CULTURE IN MORAL

BEHAVIOR
C

NGEC 0513 (Ethics)

Lesson 3

Ms. Digna M. De Guzman, MPA, MSW

Assistant Professor IV - Course Instructor
 Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this lesson, you are expected to: ‘

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS ATTITUDE
Understand the Explain the positive Acknowledge the
importance and the and negative existence; share and
significance of aspects of cultural live the Universal
culture in relation to relativism. values of man.
man’s life-- art and
humanities.
 Defining Culture
Consists of patterns, explicit and implicit of and
Refers to cumulative deposit of knowledge, for behavior acquired and transmitted by
experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, symbols, constituting the distinctive
meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of achievement of human groups, including their
time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of
universe, and material objects and culture consists of traditional ideas and especially
possessions acquired by a group of people in their attached values; culture systems may on the
the course of generations through individual other hand, be considered as products of action,
and group striving. on the other hand, as conditioning influences
upon further action.

Sum total of the learned
behavior of a group of people
that are generally considered
to be the tradition of that
people and are transmitted
from generation to generation.
Cultivated behavior; totality of
a person’s learned,
accumulated experience
which is socially transmitted, or
more briefly, behavior through
social learning.
Symbolic communication.
Some of its symbols include a
group’s skills, knowledge,
attitudes, values and motives.
The meanings of the symbols
are learned and deliberately
perpetuated in a society
through its institutions.
Culture’s Role in Moral Behavior
Culture is learned as children grow up in society and discover
how their parents and others around them interpret the world…
and even evaluate what is [morally] good and bad and to
judge when an unusual action is appropriate or inappropriate.

People learn moral aspects of right and wrong from transmitters

of culture.

[Culture] affects the thoughts, actions and feelings of people in

that group that “individuals are a product of their culture” and
“learning a culture is an essential part of human development”.
Moral Standards as Social Convention and the
Social Conditioning Theory

Enculturation or
Social Learning Social Convention Social conditioning
Socialization

• process by which • Process by which • set of agreed, • the sociological

individuals acquire infants and children stipulated or process of training
knowledge from socially learn the generally accepted individuals in a
others in the group to culture, including social norms, norms, society to respond in
which they belong, as morality of those standards or criteria, a manner generally
normal part of around them. often taking the form approved by the
childhood. of a custom. society in general
• “moral laws (moral and peer groups
standards or rules) within society.
some, assert are
nothing but just social
conventions.”
Cultural Relativism in Ethics
Moral Relativism fundamentally believes that no act is good or bad
objectively, and there is no single objective universal standard
through which we can evaluate the truth of moral judgments.
When the recognized standard is a
particular agent, the relativist Cultural relativism , the most
theory is very much compatible dominant form of moral relativism,
with moral subjectivism. If the defines “moral” as what is ‘socially
considered basis is a given society, approved’ by the majority in a
the relativist ideology is typically particular culture.
referred to as cultural relativism.
Cultural Relativism: An Analysis
Valuable Lessons Theory’s Ethical Faults
• Moral relativism encourage • Cultural relativism discourages
tolerance. critical/analytical thinking and
• Teaches us to be open-minded independent decision-making.
and more open to discovering • Being tolerant of other cultures does
truth. not demand that we consider all
• Warns against being judgmental as practices as morally acceptable.
it reminds us that some of our • The statement “there are no
beliefs and practices are mere absolutes” itself implies a claim for an
conventional and thus not absolute principle.
absolutely and exclusively correct.
Asian Moral Understanding
Western Ethics Eastern Ethics
Focus Finding Truth Protocol and Respect
Basis Rational thought Religious teachings
Emphasis Logic, Cause and Effect Respect Towards Family
Roots in Athens, Rome and Judeo- Hinduism, Buddhism,
Christianity Confucianism and
Taoism
Approach Rational Holistic and Cultural
Conflict and Harmony Good must triumph over evil Good and Bad; Light and
Dark, all exist in
equilibrium
Filipino Moral Character: Strengths and
Weaknesses
• Filipino Cultural Morality, centers on ideally having a ‘smooth interpersonal
relationship (SIR) with others.

Supported and anchored by the following 6 basic

Filipino Values:
Pakikisama Hiya Amor Propio Utang na loob Filipino Respect to
•Having and •Feeling of •Characterized as •Balancing of Hospitality elders
maintaining lowliness, shame the high degree obligations and •Innate ability and •Use of ‘po’ and
“good public or embarrassment of sensitivity that debts; concept of trait of Filipinos to ‘opo’ and
relations” and inhibition or makes a person reciprocity or be courteous and ‘pagmamano’
shyness intolerant to returning the entertaining to
criticism and received favor. their guests.
causes him to
have an easily
wounded pride.
Universal Values

Existence of universal values negates cultural relativism

Values must be generally shared by many cultures, giving

value on:
• 1. Truth telling for instance is indispensable in the existence of a society,
for without it, there would be no reason to pay attention to what anyone
communicates with anyone.

• 2. Valuing or respecting life which necessitates the prohibition on murder.