and if they do it doesn’t help them get their way.
People just think they are crazy. Anger is usually
expressed through a third person so face-to-face
confrontation is avoided.
Southeast Asians smile a lot. Smiles are
often a genuine way of expressing happiness and
friendliness but they can also be a way of
masking true emotions. People from Southeast
Asia often smile or laugh when they hear bad
news. That is how they hide their sorrow. As a
rule, feelings are not expressed directly.
Showing disappointment in public is especially
frowned upon.
Southeast Asians have a reputation for
being fun loving, compassionate, gentle,
hospitable, open-minded, laid-back, smiling and
friendly; there is a prevailing sentiment that life
should be enjoyed at the moment and problems
should not be taken so seriously that disrupt
enjoyment and they have strongly developed
sense of courtesy and respect with values that
include respect for elders, loyalty to friends and
family.
a. BUDDHISM CHARACTER
Buddhism
shaped character in Southeast Asia as
Christianity does in Europe. Theravada
Buddhism encourages its practitioners to keep
their emotions and passions in check and
stresses Karma over determination, which often
means people are more willing
to accept their lot in life and sometimes is
viewed by Westerners as a lack of ambition or
unwillingness to work hard to improve their
position in life. Just like many Filipinos, this
character is explicit in time of conflict where we
tend to be calm and euphemistic; Filipinos avoid
conflict with fellow Filipinos.
Moreover, like most Filipinos,
Buddhism also provides guidelines for village
justice, namely in the form of five basic moral
prohibitions:
❑ Refrain for taking life
❑ Don’t steal
❑ Avoid illicit sexual activity
❑ Don’t speak falsely
❑ Refrain from consuming inebriating
substances.
These guidelines are most prevalent to be
followed on Philippine communities. Buddhist
believe that humans want many things and want
to keep them forever, which is impossible and
creates a constant state of desire, which in turn
causes suffering and fear further loss. Buddhist
have also taught us to practice non violence, do
good deeds, present gifts to monks, aspire to
have gentle taught, meditate, and have respect
for the sanctity of life. The basic tenets of
Buddhism influenced Gandhi and Martin Luther
King.
2. CONFUCIAN CHARACTER
Confucian value include love and
respect for the family, integrity, loyalty, honesty,
humility, industriousness, respect for elders,
patience, persistence, hard work, friendship,
commitment to education, belief in order and
stability, emphasis on obligations to the
community rather just individual rights and
preference for consultation rather than open
confrontation. Hence, the same characters are
also unique in Filipino communities. They
also give
strong emphasis on teachers, superiors, family
members and elders. Love and respect are
principals that were practiced mor ein the
context of the family than in society and
humanity as a whole.
Confucianism is a social code based on morality
rather than laws; recognizes five cardinal
virtues:
1. Benevolence in terms of
sympathy for others (jen)
2. Duty reflected in the shame felt
after doing something wrong (yi);
3. Manners, propriety and feelings of
defence (li)
4. Wisdom, in terms of discerning
right and wrong (chih)
5. Loyalty and good faith (hsin)
A. FILIPINO MORAL CHARACTER
1. Filipino character and Personality Filipinos
have been described as friendly, outgoing,
sensitive, easily offended, nosy, garrulous.
Direct, hospitable, feisty, irreverent, good
natured, clever, witty, gregarious, happy,
generous, easy to laugh, gracious, easy to
befriend, casual, fun loving, sensitive and
hospitable.
Personal and family honours are
stressed, as well as dignity and pride. Education
is highly valued and families make great
sacrifice to educate their children. Hiya (Shame)
is instilled in Filipinos at an early age. To be
shamed is the greatest form of disgrace. Filipino
culture developed over centuries in tandem with
and in response to Western Culture introduced
by the Spanish and later American.
Filipinos are generally more easy-
going than other Asians. A survey conducted by
the Hongkong-based Political and Economic
Risk Constituency (PERC)
ranked Filipinos a “the easiest people in Asia to
get along with.
Filipinos have strong sense of family
and community. They are very gregarious and
like to talk and hang out with family and friends.
They love to fool around, gossip, make jokes
and tease one another. Rumors spread quickly.
Some say Filipinos are happy-go-lucky people
who are often pessimistic about today by always
optimistic that tomorrow will be better.
(Krutovsky, 2009)
2. Strength and Weaknesses of Filipino
Moral Character
Every country has its differing values
and stereotypes, and the Philippines is no
exception. We Filipinos firmly believe and show
values to the world that make us one of the
many individuals loved and appreciated by
people across nations. Although we have been
colonized by several countries, many core
values from our ancestors remained intact and
are still honored to this day. Filipinos are not
perfect, but we have great characteristic and
qualities every one of us should be proud of.
(https://owlcation.com>socialscience.anthro
pology)
B. Strengths of the Filipino Character a.
Pakikipagkapwa-tao
❑ Pakikipagkapwa-tao – basic sense of
justice and fairness, concern for others and
ability to empathize with others.
❑ Sensitivity to people’s feelings
(Pakikiramdam)
❑ Pagtitiwala or trust
❑ Sense of gratitude or utang na loob.
❑ Very dependent or interpersonal
relationship; give sense of security.
❑ Camaraderie and feeling of closeness to one
another.
b. Strong Family Ties
❑ Filipinos possess a genuine and deep love
for family-source of personal identity, emotional
and material support.
❑ Honour and respect given to parents and
elders.
❑ Care given to the children.
❑ The generosity towards kin in need.
❑ Great sacrifices that one can endures for the
welfare of the family.
❑ Sense of family results in a feeling of
belongingness and rootedness in a basic sense of
security.
c. Joy and Humour
❑ Filipinos have a cheerful and fun-loving
approach to life and its ups and down; pleasant
disposition, a sense of humour and propensity
for happiness that contribute not only to the
Filipino charm but also to the indomitability of
the Filipino spirit.
❑ Laughing at ourselves and the mess we
are in is an important coping mechanism;
playful, sometimes, disrespectful, we laugh at
those we love and at those we hate and we make
jokes about our good fortune.
d. Flexibility, Adaptability and Creativity
We can adjust and to adapt to
circumstances and the surrounding environment,
both physical and social; adjusts to whatever
happens even in unplanned or anticipated events.
We possess a tolerance for ambiguity that
enables us to remain unfazed by uncertainty or
lack of information.
e. Hard Work and Industry
❑ We have the capacity for hard work given
proper conditions; to raise one’s standard of
living and to possess the essentials of a decent
life for one’s family.
❑ We are willing to take the risks with jobs
abroad, and while there, to work at two or
three jobs. The result is productivity and e. JOLLINESS AND SENSE OF
entrepreneurship for some and survival despite HUMOR f. DISCRETION AND DIGNITY
poverty. g. GRATEFULNESS
h. HONESTY AND COMMITMENT
f. Faith and Religiosity i. HELPFULNESS
❑ Our innate religiosity enable us to j. FAMILY ORIENTED
comprehend and genuinely accept reality in the k. ADAPTABILITY
context of God’s will and plan.
AND RESILIENCY
❑ Religious expression is very tangible
l. RESOURCEFULNESS AND
expressed everyday; we relate to God like a
CREATIVITY
human being- threaten, thank, ask forgiveness,
m. FAITHFULNESS
appease.
n. THRIFTINESS
❑ Tragedy and bad fortune are accepted and
optimism characterizes even the poorest lives
D. WEAKNESSES OF FILIPINO
are related to bahala na which may be
CHARACTER
considered positively as a reservoir of psychic
a. EXTREME PERSONALISM
energy, a psychological prop on which we can
b. EXTREME FAMILY CENTEREDNESS c.
lean during hard times. This pampalakas loob
allows us to act despite uncertainty. LACK OF DISCIPLINE
d. PASSIVITY AND LACK OF INITIATIVE
FILIPINO POSITIVE VALUES e. COLONIAL MENTALITY
f. KANYA KANYA SYNDROME
Filipino values shape our relationships, g. LACK OF SELF ANALYSIS AND SELF
behaviors, choices and sense of who we are. REFLECTION
Although positive values help guide their day to
day actions and interactions. Thus, values IDENTIFIED FILIPINO NEGATIVE VALUES
inspire, not just prohibit. Consequently, people 1. FATALISM
who have positive values are more likely to 2. CRAB MENTALITY
listen to their conscience, help others, be 3. NINGAS-COGON
independent, tell right from wrong and feel 4. FILIPINO TIME
happy. Ultimately, positive values help people 5. COLONIAL MENTALITY
make their own decisions in upholding them to 6. GENERAL DISREGARD FOR RULES
live in harmony with their respective 7. PROCRASTINATION OR
communities. Some of these values are as MAÑANA HABIT
follows: 8. CORRUPTION
a. HOSPITABILITY 9. GOSSIPING
b.HELPFUL TO 10. PASSIVITY (lack of leadership)
OTHERS/BAYANIHAN
c. RESPECTFUL (mano po, po and Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development
opo, halik sa kamay) (NEW CHAPTER)
d. BRAVERY
HEINZ CASE

In Europe, a woman was near death from

cancer. One drug might save her, a form of
radium that a druggist in the same town had
recently discovered. The druggist was charging
$2,000, ten times what the drug cost him to
make. The sick woman’s husband, Heinz, went
to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but
he could only get together about half of what it
cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying
and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him to sell
it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist
said, “No.” The husband got desperate and broke
into the man’s store to steal the drug for his
wife. Should the husband have done that? Why?
KOHLBERG THEORY OF MORAL
DEVELOPMENT
PRE CONVENTIONAL LEVEL
STAGE 1 OBEDIENCE AND
PUNISHMENT: Behavior driven by
avoiding punishment.
STAGE 2 INDIVIDUAL INTEREST:
Behavior driven by a self interest and
rewards.
CONVENTIONAL LEVEL
STAGE 3 INTERPERSONAL: Behavior
driven by social approval.
STAGE 4 AUTHORITY: Behavior driven
by authority and conforming to social
order.
POST CONVENTIONAL LEVEL
STAGE 5 SOCIAL CONTRACT : Behavior
driven by balance of social order and
individual rights.
STAGE 6 UNIVERSAL ETHICS: Behavior
driven by internal moral principles.
Level 1(Pre-Conventional)
Stage #1:Obedience and Punishment
Orientation (age 2 – 5)
Morality is based upon the physical punishment
that follows an action, rather than right or
wrong. The concern is for self - "Will I get into
trouble for doing (or not doing) it?" Good
behavior is associated with avoiding
punishment. EX: The child won’t grab the candy
at the supermarket for fear of being spanked.
Stage #2: Relativist Orientation (age 5 –
7) The concern is "What's in it for me?" Action
is judged right if it helps in satisfying one's
needs or involves a fair exchange. EX: A mother
tells her child: “If you are quiet at the mall, I
will buy you an ice cream.”
Level 2 (Conventional)
• Stage #3: Good Boy/Nice Girl
Orientation (age 7 – 12) People should live
up to the expectations of the family and
community and behave in "good" ways. Good
behavior means having good motives and
interpersonal feelings such as love, empathy,
trust, and concern for others. EX: Volunteering
at a nursing home is the right thing to do.
• Stage #4: Law and Order Orientation
(age 12 – 15) While stage three actions are
more concerned with pleasing your family,
stage four is associated with following
society as a whole. Emphasis is spent on
obeying laws to maintain social order. EX: If
you drink and drive you're endangering the lives
of others on the road, not just yourself. Level 3
(Post-Conventional) (15 –
onwards)
• Stage #5: Social Contract Orientation At
stage 5, people begin to ask, "What makes for
a good society?" They begin to think about
society considering the rights and values that a
society ought to uphold. EX: It is important for
the world to stop the killing in Darfur because
we are morally obligated to stop genocide.
• Stage #6: Universal Ethical Principle
Orientation (adulthood)
As human beings we are obliged to live by the
principle that “all men are created equal”
regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation,
or political belief. Justice is universal, so unjust
laws must be broken. EX: Rosa Parks refused to
sit in the back of the bus because it was an
unjust law discriminating against African
Americans.