Ethics top 2

• culture is defined as a way of life; it is the totality of the social environment in which we conduct our

  lives.
• Culture can be classified into two – tangible or material culture and intangible or non-material culture
• Tangible cultures are the types of culture that can be touched or felt.
• intangible or non-material culture would consist of beliefs, traditions, ideas and other abstract elements.
• Ideal culture is the ways in which people describe their way of life
• Real culture refers to the actual behavior of people in the society
• The following are some of the different aspects of culture:

  1. Norms
  2. Mores
  3. Beliefs
  4. Symbols
  5. Language
  6. Values
• Cultural norms are the shared, sanctioned, and integrated systems of beliefs and practices that are passed down through generations and characterize a cultural group.
• Norms cultivate reliable guidelines for daily living and contribute to the health and well-being of a culture
• They act as prescriptions for correct and moral behavior, lend meaning and coherence to life, and provide a means of achieving a sense of integrity,

  safety, and belonging

  norms
• Cultural relativism is the view that particular behavior may be judged as morally right if one’s culture approves of it
• Vaughn presented the following arguments on cultural relativism:

  1. People’s judgment of right and wrong/good and bad differ from culture to culture.
  2. If right and wrong are relative to culture, there are no universal moral principles.
• although moral judgments of people differ

  among cultures, such differences do not show that morality is relative to one’s culture.
• Cultural relativism impulse that cultures are morally infallible.
• In cultural relativism, social reformers (or people who aim for moral change) would always be wrong because their cultures are the only authority on

  matters of morality. Disagreements with their culture mean that social reformers could not possibly be right.
• It is not possible for cultural relativism to be applied to moral questions. We all belong to different societies and different cultures. Since cultures differ,

  there is no way to determine which cultures explanation to moral questions is the proper one.
• This belief began in India and is considered to be one of the world’s oldest religions.

  Hinduism
• hindu’s sacred texts are called the Vedas which are composed of hymns and rituals that guide the Hindu way of life.
• religion is a matter of practice rather than of beliefs.

  Hinduism
• Hinduism supports the idea of reincarnation.
• Samsara is the endless cycle of birth and death
• Samsara is supported by the Law of Karma.
• This states that every action has its effect and its consequences are in the endless cycle of birth and rebirth.

  karma
• This belief has similarities with Hinduism but is different in that believer would have to follow the path of the Buddha (Siddharta Gautama).
• The Buddha is not a divine nor is he a prophet
• The Buddha is a teacher and a model for the lives of his followers
• The central belief of Buddhism is that life is full of sufferings. The followers are then made aware of the Four Noble truths for them to overcome the sufferings of existence.
• The four noble truths:

  1. Noble Truth of Suffering.
  2. Noble Truth of the Arising of the Suffering.
  3. Noble Truth of the Stopping of the Suffering.
  4. Noble truth of the Way.
• This is a way of life which is based on the teaching of Confucius. In the story of China, one significant discovery is that of the yin and yang.


  confucianism
• Reality according to the Chinese tradition is an interaction of the yin (force of darkness) and the yang (force of brightness)
• De Guzman lists at least five Filipino values that is used to have a “smooth interpersonal relationship” (SIR) with others
• Pakikisama or having good public relations is one of the Filipino values that we practice.
• Hiya or shame encompasses being afraid to do bad things as it may damage one’s reputation in the sight of other people.
• Amor Propio or pride talks about the personality of a person that mainly gives highlights to the protection of his/her honor or dignity.
• Utang na loob or reciprocity that talks about returning the receive favor.
• We can see how Filipinos value respect towards the

  elderly by using “po” and “opo” and “pagmamano” or putting an elder’s hand to your forehead.

  respect to elders
• One norm of morality in the Philippines is based on "group-centeredness" or "group-thinking."
• We can see that the filipino norm of behavior is purely external