Lesson 5:

HOW IS MORAL
CHARACTER
DEVELOPED
What is Moral Character?

 Moral is “concerned with the principle of right and wrong behavior

or the goodness and badness of the human character” (Merriam-
Webster, 2017).
 Character is defined as “the mental and moral qualities distinct to
an individual” (Meriam-Webster, 20117).
 But in Philosophy, the term character usually denotes to the moral
dimension of a person (Timpe, 2007).
 Moral character, refers to the “existence (or lack of) virtues such
as integrity, courage, fortitude, honest, and loyalty” (Meriam-
Webster, 2017).
Moral Character as Disposition

– Moral Character are those disposition or the tendency to

act or think in a particular way for which a person can be
held morally responsible. Thus, moral character traits are
rational, informed, stable and reliable dispositions
(Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2017)
Confucian Tradition

 The philosophy of moral development is rooted in ancient views.

For Confucian traditions moral development was attributed to
“four beginnings” of the human personality (Internet Encyclopedia
Philosophy, 2017)
 These “four beginnings” were considered as seeds of personality
that will naturally unfold to become human activities.
 Take note though, the contrary to Western Understanding of
personality as a given human condition; personality in Confucian
perception meant –”an archived state of moral excellence”
(Ammes, 1997; Klemme, Web)
The four beginnings in Confucian
tradition are:

1. The heart of compassion, which leads to Jen.

2. The heart of righteousness, which leads to Yi.
3. The heart of propriety, which leads to Li.
4. The heart of wisdom, which leads to Zhi.
o Jen means goodwill, sympathy towards others and generosity.
o Yi means righteousness and the respect of duty, that is, respect
your position as guardian towards nature and humanity.
o Li deals with outward behavior such as etiquette, customs and
rituals.
o Zhi means wisdom, and this wisdom is a product of practicing Jen,
Yi, and Li in one’s life (Liu, 2002)
Aristotle and Virtue Ethics
– Virtue ethics is an approach that reduces the emphasis of rules,
consequences, and particular acts. Instead, virtue ethics focus on
quality of the person. Although action and consequences are
significant, virtue ethics does not focus on whether an action is
right or wrong nor on whether the consequences are good or bad.
It is more concerned with whether the person is acting as a
virtuous person should act in the situation.
– Virtue ethics is largely identified with Aristotle. In ancient Western
philosophy Aristotle’s discussion on moral character, particularly
virtue, is the most influential view on the topic. Aristotle argued
that each person has a built in desire to be virtuous and that if a
person is focused on being a good person the right action will
follow effortlessly and you will do good things.
– Aristotle believed that humans have an essence. He called this
essence proper functioning where everything has a function and
the thing that performs as intended is called good when it is able
to fulfill this function.
– Aside from its natural instincts, a person according to Aristotle is
also a “rational animal” and a “social animal”. Therefore, using
reason to live and get along with other people is also the human
person’s function.
– A “good” person is one who fulfills all these functions.
 Virtue

 Virtue for Greek is equivalent to excellence.

 A person of virtue is someone who performs the distinctive
activity of being human well.
 The principle of being virtuous is called “Doctrine of the Golden
Men”- that moral behavior is the one is in the middle of two
extreme behaviors.
 Extreme Behaviors- the act of was either excessive or deficient.
ACTIVITY!!!