MODULE 3: The Moral Agent

Module 3 looks at culture and its role in the development of the human person’s moral
behaviour. Here we will be looking at our own Filipino culture vis-à-vis Asian and other
countries’ culture, and determine their influences in our process of becoming as moral
human agents. Specifically this module aims to:
(1) revisit our own Filipino cultures and reflect on their roles in the development of our
moral behaviours;
(2) familiarize with other countries’ cultural practices and beliefs;
(3) understand what is “Cultural Relativism;”
(4) analyse cultural ambivalence
(5) show the different stages of moral development

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of Module 3, you should be able to:

1. explain what is “Cultural Relativism;”
2. defend the morality or critique for the immorality of certain cultural practices;
3. articulate the strengths and weaknesses of your own culture;
4. enumerate the different stages of Kohlberg’s theory of Moral Development; and
5. point out exactly which stage a person is “in to” in given situations;

ENGAGE

Give at least (A) one cultural practice in the place you grew up in to, which is openly
performed but you think is immoral, and (B) another one cultural practice in your place
which is prohibited but you think is moral. Give a brief justification for both.

A.

B.

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 EXPLORE

Visit the following short videos to familiarize yourself to different cultural practices and
beliefs around the world:

Strange Customs Around The World That Are Still Happening in 2019:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a_Gimqd6X4

Insane Beauty Standards Across Different Cultures:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfAdrZdis8c

10 Most Bizaare Traditions From Around The World:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7GlMv5yflU

For Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory on the 6 Stages of Moral Development, watch the
following short videos about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bounwXLkme4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYtIIs0WsRQ

EXPLAIN

 3. Culture and Its Role in Moral Behavior

3.1. What is the role of culture in shaping moral behavior?

For centuries, culture has been

Kinds of Culture
defined in so many ways. But
Culture is that complex whole anthropologists, scientists,
which includes knowledge, belief, Individual Culture
thinkers and experts could not (i.e. Rodrigo,
art, morals, law, custom, and any
create and agree on one Baustista, Donald,
other capabilities and habits student, driver, farmer)
universal definition of culture.
acquired by man as a member of Organizational
society,” Studies and discussions about it
Culture (i.e., company,
[Tylor, E. (Spencer- Oatey, 2012)] are impressively mushrooming
instituion, association
and increasingly becoming agency, corporation,
controversial everywhere. Thus, group, firm, assembly)
it would be safer to first typify culture into two: material and formal. Structural (i.e.,
network of institutions,
Formal Culture points to all the abstract, non-physical, information systems,
global network, United
spiritual, mental, immaterial, invisible elements such as knowledge, Nations)
philosophy, beliefs, ideas, morals, laws, customs, values, emotions,
assumptions, systems, orientations. Whereas Material Culture refers
to all the physical, corporeal, solid, spatial, sensible, temporal, actual, observable (visible

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 and audible) and tangible objects such as the artifacts, actions or behaviors, arts, buildings,
technology, music, “popular” (television, movies, mass media, social media, fads, digital
gadgets), costumes, architectures, food, utensils, designs, dances, smell, means of
transportation, tools and inventions. As a vehicle or expression, Material Culture is shaped
by Formal Culture in the same way as the Material Culture (e.g. popular culture) may also
shape Formal Culture (e.g. new radical religious sects).

The two types are interrelated co-principles. Their being Arranged Child
intertwined makes an overlap that makes it difficult to create a Marriage is a
universal meaning of culture. This is manifested in Oatey’s (2012) cultural practice by
distinction of the three fundamental levels at which culture manifests some of the tribes in
itself: (a) observable artifacts, (b) values, and (c) basic underlying the Cordilleras in
assumptions. They could also be categorized as the individual which some parents
culture, organizational culture and structural culture. Following the agree on having
Western or deductive process since culture is a foreign concept, the their children to get
three levels of culture are discussed from the structural to the marry when they
reach young
individual.
adulthood. ”
[Tylor, E. (Spencer-
The first level (INDIVIDUAL), the analysis of the Eskimo’s moral Oatey, 2012)]
behavior (under Material Culture) – “lending his wife to a guest for a
night” is visible and easily described as distasteful but hard to
decipher or interpret especially the underlying good or right reasons why it is done and being
preserved.

Following Oatey’s (2012), to analyze this Eskimo’s moral behavior it is important to

study the values (under both Material and Formal Culture) that govern such behavior. But
the espoused value such as hospitality (Rachels, 2003) of “lending a wife to a guest for a
night” is hard to observe directly. So when the Eskimos say that such moral behavior is part
of their hospitality it is interesting to analyze why hospitality is the reason for such behavior,
what they ideally would like hospitality to be, and what are often their rationalizations for
“lending of wife to a guest for a night.” Or could it be that the value of hospitality is just the
biased understanding of non-Eskimo observers. The value of hospitality is becoming the
acceptable value to some Eskimos and outsiders. Nevertheless, the underlying espoused
value of hospitality for the “lending of wife to a guest for a night” remains unknown.

“To really understand a culture and to ascertain more completely the group’s values
and overt behavior, it is imperative to enquire into the underlying assumptions, which are
typically unconscious but which actually determine how group members perceive, think and
feel” (Oetey, 2012). Assumptions (under Formal Culture) are the philosophies and beliefs
about what things really are or their conceptions of what is good and right (morality). They
are learned and transformed values that lead to moral behaviors. To explain such moral
behavior then is to consider their assumptions on marriage, sex and life as a whole. To
Rachels (2003), this could be traced from their assumptions: that men could mary more than
one wife, that men can have sex regularly with other men’s wives, and that they have less
regard to human life. But, as a value of hospitality leads to the behavior of “lending of wife
to a guest for a night,” and as the “lending of wife to a guest for a night” begins to answer
disagreements or condemnations, the value of hospitality gradually is transformed into an
underlying assumption and the three original assumptions are increasingly taken for granted.

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 The taken-for-granted assumptions are so powerful because they are less or non-debatable.
There is a possibility to just be silent about it because it can cause disorder and more troubles
among them. Besides, they are more concerned with other challenges of life. According to
Oatey’s (2012): “they can be brought back to awareness only through a kind of focused
inquiry.”

3.2. The Role of Moral Behavior in Creating a Culture

It is not hidden to the consciousness of everyone that as culture shapes moral

behaviors, moral behaviors simultaneously create culture. Culture and moral behaviors are
inseparable of which a culture could be found in moral behavior just as the moral behaviors
happen in or even create and enhance a culture. This follows the Eastern or inductive
process whereby the individual leads to the structural. This is best expressed by the author
below:
“Culture in its
“All that I am, all that I have, all that I do… are all products of broadest sense is
my culture. I am and live in a culture, which eventually cultivated behavior;
becomes me, my very person. I cannot escape from my that is the totality of a
culture. It determines my every personal behavior, which person's learned,
accumulated
simultaneously reveal the kind of my culture. experience, knowledge,
beliefs, values,
Using the same example of the Bontoc Igorots, the process attitudes, meanings,
could be inverted in such a way that their artifact “o′-lâg” or the hierarchies, systems,
physical separation of the young marriageable women to live in the religion, notions of
time, roles, spatial
“o′-lâg” is what shapes their value of high respect for women and
relations, concepts of
their beliefs that monogamous marriage is a blessing of God in order the universe, and
to raise many children and that a married woman should always be material objects and
true to her husband. possessions which is
socially transmitted.”
Further, the claim that the invading
Symbols
western foreigners who brought with them their creations or artifacts
“Every culture is filled (symbols) such as their modern clothes, betamax (films) and others
with symbols, or things raised their level of awareness (just like in the case of Adam and Eve
that stand for after eating the forbidden apple). The Bontoc women started to
something else and that develop the values of honor and dignity through the feeling of
often evoke various embarrassment. Their involuntarily adaptation of the foreign values
reactions and
simultaneously made them hate or put malice on their own values.
emotions. Some
symbols are actually Then, their normal practices of being visited by men to have sex in the
types of non-verbal “o′-lâg” became a taboo such that they were most likely shaping also
communication, while their own culture and assumptions that marriage is essentially a sexual
other symbols are in relationship and separation is the answer to its problems, and that a
fact material objects.” married woman is free to be true or not to a husband depending on
(Retrieved from what works for her (similar to that of the foreigners). Such assumptions
https://doi.org/10.24926 are hard to know or even to justify and to impose on them because
/8668.2401) they are invisible and taken for granted. There could also be other
assumptions that need further research.

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 Some observers attribute the growing “culture of rape” or dramatic increase of rape
cases in a certain place with the fast growing foreign influences that spouse problematic
values and beliefs. Alarmed by this developments, many moral behaviors have been
initiated by a top government official encouraging barangay officials not to amicably settle
cases of sexual abuse, and barangay councils to reassess their development plans for the
protection of children (Baybay, 2011). The political moral behavior only expresses that such
culture of immoral amicable settlement should not determine their values. It is his people’s
moral behaviors that should form a “culture of strong respect for children and women.”

3.3. Cultural Relativism

With the advent of globalization and information technology, cultural diversity

became more immanent. People can become more aware of world cultures, and their
diversity with just a few clicks of the mouse. They could now easily visit or explore other
cultures in the world because of advancements in transportation and technology. They have
increasingly become aware of cultural diversity and the influence of such awareness to their
understanding, decisions and values. Nevertheless, they have been constantly confronted
with the difficult moral questions of whether to just simply become neutral to other cultures’
moral practices even if they are against their values or not, and whether to simply adapt
other cultural practices or not. They are challenged with the phenomenon of Cultural
Relativism.

Cultural Relativism refers to the Some Cultural Facts

understanding or belief that In the United States, for example, if we nod our head up
and down, we mean yes, and if we shake it back and
everything should be judged only
forth, we mean no. In Bulgaria, however, nodding
according to one’s own respective means no, while shaking our head back and forth
culture. A cultural relativist believes means yes! In the United States, if we make an “O” by
that there is no superior or inferior putting our thumb and forefinger together, we mean
culture; no culture is better than the “OK,” but the same gesture in certain parts of Europe
other. That is, all cultures are unique signifies an obscenity. “Thumbs up” in the United
States means “great” or “wonderful,” but in Australia it
with their own strengths and means the same thing as extending the middle finger in
weaknesses, benefits and detriments. the United States. Certain parts of the Middle East and
Asia would be offended if they see you using your left
In past centuries in Northern hand to eat, because they use their left hand for
Luzon, the lowlanders’ discrimination bathroom hygiene. Belgians count through their fingers
starting from the thumb to the index finger while
of the Igorots could have been a Filipinos start counting the opposite way.
product of their belief that Igorots are Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.24926/8668.2401
animals because they have tails
(bahag or g-string), they live in the
mountains, and they have practices that seem bizaare. Therefore, to the lowlanders of the
past, the Igorot culture is inferior to their hispanized, more sophisticated, culture. But after
generations of interactions brought about by developments (i.e., better access through
roads and bridges, better trades, improving relationships which eventually lead to friendships
and intermarriages, and so on), both lowlanders and highlanders became aware of the
need to understand each other not from their own respective cultures but from each other’s

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 standpoint. They have learned to put themselves “in the shoes of the other”, enabling better
understanding between their cultures.
As a second case, some university students may be amused and may make fun of
the UP students’ famous “oblation run”. But should their understanding of this phenomenon
be limited by their initial reactions? It might be better for non-UP students to dig into the
rationale behind this tradition, and see how such a practice relates to UP’s “way of life.” Of
course, UP-ians may also not understand the cultures of other universities, and it might be
helpful for UP-ians to devote some effort into learning these.

Here are some of the strengths and weaknesses of Cultural Relativism:

Strengths Weaknesses
It fails to accept that not all beliefs and
It recognizes cultural and human
cultural or social practices are equally
differences.
admirable.
It promotes respect and tolerance to
It leads to mediocrity, moral indifference
diversity or cultural-sensitivity and
and end of moral progress.
uniqueness.
It produces a peaceful and harmonious It promotes social anarchy because
society despite mass migration and each culture claims and stands for “a
differences. true culture.”
It rejects moral absolutism, imperialism and It upholds democracy, consensus and
superior ideologies. fairness to other ideologies.
It recognizes the natural sociality, conformity It seems culture has the sole influence
and interdependence among peoples. on human life and morality.
It strengthens personal responsibility: each is It weakens social responsibility as if
fully responsible for his own moral actions humans cannot do anything to change
and beliefs. culture.
It advocates true multiculturalism and It leads to deterioration or corruption of
adjustments for changing factors in society. moral values, institutions and societies.
It promotes humility and acceptance of
It promotes skepticism and atheism.
limitation or probability of things.
It discourages common language for
It recognizes that language is not neutral
unity and common standards to judge
because culture determines language.
moral beliefs or actions.
It makes the job of ethics as purely
It supports non-judgmental attitude that
descriptive (non-prescriptive), thus,
foster dialogue, cooperation and learning.
ineffective.
It allows one culture solve its own moral It rejects any interference by one
problems and grow naturally in its morality. culture in the morality of another.
It accepts other ethical theories that can It fails to determine other ethical
bring a good life. theories that can bring a good life.

Thus, Cultural Relativism is not absolute. There will always be an occasion where
people will somehow judge another culture as inferior through their own cultural beliefs and
practices. Somewhere, somehow, there are some cultural practices that are condemned,
even if they are the most valuable or practiced, because they violate some basic human

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 rights. For example, a practice in areas of India and Pakistan is dowry deaths, where a
husband and his relatives murder the husband’s wife because her family has not provided
the dowry they promised when the couple got married (Kethineni & Srinivasan, 2009).

3.4. Non-tenability of Cultural Relativism in Ethics: Filipinos who know they are
The Asian-Filipino Way doing wrong but do not want to
change easily find excuses
While recognizing the strengths of Cultural Relativism for like "ako'y tao lamang" (I'm but
human), "ganyan lamang ang
loosening stringent and absolute attitudes and opening
buhay" (life is like hat), "bahala
conservative minds toward others, it is very critical to respond na" (come what may),
to the weaknesses of Cultural Relativism. Acknowledging or "eveybody is doing it."
strengths should all the more encourage courageous solutions
to the weaknesses of Cultural Relativism. These weaknesses In this age of "passing the
could be answered by considering other ethical theories. buck," another excuse
for shrinking personal
Because globalization responsibility is the
Filipinism, "I am not the one".
Some Socio-cultural Facts somehow ironically opened
In China, South Korea, and other and vastly exposed cultural Gorospe, V., SJ. Retrieved
parts of Asia, dog meat is considered diversity, people have from http://thefilipinomind.blog
a delicacy, and people sometimes kill recognized cultural variations spot.com/2006/04/our-
dogs to eat them (Dunlop, 2008). As over time periods, between christian-god-religion-and-
one observer provocatively asked common.html
individuals, organizations,
about eating dog meat, “For a
structures, countries and continents. Cultures are seen as
Westerner, eating it can feel a little
strange, but is it morally different
reflecting the moral and ethical standards and beliefs that
from eating, say, pork? The dogs determine decision, actions and interactions. Moral
brought to table in China are not practices are basically peculiar to a society, and as society
people’s pets, but are raised as food, changes, its culture and practices also change.
like pigs. And pigs, of course, are also
intelligent and friendly” (Dunlop, Using a changing culture as a basis for decisions and
2008). Should we accept the practice actions is not enough and is quite dangerous. The need for
of eating dog meat on its own terms? enduring belief and values as bases can bring more
Is it any worse than eating pork or convincing and strong actions. Though humans have
slaughtering cattle in order to eat
different languages, they can use their capacity for
beef? If an Asian immigrant killed
language to create a globalizing language that all children
and ate a dog in the United States,
should that person be arrested for can learn and use to study other cultures. As social beings
engaging in a practice the person who have invented technologies such as the internet,
grew up with? televisions, airplanes, bullet trains, they have successfully
created globalization. Globalization has allowed different
Retrieved from people of diverse cultures to constantly check and balance
https://doi.org/10.24926/8668.2401 their beliefs and standards.

People may have experienced reluctance in judging other cultural practices but
deep within them is the possibility of considering other cultures as inferior to theirs.
Considering, however, that people are naturally inclined to what is good and right, most
must have made a choice regarding whether or not their culture set is better than others.
Taking this considerate stance, they must have also decided to not necessarily consider
other cultures and peoples as inferior to theirs. But on one of the more extreme sides of this
issue, there are people who view their cultural position as inferior through and through.

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 This has been the problem of many Filipino indigenous peoples who have felt inferior
to the foreigners because of their cultural practices and so they have blindly adapted the
foreigners’ culture. However, it might be the case that, were some introspections made, a
number of these assumptions, beliefs and philosophies behind the indigenous practices (that
were abandoned due to their perceived inferiority) could actually be far better and
practical than that of the foreigners’.
Recent studies of college students
provide additional evidence that
According to Vitaliano Gorospe, SJ, “there is a social contact can help overcome
conflict between what Filipinos say as Christians and what cultural differences and prejudices.
they do as Filipinos; between their actual Filipino behavior Because many students are randomly
and their ideal Christian behavior; in short, between what assigned to their roommates when
is and what ought to be.” they enter college, interracial
roommates provide a “natural”
experiment for studying the effects of
Gorospe observed that “Filipino culture”, which is social interaction on racial prejudice.
the product of the long colonization by the Spanish, is Studies of such roommates find that
based on "group-centeredness" or "group-thinking." Here, whites with black roommates report
the group determines what is right or wrong for the lowered racial prejudice and greater
numbers of interracial friendships
individual, and as such, has not yet attained moral
with other students. (Laar, Levin,
independence and maturity. The individual is guided by Sinclair, & Sidanius, 2005; Shook &
the basic questions: "What will my family, or my relatives Fazio, 2008).
and friends, or my barkada think or say?" "What will others Retrieved from
say" usually determines Filipino moral behavior. This can be https://doi.org/10.24926/8668.2401
effectively describes as "conscience from the outside”.

Gorospe therefore accuses that Filipinos have a conflict between individual and
social morality, between internal and external morality. He believes that Filipinos should
internalize the norms of morality so that he can mature as individuals and form their own
moral conscience from the inside.

Let us take one of Gorospe’s example, regarding parents telling their daughter who
is being courted by a suitor: "Hija, please entertain your suitor at home. Do not go outside.
What will the neighbors say? Nakakahiya naman." Gorospe expresses that “shame or
hiya makes the parents and the girl conform to the social expectations of the neighbors lest
they become the object of chismis or gossip.” In difference to Gorospe, note, however, that
this could also be understood differently by saying that Filipinos are highly social and
culturally sensitive. Filipinos, just like other Asians, recognize that their society is a greater
entity than them, and that they value group harmony and community. They could not just
be individualistic in their decisions and actions.

Relatedly, consider the Japanese when moral problem arise. “Japanese minimize
conflict by resolving disputes amicably. Lawsuits are uncommon; in one case involving
disease and death from a mercury-polluted river, some Japanese who dared to sue the
company responsible for the mercury poisoning were considered bad citizens” (Upham,
1976). This could be attributed to their high regard for group harmony and community, and
this is also something that Filipinos value.

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 Another Filipino cultural norm cited by Gorospe, the "Don't be caught" attitude, based
on shame or fear of authority figures such as parents, teachers, priests, or policemen, is quite
disturbing. As many students would say: "What's wrong with cheating if I am not caught?" If
this explains why some Filipino drivers obey traffic rules only due to the presence of a
policeman on duty, (and they do not observe these rules otherwise), then Gorospe is correct
in saying that Filipino moral norms are purely external.

It could be argued that Gorospe is wrong in his assumptions, with the point that
Filipinos are just practical and flexible. They are ready to break rules for the sake of greater
values, but sometimes also when it seems more practical to do so. For instance, one cannot
just stop and wait for the green light if there are practically no other cars and passengers to
cross or pass by. Likewise, there is also the point regarding western cultural symbols. Here,
traffic structures, as well as other systems in place, are interpreted as western cultural
symbols. Somehow, these structures have a foreign identity that they cannot easily relate to;
they are imposed, and people are tasked to follow. Of course, these rules exist for a reason,
but a minority position would be that if it is not theirs, it is hard to follow. What this shows is
that with the history of colonialization, the conflict between being a real cultural Filipino
(Asian) and the ideal mature Christian (Western) Filipino is a continuing struggle that we
partake in.

Christian Filipinos were treated as parrots that could be taught to recite

incantations/prayers by simple repetition. They were instructed observe religious holidays,
church rites and other symbols of Catholicism without really understanding what they mean
or stand for. Filipinos were not really taught to mature and to freely live or emulate the
supposed ideas and life of Jesus. Putting Gorospe’s observations on problematic Filipino
cultural practices in their proper cultural context may thus not be enough. Filipino culture
has changed; it has adapted to Western cultures, and so it must also consider Western moral
standards. Filipino culture could enter into conversations with Western views. Also, Filipinos
must, while being very social, critically first recognize that they have a culture to speak of,
and then weigh such against Western moral standards. To this end, it may also prove
instructive if outsiders constructively express their opinions regarding Filipino cultural
practices, for the sake of improvement.

 3.5. Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development

According to Lawrence Kohlberg’s Stage Theory of Moral Development, there are three (3)
levels of moral character development namely;

Level 1: Pre-conventional level of moral development (Punishment and Obedience –

egoism or satisfying one’s desire). In this period, the child responds to the prevailing cultural
values of right or wrong, good and evil. The child has no actual understanding of the values
themselves and accepts the authority of others. The physical consequences of the actions
determine the rightness or wrongness, regardless of the attribution of values. Response is
based on two concerns, “Will I be harmed (punishment) and will I be be helped (reward)?

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 Level 2: Conventional level of moral development (Pleasing others and Respecting
rules). The child conforms to societal expectations of family, group, or nation in order to win
the authority figures. Conventional morality is characterized by group conformity and
allegiance to authority. The individual acts in order to meet the expectations of others and
to please those in charge.

Level 3: Post-conventional level of moral development (Social contract and Personal

conscience). The focus of this level is the development of social contract and autonomous
decisions apart from outside authorities. Post-conventional morality is the most advanced
level of moral development where the individual is concerned with right or wrong conduct
over and above self-interest, apart from the views of others, and without regard of authority
figures. Ethical judgment are based on self-defined moral principles.

Six Stages of Moral Development

By: Lawrence Kohlberg
LEVEL 1 Moral Reasoning of each Stage

Stage 1: Stage of Punishment and Obedience. Rules are “I won’t hit him so he will not hit
obeyed in order to avoid punishment. me back.”

Stage 2: Stage of Individual Instrumental Purpose and “I will help him because he may
Exchange. Conformity to rules is viewed to be in one’s own interest help me in return.”
because it provides reward. Fear of punishment is a major “I work extra because I want to
motivator at this level be given bonus points.”
LEVEL 2
Stage 3: Stage of Mutual Interpersonal Expectations, “I will go along with you
Relationships, and Conformity. The concern is about the reactions because I want you to like me.”
of others as bases for decisions and behaviors. The primary motive “I will treat you for lunch so that
is to be good for others in order to maintain good relations. we will be friends.”
Stage 4: Stage of Social System and Conscience Maintenance. “I will comply to the order
The person conforms to laws and to those in authority because of because it is wrong to disobey.”
duty. Both out of respect for them and in order to avoid censure.
For persons in this level, fulfilling role in society and living up to
expectations of others are important, and guilt is more of a
motivator than fear of punishment noted in Level 1.
LEVEL 3

Stage 5: Stage of Prior Right and Social Contract or Utility. The “Although I disagree with his
relativity of some social values is recognized, and moral decisions views, I will uphold his right to
derive from principles that support individual rights and transcend have them.”
particular societal rules such as equity, liberty, and justice.
Stage 6: Stage of Universal Ethical Principles. Internalized rules “There is no external force
and conscience reflecting abstract principles of human dignity, coming from conflicting social
mutual respect and trust guide decisions and behaviors. Persons in norms that can compel me to
this level make judgment based on impartial universal moral do an act that is considered
principles, even when these conflict with societal standards. morally good.”

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 ELABORATE

Reflecting on Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development, what is the highest stage you have
reached so far? Were you able to maintain or stay in that stage for a long time or do you
slide to the lower levels every now and then? Elaborate.

EVALUATE

Please refer to the instructions/directives to be given by the teacher in class with regards to
the evaluative part of this module.

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