Unit 2 Etikaethics

FREEDOM ,
CULTURE AND
VALUES
UNIT II
OVERVIEW:
This unit will explore the impact of one’s culture in shaping and
defining one’s moral behavior. It is commonly said that culture is all
around us. Culture appears to be an actual part of our social life as well as
our personality.
The term culture is so complex that it is not easy to define. In one

sense, culture is used to denote that which is related to the arts and
humanities. But in a broader sense, culture denotes the practices, beliefs
and perception of a given society. It is in this sense that culture is often
opposed with savagery; that is being cultured is seen as a product of a
certain evolvement from a natural state.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the unit, the students should be able to:
Define freedom, culture and values.

Name the different kinds of values.
Differentiate cultural and moral
relativisms.
LESSON 4
FOUNDATION OF
MORAL ACTS
FREEDOM
The foundation of moral acts. It pertains to opportunities
wherein we can choose. We, humans are capable of higher
order thinking. We have the free will that helps us decide
on options presented before us. It is important to
understand the dilemmas, only applies to us since we have
the freedom of choice.
Morality requires and allows choice, which means the right

to choose even differently from our fellows. Everyone who
wishes to function morally and rationally in a society has
to make choices. The sum of our choices can be said to
define our specific morality.
LESSON 5
CULTURE IN
MORAL BEHAVIOR
CULTURE
Refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, beliefs, values, attitudes,
meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations,
concepts of the universe and material objects and possessions acquired
by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and
group striving.
It is the sum total of the learned behavior of a group of people that are
generally considered to be the tradition of that people and are
transmitted from generation to generation. In its broadest sense, culture
is cultivated behavior; that is the totality of a person’s learned,
accumulated experience which is socially transmitted behavior through
social learning.
Culture’s role in moral behavior
It is not hard to pinpoint the role of culture in one’s moral behavior.
A culture is a way of life of a group of people and this so called way of
life actually includes moral values and behaviors, along with
knowledge, beliefs, symbols that they accept without thinking about
them and that are passed along by communication and imitation
from one generation to the next.
Culture is learned as children grow up in society and discover how
their parents and others around them interpret the world. In our
society we learn to classify and perform different kinds of acts and
even evaluate what is morally good and bad and to judge when an
unusual action is appropriate or inappropriate.
Many aspect of morality are taught. People learn moral and aspects
of right and wrong from transmitters of culture. Observing or
watching them, people develop a set of idea of what is right and
wrong, what is acceptable and what is not.
Cultural Learning
Is the way a group of people or animals within a society or
culture tend to learn and pass on information.
Learning styles can be greatly influenced by how a culture

socializes with its children and young people
Social Learning
Is the process by which individuals acquire knowledge
from others in the groups to which they belong.
Constructivism Theory also known as " Social Learning"

- Bandura. (1873)
Reinforcement Learning
In reinforcement learning, people learn from the
consequences of their behavior. Their behavior is shaped by
positive and negative feedback from their environment.
Vicarious Learning
Vicarious learning is when people learn from those around
them by observing them.
Enculturation or Socialization
Is the process by which infants and children
socially learn the culture, including morality.
LESSON 6
CULTURAL
RELATIVISM AND
UNIVERSAL VALUES
IN ETHICS
CULTURAL RELATIVISM
-The most famous form of moral relativism.
- A theory in ethics which holds that ethical judgments have their

origins either in individual or cultural standards.
-The most dominant form of moral relativism, defines "moral" as

what is socially approved by the majority in a particular culture.
-Maintains that an act is ethical in a culture that approves of but

immoral in one that disapproves of it
-What is deemed moral within one group may be totally despicable

to the members of another group and vice versa.
-Morality differs in every society as concepts of right and wrong

from one culture to another.
ADVANTAGES OF CULTURAL RELATIVISM
o It is a system which promotes cooperation.
o It creates a system where equality is possible.
o People can pursue a genuine interest.
o Respect is encouraged in a system of cultural relativism.
o It preserves human culture.
o Cultural relativism creates a society without judgement.
o Moral relativism can be excluded from cultural relativism.
o We can create personal moral codes based on societal standards with ease.
DISADVANTAGES OF CULTURAL RELATIVISM
o It creates a system that is fueled by personal bias.
o It would create chaos.
o It is an idea that is based on the perfection of humanity.
o It could promote of lack of diversity.
o It draws people away from one another.
o It could limit moral progress.
o It could limit humanity's progress.
o Cultural relativism can tum perceptions into truth.

Moral relativism
Fundamentally believes that no act is good or bad objectively and there is no single
objective universal standard through which we can evaluate the truth of moral judgments.
It submits that different moral principles apply to different persons or group of individual.
Moral relativists view all moral norms as equally true and morals as mere preferences.
Universal Values
Those values generally shared by cultures. The existence of the
so-called universal values is a strong proof that cultural relativism is
wrong. If certain values exist both in Western and Eastern cultures
despite the distance, then cultural relativism’s claim that cultures’
moralities radically differ from each other is mistaken.
Moral relativism is the idea that there are no
absolute rules to determine whether something is
right or wrong. Unlike moral absolutists, moral
relativists argue that good and bad are relative
concepts – whether something is considered right
or wrong can change depending on opinion, social
context, culture or a number of other factors
(Dr. Tim Dean, 2021).
Moral Relativism can be
Understood in Several Ways
Descriptive Moral Relativism
is the finding that moral standards and behaviors differ between
societies and cultures. It describes the variety of moral standards rather
than making normative statements about what is right or wrong.
An example is anthropologist Ruth Benedict's study, "Patterns of

Culture," where she explores the moral diversity among different
societies, emphasizing that what is considered morally acceptable
varies across cultures
Meta-Ethical Moral Relativism
states that there are no objective grounds for preferring the
moral values of one culture over another. As argued by
Gilbert Harman in "Moral Relativism Defended," posits that
there are no objective reasons to prefer the moral values of
one culture over another. Harman contends that moral
judgments lack universal grounds, emphasizing the
subjective nature of morality influenced by individual and
cultural perspectives.
Normative Moral Relativism
is the idea that all societies should accept each other's
differing moral values given that there are no universal
moral principles. As advocated by David Wong in "Natural
Moralities," contends that societies should accept diverse
moral values within their cultural contexts, promoting
cultural tolerance in the absence of universal moral
principles.
MORAL VALUES
are those that directly pertain to the
function of intellect and will: those
choices, decisions and actions by which
man’s rational faculties are involved and
perfected
VALUES
enables man to change, to
establish self-control and
self-direction.
Kinds of Values
Biological Values
these are necessary to the
physical survival of man as
an organism.
Social Values
sensual needs and
fulfillment.
Rational Values
functions and fulfillment of
intellect and will.
Additional Values
Personal Values
It is personal to an individual both in terms of their
possession and their use. It is a desire and cherished by
the individual irrespective of his social relationship.
These values make a person good for himself.
Examples being ambition, cleanliness, discipline etc.
Family Values
Family as a social institution is based on certain
universally defined value system which are nurtured
and cultivated within a family system. Mainly, these
values comes from the lead of the family mostly father
who transfer these values to their children, who further
impart these values to future generation.
Dis-Value
Values which demoralize and undermine the
human growth and development can be
termed as dis-value. This includes jealousy,
envy, revenge etc
THANK YOU
♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

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FREEDOM ,

The term culture is so complex that it is not easy to define. In one

Define freedom, culture and values.

Morality requires and allows choice, which means the right

Learning styles can be greatly influenced by how a culture

Constructivism Theory also known as " Social Learning"

- A theory in ethics which holds that ethical judgments have their

-The most dominant form of moral relativism, defines "moral" as

-Maintains that an act is ethical in a culture that approves of but

-What is deemed moral within one group may be totally despicable

-Morality differs in every society as concepts of right and wrong

o It creates a system where equality is possible.

o People can pursue a genuine interest.

o Respect is encouraged in a system of cultural relativism.

o It preserves human culture.

o Cultural relativism creates a society without judgement.

o Moral relativism can be excluded from cultural relativism.

o It would create chaos.

o It is an idea that is based on the perfection of humanity.

o It could promote of lack of diversity.

o It draws people away from one another.

o It could limit moral progress.

o It could limit humanity's progress.

o Cultural relativism can tum perceptions into truth.

An example is anthropologist Ruth Benedict's study, "Patterns of

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