CHAPTER 1
THE MORAL
AGENT
BY: KHA
TOPIC OUTLINE
Today's Discussion
Lesson 1: How Culture
Shapes Human Behavior
Lesson 2: Cultural Relativism
Lesson 3: Universal Values
THE MORAL AGENT
What does “culture” mean?
According to the father of sociology, Emile Durkheim asserted that culture
has the power over individuals to create beliefs, such as belief in God.
According to the father of cultural anthropology, Edward Tylor he stated
that in general, culture is the customs, and any other capabilities and habits
acquired by man as a member of society.
INTRODUCTION
LESSON 1: HOW
CULTURE SHAPES
HUMAN BEHAVIOR
What is Culture?
Culture is a complex phenomenon. It contains nearly
all aspects of shared human experiences.
Not all is well with culture’s power and control over
people. Plato worried about idols and ideologies of
his day, and especially about the power of the public
to corrupt a young person’s mind.
According to Karl Marx, a German philosopher, the
father of Communism. Culture served to justify
inequality because the ruling class determines what
is right and wrong while the rest merely follow.
ELEMENTS OF CULTURE
These are the five basic elements of culture:
Symbols - this can be anything that group of people find
meaningful.
Language - this is a complex symbol system that enabled human
beings to communicate either verbally or through writing.
Beliefs - this are assumptions or convictions held to be true by an
individual or a group of people.
Values - this are culturally acceptable standards of behavior
Norm - this is an informal guideline by a particular group of people
or social unit about what is considered normal or correct/incorrect
social behavior.
HOW DOES CULTURE DEFINE
MORAL BEHAVIOR?
Plato implies that if a person’s cultural surroundings
reward conformity to agreeable norms it would lead
the person to behave much better and quell
undesirable conduct.
The power of culture over an individual is more potent
in children because they do not have any pre-existing
values.
“express the image of a noble character”
LESSON 2:
CULTURAL
RELATIVISM
WHAT IS CULTURAL RELATIVISM?
Cultural relativism explains why one behavior or practice is
completely acceptable by a particular group of people, while it
is a taboo in another.
The Elements of Moral Philosophy by Dr. James Rachels
1. Different societies have different moral codes.
2. The moral code of society determines what is right or
wrong.
3. There are no universal moral truths.
4. The moral code of a particular society has no special status.
5. It is arrogant for one culture to judge another culture.
THE ADVANTAGES AND DANGER
OF CULTURAL RELATIVISM
Advantages:
1. It warns us from assuming that our preferences
are the absolute rational standard.
2. It teaches us to keep an open mind and to be
more amenable in discovering the truth.
THE ADVANTAGES AND DANGER
OF CULTURAL RELATIVISM
Dangers:
1. We cannot call out societal practices that
promote harm.
2. We cannot justifiably criticize our own culture’s
harmful practices.
3. The idea of social progress becomes doubtful.
PEACE EDUCATION
Peace defines in relation to culture according to UNESCO is a set of
beliefs, values, traditions and mode of behavior and ways of life
based:
1. Respect for life
2. Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms
3. Rejection of all forms of violence
4. Adherence to the principles of justice, democracy, tolerance,
solidarity, cooperation, diversity, dialogue and understanding in all
levels of society.
Three phases to accomplish
peace:
1. Cognitive phase
2. Affective phase
3. Active phase
Two types of peace:
Negative Peace - absence of
direct/physical violence
Positive Peace - presence of conditions of
well-being and just relationship:
a. Economic, political ecological
b. Structural Violence
c. Socio-cultural Violence
d. Ecological Violence
SIX DIMENSIONS AND
OPERATIVE VALUES
1. Personal & Family (Spiritual)
2. Human Rights & Democracy (Justice)
3. Poverty Education (Compassion)
4. Intercultural Understanding & Solidarity (Dialogue)
5. Disarmament & Cessation of Hostilities (Active/Non-
violence)
6. Environmental Protection (Stewardship)
LESSON 3:
UNIVERSAL
VALUES
UNIVERSAL VALUES
The three universal values shared by all
cultures:
1. Caring for the young
2. Murder is wrong
3. Tell the truth
SUMMARY
In summary of the discussion,
Lesson 1, we tackled how culture shape human behavior. what is culture, the
elements of culture, and how does culture define moral behavior.
In lesson 2, it is discussed what is cultural relativism, the advantages and the
dangers, it also talks how peace education affects one’s life, and the six
dimensions and operative values by Archbishop Antonio Ladesma.
And for the Lesson 3, it tackles about the Universal values that shared by all
culture for example, telling the truth.
THANK
YOU
