The Moral Agent and

Contexts
Know thyself
Another major topic in the act of philosophizing. The ancient
Greeks even had a famous saying for it:“Epimeleia he
auto”which means “Know thyself.”
 1 Filipino Philosopher Ramon C. Reyes

TOPIC 2
Moral Agent
OUTLINE 3 Four Cross Points
 RAMON
CASTILLO REYES

• A Filipino philosopher
• Born 1935 in Philippines.
• He Graduated in Ateneo de ManilaUniversity with
a degree of Bachelorof Arts in 1956.
• He obtained his PhD in Philosophy from the
University Catholique deLouvain in Belgium in 1965.
 RAMON
CASTILLO REYES

• One of pioneers in the Philippines of the

philosophical approach known as existential
phenomenology.
• His book ground and Norm of Morality: Ethics
for College Students, has served as the textbook
for thousand of students in the country.
 Moral Agent
A moral agent is a person who has the power
to distinguish right from wrong and to be held
accountable for his or her own actions. Moral
agents have an ethical responsibility not to
cause unreasonable harm
Ramon Reyes suggested and strongly pointed out that
multifarious influences play important roles to arrive at a
decision. Four significant cross-points influence people’s
ideas, motivations, reactions, thoughts and emotions,
including and especially moral judgments and decisions.
The moral agent is, according to Ramon C. Reyes is a
cross-point. This means that any moral agent is a product
of many forces and events outside of one’s choosing.
Reyes mentions 4 cross-points namely: the physical, the
interpersonal, the social and the historical cross-points.
Dr. Ramon Castillo Reyes Identified Four Cross-
Points:

1. The Physical
2. The Interpersonal
3. The Social or Societal
4. The Historical
The Physical

include the genetic endowments, characteristics endemic to the

species Homo Sapiens with its limitations and strengths, the
geographical realities in which the individual is born and lives,
the kind of natural environment with all resources and
challenges that impact growth and development. All these
physical cross- points are influences not from the individual
own choosing.
The Interpersonal
The first and the most influential of them are those established with the
parents. The first human contact of every individual is with parents who
nourish, protect, give care and attention and provide security at the very
first stages of life. How individuals are brought up in the family influence
an individuals’ character, manners and his or her thinking and mindset.
One’s personality is shaped by the people around especially by those who
influence the person during the early years of existence
The Social
As individuals grow and discover their way in the outside
world, they come into contact with the broader social context.
From now on, the shaping of individual personality
accommodates those brought about by the larger society. The
culture and the values inherent in it are inevitably forces that
impact the way individuals perceive the world and judge it.
The Historical
It means that events especially those with crucial importance shape
an entire nation and every individual living in that particular society.
Significant events like wars, devastating natural calamities, and
important societal changes are powerful forces that lead to new
awareness leaving incredible impact on people’s attitude and
thinking. Thereby, people’s lives are shaped by the crucial events of
their lives manifested in their day to day attitude and manner of
perceiving new experiences.
So far, history is yet another cross-point interacting with the other
ones – the four of them making impact on the Filipino
consciousness, his or her perspective including but especially his
or her type of moral valuation.

However, Reyes believes that the Filipino is not only the product
of the cross-points of his life but is also a product of his or her
free will and intention in life. The freedom that every Filipino
enjoys allows one to make choices of his or her own, giving the
capacity to direct or invent one’s own life toward the realization
of an ideal self.
Thank You!