3 Culture in Moral Behavior

• Culture


  Shared values, beliefs and norms of a specific group of people that influence the manner we learn, live and behave
• Culture plays a role in the moral development of its members
• Culture


  The totality of the social environment into which a human being is born and in which he/she lives, including community constitutional arrangements like social, political and economic systems, as well as forms of art and knowledge, assumptions and values
• Moral development


  A process through which a human being acquires sensibilities, attitudes, beliefs, skills and dispositions
• Culture influences behavior because it plays a vital role in shaping society, and collective progressive behavior is a boon to a country
• What shapes culture


  • Political leadership
  • Big events
• Cultural relativism


  The idea that the values, knowledge, and behavior of people must be understood within their own cultural context
• Cultural relativism became an important tool for pushing back on the ethnocentrism that often tarnished early social science research
• Ethnocentrism


  The practice of viewing and judging someone else's culture based on the values and beliefs of one's own
• Cultural relativism


  • What constitutes a typical breakfast varies widely from place to place
• Key Filipino values that support "smooth interpersonal relationships"

  • Pakikisama
  • Hiya
  • Amor propio
  • Utang na loob
  • Filipino hospitality
  • Respect for elders
• Pakikisama


  Having and maintaining 'good public relations' to avoid clashing with others
• Hiya


  A feeling of lowliness, shame, embarrassment, inhibition or shyness, related to the concept of 'face' and concern with how one appears in the eyes of others
• Amor propio


  A high degree of sensitivity that makes a person intolerant to criticism and causes them to have an easily wounded pride
• Utang na loob


  A fundamental aspect of upholding group harmony and relationships that demands the balancing of obligations and debts, involving the concept of reciprocity or returning received favors
• Filipino hospitality


  The innate ability and trait of Filipinos to be courteous and entertaining to their guests, though this can also make them prone to being abused or maltreated
• Respect for elders


  Filipinos are not only respectful to elders, but have unique ways of expressing this respect, though excessive respect can also make one dependent or irrationally obedient to parents or elders
• Ethical dilemma


  A situation where a person must decide between two morally sound options that may conflict with the established boundaries of a business, governmental agency, or the law
• Ethical relativism


  The view that moral truths are subjective and vary from culture to culture, rather than existing independently of individual beliefs or cultural practices
• Possible responses to witnessing a co-worker stealing office supplies

  • Ignore the situation to avoid confrontation
  • Confront the co-worker privately about their actions
  • Report the incident to a supervisor or appropriate authority
  • Join the co-worker in stealing to avoid being ostracized
• James Rachels provided a clear argument against the validity of cultural relativism in the realm of ethics, defining it as the position that there is no such thing as objective truth in morality
• Lawrence Kohlberg stated that moral development is influenced by genetic, environmental, and cultural factors
• Virtues


  • Justice
  • Liberality
  • Courage
  • Temperance
• Moral courage


  The courage to take action for moral reasons despite the risk of adverse consequences, involving deliberation or careful thought
• Types of courage


  • Physical courage - willingness to suffer physical harm or respond to physical danger
  • Moral courage - taking ethical stances in spite of potential risks
• Classic examples of moral courage


  • Contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela
• Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American religious leader and civil-rights activist whose leadership was fundamental to the success of the civil rights movement in ending legal segregation of African Americans
• Nelson Mandela was the President of South Africa who played an important role in launching a campaign of defiance against the country's pass laws that required nonwhites to carry documents authorizing their presence in restricted areas