UNIT II.

THE MORAL AGENT - Culture could serve to justify inequality

because the ruling class determines what is
LESSON 1: HOW CULTURE SHAPES HUMAN
right and wrong while the rest merely
BEHAVIOR
follow (Karl Marx).
What is Culture?
Elements of Culture
- Refers to the outlook, attitudes, values,
1. Symbols – can be anything that a group of
goals, and practices shared by a group,
people find meaningful
organization, or society. Interpretation of
what is moral is influenced by cultural Examples: cross for Christianity, crescent for
norms, and different cultures can have Islam
different beliefs about what is right and
2. Language – a complex system that enabled
wrong.
human beings to communicate either verbally
- According to Allan G. Johnson, it is the sum
or in writing
of symbols, ideas, forms of experience, and
material products associated with a social Examples: Bisaya, Tagalog, Ilocano
system.
- Shapes and guards people’s perception of 3. Beliefs – are assumptions or convictions
reality, determines the food they eat, the about events, people, or things held to be true
music they listen, the game they play. by an individual or a group of people
- In short, the individual’s culture becomes Example: superstitious beliefs
immediately evident by his clothing, belief,
mannerisms, moral character, and 4. Values – are culturally acceptable standards
personality. of behavior, which a person considers
- Tells what the individual does, what to do, important or beneficial in life
and how he should do those things, and Example: women as equal value with men
how he should relate to other people.
- Our context defines our self, character, and 5. Norm – is an informal guideline by a
values. particular group of people or social unit about
- Therefore, culture is a complex what is considered normal or correct/incorrect
phenomenon. It contains nearly all aspects social behavior
of shared human experiences.
Example: Filipino trait called “Pakikisama”
How does culture affect human behavior?
How does culture define Moral Behavior?
- As social creatures, people are naturally
- Plato (The Republic) cited 3 critical
drawn to participate in culture because of
elements that influence a human person’s
the want to belong, to be accepted by
moral development:
peers, for protection from danger, and for
survival. 1. Native traits (genetic characteristics)

However, not all is well with culture’s power 2. Early childhood experience
and control over people.
3. One’s cultural surroundings
- The power of the public to corrupt a young
- Thus, Plato insisted that a child’s cultural
person’s mind (Plato).
surroundings should “express the image of a
noble character”; that role models should - Exists for the benefit of the people. It
display conduct of a proper human being administers justice, fairness; promotes progress
because the behavior of the adults serves as the and development, security and protection.
child’s moral foundation as he or she grows and
5. The Workplace
develops (Conford, 1996; Perkarsky, 1998)
- In the contemporary world, high technology
Providers of Moral Behavior in Culture
and computerization have important roles in
- The family, school, church, government, the conduct of employees and workers in the
and workplace are the basic social workplace.
institutions that play a role in shaping the
- Advance highly technical work have changed
moral behavior of the members of the
the life of the workers. It has made their work
society.
increasingly easy and reliable.
1. The Family

- Being the smallest unit of society, plays a very

Cultural Drivers of Corruption in Governance
important role in the development of
and Business: Reforms in the Philippines written
personality and values formation of children.
by Antonette Palma-Angeles (a philosophy
Children are taught to follow and observe the
professor in Ateneo de Manila University)
family’s norms, values, beliefs, and behavior
that are appropriate to members of society. - Philippines, “Damaged Culture”
- James Fallows’ essay in the Atlantic
- It also maintains order and harmony. Without
Monthly, 1987
it, everything is in disarray.
- Underdevelopment, corruption, poverty
2. The School - Fundamental source of Philippine’s
problems is culture specifically lack of
- Helps preserve, perpetuate, modify, and
nationalism
integrate the conditions of human life by
- Angeles explained the reason behind these
promoting teachings and learnings.
unlikely Filipino behavior by citing the
- Does not only teach the basic skills. It also Philippine social, economic, and political
changes and modifies negative attitude and context.
values in the individual so that he would - Collectivism is one of the Asian traits. This
become a happy, integrated well-disciplined means that Asians are naturally connected
and morally right member of the society. and loyal to the family and friends. As a
Filipino, our relations to these groups are
3. The Church integral to our self-definition. We
- Plays a very significant role in the lives of the determine our identity by tracing our
members. The church promotes interaction family’s roots and achievement.
among its members in order to foster unity and - We are physically rooted in the place where
group solidarity. we grew because this is where we get our
sense of identity.
- Through preaching, listening and watching - Family politics (Ex. “paryente nako na”)
church activities, the individual is able to - “Ethics of Care” by Angeles
understand the meaning of his existence.

4. The Government
However, this cultural value, which is important determinedly start doing what is ethical by
in our personal relations create havoc when way of both structural and person-focused
applied to public governance. reform.
- Ex. Anti-corruption Campaign of Aquino
Why?
admin
-The family is often the priority especially,
Drug and Corruption Campaign of
since the commitment of the family
Duterte admin
members protects us from uncertainties of
life. Further, in country like Philippines Reyes in his article “Man and Historical Action”
where government failed to provide basic argued that “We (man) are historical products,
needs, the more familial we become. a man of destiny in the sense that we are born
product of certain historical forces and we
Hence, our care for relationships (families and
cannot change that. Accepting that point of
friends) is expected to override the principles of
destiny is also realizing that we have task and
fairness and justice.
responsibility.”
The leaders molded in this culture are easily
The point is this:
tempted to choose the interest of family and
clan over abstract common good that the “Man is a product of a cross point of events.”
government is mandated to provide.
Physical Lines
- Main cause of “palakasan system”
- We did not design ourselves
Will Business Please Step Up to the Plate?
Interpersonal Lines
 Business is not doing enough to call for
- Our personality are a fruit of intersecting
government to accountability. SMEs admit
personal lines coming together in us (family,
that business in general has contributed to
friends, peers, neighbors).
corruption by bribing government officials,
not paying the right taxes. Large companies Social Lines
falsify documents at the Bureau of Customs
with the collusion of customs examiners. - We are a product of many events in the
 Corruption serves business interests. past beyond our control. (Spanish past,
Businesses would rather bribe internal American past, Japanese Occupation past)
revenue officials than submit themselves for Historical Lines
honest audit of financial transactions in
order to save billions and gain undue - We emerge in a certain period, a certain
advantage over competitors. point and it is not within our control.

But there is a good news ahead… “Throwness”

- Every culture is constantly evolving. Culture - At a certain point, we live according to

can morally progress by correcting certain set of practices inherited from our
inequities in laws and cultural practices. family and from our society in an
- Filipinos are not ethically numb because we unconscious way. Then, at a certain point,
know what is right and wrong. we become conscious of these practices
- We have the moral courage (Katapangang that we have been accepting in the past.
Moral) to stop unethical practices and to Now we want to make them more
 authentic, more personal, more dependent
upon our own deliberate decision.
- A person of meaning. Existential Task.
- The meaning of our life will depend on
our response to that destiny that life has
placed in us.

- In other words, Angeles argued that our

context define ourselves, our character, and our
values. But, being conscious of these influences
will help us go beyond.