Republic of the Philippines

CENTRAL BICOL STATE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE

San Jose, Pili, Camarines Sur 4418
ISO 9001:2015 www.cbsua.edu.ph
TÜV-R 01 100 1934918

A. COURSE OVERVIEW:
Course Number GEC 4
Course Name ETHICS WITH PEACE EDUCATION
Course Description Ethics deals with the principles of ethical behaviour in modern society at the level of the
person, society, and in interaction with the environment and other shared resources.
Morality pertains to the standards of right and wrong that an individual originally picks
up from the community. The course discusses the context and principles of ethical
behaviour in modern society at the level of individual, society and in interaction with the
environment and other shared resources. The course also teaches students to make
moral decisions by using dominant moral frameworks and by applying a seven-step
moral reasoning model to analyze and solve moral dilemmas.
The course is organized according to the three main elements of moral experience; (a)
agent, including context- cultural, communal and environmental; (b) the act and (c)
reason or framework for the act.
The course content and processes will explore a range of conceptual, analytical, and
praxis-oriented perspectives and encourage students to reflect on the possibilities and
challenges of educating for peace in a world of complex and escalating conflicts and
violence. It provides an overview of the history, central concepts, scholarship, and
practices within the field, with a particular focus on case-studies of peace education in
practice worldwide.
Credit Units 3 units
Contact Hours 3 hours: 3 meetings per week
Prerequisite
Course Outcomes At the end of the semester, the students will be able to:
1. Differentiate between moral and non-moral problems
2. Describe what moral experience is as it happens in different levels of human
existence
3. Explain the influence of Filipino culture on the way the students look at moral
experiences and solve moral dilemmas.
4. Describe the elements of moral development and moral experiences.
5. Use ethical frameworks or principles, facts, and the stakeholders affected.
6. Make sound ethical judgements based on principles, facts, and the stakeholders
affected
7. Develop sensitivity to the common good
8. Understand and internalize the principles of ethical behaviour in modern society
at the level of the person, society and in interaction with the environment and
other shared resources
9. Trace the historical development and current status of the peace education field.
10. Critically examine the key concepts, theories and ethical considerations
underpinning peace education.
11. Effectively communicate their own emerging vision and approach to peace
education.
12. Prepare and present a country research report or a community action plan.
13. Demonstrate effective skills in facilitating the learning of others at multiple levels.
14. Connect course content to current public events and issues worldwide.
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CENTRAL BICOL STATE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
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B. COURSE CALENDAR

Week Covered Dates Topics Course Assessment

Orientation
1 Aug.24– 28 CBSUA PVMGO Quality Policy Formative Activities
Core Values College Goals
Course Syllabus Course
Requirements Grading System
University/College Policies
Classroom Policies & Guideline
2 Aug. 31 – Sept. 4 The Scope and Meaning of Formative Activities
Ethics and Moral and Non-moral and Quizzes
standards

3 Sept. 7 – 11 Moral Standards and Human Formative Activities

Freedom and Quizzes

4 Sept. 14 – 18 Morality Formative Activities

Dilemma and Quizzes
Culture and Moral Behavior Formative Activities
5 Sept. 21 – 25 and Quizzes
Filipino Culture and Morality
6 Sept. 28 – Oct. 2 Assessment 1
7 Oct. 5 – 9 Morality and Conscience Formative Activities
and Quizzes
8 Oct. 12 - 16 Feelings and Moral Decisions Formative Activities
Human Reasoning and Quizzes
Courage and Moral Courage
9 Oct. 19 - 23 Aristotle’s on Virtue Formative Activities
and Quizzes
10 Oct. 26 – 30 The Philosophy of St. Thomas Formative Activities
Aquinas and Quizzes
11 Nov. 2 – 6 The Philosophy of Immanuel Formative Activities
Kant and Quizzes
12 Nov. 9 – 13 Assessment 2
13 Nov. 16 – 20 Rights Formative Activities
and Quizzes
14 Nov. 23 – 27 The Philosophy of Utilitarianism Formative Activities
and Quizzes
15 Nov. 30 – Dec. 4 Justice and Fairness Formative Activities
and Quizzes
16 Dec. 7 – Dec. 11 Pluralism versus Formative Activities
 Republic of the Philippines
CENTRAL BICOL STATE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
San Jose, Pili, Camarines Sur 4418
ISO 9001:2015 www.cbsua.edu.ph
TÜV-R 01 100 1934918

fundamentalism and Quizzes

17 Dec. 14 - Dec. 18 Peace Education Formative Activities
and Quizzes
18 Dec.21 Assessment 3

C. INSTRUCTOR

BEN VALENTIN A. MALANYAON

INSTRUCTOR
ETHICS WITH PEACE EDUCATION AND
NEW LABOR CODE

I am Ben Valentin A. Malanyaon

from Zone 5, San Roque, Calabanga,
Camarines Sur. I graduated at Ateneo De
Naga University last 2018 with a Bachelor
Degree in AB Political Science. I am a
License Professional Teacher and Civil
Service Professional Level Eligible. Currently
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CENTRAL BICOL STATE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
San Jose, Pili, Camarines Sur 4418
ISO 9001:2015 www.cbsua.edu.ph
TÜV-R 01 100 1934918

I am the SK Chairperson of San Roque. I also believed in a saying that “there is no such
thing as free lunch” so you need to make an effort to achieve your own goal. If you have
a question regarding our subject you can message me in my email address:
[email protected] or in my facebook account Ben A. Malanyaon.

D. ASSESSMENTS

Assessments Type Percentag Course Learning Due Date Grade

e Outcomes Attributes
Week 1-6 Long-quiz 30%
Week 7-12 Long-quiz 30%
Week 13-18 Exam 40%

Part II: COURSE MODULE

Week 2:

Introduction 1. To understand the Definition of Ethics

2. Morality and other phases of Human Life
3. To learn about Human Acts
4. To understand the difference of Moral and Non-Moral Standard
Pre-Competency Quizzes/Exercises
Checklist
Learning Resources Power point Presentation
Explore A deeper understanding of Ethics:
Ethics is a branch of Philosophy that studies human acts and human conduct.
Although there are subjects that study human conduct such as Psychology and
Sociology. Ethics has a deeper meaning in its standpoint by further delving into
the aspect of human acts. They are more concerned with the morality of human
acts.
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CENTRAL BICOL STATE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
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The word "ethics" is derived from the Greek "ethos" (meaning "custom" or

"habit"). Ethics is not limited to specific acts and defined moral codes, but
encompasses the whole of moral ideals and behaviors, a person's philosophy of
life (or Weltanschauung).
Noted definition of Ethics
1. Ethics is the practical science of the morality of human actions
2. Ethics is the scientific inquiry into the principles of morality
3. Ethics is the study of human conduct from the standpoint of morality
4. Ethics is the science of human acts with reference of right and wrong

Relation of Ethics with Other Sciences

1. Ethics and Logic – Logic is the science of right thinking and while Ethics is the
science of right living. Thinking and Doing things go hand-in-hand, we cannot
move without thinking right the same way every action is guided by reason.
2. Ethics and Psychology – The two subjects dealt with the study of man, human
nature and human behavior but that is all their similarity ends. Psychology only tell
us the causes of man’s actions that may be psychological or physiological but
ethics tell us how man should react. Ethics is interested in moral obligation while
Psychology ends there.
3. Ethics and Sociology – as we all know, Sociology deals with the study of
society as well as the social order that regulates the society as a whole. But then
what is the foundation of their social order if there is no basis of right and wrong
which is Ethics. Any society is doomed to fail if devoid of correct basis of thinking.
4. Ethics and Economics – Napoleon once said that an army marches on its
stomach, in relation to economics man has to fulfill is economic needs. The need
for material wealth is inherent in man that there are instances that economic
topics needed ethical principles such as capital-labor relations, profit, interests,
money et al. The need to settle these conflicts must have ethical basis to incur
equitable results.
Morality and Other Phases of Human Life
1. Ethics and Education – Education whether formal or informal is a never-ending
process and is the foundation of man’s moral, intellectual and physical capacities.
But then again education is illicit if it is not supported by ethics, they say ethics is
life the same way education is intertwined with life. Learning is good but learning
supported by ethics is better inasmuch as ethics is living right.
2. Morality and Law – as mentioned in the previous module, not everything moral
is legal and not everything legal is moral. Meaning there are good things that do
not need legislation and immoral acts that the State may approve. But to further
differentiate them laws only used external acts while ethics cover man’s “acts” that
play in his mind that will not incriminate him in any statute. For example, a plan for
a robbery if discovered is not criminally liable in any court of law but ethics said it
is a fault for such “act” is intrinsically evil.
3. Ethics and Politics - Man in his constant search for happiness be it temporal or
eternal is never ending. They say politics and ethics are poles apart – in a certain
point that is correct it is the very reason why politics become dirty for they deviate
from ethics. Man’s insatiable greed for wealth and power thru politics means
absence of ethics. An ideal state should be an ethical state.
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4. Ethics and Art – Ethics is about positive morality while art is beauty. Any work
of art that is beautiful, will give a positive outlook to the looker that will be greatly
appreciated. The purpose of art is for appreciation that is contributory to man’s
ethics.
5. Religion and Ethics – Religion is ethics and ethics is religion, they are
interchangeable for the any religious belief tends to ethical standards in relation to
his most fundamental tenet. What unites them all boiled down to three things
namely: a) belief in the Supernatural, b) man’s beginning and end and c) right
living.

Morality and Human Acts

Morality is the quality of goodness or badness in a human act. In this case, we
base judgement on any human act based on its ethicality. The quality of an act
may be justified according to its gravity. An evil human act maybe considered
“right” just as long as it can be justified which lead us to its norm of morality. By
that term, we mean that the basis for determining its correctness are the standard
of the judging party and the reason why an act is morally wrong or right.
Human Acts just like the word itself means actions of men that are done willfully
and willingly. Keep in mind that scenarios beyond human control are not human
acts such as rainfall, sunset, earthquake even the beating of the heart or blood
circulation are beyond human act for these are actions man cannot control. In the
case of assassinations where the culprit pulled the trigger, the gun is not to blame
but the doer of the action that caused taking the life of another man. Once
questioned he has the right to justify his action as either morally right or wrong.

MORAL standards versus NON-MORAL standards

Moral standards - are norms that individuals or groups have about
the kinds of actions believed to be morally right or wrong, as well as the values
placed on what we believed to morally good or morally bad. It normally promotes
“the good” that is, the welfare and well-being of humans as well as animals and
environment. According to many scholars, Moral standards have the following
characteristics; (1) Moral standards deal with matters we think we can seriously
injure or benefit whether it is a human, animal or even an environment, such as
issue on taking lives (suicide), issue on destroying environment in return of
business (mining), and taking animals for recreation or educational purposes; (2)
Moral standards are not established or changed by the decisions of authoritative
individuals or bodies, such as implementation of tax in Philippines which is
created by the law making body of the government and amended also by the
same. ; (3) Moral standards are overriding, that is, they take precedence over
other standards and considerations, especially of self-interest; (4) Moral standards
are based on impartial considerations.Hence, moral standards are fair and just;
and (5) moral standards are associated with special emotions (such as guilt and
shame) and vocabulary (such as right, wrong, good and bad). -PHILONOTES

Moral standards are the sum of combined NORMS ( general rules about
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actions or behaviors) plus VALUES (enduring beliefs about what is good and
desirable or not.).

NORMS + VALUES = MORAL STANDARDS

Non-moral standards refer to standards by which we judge what is good

or bad and right or wrong in a non-moral way. It is a matter of taste or preference.
Such as standards of law, etiquette, aesthetics, and even religion.
Not all moral are legal and not all legal are moral. Say for example
carrying of gun. It is not immoral to carry gun especially that you have no intention
of using it to harm people. However, in the eyes of man-made laws if you are
caught with an unlicensed gun, you will be liable of the crime of Illegal Possession
of Firearms. There is a standard law regulating the possession of gun such as
Presidential Decree No. 1866. Hence, carrying of such is not a moral issue. Law,
in a general sense, is the principles and regulations established in a community
by some authority and applicable to its people.
Eating with hands in a fine dine restaurant, pricking one’s pimples in
public, farting in front of classmates, drinking your classmate’s soft drink without
his permission are acts that are not with moral standards. These acts can be
categorized under what we called Etiquette. We sometimes use the expression
“way breeding oi” or “walay etikit nga tawo” when we dislike the person. But it is to
be noted that it does not follow that when a person lacks of etiquette, he is already
immoral. An unethical person is different from a person wanting in etiquette.
Etiquette is an unwritten code or rules of social or professional behavior.
Most of the millenials nowadays were very conscious of their fashion.
Some follows the bohemian style, some would like to maintain the old vintage
fashion style or the sophisticated kind of fashion. In this generation, most of the
teenager would go on what is trendy and that is the K-POP fashion style or some
would call it the OPPA style (the korean hearthrob). We sometimes call a person
BADOY when he lacks taste in fashion but we failed to realize that choosing what
to wear is a choice and it doesn't not make you a lesser person because it is
simply an art. Maybe some fashionista would disagree for they believe that art is
an expression of one’s self. But it does not define your being moral. Choosing the
kind of fashion you will follow is a non-moral standard. It belongs to what we
called AESTHETICS that deals with the nature of art, beauty, and taste and with
the creation of appreciation of beauty. Although Kant once said that “beauty is the
symbol of morality.” Undeniably, one’s assessment in any artwork sometimes
raises moral questions. Say for example a senior high school student who’s nude-
sex sketch catches the attention of some netizens because they believe that it is a
kind of pornographic art. But that student argues “it is just a creation of his
imagination and he himself did not experienced such”. It now raises the question -
Is the student immoral in doing that? Or do we define one’s morality through his
piece of art?
What is then the basis of one’s moral beliefs? Is it purely personal or self-
evident? Or can we consider culture the ultimate source of moral beliefs? But how
do we identify if there is such thing as multiplicity of culture? Different societies
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have different moral beliefs. Our moral beliefs are grounded on our culture.
Different cultures have different moral standards. Hence, a matter of moral
indifference is a matter of taste in one culture and may be a matter of moral
significance in another. This is to be discussed in the preceding chapter.
Discussion Board
Post Competency Quizzes and Essays
Checklist

Week 3:

Introduction 1. To understand moral standards in relation to human life

2. To learn the issue of voluntariness in human acts

Pre-Competency Quizzes/Exercises
Checklist
Learning Resources Power point Presentation
Explore Moral Standards
Morality it must be noted, is present only in humanity. Meaning man can only be
moral if he is fully aware of his actions. Brutes have no morality for they are not
guided by reason hence they are not responsible for their actions and are not
classified as human acts. Let us be guided based on these principles:
1. Man is the only Moral Being – due to three things: a) man is capable of action,
b) man has intellect and c) man has free will. Being capable of action man can
employ his bodily activities to perform actions. With man’s intellect he can discern
the good or evilness of his actions and at the same time equate the repercussions
of his actions once asked to justify them. Free will is present and inherent in men
unless they are idiots and with that they have the freedom of choice whether to
perform or not the action at hand.
2. Man is a the highest form of Animal – endowed with intellect, man can decide
what’s best for him although their desires are the same with brutes such as
hunger, thirst, pain and sensual needs; man moves based on reason while their
lower counterparts have only instinct. Sentient beings like animals rely on instinct
which are natural biological drives, while men can decide whether an act is moral
or not.
3. Man is a rational animal – Ratio is the Latin term for reason that means man
has the power to discern things based on his previous knowledge of things. Unlike
brutes, man has the power of abstraction – this is his ability to correlate ideas
previously based on his mind as well as his understanding of the situation at
hand, thereby giving him a logical or correct decision.
4. The intellect and the will – they are correlative with each other because the
intellect is the agent of knowing while the will is the agent of choice. From intellect
– knowledge is stored this will then guide the will to decide which is basically
“good”. They co-exist and from their partnership “virtue” is born.

Voluntariness of Human Acts

A voluntary act is under the control of the intellect and the will and must be
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answerable for their actions. As mentioned in the previous module, only human
acts are valid in ethics and at the same time possess moral significance. There
are four types of voluntary acts and they are:
1. Perfect voluntariness – when a person acts with full knowledge and complete
freedom – we are fully aware of what we are doing.
2. Imperfect voluntariness – when a person acts without full understanding and no
freedom – we are made to perform acts we did not like
3. Simple voluntariness – it is the disposition of a person doing the activity
regardless to his liking or not – this may be positive or negative. The former is by
making him to do something while the other is to prevent or stop him from doing
things.
4. Conditional voluntariness - it is the situation when the person was forced by
circumstances or under duress which he would not do under normal
circumstances.
Example is being extorted money by a neighborhood toughie in exchange for his
“protection”. But what modifiers may cloud the intellect and the will that may either
reduce or increase accountability:
Modifiers of Human Acts:
1. Ignorance – this simply means absence of knowledge. A doer’s responsibility
for his actions may be increased or decreased due to this. A person may have
committed an act for he is unaware of it. There are three types of ignorance and
they are: Vincible ignorance that can easily be corrected such as calling a person
with a wrong name or entering the wrong classroom. On the other hand Invincible
ignorance – cannot be rectified an example is a waiter who gave the wrong food
to the customer or a killer that claimed the life of a wrong victim. The third is
Affected ignorance – is the doer’s attempt to escape responsibility such as a
suspect denying his complicity in a crime he has done.
2. Passions – Psychic responses that may adhere or abhor them to either
desirable or undesirable tendencies. Positive emotions such as love, desire or
hope are manifestations of the first while hatred, horror and despair are example
of negative emotions. There are also two passions such as antecedent and
consequent passions wherein the former are passions that occur before the
stimulus such as accidentally meeting a special someone; while the other came
after a stimuli we ourselves caused for example meeting a special someone that
we are already aware of his arrival.
3. Fear – it is the disturbance of the mind when confronted by danger to himself or
a loved one. Actions whether done with fear or out of fear may affect one’s action.
Acts done with fear are voluntary while acts done out of fear are two different
things. If one moves with fear this means he has to decide and yet is afraid he
might err an example is an amateur singer performing in front of a large crowd or
driving a vehicle with limited know-how in driving. Actions out of fear are situations
that needed immediate decisions such as jumping out of a plane about to crash
land or run away from a violent situation.
4. Violence – it is physical force given to a free person to coerce him to do or not
to do something. Physical threats such as torture, starvation or mutilation are
examples of violence but was free will impaired? No, the free will is still there for
they can still resist making their moral integrity intact, in short, there is still a
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choice.
5. Habits – readiness to perform habitual acts. Habits are done mechanically that
thinking is no longer necessary may either be good or bad. It is second-nature to
the doer and doing it is instinct.
Discussion Board
Post Competency Quizzes and Essays
Checklist

Week 4:

Introduction 1. To know the Two Fundamental Questions

2. To understand the Norms of Morality
3. To learn what are Defective Moralities
4. To understand the importance of dilemma to human reasoning
5. To help the learner gauge his level of thinking
6. To discern one’s level of maturity
Pre-Competency Quizzes/Exercises (Situation: You are a loving husband/wife whose spouse was
Checklist suffering from terminal cancer. At present, you are unemployed and cannot
provide medicine for your suffering partner. One morning, your beloved was
screaming in pain and you are forced to find ways to ease the pain or better yet
eradicate it. You went to a drug store that has just opened, and the guard was out
at that moment and the solitary sales agent was busy preparing herself. The
medicine was there but you are penniless to buy it, that is just within your reach
and the chance was ripe to steal it. Will you take the opportunity for your partner
or back track to avoid committing?)
Learning Resources Power point Presentation
Explore The Two Fundamental Questions
Two important questions are raised one is “What is Morality” and “What is
the meaning of life?”. The first question pertains to the rightness or wrongfulness
of an act and what is the basis of the judge concerned. These are ethical
questions that up to this time, baffled sages and peons alike and remain
unanswered. The second is about the summum bonum (ultimate good) of human
existence, what is the very reason why man exists on this world?
In a nutshell, those two questions are related – Ethics is about morality
which is the basis of good, every time we decide on dilemmas using morality men
experienced happiness and that is “good”. The more we attain happiness by being
good – the closer we are to the Ultimate Good. To sum it up, both questions boil
down to two words “goodness” and “purpose”, a thing that is of use is good for it
has served its purpose. For example, a politician is good if he has fulfilled his
promise to the people after serving his term of office in doing so by being useful to
his constituent, he felt that he lived a worthy life. This will then be a step to
reaching his ultimate goal – the ultimate good. A good life will ultimately lead to
ultimate happiness.

The Norms of Morality

Rationally speaking man acts in accordance to his nature, that human

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nature quantifies as justification as to why an act be it good or bad is performed.

In doing so it conflicts with the higher intelligence endowed to men. Is man
basically good? We can say yes but of what context of goodness is man
supposed to follow? The morality of man follows a proximate norm and an
ultimate norm so where does human nature come in? As mentioned earlier man
has baser tendencies that is human nature equivalent to brutes that may come in
the form of stimuli. The proximate norm there is to follow human nature which is
the low end of a human being. On the other hand, the ultimate norm is to follow
divine nature which are decisions that are based on morality. For example the
stimulus of hunger based on proximate norm simply means to eat the food
regardless as to whether it is for somebody else, spoilt or poisonous. Human
nature dictates
that man has to satiate his hunger no matter what and may be considered moral if
we are to consider human nature. If man decides to study the situation by not
initially grabbing the “opportunity”, then he acted in relation to the ultimate norm.
However, we are not discarding human nature as a basis of human
existence, man is a social animal which is the nature of man’s need for
association. In truth we can never reach divine status but we must keep in mind
that there is no conflict with the Natural law and the Eternal law (the Law of God).
The Natural is patterned after the Eternal Law, man must adhere to his nature of
man which is using his intellect unlike human nature that is only to follow his
passions.

Defective Norms of Morality

Human Nature is a simple foundation of man but there are philosophies and they
are:
1. Hedonism – this is also known as the Philosophy of Pleasure that pleasure
alone is the primary purpose of man’s existence. It is true man desires for
happiness but a happy life need not be composed of pleasure alone. True
happiness is seeking good but wallowing in pleasure made man’s life baser than
brutes.
2. Utilitarianism – is simply the ends of an action must be good, if it is not then the
action is unjustified. From the word “utility” it means that anything that is of use to
the agent is moral. There are two types of utilitarianism and they are individual
utilitarianism and social utilitarianism – the first is known as egoism which is the
definition given – the agent is the one who will gain. Altruism is the other term for
social utilitarianism but the receiving factor is the society where the agent belongs.
3. Moral Rationalism – simply states that human reason is the only foundation of
morality
as postulated by German Philosopher Immanuel Kant which he dubbed as
“Categorical Imperative”. However, as Kant further explained we have to do good
because we ought to be good in doing so, he is implying blind obedience. In his
philosophy “autonomy of reason”, inasmuch as reason creates the law, it is
“reasonable” for men to obey it without question nor ambiguity. The general rule is
that everyone thinks the same for men are reasonable so conflict is a remote
possibility.
4. Moral Positivism – states that morality is adherence to State Laws as
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philosophizes by the English sage Thomas Hobbes. The State is the foundation of
morality since laws are geared for the common good apparently, an act is moral if
he obeys the law and evil if he disobeys it. Comparing to Moral Rationalism where
reason is the law, Moral Positivism only has the State Law as its source of
morality.
5. Moral Evolutionism – In relation to Sociologist Herbert Spencer, morality just
like evolution is ever-changing until it reached its perfect form. Friedrich Nietsche
added that man was born withj hardly any basis for right and wrong and their
collective lives is a never-ending struggle for change until they reach perfection.
6. Moral Sensism – Contrary to Moral Evolutionism men are born with a special
moral sense (not reason) that is comparable to the five senses. For example, man
can easily differentiate noise from music, salty from sweet as well as pleasant and
unpleasant that may also serve as means to moral judgment.
7. Communism - Although this is more of an economic theory its social implication
cannot be denied and is geared for a classless society. They believed in the
philosophy of material dialectics that means two material things are the only
ingredients necessary for change. They deny the existence of God, the free will
and immortality for they do not matter being immaterial. Ergo, anything that will
lead to a classless society is good and moral and anything otherwise is evil and
immoral.

What is dilemma?
A social dilemma is an action situation in which an individual must decide on his
own even if it is against the socially-accepted norms. It is the situation that
measure one’s maturity. Below is the scale used by Lawrence Kohlbeg in human
reasoning.

Lawrence Kohlberg’s sequence of moral reasoning

Level 1: Pre Conventional Level – The concrete interests of an individual is merely
rewards and punishment. This is a childish mentality that are only encouraged or
discouraged based on what they can get from the situation at hand.

Stage 1: “Obedience and Punishment Orientation”. People stick to the rules to

avoid punishment Favor: If partner dies there will be trouble for you since you are
the spouse and must make a move instead of being idle.
Against: If you steal you might get caught if not your conscience will bother you,
this means that you have to make a move otherwise you will be punished by your
conscience by not doing so.

Stage 2: “Reward Orientation” – Rules are followed only for its benefits.
Obedience occurred because of the rewards. It means that the doer is only after
what can he gain from the actions he perform or did not perform.
Favor: If you steal and got caught just return the just return the drug and forget
everything. Somehow you might end up in jail but the wife is still alive just the
same
Against: The sin committed is not that serious so a life term is impossible but it will
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still be a lose-lose situation for this will temporarily save her life but may end up
dead sooner or later.

Level 2: Conventional Morality – People approach problems as members of

society and would like to be a role model.

Stage 3: “Good Boy Morality” - Individuals show an interest in maintaining the

respect of others and is doing what is expected of them.
Favor: To be a good father is to do everything for his family that if you do not steal
the drug the people will label you as an “irresponsible father”
Against: If you steal the drug the people will tag you as a “criminal” and will bring
dishonor to your family.

Stage 4: “Authority and Social Order maintaining Morality” – People conform to

what is right in a society.
Favor: If you have a sense of honor, you wouldn’t let your wife die by denying the
only means of saving her life. You will feel guilty and this will haunt you for the rest
of your life.
Against: You are aware that stealing is evil but the effect of that shall be more
painful once you are sent to jail. You will feel guilty and will haunt you for the rest
of your life. You are no longer honorable.

Level 3: Post Conventional Morality: People use moral principles which is seen as
broader than any particular society.

Stage 5: “Morality of Rights and Laws” – People do what is right as a sense of

obligation to law and society, however they can be modified.
Favor: If you don’t steal you’ll lose the people’s respect for you avoided the act
because of fear and not reason
Against: If you steal you’ll lose your social standing for violating the law, don’t get
carried away by emotions

Stage 6: “Morality of an Individual Principle and Conscience” – A person follows

laws based on ethical principles. Laws that run counter to principles are violated.
Favor: If you don’t steal and wife dies you won’t be condemned by society for you
lived up to your own expectations but did not live to your own standard of
conscience.
Against: If you steal the drug you will not be blamed by others but you’ll condemn
yourself for not living within your own conscience and your virtue of honesty.

Discussion Board
Post Competency Quizzes and Essays
Checklist
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Week 5:

Introduction 1. To understand the role of culture in human behavior

2. To give examples of cultural diversity between oriental and occidental societies
3. To understand the meaning of cultural relativism
4. To prove why cultural differences are not applicable to Ethics
5. To make a comparison between Filipino psyche and Asian thinking
Pre-Competency Quizzes/Exercises
Checklist
Learning Resources Power point Presentation
Explore Culture in Moral Behavior Explained
Dr. Emma Butchel in her work, “Challenging the concept of Morality”,
explained a comparison of morality between Chinese and Western cultures. Both
cultures have their respective sense of morality that even conflicts the other. Her
study also focused on the moral and social concepts these two societies abide.
One factor that polarized these civilizations is their behavior that helped mold their
people to what they are now, as they say tradition outlasts a lifetime so they can
no longer alter moralities that they are already used to. Both civilizations once
immersed with their own, classify “odd” behavior reprehensible that they branded
them as either major offense, minor offense or at least tolerable however there
are behavior that may be integrated to their civilization. One example was during
the time of Maoist China, western culture was considered a taboo that fashion for
them is a non-entity but with the transition of Communist China to a capitalism –
the very reason why the Chinese society adhered to Marxist ideology, western
culture made China into one of the richest country in the world. Cultural bias made
people fail to see the moral principle of their counterpart. Many societies even in
the past adhere to ethnocentrism, an idea that their culture alone is the only thing
that matters and at the same time dismissed others as either “uncouth” or
“barbaric”. So why waste time with societies below their station? In this case,
western morality is “blind” to Asian values and as mentioned cultural bias clouded
their judgment that they can’t seem to understand the morality of another person’s
culture that is the foundation of their morality.
The Hindus and some Asian countries used arrange marriages to ensure a
good future for their children that western countries find overlapping with their
principles of their freedom of choice. Another example was raised and it was the
educational system that divided the occidental from the oriental thought. Oriental
schools believed in the “infallibility” of teachers that they are the only source of
knowledge and should not be questioned whereas the occidentals rely on the idea
that students have every right to debate with their teachers that even the
philosopher Socrates subscribed to. Flexibility and broadmindedness are the two
things that can help bridge the gap between the two opposing cultures. By
opening our minds and removing whatever bias we have we can have room to put
ourselves in the shoes of others and will help usher global unity.
Man by nature tends to do good so the culture of other people especially
those we held with contempt or mirth also have goodness in them. There is
nothing wrong to understand another person’s morality devoid of cultural bias.
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What is Culture?
According to David Brinkenhoff and Lynn White culture is the whole idea
that provides a blueprint for living. It is a powerful force that lived in all peoples
that tells us what is right from wrong. Eating dogs for example is tolerated in the
Philippines but is totally banned in the United States and other Western countries.
That is because not everything we do is acceptable to others.
According to Alan Johnson culture is the sum of symbols, ideas, forms,
expressions and material products associated with a social system. Edward
Taylor defined culture as the complex whole which includes beliefs, arts, laws,
morals, customs and habits acquired by people as members of society.
Symbols are manifestations of culture and are anything that represents
more than itself an example is a cross that to some it is just an object or figure
formed by two short intersecting lines or pieces but has several meanings. There
are four kinds of symbols namely:
1) Symbolic objectives – they may mean a flag to represent a nation a currency
to mean a nation’s medium of exchange.
2) Symbolic characteristics of object – purple for royalty, yellow for cowardice and
red for war. 3) Gestures – actions that can give cultural control.
4) Spoken and written words – the most important set of symbols in every culture
for it is the building block used to construct ideas.
Cultural Relativism
Culture relativity is a concept that cultural norms and values must be
understood based on the culture he is adhered to. As the saying goes, “different
strokes for different folks” which simply means that if I am to understand a
situation the explanation must primary begin with my own culture. According to
William Graham Sumner, in his book entitled “Folkways” written in 1906 culture
can only be understood in its own value and content. Example is December 30 to
the Filipinos it is of value for it is Rizal Day but is worthless to the Americans and
the Japanese. On the other hand, February 22 is Washington’s Birthday to the
Americans but of no value to the
Filipinos or the Japanese. Same is true every February 6 which is the Foundation
of the Japanese Empire but is just an ordinary day to Filipino and American
calendars. The example reflects the significance or insignificance of these dates
reflecting a national holiday to some and an ordinary day to others. In the first
place who is Jose Rizal to the Japanese and Americans but he is adored in the
Philippines. Conversely George Washington is just a face in a one-dollar bill as far
as Filipinos and Japanese are concerned but a revered persona in America.

Ethics and Cultural Relativism

Before we delve into that let us define ethical relativism, it is the theory that
holds that morality is related to the tenets of his culture. Right or wrong a certain
belief that prevailed in a culture is shared by everyone. In a nutshell, everybody
thinks the same way considering that anyone who belongs to a certain society
subscribed to every norm they dictated. This is universality in a culture for as what
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everyone believed, culture is shared by everyone and denial of their practices is a

pariah among their ranks. However not everyone shared their beliefs because
blind obedience denies man his fundamental right of his freedom of choice. With
his free will, he can decide what is right or wrong but he is aware of what his
culture dictates him what to obey.
For example, during the Second World War, NAZI Germany believed that the
extermination of Jews is the “final solution” that may be akin to ethnic cleansing.
The dictates of their Fuehrer Adolf Hitler has to be taken into account by every
German and is expected that every German must obey it to the letter. But not all
Germans believed in this among them was German industrialist and war profiteer
Oscar Schindler who saved twelve hundred Jews from the Auschwitz
Concentration Camp to work in his metal factory. This proves that ethical
relativism is untrue. To discuss further, although Communist China Party
Chairman believed in the apogee of communism of human development and
abhorred western culture his successors believed otherwise among them were
Deng Xiaoping who even went to the US and begin China’s rise to
industrialization –the worst enemy of the communist/socialist ideology.

Filipino psyche and morality

Being a nation of multi-cultural race, Filipinos are also cosmopolitan that
our hospitality extends to almost every nation in the world. Filipinos are a happy
people that are known for their hospitality, subtleness, patient and fun-loving.
Despite coming from a third world country, personal and family honor are given
priority if given a choice. They value education highly that poverty is not an
excuse to get a scholastic degree. At an early age Filipinos consider shame as
the worst among the negative trait they avoid they value dignity as an important
value in life that they cannot live in a society that consider them as outcast.
Spanish and American colonial rule that lasted for more than four centuries are
the major ingredients in the Filipino psyche. Comparing Filipinos to other Asian
nations they are generally more easy-going than their Asian counterparts. In a
study conducted by the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk
Constituency (PERC) the Filipinos are "the easiest people in Asia to get along
with." Being a happy people that is understandable. In the 2006 Happy Planet
Index (HPI), the Philippines ranked 17th out of 178 countries with the progressive
United States at 150. This means to show that materialism is not a primary source
of Filipino happiness. In a study conducted by Howard, he described Filipinos as
nice, cheerful and open people, everyone is welcomed even social misfits being
the most nonjudgmental and the least racist country in Asia. Filipino negative
traits in an article written by Alisa Krutovsky mentioned that Filipinos have colonial
mentality and are often tardy during appointments.
Discussion Board
Post Competency Quizzes and Essays
Checklist

WEEK 6: 1st Assessment