Lesson 4: The Moral Agent - Lecture Notes PDF

LESSON 4: THE MORAL AGENT Culture is a complex and dynamic force that shapes our lives in many ways. It shapes our norms, which are the rules that govern our behavior in society. They tell us what is considered acceptable and unacceptable behavior. For example, makin...

LESSON 4: THE MORAL AGENT Culture is a complex and dynamic force that shapes our lives in many ways. It shapes our norms, which are the rules that govern our behavior in society. They tell us what is considered acceptable and unacceptable behavior. For example, making eye contact with someone you don't know is considered rude in some cultures, while it is seen as a sign of respect in others. Our norms also tell us how we should interact with each other in different social settings. A. Culture in Moral Behavior 1. Culture and Its Role in Moral Behavior Culture is a powerful force that shapes people’s beliefs, values, and behavior. Culture influences every aspect of our lives, shaping our identity and defining our worldview, from the food we eat to the language we speak. Culture- a specific group's shared values, beliefs, and norms. Culture, therefore, influences how we learn, live, and behave. In some cultures, red symbolizes danger or anger, while in others, it means prosperity. Many cultures have rituals associated with birth, death, and marriage. How we talk about ourselves and others can affect our self-esteem and relationships with others. Culture does play a role in the moral development of its members. It is fairly intuitive and very broad to denote the totality of the social environment into which a person is born and where they live. Culture includes the community's constitutional arrangement (social, political, and economic), forms of art and knowledge, assumptions, and values. a. What Shapes Culture? Culture is a powerful force that shapes people’s beliefs, values, and behavior. Culture influences every aspect of our lives, shaping our identity and defining our worldview, from the food we eat to the language we speak. Forces that Shape Culture Language - the communication system used by a community to negotiate shared meaning and build group coherence and understanding around ideas, behaviors, and actions.  2 As a culture shaper, language helps direct attention and action. However, the words and structures that make up language convey an explicit surface meaning and impart a set of deeper associations and connections that implicitly shape thought and influence behavior. This is the hidden power of language: Its ability to subtly convey messages that shape our thinking, sense of self, and group affinity. Time - measurable periods allocated, assigned, or used to accomplish tasks. As a culture shaper, our allocations of periods reflect our values. Our sequencing of events, construction of moments, and reflections on actions allow us to scaffold and draw a connecting thread through learning occasions to create unity. The ability to generate, sustain, and capitalize on periods of total engagement allows us to create the energy needed for learning and thinking. Modeling - to display, demonstrate, or draw attention to as an example for others to follow or imitate. As a culture shaper, modeling operates on both an explicit and an implicit level. Explicitly, we may demonstrate techniques, processes, and strategies to make our thinking visible and appropriate for others to learn from. Implicitly, our actions are displayed to others where they see our passions, interests, caring, and authenticity as thinkers, learners, community members, and leaders. Our chosen models surround us and make real a world that we may choose to enter or reject. Opportunities - a set of conditions or circumstances that make doing or achieving something possible. As a culture shaper, opportunities will either constrain or enhance the activity of both individuals and the group as a whole. Although it is possible for opportunities to lie hidden, remain untapped, or languish. In strong cultures, rich opportunities for growth, advancement, and creativity are prominent. In a culture of thinking, these opportunities dominate the landscape, guiding and shaping activity and engaging all individuals. Routine - a sequence of actions designed to achieve a specific outcome efficiently and productively. As a culture shaper, routines represent a set of shared practices that constitute a way of doing things. Routines—whether for management, participation, discourse, instruction, or learning—help minimize confusion, reduce uncertainty, and direct activity along known paths. Ultimately, routines become patterns of behavior. Thinking and learning routines are particularly important in directing, guiding, and scaffolding learning and thinking.  3 Interactions - a dynamic phenomenon that emerges when two or more objects affect one another. As a culture shaper, interactions form the basis for relationships among people. Interactions knit together the social fabric that binds individuals together in a community. Interactions help define a place's emotional climate, tone, or attitude. A teacher’s interactions with students show respect for and an interest in students’ thinking while nurturing their development as valued, competent individuals able to contribute effectively to the group. Environment - the physical space, including its design, aesthetic, setup, displays, artifacts, and furnishings. As a culture shaper, the physical environment is the “body language” of an organization, conveying its values and key messages even in the absence of its inhabitants. The physical environment will dictate how individuals interact, their behaviors, and their performance. The physical space can inhibit or inspire the work of the group or an individual. b. Culture and Moral Behavior “There are values that transcend race or culture, that move us forward, and there’s an obligation for all of us individually and collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived.” - Barack Obama Cultural and moral values go hand in hand, as both are equally important parts of society. Cultural values shape society and influence the people who live within that society. Moral values are purely personal values. However, the common connection between cultural and moral values is that moral values are taught to us by our cultural society. There are different cultures, and each has its language, beliefs, customs, traditions, rituals, and behavior that they are accustomed to. Within culture are moral codes that are practiced through social behavior. Moral Codes - rules or guidelines that a person or group follows to live a just and good life. Moral codes are heavily dependent upon culture. Each culture has its own ideas of what is considered right or wrong and what is regarded as good or bad. Moral codes dictate many aspects of our lives, from how we act with different age groups to how we dress and treat others.  4 2. Cultural Relativism - the position that no universal standard exists to measure cultures and that all cultural values and beliefs must be understood relative to their cultural context and not judged based on outside norms and values. Culture may vary from one location to another, from one society to another, and from one nation to another nation. This becomes problematic when the ideas and practices of right or wrong and good or bad of one group clash or overlap with another, even in a wider context of societies, nations, and religions. Cultural relativism claims that ethical truths are relative to the rightness of an action and that the goodness of an object depends on or consists of the attitude taken towards it by some individual or group. Hence, it may vary from individual to individual or group. Ethical judgments have their origins in individual or cultural standards. It is the principle of regarding a culture's beliefs, values, and practices from the viewpoint of that culture itself. An individual's beliefs and activities should be understood by others from the perspective of that individual's own culture. A person’s actions should be considered in all aspects, especially the religion and culture in which they grew up. What is considered morally correct in one culture may be deemed wrong in another. In other words, cultural lenses carry their own biases of ethical behavior. 3. The Filipino Way Filipino culture reflects our great and complex history. It is influenced by most of the people we interact with. Filipino culture is unique compared to other Asian countries, and beliefs are applied every day in the lives of Filipinos. The Filipino culture is so rich and diverse that it has greatly transformed. Although it is composed of diverse ethnolinguistic groups spread across the islands, these cultural communities have retained their indigenous moral values and belief systems while consciously or unconsciously embracing Western lifestyles brought about by colonial conquest for five centuries and the adverse effects of globalization. Our culture and history molded us to what we are now. Unfortunately, Filipinos are in a deep cultural identity crisis. Many of us show little appreciation for our culture. Our colonizers have been instrumental in making us believe that our culture is inferior to theirs to the point that the more individuals look closer to foreign or Caucasian features using chemicals and treatments, the more they feel that their status is elevated, thereby looking down on their fellow Filipinos. Aside from the proliferation of diverse lifestyles by rapid global changes, our ethical values continue to disintegrate with this colonial mentality that we imbibed. This situation may seem negative, but there is hope in every adversity. As generally observed, Filipinos are resilient; they rise from challenges like bamboos that bend but do not break from the ravages of storms year-round. We can be proud of our identity if we can convince ourselves that the values of our culture are the sources of our strength and willpower as a nation worthy of respect and admiration like those of other cultures. B. The Moral Agent: Developing Virtue as Habit  5 Moral Agent – a person who can discern right from wrong and be held accountable for his or her actions. Moral agents have amoral responsibility not to cause unjustified harm. Moral agents are those agents expected to meet the demands of morality. Not all agents are moral agents. However, though they are agents, they are not automatically considered moral agents. A moral agent must also be capable of conforming to at least some of the demands of morality. This requirement can be interpreted in different ways. On the weakest interpretation, it will suffice if the agent can conform to some of the external requirements of morality. If individuals are capable of adhering to moral principles such as Murder is wrong’ or ‘Stealing is wrong,' then they can be classified as moral agents, regardless of whether they solely respond to self-interested motives such as fear of punishment and even if they are unable to act based on moral considerations. It is also essential that agents rise above their feelings and passions and act in accordance with the moral law. It will suffice if the agent can perform the relevant acts out of unselfish impulses. Virtue - the quality of being morally good. Virtues are habits. Once they are acquired, they become characteristics of a person. For example, a person who has developed the virtue of generosity is often referred to as generous because he or she tends to be generous in all circumstances. The virtuous person is an ethical person. KEY TAKEAWAYS At the heart of the virtue approach to ethics is the idea of "community." A person's character traits are not developed in isolation but within and by the communities to which he or she belongs, including family, church, school, and other private and public associations. As people grow and mature, their personalities are deeply affected by the values that their communities prize, the personality traits that their communities encourage, and the role models that their communities provide for imitation through traditional stories, fiction, movies, television, and so on. The virtue approach urges attention to the contours of our communities and the habits of character they encourage and instill. The moral life is not simply a matter of following moral rules and learning to apply them to specific situations. It is also a matter of trying to determine the kind of people we should be and of attending to the development of character within our communities and ourselves.