CULTURE IN MORAL BEHAVIOR
CULTURE DEFINITION MORAL STANDARDS AS SOCIAL CONVENTION
Refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, • SOCIAL FACTS - are values, beliefs, cultural
experience, beliefs, ideas, values, attitudes, norms, and social structures that transcend the
meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, individual and control them. These are external to us
roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and are outside of our control.
and material objects • SOCIAL CONVENTION - those agreed upon by
Are patterns of behavior implicit or explicit, people in society these are the usual, customary,
acquired and transmitted by symbols and acceptable ways through which things are done
Is the sum total of learned behavior of a group of within a group. There is a blanket of legitimacy.
people
A cultivated behavior: totality of person’s Dual Reality of Social Life:
learned and experienced • Man creates social reality but is also a product of
Is a symbolic communication social reality
• So moral law is only a social convention
CULTURE IN SHORT…
Includes all the things individuals learn while MORALITY AS AN EFFECT OF SOCIAL
growing up in a particular group: attitudes, CONDITIONING
standards of morality, rules of etiquette,
perceptions of reality, language, notions about SOCIAL CONDITIONING is the sociological
the proper way to live, and other ideas about process of training individuals in a society to
how the world works we call this cultural respond in a manner generally approved by the
knowledge society.
CONSCIENCE ARE DUE TO SOCIETY – as
CULTURE’S ROLE IN MORAL BEHAVIOR society express disapproval, people became aware of
CULTURE IS WAY OF LIFE that includes the reproof, dissatisfaction or contempt that develop
moral values and behaviors, along with into a habit of conscience when one considered
knowledge, beliefs, symbols that they accept carrying those actions.
“generally without thinking about them, and that
are passed along by communication and C.S. LEWIS: MORALITY BELONGS TO THE SAME
imitation from one generation to the next.” CLASS AS MATHEMATICS
SOCIAL LEARNING - process by which
individuals acquire knowledge from others in A. Although there are differences between the moral
the groups to which they belong. People learn ideas of one time or country and those of another,
moral and aspects of right and wrong from the differences are not really very great.
transmitter of cultures” parents, teachers, novels, • - nations or cultures only have slightly different
films, priests etc. People develop a set of ideas moralities but not quite different ones. We can
of what is right and wrong by observing, recognize the same moral law running through
communicating, and engaging to them. them all (universal values)
IT IS IMPROBABLE, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE, B. We affirm that the morality of a person is better
TO LIVE IN A SOCIETY WITHOUT BEING or worse than that of another, which means that
AFFECTED BY CULTURE there is a moral standard or rule by which we
measure both moralities, and that standard is
real.
It is hard to grow up in a particular culture
• - concept of real morality: thing that is right and
without being impacted by how it views
independent of what people think
morality or what is ethically right or wrong.
• - argues that moral law is not a mere social
This is the case because individuals are
convention to which each culture or society just
product of their culture and learning a culture
happens to approve
is essential part of human development (De
Guzman and Pena, 2016)
• SOCIAL CONDITIONING THEORY OF
MORALITY is argued to be problematic because
there are in fact, plenty of situations where a person,
also conditioned and influenced by his culture to
adopt a particular course, feels the moral obligation Cultural Relativism ins only practicable if
to take an entirely different action. people do not belong to more than one
• We do not submit, nonetheless, that social institution
conditioning does not in any way affect our ethical There are not absolutes is self-defeating
knowledge. It is the intellect that remembers what
actions are moral and what are not, therefore, RACHEL’S EVALUATION OF CULTURAL
intellect can be molded or socially conditioned and RELATIVISM
not the sense of moral obligation or conscience
• He explains that the cultural relativists’ approach is
CULTURAL RELATIVISM to argue from facts about the differences between
Is the idea that a person’s beliefs, values, and cultural outlooks to a conclusion about the status of
practices should be understood based on that morality.
person’s own culture, rather than be judged against • Example: The Greeks believed it was wrong to eat
the criteria of another the dead, whereas the Callatians (an Indian Tribe)
Other cultures are not wrong, rather different… believed it was right. Therefore, eating the dead is
neither objectively right nor objectively wrong. It is
CULTURAL RELATIVISM IN ETHICS merely a matter of opinion which varies from culture
• CULTURAL RELATIVISM, the most dominant to culture.
form of moral relativism, defines moral as what is • CULTURAL DIFFERENCES ARGUMENT -
socially approved by the majority in a particular different cultures have different moral codes.
culture. In short, an act is ethical in a culture that Therefore, there is no objective truth in morality.
approves of it, but immoral in one that disapproves
of it.
AGAINST THE CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
A. MORAL SUBJECTIVISM - the standard is a ARGUMENT:
particular agent
B. CULTURAL RELATIVISM - the basis is the given Another example:
society • People in some societies (primitive tribes)
believe that the Earth is flat, whereas Europeans
• Cultural relativists observe that societies hold that the Earth is (roughly) spherical.
fundamentally disagree about ethical issues. Therefore, there is no objective truth in
Morality differs in every society as concepts of what geography. Belief in the shape of the earth is
is right and wrong vary from culture to culture. only a matter of opinion, and opinions vary from
culture to culture. is this argument valid?
CULTURAL RELATIVISM: AN ANALYSIS • With this, we can say that just because various
1. VALUABLE LESSONS FROM ETHICAL societies disagree with something, it does not
RELATIVISM: mean that there is no objective truth
There is no universal truth, so this encourage • Cultural Relativist goes wrong in sweeping a
tolerance by being open-minded conclusion about an issue from the mere fact
Our feelings and beliefs are only products of that people disagree about it…
cultural conditioning thus, it do not reflect the
truth
Believes that culture and morality is JUST HOW MUCH DO CULTURES DIFFER?
conventional Example:
• Eskimos see nothing wrong with infanticide,
2. THE THEORY’S ETHICAL FAULTS whereas we believe that infanticide is immoral.
Cultural Relativism discourages analytical With this, the first assumption is that Eskimos
thinking and independent decision making in have very different values from ours however:
ethics as it requires unsuspecting compliance • Eskimos protect its babies if conditions permit.
and subscription to social norm. Thus, in order They nurse their infant for very long time.
to be ethical, folkways and cultural norms • Infanticide especially among girls (males are
should be followed uncritically primary food providers, hunters suffer high
Concept of tolerance is self-contradictory casualty rate) is a recognition that drastic
It begs the question, then is the culture of measures are sometimes needed to ensure the
slavery, racism, and oppression morally family’s survival.
acceptable? • This shows that it is wrong to conclude that
there is disagreement about values and morality
just because customs differ.
CONFLICT Good and Bad,
THE BAD CONSEQUENCES OF CULTURAL
AND Good over evil Light and dark all
RELATIVISM
HARMONY exist
A. We could no longer say that the customs of other
societies are morally inferior to our own
• Example: We could not say that Anti-Semitism
and Slavery are wrong
B. We could decide whether actions are right or
wrong just by consulting the standards of our
society
• The implication is that people will think that FILIPINO MORAL CHARACTER: STRENGTHS
their own society’s code is perfect, rather than AND WEAKNESSES
thinking of ways it might be improved. In short,
cultural relativism would stop us from criticizing Filipino Cultural Morality centers on ideally having a
our own smooth interpersonal relationship with others through:
C. The ide a of moral progress is called into doubt 1. PAKIKISAMA - maintain good public relations
• There is no standard by which we judge the new 2. HIYA- concern with how one appears in the eye of
ways as better or progressive. (e.g. Social others
reform) 3. AMOR PROPIO - comes from the tendency of a
person to protect his or her dignity and honor
4. UTANG NA LOOB - debt of gratitude, balance of
ASIAN MORAL STANDING obligations and debts
5. FILIPINO HOSPITALITY - innate ability and trait
EASTERN ETHICS: of Filipinos to be courteous and entertaining to their
• is very much about the protocol of showing guests
respect and the notion that one must do what is 6. RESPECT FOR ELDERS
right and expected of him and the universe will
take care of the rest
UNIVERSAL VALUES: VALUES GENERALLY
WESTERN ETHICS: SHARED BY CULTURES
• is basically about finding truth or what is Strong proof that cultural relativism is wrong
rationally or logically true. It puts emphasis on
justice and law. VALUES THAT MUST BE GENERALLY SHARED
BY MANY CULTURES ARE:
WEST vs. EAST
1. TRUTH TELLING- communication in all
WESTERN EASTERN forms is universal, saying the truth is the most
ETHICS ETHICS important reason on what someone is paying
attention to what anyone communicates
Protocol and 2. VALUING OR RESPECTING LIFE-
FOCUS Finding truth
Respect necessitates the prohibition of murder. If
everyone is trying to kill each other, everyone is
BASIS Rational thought Religious teachings on guard and avoiding people that will make
societies impossible to emerged.
Logic, cause, Respect towards
EMPHASIS • This proves that there are some moral rules that
and effect family
all societies will have in common because those
Hinduism, rules are necessary for society to exist.
Athens, Romeo,
Buddhism,
ROOTS IN Judeo and
Confucianism and
Christianity
Taoism
Holistic and
APPROACH Rational
Cultural
