What is culture and how is it related our moral behavior?

Culture is a broad umbrella term/idea referring to many aspects found in human societies.
Primarily, it is defined as the convergence of elements and characteristics and can be used
to describe the overall way of life of societies. These elements and characteristics include
norms, practices, beliefs, traits, attitudes, values, ideas, language, and products such as art
and sacred objects. All of these are shared by groups or people in countries or geographic
regions, in a particular period/era in time.

Moral behavior is generally derived from culture. It has to be. Afterall, we as social beings
ought to behave according to the standards imposed by our conventionality. A society has
its own unique culture and this culture reflects the moral beliefs and standards of its people.
These moral beliefs and standards, because they are recognized and practiced specifically
by its members, are specifically cultural. These cultural norms are passed down through
generations and they have been proven to be effective guides for daily living and have
maintained the well-being of societies. These norms and standards specifically have lead
the members of a society to live an effective communal life. This becomes evident when the
members are cultivating a sense of value and identity to their collectivity, maintaining
integrity to their acquired beliefs and practices, and seeking for order and wellbeing of the
community. As a member of a society, it is inevitable to be influenced or to some extent, be
controlled by these norms. These are already part of one’s social existence and for that very
reason, a member of a society will think and act according to these culturally-formed norms
and beliefs.

It is also important to note that culture vary by societies. Filipinos may find the sound of
slurping rude, but the Japanese people see it as normal. As explained above, moral
behavior is derivative of culture and moral behavior is influenced by culturally-formed moral
standards. If culture varies by societies, does it mean that the ideas of right and wrong also
vary by societies? If so, this will imply that whatever is ethical to a group of people may not
be ethical to some groups. This may present an obvious problem in terms of the objectivity
of standards: there might be no universal basis for our moral behavior. This reality is widely
known as Cultural Relativism.

In the next section, we will talk about the nature, implications, and consequences of Cultural
Relativism.
Cultural Relativism

Refer to Module 2 Article 1.pdf

UNIVERSALITY OF VALUES

Based from the previous essay, we can consider the possibility of Cultural Relativism. Given
its reality, can we still hope for universal ethics or at least, a generally agreed upon set of
values? Read the continuation of the essay.

Refer to Module 2 Article 2.pdf

Moral Character

We already talked about the moral agent and how his context, particularly his culture, can
have an influence on his moral behavior. It is also important to take note of these two
important ideas about the moral agent: the action and his character.

A moral agent carries with him a character. Some people can intuitively determine
someone’s character mostly from the behavior that one exhibits or manifests. Both Hitler
and Mandela possess apparent and distinct characters derived from their decisions and
behavior in the past.

Character is traditionally understood as a set of attributes or qualities that can differentiate

one from another. Moral Character in particular has something to do with the possession of
moral qualities. A moral agent will show a moral character by possessing moral virtues and
dispositions that inclines him to behave morally. Following Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics, Moral
character follows from moral excellence or virtue. (Virtues will be explained further in
Module 4). Examples of these virtues of character are courage, honesty, and empathy. A
person who possesses these virtues are seen as a morally admirable person.

What is the relationship between one’s moral character and his behavior? The possession
of one’s character depends on his manifested behavior. Aristotle said that Character is
formed through habituation. When you do something over and over again, it will become
part of your character. By this habituation, we can say that character is something that is
developed over time. Character evolves and can be nurtured and cultivated.
A person with a good moral character (also having some distinguishable virtues of
character) grows into maturity. This maturity indicates that he is a person with a good moral
compass. In other words, a person of moral character will naturally behave morally
(although not necessarily). Here we can imply the circularity relationship of character and
human act.

Moral Character is developed, nurtured, and cultivated. It reaches a level of maturity and
distinguishes the moral agent from the rest. How are moral characters developed? One
Psychologist theorized that a person undergoes six stages of moral development. Go to the
next session for the article.

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

Suggested reading:

https://educationaltechnology.net/stages-of-moral-development-lawrence-kohlberg/
Supplementary video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bounwXLkme4&ab_channel=SproutsSprouts