Moral Agent: Lesson 3 PDF

THE MORAL AGENT LESSON 3  MORAL AGENT An individual who has the ability to make moral judgments and take actions based on moral principles; Culture can significantly influence moral agents in how they perceive, interpret, and apply moral principles in their decision-...

THE MORAL AGENT LESSON 3  MORAL AGENT An individual who has the ability to make moral judgments and take actions based on moral principles; Culture can significantly influence moral agents in how they perceive, interpret, and apply moral principles in their decision- making.  OBJECTIVES: 1.Articulate what culture means. 2.Recognize and appreciate differences in moral behavior of cultures. 3.Define cultural relativism and point out its strengths and weaknesses in making moral  CULTURE “Culture" derives from from the Latin "colere," which means “to tend or cultivate.” From the early 19th century arose “cultivation of the mind, faculties, or manners.”  The customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. -https://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/ culture  IMPORTANCE: Culture ties people of a community together, gives an individual a unique identity, and serves as the founding principles of one's life. Culture enhances our quality of life and increases overall well-being for both individuals and communities. WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF THERE IS NO CULTURE?  WEIRD CULTURES ACROSS THE WORLD WHICH ARE HARD TO BELIEVE LIVING WITH THE DEAD ONES, INDONESIA:  Celebrated among the Toraja people of Sulawesi region, Indonesia. Live with the dead bodies for some months before organizing the proper funeral and burial ceremony. This custom ensures the good fortune of their deceased family members. TRADITION OF SCARIFICATION, AFRICA  Carving the body with decorative scars is one among the oldest traditions of many African tribes. Children get their first scarification just after their birth! Sudan and Ethiopia, women withstand this painful body art to indicate one’s age and rank in the social structure For the men, scarification signifies their courage, strength, and valour. FOOT BINDING, CHINA  Chinese people considered small feet to be the sign of beauty and attractiveness among the girls and to ensure that the foot does not grow bigger, young girls were pressurized to get their foot fastened by tight bandages. In this process, the bones often got broken and the girls subjected to this painful custom experienced sepsis and paralyze. NECK RING CULTURE, ASIA AND AFRICA:  Some African and Asian tribes, it is very famous in which stiff neck jewelry (brass coils) is worn around the neck that makes the neck look elongated. Brass coils are ringed around the neck since two years of a baby girl among the Padaung women of Kayan people, Myanmar. Consider the long necks as an impression of beauty among them. South Ndebele peoples of Africa also wear neck rings to show off their wealth and status. QUESTIONS: Among the four mentioned, what do you think is the weirdest culture? What culture would like to experience someday? CULTURE IN MORAL BEHAVIOR Culturesvary in both moral judgments and moral behaviors. Cultural variations in morality within societies can vary as much as cultural variations in morality between societies.  Culture does play a significant role within shaping moral behavior and extends even further to social norms. It influences and changes our definitions of what ought to be deemed morally acceptable by consistent exposure to it.  When groups of people have the same uniform, value systems, and other sort of things, they may share common personality traits. Culture introduces shared values, including beliefs, and how others may think, feel, or even act. Thus, culture describes the way we learn, live and behave.  Culture shapes us into who we are by human development and from watching the cultural differences between others. CULTURAL RELATIVISM It is the view that ethical systems and cultural beliefs vary from one culture to another. It upheld the idea that said ethical systems are all equal in validity and of relevance.  An idea that a person’s beliefs, values, and practices should be understood based on that person’s own culture, rather than be judged against the criteria of another.  Thisphilosophical principle started from Greek philosopher Protagoras (490-420 BCE). Born in Adbera. Oldest and the most influential among all the sophists who had come to Athens. Traveled throughout the Greek empire, teaching everyone for a fee. First Greek to earn money in higher education and was considered as the most notorious for the extremely high fees he charged.  PROTAGORAS THREE CLAIMS: 1.Man is the measure of all things, of the things that are, that they are, and of the things that are not, that they are not. 2. He could make the worse argument appear better or the weaker argument appear to be the stronger. 3. One could not tell if the gods existed or not.  For Protagoras, knowledge is limited to the person’s various perceptions but such perceptions will differ with each person. Man’s knowledge is measured by what he perceives and if there is something about each of them that makes them perceive in different ways, there is no standard for testing whether one person’s perception is right or wrong which is tantamount to saying that  For Protagoras, knowledge is relative to each person.  Also, moral judgments are also relative. One’s own conception of goodness may be different from other’s conception of goodness. Each society has its own lands and moral rules. Thus, no one could can say that that these laws are true and others are  This ethical principle is known as moral relativism.  Protagoras did not say that every individual could decide on what is moral. State makes the laws and that these laws should be accepted by everyone because they are good as any that can be made. In the interest of a peaceful society, people should respect and uphold the customs, laws, and moral rules, which their tradition has carefully nurtured. CONCLUSION: It is a tool, a suspense of your own personal viewpoints and cultural bias temporarily to try to understand the conditions of a particular cultural practice or problem. Note: If we want to understand something, then we have to approach it with as fresh and objective mind as possible. That doesn’t mean you can’t have judgments of the topic, but it means putting those judgements in check to see things more clearly. GROUP ACTIVITY: GROUP 1: What are the strengths of cultural relativism? GROUP 2: What are weaknesses of cultural relativism?  GROUP PRESENTATION RUBRIC: Shows full understanding of the CONTENT (5pts) topic. PREPAREDNESS Student is completely prepared (5pts) and has obviously rehearsed. SPEAKS Speaks clearly and CLEARLY mispronounces no words (5pts) CREATIVITY Shows considerable (5pts) work/creativity and which make the presentation better.