Lesson 1.

E
Ethics and Culture

What is This Lesson About?

Lesson 1.e is on Ethics and Culture. Specifically, it will discuss how culture would
influence/impact the ethical and moral behavior of man.

What Will You Learn

In this lesson, you are expected to have:

Acquired clear understanding as to how culture, in particular cultural relativism would

influence or would create an impact on the ethical and moral behavior of man.

Significant Culminating Performance Task and Success Indicators:

The topics that will be discussed in this lesson are:

1. What is culture?
2. What is cultural relativism?
3. How does culture/cultural relativism influence or create an impact on man’s
ethical/moral behavior?

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 Activities or Learning Tasks

Let Us TRY This

What do you know about culture? What about cultural relativism? How does
culture, in particular, cultural relativism influence or create impact on man’s ethical/moral
behavior?
For you to be able to draw a clear understanding about the concept on hand,
please refer to the tasks below.

TASK 1: a. Make your own creative illustration bout the concept of culture and
cultural relativism.

• “MY CREATIVE ILLUSTRATION/SYMBOLIC ILLUSTRATION SHOWING

THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE”

My explanation about my illustration/symbolic representation:

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“MY CREATIVE ILLUSTRATION/SYMBOLIC ILLUSTRATION SHOWING THE

CONCEPT CULTURAL RELATIVISM”

My explanation about my illustration/symbolic representation:

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Task 2. This activity is entitled: “TWO SCENARIOS IN A ROW”. In this activity you
are to create 1 observed scenario/situation where culture and cultural relativism would
influence/impact man’s ethical/moral behavior. Think also of your own personal experience (at
least 1) where culture and cultural relativism had made great influence/impact on your
ethical/moral behavior.
First observed scenario/situation:
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My Personal Experience:

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 TASK 3: You need to refer to at least 1 educational video/ link/reference that would
talk about the concept of culture , cultural relativism and how these would influence man’s
ethical/moral behavior. Take note of the important ideas or insights you learned from the
educational links. Write them down on MY NOTES so you will not forget them.

Title of the Video/Reference:__________________________________________

Link/Source/Reference: ______________________________________

MY NOTES

TASK 4: Provide answer to the incomplete sentences.

After referring to the links /DISCUSSING THE FOLLOWING (meaning of culture,

cultural relativism and how these would influence/impact man’s ethical/moral behavior)

1. I realize that ________________________________________________

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2. I feel that ____________________________________________________

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3. I need to ___________________________________________________
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Let Us READ and STUDY

Please read the following lesson excerpts.

ETHICS AND CULTURE

Culture generally refers to the patterned ways of thinking, feeling and acting that people
share and communicate to one another. A different approach was used by Marcus Tullius Cicero. He
was considered as one of Rome’s greatest orators and prose stylists. In his Tusculanae Disputationes
(written around 45 BCE), he equated culture as a cultivation of the soul or cultura animi. He
eloquently employed an agricultural metaphor to explain the development of a philosophical soul
which was understood teleologically as the highest possible idea for human development. Cicero’s
understanding of culture was prevalent up to the early 17 th century until a German jurist, political
philosopher, economist, statesman and historian, Samuel Pufendorf (1632-1694) in his The Two
Books on the Duty of Man and citizen according to the natural law (1862) took over Cicero’s
metaphor in a modern context, similar in meaning but no longer assuming that philosophy was man’s
natural perfection. His use of the word culture and that of many writers after him refers to all the
ways in which human beings overcome their original barbarism and through artifice, become fully
human.
However, it was only during the early 19th century when an English anthropologist, Edward
Burnett Tylor (1832-1917), first coins the term “culture” (primitive Culture, Vol.1, 2016). He was
considered as the founder of cultural anthropology. He believed that the study of society becomes
incomplete without proper understanding of culture and society together. Culture is a unique
possession of man. Taylor’s understanding of culture is that a complex whole which includes
knowledge, belief, art, moral, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as
a member of society.
Cambridge dictionary provides us a concept of culture as a way of life, especially the general
customs and beliefs of a particular group of people at a particular time.
Culture and Ethical/Moral Behavior
Each of us has a set of values and beliefs that differs somewhat from anyone else’s. This
difference in individual values and beliefs spring from the core values of our culture. Some
philosophers and social scientists believed that these core values reflect a particular culture’s
orientation to five constant aspects of human condition: human nature, the environment, time,
activity and human relationship. Our worldviews toward this phenomenon affects the type of
interaction with people, organizations and society as a whole.
Taking as example the view of human nature, we can clearly see that the culture of each
social group is based on expressed and implied positions about human nature. Based on the
prevailing philosophical beliefs, all cultures develop answers to questions such as: Is human nature
basically, good, bad or neutral? A person agrees with the teachings of Mencius (c. 371-c. 289 BCE)
that man is fundamentally good and moral would behave differently in treating people than some

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one who would advocate another. Chinese philosopher, Li Si (c.280-c.208 BCE), who taught
that human nature is essentially evil, not moral; championing the ideas of legalism which
proposed strict laws to produce an ordered state. We can also mention the philosopher from
Geneve, Switzerland Jean-Jacques Rousseau (171201778) who claimed that man is good by
nature, and that it is civilization which ruins him. In his book, Discourse on the sciences and
the arts (1750), he denied that the sciences and arts had contributed toward the purification
of manners, and he even argued that the arts and sciences corrupt human morality (Padilla,
Philosophy Made simple, 2013).
CUTURAL RELATIVISM
The concept of cultural relativism as we know and use it in contemporary time was
established as an analytic tool by the German-American anthropologist Franz Boas (1848-
1942) in the early 20th century. In The Study of Geography, Boas first articulated the idea in
1887: “civilization is not something absolute, but… is relative and… our ideas and
conceptions are true only so far as our civilization goes”.
Basic Concepts relating to Cultural Relativism
1. Cultural relativism is the view that all beliefs, customs and ethics are relative to
the individual within his own social context. This concept views “right” and
“wrong” as culture-specific, that is what is considered moral in one society may
be considered immoral in another, and since no universal norm of morality
exists, no one has the right to judge another society’s customs.
2. Cultural relativism is the idea that person’s beliefs, values and practices should
be understood based on the person’s own culture, rather than judged against
the criteria of another
3. Cultural relativism refers to the idea that the values, knowledge and behavior of
people must be understood within their own cultural context.
Ethnocentrism is the practice of viewing and judging someone else’s culture based
on the values and beliefs of one’s own.
Aubrey de Selincourt (1894-1962), an English writer, classical scholar and translator
mentioned an anecdote of Darius the Great who illustrated the principle of cultural
relativism by inquiring about the funeral customs of the Greeksand the Callatiae
peoples from the extreme western and eastern fringes of his empire, respectively.
They practiced cremation and funerary cannibalism, respectively, and were each
dismayed and abhorred at the proposition of the other tribe’s practices (The Early
History of Rome: Book I-V by Titus Livy, Audrey de Selincourt, 1960, translator).
Ref: Padilla, Reynaldo A. Ethics A Textbook for the general ed. Curriculum. 2019.Books ATBP. Publishing Corp. Mandaluyong
City, Phil.

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Task 5. READING 101. PLEASE TAKE TIME TO READ THESE CLIPPINGS…

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Ref: Padilla, Reynaldo A. Ethics A Textbook for the general ed. Curriculum. 2019.Books ATBP. Publishing Corp. Mandaluyong City, Phil.

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 After reading the inputs in the clippings in the preceding pages, please answer
the following:

1. What does READING 101 tell us? Make a brief synopsis/summary of the said
clipping. What have you understood? What have you realized?
2. Is taking good care of our parents part of our Filipino culture? Is it culturally
relative to us, Filipinos? Justify your answers.
3. Is taking good care of your parents therefore an ethical and moral behavior
taking it in the context of cultural relativism? Expound your answer.

For your Rubrics in the above-mentioned activities, please be guided by the following:

Criteria 4 (Distinguished) 3 (Proficient) 2 (Basic) 1

(Unacceptable)

Content All Ideas and Most Ideas and Some ideas and Ideas and
Accuracy thoughts are thoughts are thoughts are thoughts are not
correct and correct and correct and correct and
insightful insightful insightful insightful

Students For the most Explanations of No reference is

provided an part, the key concepts made to
accurate students are incomplete literature or
explanation of provided or inaccurate theory
key concepts, accurate and taken from some
drawing upon complete reference There is little or
relevant explanations of sources no evidence of
literature key concepts valid research
drawing upon
relevant
literature

Organization Extremely well Organization is Somewhat Poor

organized. The generally well- organized; The organization. It
organization organized. The organization does not clearly
reveals organization demonstrates show
important reveals some minimal understanding of
connections connections understanding of the connections
between ideas between ideas the connections of the
and ideas/insights
demonstrates a

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 thorough of the
analysis of ideas/insights
content

Presentation Appealing; clear; Clear and Lacks clarity; Not legible;

graphic legible some words are Difficult to
elements are hard to read understand
carefully drawn;
worlds clearly
written

Total Points

GOODLUCK AND ENJOY LESSON 1.E….

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END OF LESSON 1.E

Prepared by:

PROF. PRISCILITA “NANNY” PENETRANTE PEREZ

Course Facilitator

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