Culture and Moral Behavior

Culture

• Culture reflects moral values and ethical norms that govern how people behave and interact.
• Culture refers to outlook, attitudes, values, goals and practices shared by a group, organization or society.
• Culture varies over time between countries, geographic regions, and among groups and organizations.

Moral Behavior

• Moral behavior produces good outcomes for individuals and society and can be applied to global society
• Schuman defines moral behavior as actions intended to produce kind and fair outcomes.
• Moral behavior act according to moral values and standards. Children demonstrate prosocial and moral behavior through sharing, helping, cooperating, communicating, and sympathizing.

Factors Influencing Moral Behavior

• Several sources influence a person's moral behavior. These include family, community, religion, school, and social media.
• Family is the basic unit that provides basic needs.
• School includes formal and non-formal education systems that provide learning needs.
• Church determines what is specifically considered right or wrong and is composed of believers in the same faith.
• Mass Media agencies provide entertaining, informing, and educating content through various channels.

Cultural Norms

• Cultural norms are shared, sanctioned, and integrated systems of beliefs and practices passed down through generations.
• Norms cultivate guidelines for daily living, contributing to a culture's well-being.
• Norms prescribe correct behavior, provide meaning and enable a sense of integrity, safety and belonging.
• Normative beliefs, values, and rituals establish order and control over life aspects.

Intersection of Culture and Ethics

• This involves ethics and cultural norms
• What is ethical to one group may not be considered so in another culture due to cultural norms.

Cultural Behavior

• Culture vary within society.
• Morality varies within societies and between societies. Cultural factors include:
  • Religion
  • Social Ecology
  • Regulatory social institutions
• Cultural behavior is primarily learned rather than instinctive,
• Cultural behavior involves the use of artifacts.

Cultural Behavior Examples

• Ant behavior is instinctive not cultural as they cannot adapt, alter plans or be taught.
• Dog’s behavior is more learned, such as not urinating indoors, and it generalizes this behavior to other settings.
• Chimpanzees using termite sticks is an example of cultural behavior in animals, involving tool use and learned behavior taught by mothers.

Cultural Relativism

• Cultural relativism suggests ethical and cultural beliefs vary across cultures and are equally valid.
• Moral standards are a product of society.
• Protagoras of Abdera, a sophist from Abdera, was a key figure.
• Protagoras was influential sophist known for teaching in Athens.
• Protagoras made three claims:
  • Man is the measure of all things
  • He could make weaker arguments appear stronger
  • One could not tell if Gods existed
• Protagoras believed knowledge is limited to personal perceptions.
• Moral Relativism asserts there is no universal set of moral principles.
• Adherents often say, "who am I to judge?"
• Protagoras thought the young should support their society’s traditions for the sake of stability.

Ethical Relativism

• Ethical relativism arises when laws and moral rules are based on convention rather than nature.
• Moral relativists believe standards of right and wrong are relative to a particular culture with no absolute criteria.
• Different sets of moral principles are considered of equal worth
• Ethical relativism is said to be self-contradictory because it can not be insisted on

Asian and Filipino Moral Behavior

• Moral behavior should align with moral values and standards. Children demonstrate prosocial and moral behavior through actions that show care for others.
• Norms are expectations of proper behavior
  • Formal social norms are based on the laws.
  • Informal social norms are based on social interactions
• Types of informal norms:
  • Mores: Moral norms from accepted practices
  • Folkway: Common customs or beliefs
• Values are collective ideals shared by a culture about what is good or bad.

Filipino Core Values

• Respect for elders (Paggalang sa nakatatanda)
• Empathy (Pag-intindi sa nararamdaman ng iba)
• Deep regard for fellow humans (Pakikipagkapwa-tao)
• Patriotism (Pagiging makabayan)
• Cultural continuity (Pagpapatuloy sa kultura)

Beliefs

• Beliefs are criteria for abstract thought that do not necessarily evoke actions but may influence behavior.