HUM039-

ETHICS
 ETHICS AND
CULTURE BY: SIR E!

Copyright: edpalean
2019
HOMEWORK (TO BE
SUBMITTED NEXT MEETING)

IN YOUR BLUE BOOK,

ANSWER WORKSHEET 2.1 OF
THE BOOK, “ETHICS:
EXPLORING MORAL
TOPICS TO BE COVERED
A. CULTURE AND OUR MORAL
BEHAVIOR
B. FUNCTIONS OF CULTURE
C. CULTURAL RELATIVISM
D. MORAL RELATIVISM
E. CULTURAL TOLERANCE
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Articulate what culture means.
2. Attribute facets of personal behavior to
culture.
3. Recognize and appreciate differences in
moral behavior of different cultures.
4. Define cultural relativism and evaluate its
ETHICS AND
CULTURE BY: SIR E!
HOW DO YOU THINK
YOUR COMMUNITY
INFLUENCES YOUR
QUESTION
BEHAVIOR?
CULTURE AND OUR MORAL BEHAVIOR

On January 03, 2018, CNN reported that a Nigerian man posted graphic
pictures on Facebook showing children apparently going through genital
mutilation (Adebayo, 2018). The post caused an outrage from his fellow
Nigerians, which pressured him to take down his post, eventually apologizing
CULTURE AND OUR MORAL BEHAVIOR
 Although culturally was,
and in some communities,
still being viewed as an
acceptable practice, multi-
country study conducted by
the World Health
Organization (WHO) in six
African countries, showed
that women who had
undergone FGM, had
significantly increased risks
for adverse events during
childbirth, and that an
ETHICS AND CULTURE

One of the most difficult concepts in

learning and understanding our moral
behavior is the idea of cultural relativism.
WHAT ARE NORMS?
Norms refer to social and
cultural regulations and
decrees that govern the
everyday activities of
people, inclusive of its
moral and ethical
imperatives, customs and
 WHAT IS CULTURE?

Culture is defined as that

complex whole which
includes knowledge,
beliefs, arts, morals, law,
customs, and any other
capabilities and habits
acquired by man as a
HOW DOES CULTURE
DEFINE MORAL
QUESTION
BEHAVIOR?
THE FILIPINO WAY
In the Philippines, one way at looking (at the problem of)
morality is to reflect on the prevailing norms of right and
wrong among Filipinos. Gorospe lists the following as
distinct Filipino moral norms:
FILIPINO MORAL NORMS
 Group-centeredness or
group-think
 The "Don't be caught"
attitude based on
shame or fear
of the authority figure
 Complacency when one
is aware but is not
FUNCTIONS OF CULTURE

Culture provides
identity to the
people in the
society.
FUNCTIONS OF CULTURE

Culture mirrors
the laws of the
land.
FUNCTIONS OF CULTURE

Culture unifies
people in ways
that only those
who belong in that
society
FUNCTIONS OF CULTURE

Culture influences
our concept of
morality.
IN A NUTSHELL
Our moral actions are
embedded in the social
structures provided by the
traditions of old. There is
no way that we will decide
without invoking our
cultural moral biases. How
we talk, think, and tap daily
judgments is definitely
CULTURAL RELATIVISM
One way of knowing which ethical views work in
certain context
is by understanding the cultures of different people.
WHAT IS CULTURAL RELATIVISM?

CULTURAL
RELATIVISM is the
view that moral beliefs
and practices vary with
and depend on the
human needs and social
WHAT IS MORAL RELATIVISM?
In effect, cultural relativism
results to, if not implies moral
relativism which maintains
that different societies
(and ages) hold distinct
systems of morality and that
there are no objective, and
transcultural criteria for
HOW DOES CULTURAL
RELATIVISM
PROMOTE MORAL
QUESTION
RELATIVISM?
CULTURAL RELATIVISM VIS-À-
VIS ETHNOCENTRISM
CULTURAL RELATIVISM DEBUNKS THE
CONCEPT OF
ETHNOCENTRISM is
ETHNOCENTRISM
the practice of taking
one’s own people, society
and culture to be the
vantage point from which
all else is viewed and
HOW DOES CULTURAL
RELATIVISM PROMOTE
QUESTION
EQUALITY?
XENOCENTRICISM

XENOCENTRISM is the belief that one’s own cultural features are a

downgrade in comparison to those of other cultures. Xenoxentric
individuals value commodities, style, culture or even ideas from another
WHY ARE FILIPINOS MORE
OF XENOCENTRICS THAN
QUESTION
ETHNOCENTRICS?
XENOCENTRICISM

The history of the Philippines affected the way Filipinos view

themselves as a part of the bigger world. Since historically, we
have become slaves of first world countries, generally, our mind-
set seem not to go further away from it- slaves to the perspective
 CULTURAL RELATIVISM
STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
What is considered morally Cultural relativism might
right and wrong should be fall prey into the idea that
judged based on cultural universal standards do not
contexts. exist.
Cultural relativism is an If universal standards
answer to cultural do not exist, so thus
annihilation. morality.
Cultural relativism Cultural relativism gives birth to
HOW AND WHY IS CULTURAL
RELATIVISM
A THREAT TO MORALITY? QUESTION
CULTURAL TOLERANCE
Cultural relativism should result to
cultural tolerance in order to preserve
the distinctiveness of people regardless
of whichever context they come from.
Distinctiveness and diversity should be
celebrated because people are all
different in many ways. With this being
said, the perpetuation of culture can
only be possible through tolerance. How
Cultural sensitivity is
the key to cultural
tolerance.
It is being aware that
cultural differences
and similarities
between people exist
without assigning
them a value–
positive or negative,
 SHOULD CULTURAL
DIVERSITY LEAD TO MORAL
DIVERSITY? EXPLAIN YOUR
QUESTION
ANSWER.
SUMMARY
Although diversity of cultures is
heavily encouraged, this should
be exclusive of customs and
traditions which disrupt normal
human functioning. Hence, it is
crucial that we be reminded that
cultural relativism should not, in
any way, be used as an excuse to
continue cultural practices
ETHICS AND
CULTURE BY: SIR E!