LECTURE 3

MAN AS THE MORAL AGENT

By the end of this lecture, students should be able to:
1. explain human behaviour in making moral judgment and decision
2. articulate the crucial influences in one’s personal life
3. determine the role of culture in moral behavior
3. analyse situations and actions of moral agents

MORAL AGENCY

Moral agency is the ability to make

ethical decisions based on what is right
or wrong. This capacity can be found in
individuals or collective entities like
businesses or health care institution.

According to Christen et al., moral

agency encompasses three major
concepts:
1.the moral competency of the person
or organisation in question
2. the normative framework on which
ethical behaviour is based, and
3. the situational constraints that
influence decision-making.

Moral competencies include:

reasoning, recognition, response,
discernment, accountability,
character, motivation, and leadership. With the appropriate normative framework and a supportive situational
environment, moral competency gives rise to sound moral judgements.

Moral Agent

Moral agents are those agents expected to meet the demands of morality. Not all agents are moral agents. Young children
and animals, being capable of performing actions, may be agents in the way that stones, plants and cars are not. But
though they are agents they are not automatically considered moral agents. For a moral agent must also be capable of
conforming to at least some of the demands of morality.

Moral agent is person who has the ability to discern right from wrong and to be held accountable for his or her own
actions.

They can has have a moral responsibility not to cause unjustified harm.
Agents can obey moral laws such as ‘Murder is wrong’ or ‘Stealing is wrong’, then they are moral agents, even if they
respond only to prudential reasons such as fear of punishment and even if they are incapable of acting for the sake of
moral considerations.

According to the strong version, the Kantian version, it is also essential that the agents should have the capacity to rise
above their feelings and passions and act for the sake of the moral law.

There are also claims that the true agent can perform the relevant act out of altruistic impulses.

Other suggested conditions of moral agency are that agents should have: an enduring self with free will and an inner life;
understanding of the relevant facts as well as moral understanding.

Virtue Ethics

Virtue ethics is philosophy developed by Aristotle and other ancient Greeks.

It is quest to understand and live a life of moral character.
This character-based approach to morality assumes that we acquire virtue through practice. By practicing being honest,
brave, just, generous, and so on, a person develops an honorable and moral character. According to Aristotle, by honing
virtuous habits, people will likely make the right choice when faced with ethical challenges.

Virtue as a Habit

Virtues, according to Aristotle, are habits and that the good life is a life of mindless routine.
- dispositions to act in certain ways in response to similar situations, the habits of behaving in certain way.
Thus, good conduct arises from habits that in turn can only be acquired by repeated action and correction.

A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good
moral being. Personal virtues are characteristics valued as promoting collective and individual greatness. In other words,
it is a behavior that shows high moral standards. Doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong. The opposite of virtue is
vice.

Vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, or degrading
in the associated society.

Developoing Virtue as a Habit

Aristotle believed that virtue as a habit requires an intentional choice when you begin.
Over time one becomes used to behaving virtuously and after a while one acts virtuously without needing to use volition.
You have become virtuous, it’s now part of you and how you act.
Aristotle defines moral virtue as a disposition to behave in the right manner and as a mean between extremes of deficiency
and excess, which are vices. We learn moral virtue primarily through habit and practice rather than through reasoning and
instruction.

Moral character refers to the existence or lack of virtues such as integrity, courage, strength, honesty, and loyalty. To say
that a certain person has a good moral character means that he/she is a good person and good citizen with a sound moral
compass.

MORAL CHARACTER AND VIRTUES

The word character gives a distinct mark by which one thing was distinguished from others, and then primarily to mean
the collection of qualities that distinguish one person to another. This stress on distinctiveness or individuality tends to
merge ‘character’ with ‘personality’ in modern usage.
 The use in ethics of the word “character”, however, has linguistic history. According to Greek philosopher
Aristotle, he tells us that there are two distinct to human excellences:
a. The excellence of thought
b. The excellence of character

His phrase for excellences of character is always translated as “moral virtue(s)” and “moral excellence”. The Greek
‘ethikos’ (ethical) is the adjective similar with ‘ethos’ (character). So, when we speak the a ‘virtue’ or an excellence of
moral character, the highlighting is not on mere distinctiveness or individuality, but on the blend of qualities that make a
person the sort of ethically admirable individual he/she is.

“Moral character,” therefore, in philosophical sense, refers to having or lacking moral virtue. If one lacks virtue, he/she
may have any of the moral vices, or he/she may be marked by condition somewhere in between virtue and vice, such as
continence or incontinence.

The agent is morally responsible for having the moral character traits itself, or for the outcome of the traits. Hence, a
certain moral character trait is a trait for which the agent is morally responsible.

Three major aspects that we have to consider; they are,

1. Moral Content – societal rules and human traits
2. Moral Form
3. Moral Dimensions

MORAL CONTENT
Moral or ethics has content. The contents are divided into two aspects:
a. Rules of Society
Humans require rules which place certain restraints on their freedom to act in order that the safety and human rights of
others can be protected.
b. Human Characteristics
A moral person can be distinguished by having virtuous characteristics and these differentiate between a moral from a
non-moral individual.

MORAL FORM
The decisions one takes must be determined by moral principles, especially justice and altruism which are basic values
and mother to other values.

V. Grassian (1981), suggests that in order to resolve a moral dilemma, apart from using one’s intelligence and by referring
to societal rules, one needs to consider the moral principles which one consistently used.
Grassian classified two ethical forms, namely:
A. Principalistic Ethics Form
This ethical form is based on justice or ‘justus’ in Latin which means ‘law, right.’ Today’s term defined justice as ‘the quality
of being righteous; rectitude impartiality; firmness.’
Justice in today’s world is also being equated or related to the question of basic human rights and of autonomy of an
individual.
B. Situational Ethics Form
Certain situations demand an individual to make decisions and act based on the situations one is in (V. Grassian, 1981)
This situational ethics form sometime creates problem or moral dilemma. (Case of Sheri Fishbern)

MORAL DIMENSIONS
Ethical dimensions can be divided into three (3) dimension; namely, reasoning, feeling, and performance.
- A. Moral reasoning can best be defined as the ability to make moral reasoning based on thinking logically and
judging rationally and freely certain situations.
 - B. Moral feeling is the ability to have moral emotions like conscience and sensitivity over feelings of what is wrong
or shameful, of anxiety, sympathy, empathy, generosity, love, compassion, motivated by what is altruistic and
correct.
- C. Moral performance is the ability to conduct oneself in a manner that is morally correct, to act responsibly based
on careful reasoning and proper moral emotions.

MORAL COMMUNITY IN ETHICS

It does not mean a community of people who act morally or ethically. This could be a meaning of the term, but it is not
the meaning used here. In ethics, one's moral community consists of all those beings that one holds in moral regard. ie.,
those beings that you need to think "but is this right" before you do something that could affect them.

According to philosopher Deni Elliott and others, all members of the moral community are subjects of moral worth.
However, not all subjects of moral worth are part of the moral community. For example, animals, art, cultural artifacts,
and the environment are not members of the moral community, although they should be protected from unjustified harm.

WHAT IS MORAL DEVELOPMENT?

It is refers to the ways we distinguish right from wrong as we grow and mature.

Stages of Moral Development by Lawrence Kohlberg

Three levels with six stages to reflect our progression through moral development.
These levels and stages describe how our ideas of right and wrong change as we grow.
Not all people progress through these changes at the same age due to differences in cognitive
functioning

Level 1 – PRE-CONVENTIONAL MORALITY

 Stage 1 – Obedience and Punishment Orientation
Moral decisions are based on either being good by following the rules or
being bad by breaking them.
A young child (age 1-5) chooses what to do – what is right – according to
what he/she wants to do and can do without getting into trouble. In this
level, to be right, one ought to be obedient to the people in power and,
thus, avoid punishment.
The motto in this seems to be: “might make right.”

 Stage 2 – Individualism and Exchange/ Instrumental Orientation

Stage 2 expresses the “what’s in it for me?” position, in which right
behavior is defined by whatever the individual believes to be in their best
interest. Moral decisions in this stage are based on getting a reward that
is personally meaningful.
Children (age 5-10) are disposed to be egotistic. They lack respect for
others’ right but may give to others on the assumption that they will get
as much or even more in return. Instead of loyalty, gratitude, or justice,
the case is more a matter of “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.”
The motto here seems to be: “What’s in it for me?”
Level 2 – COVENTIONAL MORALITY
 Stage 3 – Good interpersonal Relationships/ Good Boy, Nice Girl
Orientation
Children want the approval of others and act in ways to avoid disapproval.
In this stage, people (age 8-16) have shifted from pleasing themselves to
pleasing important others, usually parents, teachers, or friends. They seek
approval and thus conform to someone else’s expectations. When
charged of doing something wrong, their behavior is likely to be justified
by stating “everyone else is doing it” or “I didn’t intend to hurt anyone.”
The motto here: “I want to be nice.”

 Stage 4 – Maintaining the Social Order/ Law-and-Order Orientation

Here, the majority people (16 years old and older) have internalized society’s rules
about how to behave. They feel indebted to conform, no longer to just family and
friends, but also to societies law and customs. They realize that it is important to do
one’s duty to maintain social order. Social leaders are assumed to be right and social
rules are adopted without considering the core moral principles involved. Thus,
social control in this stage is exercised through guilt associated with breaking a rule;
through the guilt in this case is an automatic emotional response, not a rational
reaction of conscience based on moral principles. In this stage, individuals believe
that everyone breaking the rules deserves to be punished and “pay his/her debt to society.”
The motto here is: “I’ll do my duty.”

Level 3 – POST-CONVENTIONAL MORALITY

 Stage 5 – Social Contract and Individual Rights
The world is viewed as holding different opinions, rights, and values.
In this stage, people understand the underlying moral purposes that are
supposed to be served by the laws and social customs. When a law in
democracy ceases to serve a good purpose, they thus feel the people
ought to get active and change the law.
Respect for the law and sense of obligation to live by the rules are
present, as long as rules were established in a fair manner and fulfill a
moral purpose. It is said that only about 20-25% of today’s adults ever reach this stage and most of those that do
supposedly only get there after their mid-twenties.
The motto here: “I’ll live by rules or try to change them”.

 Stage 6 – Universal Principles/ Universal-Ethical-Principal Orientation

Moral reasoning is based on abstract reasoning using universal ethical
principles.
In this stage, rare people have evaluated many values and have
rationally chosen a philosophy of life that truly guides their life. Morally
developed, they do not automatically conform to tradition or others’
beliefs, and even to their own emotions, intuitions, or impulsive notion
about right and wrong. In stage 6, individuals judiciously elect
fundamental principle to follow, such as caring for and respecting every
living thing, feeling that people are all equal and thus deserve equal
opportunities, or, subscribing to the Golden Rule. They are tough
enough to act on their values even if others may think they are odd or
if their belief are against man’s law, such as refusing to fight in a war.

-end of lecture-