ILOCOS SUR POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Tagudin Campus
MODULE
Chapter 2. The Moral Agent
At the end of chapter, you should have:
1) articulate what culture means
2) attributed facets of personal behavior to culture
3) recognize differences in moral behavior of different cultures
4) analyzed crucial qualities of the Filipino moral identity in their
own moral experiences
5) evaluated elements that need to be changed
6) recalled defining moments in their moral formation
7) explained the relationship between individual acts and character
8) identified and articulate each stage of moral development
9) differentiated responses based on reason and those based on
feelings
a. Culture in moral behavior
“Culture is defined by society Culture defines society. Man as a member of society is
shackled by the burden of cultural conformity in order to survive as a human being.
He is not a slave of a fixed culture though he conforms to it, but he also modifies it
according to his needs and God-given abilities. By this, man is an agent of change.”
-Beltran & Ramirez, 2004
Here are some of the definitions of Sociologists, anthropologists, and philosophers:
Sociologists define culture as the sum total of ways built up by a group
of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another. It
consists of the sum total of skills, beliefs, and knowledge.
Edward Taylor (1976) gives a classic definition of culture It is that
complex whole that includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, work, laws,
customs, and any other capabilities acquired by man as a member of
society. (Zuleta & de Lara, 2002).
Calderon (1998) quoted Dressler’s definition of culture as a social
heritage, transmitted from one generation to another and shared. It
consists of the sum-total of skills, beliefs, knowledge, and produces that
are commonly shared by a number of people and transmitted to their
children.
Fundamentally, the notion about culture arises from the observation that
what human beings do and what they refrain from doing is, in part, a
consequence of being brought up in one group. People both have social
and biological heredity.
Characteristics of Culture
Culture is learned. Man’s culture is acquired and developed through
experience. Through his family, his education is either formally,
informally or nonformally learned rather than transmitted through the
genes.
Culture is a group product. This is an adaptation of the whole social
group to its environment where humans belong. Man is very much a
part of the environment where humans belong. Man is very much a part
of the environment he creates.
Course Code: Gen Ed 106
Descriptive Title: ETHICS Instructor: Blessie Asuncion R. Dolor
ILOCOS SUR POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Tagudin Campus
MODULE
Culture is transmitted from generation to generation. “Culture may
be transmitted by suggestion, formal communication, mass
communication, or through a system of reward and punishment (Tulio,
2000).” Through language, ideas and attitudes, customs and traditions
are conveyed form one culture to another.
Culture is adaptive. As a result of man’s efforts to satisfy his need and
to adapt to his environment, he creates institutions that are essentially
linked to each other. Social goals interlink these institutions’ functions
as man strives toward their fulfilment. Through culture, peole learn to
communicate with each other and think and behave in certain ways
approved by the group. According to Smith, Stanley and Shores (as
cited by Lardizabal, 1988), “culture is the fabric of ideas, beliefs, skills,
tools, athletic objects, methods of thinking, customs and institutions into
which each member of a society is born into.
Function of Values
Calderon (1998) enumerates the following vital functions of culture:
1. It serves as a means of social control. Through values, one can control
him/herself in doing wrong things that society disapproves of.
2. It promotes work efficiency. A worker with the right sense of work values id
more effective and efficient than those who do not possess the same
values.
3. It can predict behavior. Your present values and attitude will show who you
will be in the future.
4. It promotes economic progress and security. As pointed out, values is the
most important factor for men to become effective agents of change and
development.
5. It promotes health. If one values his health, he/she will avoid doing things
perilous to his/her health like overeating and engaging in vices. As
commonly said, “Health is wealth.”
6. It makes the world better place to live in. Values of neatness, cleanliness,
love and care for the surroundings make the world a desirable place.
Cleanliness is next to godliness.
7. It promotes safety. If one is a cautious and law-abiding citizen, is courteous
obeys traffic rules, and drives without the influences of liquor, street
accidents can be avoided.
8. It provides for the future. This holds true with spiritual values. The promise
of eternal life is clearly stated in the Bible. This promise gives hope to the
believer thereby guaranteeing him peace of mind.
The Filipino Cultural Values
Much has been written about Philippine cultural values. Filipino workers have
been noted for their strong cultural values although they are known for their
receptiveness to foreign influences. This contributes to the facility in training the
Filipinos on foreign work systems and conditions. Filipino traits such as personalism,
friendliness, close family ties, and good sense of humor are part of our culture that
gives the Filipino workers an edge over other peoples such as the westeners and
those of many developed nations who possess extreme objectivity and those of many
Course Code: Gen Ed 106
Descriptive Title: ETHICS Instructor: Blessie Asuncion R. Dolor
ILOCOS SUR POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Tagudin Campus
MODULE
developed nations who possess extreme objectivity, stiff professionalism, and
mechanized work attitudes that are almost stiffman.
Filipino values are given emphasis in the culture and tradition of the Filipino –
ugaling Pilipino or Ugaling Pinoy. Often, we hear the line, “only in the Philippines” if
we were asked where to see such things or such characteristics or values.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Filipino Character
Ambivalence characaterizes Filipino moral values. It means, Filipinos tolerate
a double standard mentality. Fr. Gorospe (1969) as cited by Palispis (1995) says,
“Filipino values are ambivalent in the sense that they are potential for good or evil They
may help or hinder personal and national development depending on how they are
understood and practiced or lived. ”Filipino values, indeed, have been characterized
as either good or bad; and how a country develops depends on the way these values
are being manifested (Tulio, 2000).
Strengths of the Filipino Character
The strengths below should be further cultivated by Filipino
workers for they help promote the value of goodness, be it
in the workplace or outside of it.
Pakikipagkapwa Tao
Family Orientation
Sense of Humor
Flexibility, Adaptability, Creativity
Hardwork or Industry
Spirituality
Weaknesses of the Filipino Character
Extreme Personalism
Extreme Family Centeredness
Lack of Discipline
Colonial mentality
Kanya-kanya syndrome
Lack of Self-Analysis and Self-reflection
The Filipino Values For Today
According to Jaime Bulatao (1967) as cited by Palispis (1995), the Filipino’s
behavior may appear to be quite westernized but there remains a core of Filipino valus
which are as distinct and which are largely unchanged. Values are taught and
perceived by an individual through his senses and with the way he looks at things,
discerns ideas and responds to situations.
Values are taught and perceived by an individual through his senses and with
the way he looks at things, discerns ideas and responds to situations.
In today’s changing world, there is really a need to transform Filipino values. A
person must go through a process of metamorphoses in converting himself to a new
Course Code: Gen Ed 106
Descriptive Title: ETHICS Instructor: Blessie Asuncion R. Dolor
ILOCOS SUR POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Tagudin Campus
MODULE
Filipino, a modern-day worker suited to the new millennium, a Filipino who views
himself with dignity. It is very sad to note though that many Filipinos have lost their
national consciousness. A true Filipino is one who professes the following core values
of truth, love and faith; integrity, hard work and social justice. as enumerated by Fr.
Gorospe (cited by Mosura, et. al., 2001):
Truth, Love, and Faith
Integrity
Hard work
Social Justice
b. The moral agent: Developing virtue as habit
The one who is tasked to think about what is “right” and why it is so, and to
choose to do so, is a human individual. Who is this individual who must engage herself
in ethical thought an decision-making? Who one is, in the most fundamental sense, is
another major topic in the act of philosophizing.
The ancient Greeks even had a famous saying for it:
Epimepime hē auto,” usually translated into English as
“Know thyself.” In response, to this age-old
philosophical challenge, the Filipino philosopher Ramon
C. Reyes (1935-2014), writing in his essay “Man and
Historical Action,” succinctly explained that “who one is”
is a cross-point.
By this, he means that one’s identity, who is or who I am, is a product of many
forces and events that happened outside of one’s choosing. Reyes identifies four
cross-points: the physical, the interpersonal, the social, and the historical.
Physical. Who one is, firstly, is a function of physical events in the past and
material factors in the present that one did not have a choice in. You are a member of
the species Homo sapiens and therefore possess the capacities and limitations
endemic to human beings everywhere. You inherited the genetic material of both your
biological parents. Your body has been shaped and continues to be conditioned by
the given set of environmental factors that are specific to your corner of the globe. All
of these are given of; they have happened or are still happening whether you want to
or not. You did not choose to be a human being, nor to have this particular set of
biological parents, nor to be born in and/or grow up in such a physical environment
(i.e., for Filipinos to be born in an archipelago with a tropical climate situated near the
equator along the Pacific Ring of Fire, with specific set of flora and fauna, which shape
human life in this country to a profound degree).
Interpersonal. An individual is also the product of an interpersonal cross-point
of many events and factors outside of one’s choosing. One did not choose her own
parents, and yet her personality, character traits, and her overall way of doing things
and thinking about things have all been shaped by the character of her parents and
how they brought her up. All of these are also affected by the people surrounding her:
siblings, relatives, classmates, playmates, and eventually workmates. Thus, who one
is – in the sense of one’s character or personality – has been shaped by one’s
relationships as well as the physical factors that affect how one thinks and feels.
Course Code: Gen Ed 106
Descriptive Title: ETHICS Instructor: Blessie Asuncion R. Dolor
ILOCOS SUR POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Tagudin Campus
MODULE
Even Jose Rizal once argued that what Europeans
mistook as Filipino “laziness” was actually a function of the
tropical climate and natural abundance in the archipelago:
Filipinos supposedly did not need to exert themselves as much
as Europeans in their cold climates and barren lands were
forced to do.
Social. A third cross-point for Reyes is the societal: “who
he is” is shaped by one’s society. The term “society” here
pertains to all the elements of the human groups – as opposed to the natural
environment – that one is a member of. “Culture” in its varied aspects is included here.
Reyes argues that “who one is” is molded in large part by the kind of society
and culture – which, for most part, one did not choose – that one belongs to. Filipinos
have their own way of doing things (e.g., pagmamano), their own system of beliefs
and values (e.g., closely-knit family ties, etc.), and even their own notions of right and
wrong (e.g., a communal versus an individualistic notion of rights).
This interacts with the physical and the interpersonal factors that the individual
and her people are immersed into or engaged in.
Historical. The events that one’s people has undergone. It shapes “who one
is” right now. For example, the Philippines had a long history of colonization that
affected how Philippine society has been formed and how Philippine culture has
developed.
Final thoughts: The human individual thus always exists in the tension between being
conditioned by external factors and being a free agent. The human individual never exists in
vacuum as if she’s were a pure rational entity without any embodiment and historicity.
The moral agent is not a calculating, unfeeling machine that produces completely
objective and absolutely correct solutions to even the most complex moral problems.
2. Moral Development
Moral Distinctions
Human acts may either be considered rational or irrational based on man’s
conformity or nonconformity to the dictates of reason. Dictates of reason refer to man’s
common ideas about the decency or indecency of a certain act or manner of behavior.
They determine what acts or behavior is inacceptable in a given circumstance and that
which offers the best option. There are three classes of actions based on conformity
or nocomformity of the norm or standard of morality (Agapay, 1991). These are as
follows:
1. Moral actions conform to the norms of morality.
Examples: Working, observing, punctuality, cooperating and helping an
employee, honesty and integrity in the performance of one’s job, and
respecting coworkers.
2. Immoral actions are those which are not in conformity with the norms
of morality.
Examples: Refusing to help coworkers, commiting graft and corruption,
stealing, and rumormongering.
3. Amoral actions are those which stand neutral in relation to the norms
of morality.
Course Code: Gen Ed 106
Descriptive Title: ETHICS Instructor: Blessie Asuncion R. Dolor
ILOCOS SUR POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Tagudin Campus
MODULE
Reading 2. The Essence of Man’s Existence
Some people feel like a small grain of sand lost in vast expanse of a beach
facing a wide ocean. But despite the insignificance with which we regard our lives,
every one of us has an important purpose. We are made to work and serve. We live
to attain the fulfillment of this life mission.
Martin Luther King Jr. quoted Jesus’ words from Mark 10 about servanthood in
a sermon early in 1968:”Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You
don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve.” According to Plato and
Aristotle, “To serve, you only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.“
Course Code: Gen Ed 106
Descriptive Title: ETHICS Instructor: Blessie Asuncion R. Dolor
ILOCOS SUR POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Tagudin Campus
MODULE
Course Code: Gen Ed 106
Descriptive Title: ETHICS Instructor: Blessie Asuncion R. Dolor
ILOCOS SUR POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Tagudin Campus
MODULE
Name:___________________ Course & Year Level: _________ Score: ____
YOUR ACTIVITY NO. 2
Research about different situations about moral and non-moral
problems. Cite your references in APA format. (20 pts.)
Course Code: Gen Ed 106
Descriptive Title: ETHICS Instructor: Blessie Asuncion R. Dolor
ILOCOS SUR POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Tagudin Campus
MODULE
Name:___________________ Course & Year Level: _________ Score: ___
YOUR ASSESSMENT NO. 2
A. Watch the Hitman of Munti (the life of Herman) short video and write
down a reflection paper in at least 300 words in the given box. (20 pts.)
Course Code: Gen Ed 106
Descriptive Title: ETHICS Instructor: Blessie Asuncion R. Dolor
ILOCOS SUR POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE
Tagudin Campus
MODULE
RUBRIC
CRITERIA EXEMPLARY (5 GOOD (4 pts.) FAIR (3 pts.) POOR (2 TOTAL
pts.) pts.)
Purpose/Introduction The writer’s purpose The writing has The central The purpose
or argument is a clear purpose purpose or or argument
readily apparent to or argument, argument is is generally
the reader. but may not unclear.
sometimes consistently
stray off from clear
the subject. throughout
the paper.
Content Complete Information Information Central
presentation of provides supports a purpose is
relevant and correct reasonable central not clearly
information that support for a purpose of identified.
clearly supports a central purpose the topic at Insufficient
central purpose or of the topic. times. supporting
argument and in- Reader gains Reader gains details and
depth analysis of a some insights. few insights. caused
chosen particular confusion to
topic. Reader gains the readers.
important insights.
Organization, The ideas are The ideas are The writing is The writing is
sentence structure/ arranged logically to arranged to arranged not logically
word choice support the support the logically, organized.
purpose. The flow of purpose. It is although Frequently,
ideas is smoothly usually clearly occasionally ideas fail to
linked each other. linked to each ideas fail to make sense
Sentence other. There is make sense together,
formations are some variety in together. The There are
correctly structured. sentence reader is errors in the
The reader can structure. fairly clear sentence
follow the line of what the write structure and
reasoning. intends. distracts the
readers.
Mood/impact to the The writer is The writing is The writing is The writing
readers compelling and generally dull and has little
hooks the interest of
engaging, but unengaging/ personality. It
the readers and has some Some parts quickly loses
sustains it all dry/dull are interest
throughout. moments. Still interesting, among the
keeps the but not readers.
reader’s maintained
attention.
GRAND TOTAL
Course Code: Gen Ed 106
Descriptive Title: ETHICS Instructor: Blessie Asuncion R. Dolor