The Moral Agent

 
Learning Objectives

Explain what moral agent means;

To discuss the meaning of fundamental option;
State defining moments in your moral formation;
Explain the relationship between moral acts and
character.
 What moral agent means;
A Moral Agent is one who performs an act in accordance
with moral standards.
A Moral Agent should have the capacity to rise above
his/her feelings and passions and acts in accordance with the
moral law.
A moral agent has the capacity to conform to moral
standards, to act for the sake of moral considerations, that is,
for the sake of moral law.
REMINDER:

An insane person who does not have

the capacity to think and choose,
cannot be a moral agent
A dog is, therefore not a moral agent because it
doesn’t have the capacity to conform to moral
standards. It cannot knowingly, freely and voluntarily
act. It does not have a mind and freewill.
Like the dog, a robot cannot be a moral agent.
The moral agent is a purpose-driven or
end-driven. That end is sought for its
own sake, an end no longer sought for
the sake of another end, the highest good
which is happiness.
From the Christian point of view, a human person’s
destiny in the world is not only to achieve cultural
and moral perfection, but to attain the eternal
happiness of the soul after death of the body. As a
moral agent his duty is to know, to love, and to
serve God, his ultimate end.
Fundamental option is a human person’s basic
choice or inner orientation either for a good
life (directed towards others and God) or for a
bad life (directed towards himself/herself and
cut off from others and God)
Man as moral agent adopts the
“fundamental option,” a free choice to
say “yes” to God’s invitation to follow
His way.
For the existentialist, like Jean Paul Sartre, the
human person, the moral agent becomes what
he/she make of himself/herself by choice. He/She
is nothing no “essence” until he/she starts his/her
“existence” by making choices.
To the process philosophers like Teilhard de Chadrin and
Alfred North Whitehead, whatever a human person, the
moral agent, is or will be is a result of creative process. The
moral agent has to create his/her end, purpose, or directions.
He/she has to invent his/her destiny. Since there is no goal or
end designed for him/her, he/she would completely be the
author of what he/she turns out to be. He/she will be totally
responsible for what he/she will be.
Other groups, like Martin Heidgger, Gabriell Marcel and
Martin Buber see the moral agent as a being-with-others,
who is inseparably related to his/her fellow man. Together
with other moral agents, the human person goes through
life, designing his/her end guided by messages unveiled in a
life of dialogue with others and with the world.
For Brabander, the moral agent directs
his/her life to improve, refine, develops
this world in order to bring out the
world to come.
R. Franchaeur likewise claims that the
moral agent should direct his/her life to
the spiritualization of this material
world
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL
CHARACTER OF THE MORAL
AGENT
Defining moment refers to a significant life-changing event
or moment of conversion in a person’s life
A person who has moral character does moral actions more
readily and more willingly than one who does not.
Therefore, it is good to develop more character.
It is, therefore, best for all persons to develop moral
character. Moral character is formed by repeatedly doing
moral acts.
 THE STAGES OF MORAL
DEVELOPMENT
 According to William Kay, human persons go through three stages
of moral development:
1) the amoral stage-egocentric, hedonist and prudential
considerations;
2) the pre moral stage – authoritarian, ego-idealist, social and
reciprocal considerations. And
3) the moral stage – personal, autonomous, altruistic, rational,
independent and responsible considerations.
 THE STAGES OF MORAL
DEVELOPMENT
According to Kholberg human persons go through three
levels of moral development:
1) pre-conventional,
2) conventional, and
3) post-conventional. Each level has two distinct stages and so
Kohlberg has six stages of moral development.
 During the pre-conventional level, a child’s sense of morality is externally
controlled. Children accept and believe the rules of authority figures, such as
parents and teachers, and they judge an action based on its consequences.
 During the conventional level, an individual’s sense of morality is tied to
personal and societal relationships. Children continue to accept the rules of
authority figures, but this is now because they believe that this is necessary to
ensure positive relationships and societal order.
 During the post-conventional level, a person’s sense of morality is defined in
terms or more abstract principles and universal values which are now
internalized.
For William Kay and Kohlberg, every person is
meant to grow into moral maturity. Moral maturity
is evident in a person who acts based on his
conviction rooted on universal ethics principles not
because his act will bring him/her pleasure or pain, or
that his/her act is in accordance with the laws or
expectations of his/her particular group or society as a
whole.
Genuine moral development, which is
attaining the post-conventional stage, the
highest stage in Kohlberg’s is essentially
development of conscience.
Conscience formation begins with the deep seated
decision to seek moral truth. It must stand on the
firm foundation of integrity, sincerity, and
forthrightness and must be sustained by the habit
of consistently educating oneself by exposure to
objective moral norms, and the rationale behind
those norms.
For conscience to be formed, it needs a guide, for
Christians, the Church’s moral teaching and
persons whose moral judgements are sound and
in accordance with the Church’s moral tradition.
Conscience formation requires a habit of
on- going self – formation (moral
information gathering) through study,
reading and other types of inquiry.
Conscience-based moral decision means the
widening of human consciousness – from family
consciousness to clan consciousness, community
consciousness, town consciousness, provincial,
regional, national, and international or global
consciousness.
Note this,

As one’s consciousness widens, the standards of

one’s decision making widens, one’s moral
conscience widens, one matures.
Moral development is internalization of moral
norms. One acts morally based on his/her
convictions not because the law says so or a
person in authority orders so.
Direction: Give your best answer to the following question/statements.
1. Based on Williams Kay’s and Kohlberg’s stages of moral development point, in which stage are you?
2. What are you doing for genuine conscience formation to reach post-conventional level of moral development,
the full internalization of universal ethical principles?
3. Give reasons why students cheat/don’t cheat. Classify the given reasons based on Kohlberg’s six stages.
4. What was a defining moment in your life? What do you do to form your moral character?
5. Explain the relationship between moral acts and moral character.
6. From the innermost core of your being, whom have you chosen – God (goodness) or not God (the evil). How
true have you been to your fundamental option? Is your life one of the communion with God or one of
isolation?