Lesson 7

CULTURE

* What is CULTURE?
* What is CULTURAL RELATIVISM?
* What is ETHICAL RELATIVISM?
What is CULTURE?

a. Etymological Definition

Culture comes from the Latin verb, colere,

which means to cultivate, to inhabit, to honor.
 b.Real Definition

* There are many definitions of culture as

there are many cultures in the world.
* However, we limit our understanding what
culture means in relation to our current
study – ethics and morality.
* So, what is culture?
1. Culture is “a description of a particular
way of life, which expresses certain
meanings and values not only in art and
learning but also in institutions and
ordinary behavior.” (Raymond Williams, The Analysis of Culture)
2. Culture is “the way of life, especially the
general customs and beliefs, of a
particular group of people at a particular time.”
(Cambridge English Dictionary)
Manifestations of Culture

* Cultural differences manifest themselves in

different ways and differing levels of depth.
* Symbols represent the most shallow and
values the deepest manifestations of
culture, with heroes and rituals in between.
1. Symbols are words, gestures, pictures, or
objects that carry a particular meaning which
is only recognized by those who share a
particular culture.
* New symbols easily develop, old ones
disappear.
* Symbols from one particular group are
regularly copied by others.
* This is why symbols represent the outermost
layer of a culture.
2. Heroes are persons, past or present, real or
fictitious, who possess characteristics that are
highly prized in a culture.
* They also serve as models for behavior.
3. Rituals are collective activities, sometimes
superfluous in reaching desired objectives, but
are considered as socially essential.
* They are therefore carried out most of the times for
their own sake (ways of greetings, paying respect to
others, religious and social ceremonies, etc.).
4. Values are broad tendencies for
preferences of certain state of affairs to others
(good-evil, right-wrong, natural-
unnatural).
* They form the core of a culture.
* Many values remain unconscious to those who
hold them.
* Therefore, they often cannot be discussed, nor they
can be directly observed by others.
* Values can only be inferred from the way people
act under different circumstances.
 * Symbols, heroes, and rituals are the
tangible or visual aspects of the practices of a
culture.
* The true cultural meaning of the practices
is intangible; this is revealed only when the
practices are interpreted by the insiders.
So, what has Culture got to
do with Ethics?
 * To recall, on one hand, Ethics comes from
ethos, which means custom; on the other hand,
morality comes from mores, which means
norms.
* Thus, the employment of the terms,
‘custom’ as the root for ‘customary’, and
‘norm’ as the root for ‘normal’, lead to an
inquiry of what determines the customary and
the normal.
 * That which is considered as the customary
and the normal is understood as the way of life,
and the way of life is what we call as culture.
* We can recall that Ethics is the study of the
morality of human actions; it investigates on
what is right and wrong.
* But what really determines “right and
wrong”?
 * If we admit that ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ are
social values that arise from ‘a particular way of
life’ (culture), then the values of right and
wrong are cultural values.
* If there are many cultures, then cultural
values may differ from one culture to
another.
* This is called cultural relativism.
What is CULTURAL RELATIVISM?

* It is the view that all beliefs, customs, and

ethics are relative to the individual within his
own social context.
* It is also the ability to understand a culture
on its own terms and not to make
judgments using the standards of one’s own
culture.
 * Its goal is to promote understanding of
cultural practices that are not typically part of
one’s own culture.
* This perspective lead to the view that no
one culture is superior than another culture when
compared to systems of morality, law, politics,
etc.
 * Holistically, it tries to promote the
understanding of cultural practices that are
unfamiliar to other cultures such as eating
insects, genocides or genital cutting.
Categories
1. Absolute Cultural Relativism
* This implies that everything that happens
within a culture must and should not be
questioned by outsiders.
2. Critical Cultural Relativism
* This questions about cultural practices in
terms of who is accepting them and why.
* Critical cultural relativism also recognizes
power relationships.
 * Since, ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ are cultural
values and cultural values vary in its
meaning and employment from one
culture to another, then, the values of ‘right’
and ‘wrong’ are relative to the culture to
which it is employed.
* This is called ethical relativism.
What is ETHICAL RELATIVISM?
* It is that which views truth as variable and
not absolute.
* What constitutes right and wrong is
determined solely by the individual or by
society.
* Since truth is not objective, there can be
no objective standard which applies to all
cultures.
 * No one can say if someone else is right or
wrong; it is a matter of personal opinion, and
no society can pass judgment on another
society.
* In other words, “right” and “wrong” are culture-
specific; what is considered moral in one society
may be considered immoral in another.
* Since no universal standard of morality exists, no
one has the right to judge another society’s customs.
Categories
1. Subjective Ethical Relativism
* This supports the view that the truth of
moral principles is relative to individuals. 
* Whatever you believe is right for you
personally is completely up to you to
determine.
* This allows you to be sovereign over the
principles that dictate how you live your life.
 2. Conventional Ethical Relativism
* This supports the view that the truth of moral
principles is relative to cultures. 
* Unlike the subjective view, what is right for
you as an individual is dependent upon what your
particular culture believes is right for you.
* This view supports the concept that whatever
culture says is right for you really is right for
you.
 * The culture or society becomes the highest
authority about what is right for each
individual within that society.
* It places the individual’s will subordinate to
the will of the cultural majority. 
 Lesson 8

LAWRENCE KOHLBERG’S
STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
 * Kohlberg’s stages of moral development is a
theory which holds that moral reasoning, the basis
for ethical behavior, has six
identifiable developmental stages, each more
adequate at responding to moral dilemmas
than its predecessor.
* Kohlberg determined that the process of
moral development was principally
concerned with justice, and that it continued
throughout the individual's lifetime.
 * The six stages of moral development are
grouped into three levels of morality: pre-
conventional, conventional, and post-
conventional.
* Kohlberg's scale is about how people justify
behaviors and his stages are not a method of
ranking how moral someone's behavior is.
* There should, however, be a correlation between
how someone scores on the scale and how they behave,
and the general hypothesis is that moral behavior is
more responsible, consistent and predictable from
people at higher levels.
A. The Pre-Conventional Level
* This is especially common in children,
although adults can also exhibit this level of
reasoning.
* Individuals at this level judge the morality
of an action by its direct consequences.
* This consists of the first and second stages
of moral development and is solely
concerned with the self in an egocentric manner.
Stage 1: Reward and Punishment
 * In this stage, individuals focus on the direct
consequences of their actions on
themselves.
* An action is perceived as morally wrong
because the agent is punished.
* The worse the punishment for the act is, the
more "bad" the act is perceived to be.
Stage 2: Mutual Benefit
 * This stage 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 but understood in a narrow way
which does not consider one's reputation or
relationships to groups of people.
 * This stage also shows a limited interest in
the needs of others, but only to a point
where it might further the individual's own
interests.
* As a result, concern for others is not based on
loyalty or intrinsic respect, but rather a "You
scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours"
mentality.
B. The Conventional Level
* This is typical of adolescents and adults.
* To reason in a conventional way is to judge
the morality of actions by comparing them to
society's views and expectations.
* It is characterized by an acceptance of
society's conventions concerning right and wrong.
 * At this level, an individual obeys rules and
follows society's norms even when there are
no consequences for obedience or
disobedience.
* Adherence to rules and conventions is
somewhat rigid, however, and a rule's
appropriateness or fairness is seldom
questioned.
Stage 3: “Good Boy / Good Girl”
 * In this stage, the self enters society by
conforming to social standards.
* Individuals are receptive to approval or
disapproval from others as it reflects
society's views.
* They try to be a "good boy" or a "good girl"
to live up to these expectations, having
learned that being regarded as good
benefits the self.
 * Furthermore, the individuals act depending on
“what others would say” and she is
vulnerable to peer pressure.
* Stage three reasoning may judge the
morality of an action by evaluating its
consequences in terms of a person's
relationships, which now begin to include things
like respect, gratitude, and the golden rule.
Stage 4: Law and Order
 * In this stage, it is important to obey laws,
dictums, and social conventions because of
their importance in maintaining a
functioning society.
* Challenging or questioning the status quo is
frowned upon as it is seen as a threat to the
established order.
 * Moral reasoning is beyond the need for
individual approval exhibited in stage
three.
* A central ideal or ideals often prescribe
what is right and wrong. If one person
violates a law, perhaps everyone would – thus
there is an obligation and a duty to uphold
laws and rules.
 * When someone does violate a law, it is
morally wrong; culpability is thus a
significant factor in this stage as it
separates the bad domains from the good ones.
 * Yet there are a few who dare
"rock the boat" willing to take
the risk of censure, rejection
and other forms of opposition.
Whether visionaries or naive
idealists, those people--some
of them--provide the stimulus
for change.
C. The Post-Conventional Level
* This level, also known as the principled
level, is marked by a growing realization that
individuals are separate entities from society,
and that the individual's own perspective
may take precedence over society's view;
individuals may disobey rules inconsistent
with their own principles.
 * Post-conventional moralists live by their own
ethical principles—principles that typically
include such basic human rights as life, liberty, and
justice.
* People who exhibit post-conventional morality
view rules as useful but changeable
mechanisms—ideally rules can maintain the
general social order and protect human rights. * Rules
are not absolute dictates that must be obeyed
without question.
Stage 5: Social Contract Driven
* In this stage, the world is viewed as holding
different opinions, rights, and values. Such
perspectives should be mutually respected as
unique to each person or community.
* Laws are regarded as social contracts
rather than rigid edicts. They are based on the
principle of utility, and they are not accepted
blindly.
 * Those that do not promote the general
welfare should be changed when
necessary to meet "the greatest good for the
greatest number of people".
* This is achieved through majority decision
and inevitable compromise.
Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principle Driven
* In this stage, moral reasoning is based on
abstract reasoning using universal ethical
principles.
* Laws are valid only insofar as they are
grounded in justice, and a commitment to
justice carries with it an obligation to
disobey unjust laws. 
 * Legal rights are unnecessary, as social
contracts are not essential for deontic moral
action.
* Decisions are not reached hypothetically
(in a conditional way) but rather
categorically (in an absolute way).
* Profound respect for sanctity of human life,
nonviolence, equality, and human dignity will be
displayed.
 * The resulting consensus is the action taken. In
this way action is never a means but always
an end in itself; the individual acts because it is
right, and not because it avoids punishment,
is in their best interest, expected, legal, or
previously agreed upon.