GOVERNOR MARIANO E.

VILLAFUERTE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Brgy. Sta. Cruz, Tinambac, Camarines Sur

1ST YEAR - 1ST SEMESTER

GE1 - ETHICS
WEEK 3 - MODULE 3

MODULE 3
Culture in Moral Behavior
I. Learning Outcomes

At the end of the sessions, you should be able to:

a. Articulate the role of culture in moral behavior.
b. Recognize and appreciate the differences in moral behavior among different culture.

II. Discussion
DEFINITION OF CULTURE

Different sociologists have differently defined the term culture:

 Taylor: “Culture is the complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs,
habits and any capabilities acquired by a man as a member of society”.
 Linton: “Culture is a social heredity, which is transmitted from one generation to another with the
accumulation of individual experiences”.
 Matsumoto: “Culture is a fuzzy set of basic assumptions and values, orientations to life, beliefs,
policies, procedures and behavioral conventions that are shared by a group of people, and that
influence (but do not determine) each member’s behavior and his/her interpretations of the
‘meaning’ of other people’s behavior.’
MORAL BEHAVIOR

 Moral is concerned with the principles of what is right and wrong behavior and the goodness or
badness of human character.
 Moral behavior is a term used to refer behaviors that are included in the moral domain. To act
according to one’s moral values and standards.

ROLE OF CULTURE IN MORAL BEHAVIOR

 Culture shapes our moral behavior. Culture plays a big role in determining how an individual
behave in any given environment. (Ex. Some places allow males and females mingle freely in public
places while in other places do not.)
 Culture influences our perception of what is right and wrong. This means what is considered
right or wrong depends on the time, place, and even the particular preferences or practices of a
group of people or individual person.
 Culture gives unity to the society. (Ex. India is a land of unity in diversity where people of different
sects, caste, and religion live together. India is also called a land of unity in diversity as a different
group of people cooperates with each other to live in a single society.)

Note: Behavior determines culture and culture determines behavior.

CULTURAL RELATIVISM IN ETHICS

Cultural relativism, the most dominant form of moral relativism, defines 'moral as what is 'socially
approved by the majority in a particular culture. It maintains that an act is ethical in a culture that
approves of it, but immoral in one that disapproves of it. Most cultural relativists place the notion of right in
the folkways and consider the tradition as morality's warrant.

Moral relativism fundamentally believes that no act is good or bad objectively, and there is no single
objective universal standard through which we can evaluate the truth of moral judgments. Cultural
relativists base their moral theory on the observation that societies fundamentally disagree about ethical
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issues. What is deemed moral within one group may be totally despicable to the members of another
group, and vice versa. It is thus concluded that morality differs in every society as concepts of right and
wrong vary from culture to culture.

Morality as a product of culture, there are no objective values and ethics is merely a matter of societal
convention. Advocates as open-minded as they consider other cultures, not as 'wrong’, but as ‘different’.
For them, the moral code of our own society has no special status; it is merely one among many.

For example, male circumcision and excision, cultural relativism would say that it is mere arrogance
for us to try to judge the conduct of the peoples practicing them. Relativists thus suggest that we should
adopt instead an attitude of tolerance toward any of the practices of other cultures.

ASIAN MORAL UNDERSTANDING

Because culture has a major impact on morality, people from different cultures appear to have
seemingly, but not essentially, different sets of ethics. This is particularly apparent in ethics of groups of
people from the Eastern or Asian culture as compared to those from the Western culture.

This table summarizes what are perceived as differences between Western and Eastern Ethics:

Western Ethics Eastern Ethics

Focus Finding Truth Protocol and Respect
Basis Rational Thought Religious Teachings
Emphasis Logic, Cause and Effect Respect Towards Family
Roots in Hinduism, Buddhism,
Athens, Rome and Judeo Christians
Confucianism and Taoism
Approach Rational Holistic and Cultural
Conflict and Good and Bad, Light and Dark
Good must triumph over evil
Harmony all exist in Equilibrium.

As indicated in the table, the basis of Asian or Eastern Ethics is religion, specifically Eastern religions
or philosophies. Confucianism, for instance, focuses on the cultivation of virtue and maintenance of morality,
the most basic of which are rén (an obligation of altruism and humaneness for other individuals), yi (the
upholding of righteousness and the moral disposition to do good), and li (a system of norms and propriety that
determines how a person should properly act in everyday life).

FILIPINO MORAL CHARACTER: STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Filipino cultural morality, especially that which concerns social ethics, centers on ideally having a
smooth interpersonal relationship' (SIR) with others. The definition of 'smooth interpersonal relationship'
in Philippine culture is principally supported by and anchored on at least six basic Filipino values: the
concepts of (1) 'pakikisama, (2) 'hiya,' (3) 'amor propio,' (4) 'utang na loob;' (5) Filipino hospitality, and (6)
respect for elders.
‘
1. ‘Pakikisama’ is having and maintaining ‘good public relations.’ This is usually being practiced to
avoid clash with other people or a certain group. It characterizes both a value and a goal that
involves keeping good feelings in all personal interactions and getting along with others, oftentimes,
at all costs. However, ‘pakikisama’ can work either positively or destructively. To elude open
displays of conflicts, clashes, and confrontations, Filipinos, because of ‘pakikisama,’ may do the
following:
- submit to group opinion,
- vergenerously praise on one another,
- use metaphorical language rather than candid terms,
- conceal negative feelings or unhappy spirits underneath a pleasant demeanor,
- smile even when things go wrong,
- avoid to say ‘no,’ and
- refrain from venting anger or losing temper.

2. Hiya’ is described as a feeling of lowliness, shame or embarrassment, and inhibition or shyness

which is experienced as somewhat distressing. Integrally, ‘hiya’ is related to the concept of ‘face’
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 and a concern with how one appears in the eyes of others. This unique Filipino concept ‘hiya’ or
‘fear of losing face’ encompasses being afraid to do bad things as it may damage one’s reputation
in the sight of other people. A person’s capacity for proper behavior with authority figures is a
reflection of his or her family upbringing and this fear of losing face. Too much ‘hiya,’ nonetheless,
may lead to having inferiority complex and losing self-confidence.

3. Like ‘hiya,’ the Filipino value of ‘amor propio’ is derived from the concept of ‘face.’ Although
commonly translated as ‘self-respect’ or ‘self-esteem,’ ‘amor propio’ has been “characterized as the
high degree of sensitivity that makes a person intolerant to criticism and causes him to have an
easily wounded pride” Concerning this Filipino value, some observe that “Filipinos learn to withstand
a ‘loss of face’ in some situations, particularly when they perceive themselves to be at fault, but it is
devastating to be publicly criticized, insulted, belittled, or humiliated, or to lose one’s self-respect”

4. The so-called ‘utang na loob’ is likewise a fundamental aspect of upholding group harmony and
relationships that demand the balancing of obligations and debts. This involves the concept
‘reciprocity’ or returning the received favor. The inability to repay the “utang na loob” (debt of
gratitude) usually makes a person “walang utang na loob” or “walang-hiya.” To avoid being dubbed
as “walang utang na loob,” some Filipinos sometimes do things that may be bad (like voting for
unworthy candidate) just to return a received favor.

5. ‘Filipino hospitality’ refers to the innate ability and trait of Filipinos to be courteous and
entertaining to their guests. Indeed, generally speaking, Filipinos are hospitable as they are
internationally known to be warm, welcoming, and accommodating. This trait, however, makes
Filipinos prone to being abused or maltreated.

6. Concerning ‘respect to elders,’ we, Filipinos, are not only respectful to elders, but also have unique
ways of expressing this respect to elders. These include the use of ‘po’ and ‘opo’when talking to
elders and ‘pagmamano’ or the putting of the elder’s hand to one’s forehead. When excessive,
nonetheless, respect to elders makes one dependent or irrationally obedient to parents or elders.

These Filipino social values are important to maintain harmony in Filipino relationships in social
institutions such as family, school, and community. The ‘smooth interpersonal relationship,’ together with
Filipino ‘pakikipagkapwa-tao,’ has been deemed as a central core of essential cultural traits that form and
define an almost stereotypic Filipino character and moral behavior

UNIVERSAL VALUES

By universal values, we mean those values generally shared by cultures. The existence of
the so-called universal values is a strong proof that cultural relativism is wrong. If certain values
exist both in Western and Eastern cultures (including Filipino culture) despite the distance, then
cultural relativism's claim that cultures' moralities radically differ from each other is mistaken.
“Human infants are helpless and cannot survive if they are not given extensive care for a
period of years. Therefore, if a group did not care for its young, the young would not survive,
and the older members of the group would not be replaced. After a while, the group would die
out. Therefore, any cultural group that continues to exist must care for its young. Infants that
are not cared for must be the exception rather than the rule”
The same form of argument could be used to reasonably show that other values enerally shared by
many cultures. Giving value on (1) truth telling, for instance, is indispensable in the existence of a society,
for without it there would be no reason to pay attention to what anyone communicates with anyone. And
because complex societies cannot exist without communication among their members, the very existence
of these societies proves that truthfulness is valued in those cultures. The very few situations in which it is
thought to be permissible to lie are more of "exceptions to the rule"

(2) valuing or respecting life which necessitates the prohibition on murder. In a society where no one
thought there was anything wrong with killing others at will, everyone would have to be constantly on
guard. Avoiding people would become a mechanism for survival and large-scale societies would therefore
be improbable.

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 The "general theoretical point" here, is that "there are some moral rules that all societies will have in
common, because those rules are necessary for society to exist. Cultures may differ in what they regard
as legitimate exceptions to the rules, but this disagreement exists against a background of agreement on
the larger issues." Therefore, "it is a mistake to overestimate the amount of difference between cultures"
(1999, p. 30). In fact, not every moral rule can vary from society to society. This definitely flies in the face
of Cultural Relativism.

III. Reference/s:
 De Guzman, J. M., et al. (2017). ETHICS: Principles of Ethical Behavior in Modern Society. Mutya
Publishing House, Inc.
 https://myinfobasket.com/filipino-moral-character-pros-and-cons/

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