The Moral Agent: Culture and Norms

Culture and Moral Behavior

• Culture shapes people's beliefs, values, and behavior, influencing every aspect of our lives.
• Culture defines our identity and worldview, from the food we eat to the language we speak.
• Culture plays a role in moral development, shaping our norms and values.

Forces that Shape Culture

• Language: directs attention and action, conveying explicit and implicit meanings.
• Time: reflects our values, allocating periods to accomplish tasks and creating unity.
• Modeling: displays behavior, demonstrating techniques, and making thinking visible.
• Opportunities: either constrains or enhances individual and group activity.
• Routine: represents shared practices, minimizing confusion and directing activity.
• Interactions: forms the basis for relationships, defining the emotional climate of a community.
• Environment: the physical space conveys values, influencing behavior and performance.

Culture and Moral Values

• Cultural values shape society and influence individuals.
• Moral values are personal values, but they are taught by our cultural society.
• Moral codes are rules or guidelines that vary across cultures, dictating aspects of life.

Cultural Relativism

• No universal standard exists to measure cultures.
• Moral values and beliefs must be understood relative to their cultural context.
• Ethical truths are relative to individual or cultural standards.

The Filipino Way

• Filipino culture is unique, influenced by history and diverse ethnolinguistic groups.
• Filipino culture has retained indigenous moral values and belief systems.
• Colonization has led to a cultural identity crisis, with Filipinos showing little appreciation for their culture.

The Moral Agent

• A moral agent can discern right from wrong and be held accountable for their actions.
• Moral agents have a moral responsibility not to cause unjustified harm.
• Not all agents are moral agents, but they can be capable of conforming to moral principles.
• Virtue is the quality of being morally good, and virtues are habits that become characteristics of a person.

Key Takeaways

• The virtue approach to ethics emphasizes the importance of community in shaping character traits.
• A person's character is affected by the values and personality traits of their communities.
• The moral life is not just about following moral rules, but also about developing character within communities.

Culture and Moral Behavior

• Culture shapes people's beliefs, values, and behavior, influencing every aspect of our lives.
• Culture defines our identity and worldview, from the food we eat to the language we speak.
• Culture plays a role in moral development, shaping our norms and values.

Forces that Shape Culture

• Language: directs attention and action, conveying explicit and implicit meanings.
• Time: reflects our values, allocating periods to accomplish tasks and creating unity.
• Modeling: displays behavior, demonstrating techniques, and making thinking visible.
• Opportunities: either constrains or enhances individual and group activity.
• Routine: represents shared practices, minimizing confusion and directing activity.
• Interactions: forms the basis for relationships, defining the emotional climate of a community.
• Environment: the physical space conveys values, influencing behavior and performance.

Culture and Moral Values

• Cultural values shape society and influence individuals.
• Moral values are personal values, but they are taught by our cultural society.
• Moral codes are rules or guidelines that vary across cultures, dictating aspects of life.

Cultural Relativism

• No universal standard exists to measure cultures.
• Moral values and beliefs must be understood relative to their cultural context.
• Ethical truths are relative to individual or cultural standards.

The Filipino Way

• Filipino culture is unique, influenced by history and diverse ethnolinguistic groups.
• Filipino culture has retained indigenous moral values and belief systems.
• Colonization has led to a cultural identity crisis, with Filipinos showing little appreciation for their culture.

The Moral Agent

• A moral agent can discern right from wrong and be held accountable for their actions.
• Moral agents have a moral responsibility not to cause unjustified harm.
• Not all agents are moral agents, but they can be capable of conforming to moral principles.
• Virtue is the quality of being morally good, and virtues are habits that become characteristics of a person.

Key Takeaways

• The virtue approach to ethics emphasizes the importance of community in shaping character traits.
• A person's character is affected by the values and personality traits of their communities.
• The moral life is not just about following moral rules, but also about developing character within communities.