FREEDOM AS FOUNDATION
FOR MORAL ACTS
FREEDOM
“Freedom is defined by Merriam
Webster as the quality or state
of being free.”
MORALITY
“Morality is the human attempt
to define what is right and
wrong”
“Do the lower form of
animals have ethics?”
OR
“Ethics is only for
human persons?”
ETHICS APPLIES ONLY TO
HUMAN PERSONS
Only humans can be ethical
because only humans can act
morally. Only humans have the
ability to understand moral values,
rules, and principles.
Unlike the lower forms of animals,
human persons have a choice or
freedom,
DILEMMAS PRESUPPOSE
FREEDOM
Freedom-loving societies have customary ways of
training the young to exercise their freedom.
There is such a thing as a dilemma because there is
such a thing as freedom.
If there is no ability or power of choice, then any
incident simply happens without any interference.
FREEDOM AND
MORAL CHOICE
Without freedom it is impossible to make a moral
choice. If we have free will we must have the
ability to make a decision that is unhindered.
Making moral choice is a necessary consequence
for being free, a consequence of being a human
person.
TO BE ETHICAL: OWN NOT MERELY
ABIDE BY MORAL STANDARDS
Having free will or freedom to choose among alternatives, which
implies prior analysis and study, is coming to terms with what you
finally affirm or deny
Or if you do not own or internalize the standard, you will tend to use
it for convenience, to evade responsibility, to put the blame on the
standard itself when things do not end well.
Owning moral standards means internalizing them, making them
part of your conviction.
UNDER THE CHINESE
TOIST CONCEPT OF
HARMONY
“What I think must be the same as what I
say, and what I say must be the same as
what I do".
CULTURE: HOW IT DEFINES
MORAL
BEHAVIOR
Ethics BEED HE
CULTURE
Culture "is the integrated pattern of human
knowledge, beliefs, and behavior.
The Magisterium of the Church explains culture as "the
set of means used by mankind to become more
virtuous and reasonable in order to become fully
human. In its fullest sense, culture means opening up
to the divine, and ultimately, to a religious dimension”.
MATERIAL NONMATERIAL
CULTURE CULTURE
AND
Material culture is the Nonmaterial culture consists
physical object that a of language, values, rules,
knowledge, and meanings
society produces; tools,
shared by members of
streets, homes and
society.
toys.
THE HUMAN
PERSON AND
CULTURE
As a moral agent you are
born into a culture, a factual
reality you have not chosen.
You are not born nothing.
Culture change or evolve.
There are various ways by which
cultures change.
1 2 3
Enculturation Inculturation Acculturation
Enculturation
is a process of learning from
infancy till death, the
components of life in ones
culture.
Inculturation
refers to the "missiological
process by which the Gospel
is rooted and the latter is
transformed by its
introduction to Christianity .
ACCULTURATION
This is the process of changing your culture by
adopting or borrowing traits from another
culture. It often happens when people move to a
new country or when cultures have prolonged
contact.
HARMFUL CULTURAL PRACTICES:
Some cultural practices cause harm and should
be stopped. While human sacrifice has mostly
ended, female genital mutilation (circumcision)
still occurs in some parts of Africa. Organizations
are working to end this practice by offering help
like healthcare and economic support in exchange
for stopping the practice.
HOW CULTURE
SHAPE MORAL
AGENT
WHAT IS MORAL AGENT?
A moral agent understands right from wrong and
has the ability to choose what they do, knowing
the consequences of their choices. It's not just
about following rules, but about having the
capacity to think about the impact of your actions
on yourself and others.
CULTURE'S IMPACT ON
MORALITY
Culture heavily influences our judgment of right
and wrong. What's considered acceptable in one
society might be seen as wrong in another.
CULTURE'S LASTING
INFLUENCE
Even with education and exposure to different
ideas, our cultural background continues to
influence our beliefs and actions. This is because
culture is deeply ingrained in us from a young
age.
THE
END