LESSON TITLE: CULTURE AND MORALITY

MODULE 6

CONCEPT NOTES

ORIGIN OF CULTURE

- Originates from the Latin term “cultura” or “cultus”, signifying care or cultivation
- Cultura – care
- Cultus – cultivation
- Viewing culture as cultivation suggests that each individual is a potential member of
their social group, possessing inherent qualities awaiting development.

MORALITY

- Refers to a set of beliefs and values that guide individuals or communities in

distinguishing right from wrong.
- It is often influenced by cultural, religious, and social norms.
- Is more subjective and can vary greatly between individuals and groups.
- Is primarily nurtured through community relationships, with laws, rules, and
standards of behavior established to promote cohesion and mutual understanding
among the people.

CULTURE

- Ingrained in human existence since ancient times.

- Shapes its members ways of life and interactions both internally with other cultures.
- Represents social environment into which individuals are born and where they
coexist with other.
- Influences human development across various dimensions, including physical,
intellectual, emotional, relational, religious and moral growth.
- Constitutes a person’s social legacy passed down from one generation to another
through societal connections.
- Dictates behavioral expectations, norms and approaches to interpersonal relations
within and beyond a specific cultural group.
- Fundamentally, culture is rooted in collective human experiences.
- It is perpetuated, shared and learned through social interactions.
- Fulfills human social needs and promotes societal participation among its members.
- Culture is inherently social and communal, rooted in the relationships and shared
experiences among people.
- Is transmitted across generations.
- Establishes restrictions, boundaries , and limitations within social interactions to
protect the welfare of the community.
- Not only shapes the character and identity of its people but also molds their moral
character by conditioning their thoughts and perceptions of the world and
relationships.
- Identifies and empowers authorities or governing individuals within the community,
often symbolizing guidance and control.
- Significantly influences human development, particularly in shaping moral values
- Is a key determinant of moral development.
LESSON TITLE: DYNAMICS OF CULTURE

MODULE 7

CONCEPT NOTES

DYNAMIC OF CULTURE

CROSS – CULTURAL RELATIONSHIPS

- Involve people from different cultures forming connections that acknowledge respect
and begin to understand each other’s diverse lives.
- Traditional practices in some cultures can restrict opportunities by deeming them
“wrong”.

CULTURAL RELATIVISM

- Was established by German-American, anthropologist Franz Boas in the early 20 th

century.
- It acknowledges that every culture has its own beliefs, values and practices shaped
by unique historical, political, social, material and ecological context.

CULTURAL RELATIVISM

- Is about understanding a culture on its own terms without judging it by the standards
of one’s own culture.

ADVANTAGES OF CULTURAL RELATIVISM

1. Promotes Cooperation
2. Creates Equality
3. Encourages Genuine Interests
4. Encourages Respect
5. Preserves Culture
6. Reduces Judgement
7. Allows Moral Flexibility
8. Facilitates Personal Moral Codes
9. Stops Cultural Conditioning
DISADVANTAGES OF CULTURAL RELATIVISM

1. Personal Bias
2. Potential for Chaos
3. Assumes Human Perfection
4. Limits Diversity
5. Encourages Separation
6. Limits Moral Progress
7. Hinders Human Progress
8. Turns Perceptions into Truth
LESSON TITLE: FILIPINO CULTURE

MODULE 8

CONCEPT NOTES

FILIPINO CULTURE

- The rich and intricate history of the Philippines is mirrored in its diverse culture.
- Influences from Malayo-Polynesian, Hispanic, Chinese, Indian, Arab, and other Asian
cultures have shaped Filipino customs and traditions.
- The unique culture of the Philippines stands out in Asia, reflecting the depth and
blessings of Filipino life.

FILIPINO CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS

RESPECT FOR ELDERS

- Filipinos show respect by placing an elder’s right hand on their forehead, a gesture
known as “Mano po”.
- This practice, derived from Spanish, signifies both respect and the seeking of
blessings from elders.

HOSPITALITY

- Known for their hospitality.

- Filipinos treat foreign visitors with great respect, especially during fiestas and
holidays.
- Serving guests brings Filipinos a sense of honor and friendship.

FAMILY TIES

- Strong family bonds are a hallmark of Filipino culture.

- Family members take care of each other, with reunions during holidays and
significant events emphasizing the importance of family and tradition.

BAYANIHAN

- This spirit of communal unity involves collective efforts to achieve common goals
famously illustrated by neighbors helping to move a house.
COURTSHIP

- Traditional Filipino courtship involves serenading or “harana”, where man sings to his
beloved outside her house, often accompanied by friends.

RELIGION

- Predominantly Roman Catholic, Filipinos demonstrate deep faith through regular

church attendance and fervent religious practices, such as the devotion to the Black
Nazarene.

SUPERSITIONS

- Plays a significant role in Filipino culture, stemming from ancestral beliefs aimed at
preventing misfortune.

MARRIAGE AND WEDDINGS

- Is a sacred union marked by religious devotion, seen as a covenant with God.

DEATH RITUALS

- Death is a significant family event, often accompanied by unique rituals blending

religious and superstitious practices including a 9 days novena and a 40 days
mourning period.

SOCIETY

- Filipinos are descendants of Malays and exhibit a society that is both singular and
diverse.

CHRISTMAS

- Celebrated as the longest Christmas season globally.

- Filipino Christmas begins in September and incudes elaborate festivities centered
around family and faith.

FIESTAS

- Each town celebrates fiestas honoring patron, saints, reflecting Spanish influence in
their elaborate preparations.
- Fiestas involve music, dance, feasts, and religious rituals, marking blessings and
historical commemorations.
SOME DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS OF FILIPINO CULTURE ACCORDING TO DUMARAOS
(2018)

RESILIENCE

- Filipinos are known for their ability to recover and stay positive in the face of
disasters and challenges.

FAMILY-CENTRIC

- Family is a top priority in the Philippines.

RELIGIOUS DEVOTION

- Filipinos are deeply religious.

RESPECTFULNESS

- Respect is ingrained from birth, exemplified by using polite expressions like “po” and
“opo” when speaking to elders and the tradition of pagmamano (gesture of respect).

COMMUNITY SPIRIT (BAYANIHAN)

- Filipino have strong sense of community, often helping each other selflessly to make
task easier.

VALUING TRADITIONS AND CULTURE

- Celebrations and family gatherings are significant, with special days set aside for
festivals, birthdays and reunions, typically involving plenty of food.

EXTENDED CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS

- Christmas festivities start as early as August and continue into January, creating a lon,
festive season.

APPRECIATION OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE

- Filipinos have a long love for creative design and unique architecture.

HOSPITALITY

- Filipinos hospitality shines during fiestas and holidays, where foreign visitors are
warmly welcomed and treated with great respect.
FILIPINO FAMILY VALUES

CENTRALITY OF FAMILY

- In Filipino culture, the family is the cornerstone of the social structure, encompassing
not just the nuclear family but also extended family.

EMPLOYMENT AND FAMILY CONNECTIONS

- It is common for family members to support each other in seeking employment,

often working for the same time.
- Many collective bargaining agreements even prioritize hiring family members.

TRADITIONAL VALUES

PAGGALANG (RESPECT)

- Respect for elders and authority figures is shown through gesture like using
respectful language (po, opo and ho) and actions such as kissing elder’s hands and
addressing older siblings as “kuya” or “ate”.

PAKIKISAMA (HELPING OTHERS)

- This value getting along with others and helping them, fostering cooperation and
positive social interactions.

UTANG NA LOOB (DEBT OF GRATITUDE)

- Involves repaying favors with gratitude.

PAGPAPAHALAGA SA PAMILYA (PRIORITIZING FAMILY)

- Family is prioritized above all else, often leading parents to make significant sacrifices
such as working abroad.

HIYA (SHAME)

- This value regulates social behavior.

DAMAYAN SYSTEM

- This system involves extending sympathy and support, often financial, to families
who have lost loved ones.
COMPASSION

- Filipinos shows sympathy to others, including strangers, by acts like giving alms to
beggar.

FUN-LOVING TRAIT

- Filipinos maintain a positive outlook and find reasons to celebrate even in difficult
times.

SOCIAL VALUES

AMOR PROPRIO (SELF-ESTEEM)

- High self-esteem is crucial for social harmony but can lead to authoritarian
tendencies if taken to extremes.

SMOOTH INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

- Maintaining harmonious and respectful relationships is essential in Filipino culture.

PERSONALL ALLIANCE SYSTEM

- Loyalty primarily lies with the immediate family but extends to the broader kinship
network.

COMPADRE SYSTEM

- Ritual kinship through godparenthood (compadrazgo) extends social networks and

provide mutual support.

UTANG NA LOOB

- This enduring reciprocal obligations fosters long-term interdependence and support

within the community.

SUKI RELATIONSHIP

- Regular customer- supplier relationships in the marketplace fosters trust and can
lead to personal friendships.
FRIENDSHIP

- Holds equal importance to kinship with mutual help being a key aspect of these
relationships.

WEAKNESSES OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER

PASSIVITY AND LACK OF INITIATIVE

- Often accepts situations without actively responding or resisting, showing a passive

approach to life’s challenges.

COLONIAL MENTALITY

- Refers to the beliefs that foreign products and cultures, especially Western ones, are
superior to local ones.

KANYA-KANYA SYNDROME

- Filipinos exhibit a selfish attitude, leading to envy and competitiveness.

EXTREME PERSONALISM

- Filipinos view the world through personal relationships, often taking things
personally.

EXTREME FAMILY-CENTEREDNESS

- Excessive concern for family can be detrimental to the larger community.

LACK OF DISCIPLINE

- Procrastination, lack of willpower, motivation, and poor health contribute to a

general lack of self-discipline among Filipinos.

LACK OF SELF-ANALYSIS AND REFLECTION

- This is linked to an emphasis on form over substance, where rhetoric and appearance
are prioritized over reality.

NINGAS COGON

- Filipinos often start new project with enthusiasm but fail to see them through
completion.
GAYA-GAYA ATTITUDE

- There is a tendency to imitate or copy foreign cultures in fashion, language, trends,

and even hairstyles, reflecting a lack of originality and cultural pride.
LESSON TITLE: BASIC UNIVERSAL VALUE

MODULE 9

CONCEPT NOTES

WHAT ARE UNIVERSAL VALUES?

VALUE

- Is a quality that distinguishes people, things, events, or situations.

- This term is used to describe moral characteristics inherent in subjects like piety,
responsibility, secularism, and respect.

UNIVERSAL

- Pertains to what belongs to or relates to the universe.

- It refers to the collective of all created things and what is common to all kinds.

UNIVERSAL VALUES

- Are shaped by implied behavioral standards that are essential for living in a
harmonious and peaceful society.
- Are those that are socially shared among people.
- Are acquired through family education and schooling because the process of
socialization involves internalizing timeless concepts.

VALUES

- Are associated with morality and ethics, which can be challenging to translate or
apply at a group level.
- Can vary from one person to another.

SCHWARTZ’S CONCEPT OF UNIVERSAL VALUES

S.H. SCHWARTZ

- Along with psychology colleagues, conducted empirical research to investigate

whether there are universal values and what those values are.
 - Define ‘Values’ as conceptions of desirable that influence the way people select
action and evaluate events.
- Also explored the concept of ‘spiritually’ or the goal of finding meaning in life as a
potential universal value but found that it is not universally recognized across all
cultures.

VALUE TYPES

POWER

- Social status, prestige, control, or dominance over people and resources.

ACHIEVEMENT

- Personal success through demonstrating competence according to social standards.

HEDONISM

- Pursuit of pleasure or sensuous gratification for oneself.

STIMULATION

- Excitement, novelty, and challenge in life.

SELF-DIRECTION

- Independent thought, action, choosing, creating, exploring.

UNIVERSALISM

- Understanding, appreciation, tolerance, and protection for the welfare of all people
and nature.

BENEVOLENCE

- Preserving and enhancing the welfare of the people with whom one is in frequent
personal contact.

TRADITION

- Respect, commitment and acceptance of customs and ideas from traditional culture
or religion.
CONFORMITY

- Restraining actions, inclinations and impulses that may upset or harm others or
violate social expectations or norms.

SECURITY

- Safety, harmony and stability of society, relationships, and one-self.

BASIC UNIVERSAL HUMAN VALUES

HAPPINESS

- Eternal happiness is considered the ultimate value across religions, as depicted by

the promise of an afterlife in Paradise, Heaven, or Nirvana.

PEACE

- Essential for freedom and happiness, as conflict inhibits freedom and happiness.

LOVE

- A deep sense of connectedness or oneness with other beings or elements of nature.

FREEDOM

- Refers to unrestricted experience and independence from social pressure, which is

essential for inner peace.

SAFETY

- Means freedom from threats and fear, which are necessary for emotional well-being.

INTELLIGENCE

- The ability to perceive, understand, and solve problems is critical for addressing
global challenges.

HUMAN RESPECT

- Respect for others based on empathy and awareness of shared humanity.

EQUALITY

- The principle that all individuals are entitled to equal rights and opportunities.

JUSTICE

- Fair and equitable treatment of all individuals under the law, essential for upholding
fundamental human values.

NATURE

- Understanding our dependence on nature and recognizing our role in preserving it.

HEALTH

- A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, essential for fulfilling life.
LESSON TITLE: DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL CHARACTER

MODULE 10

CONCEPT NOTES

ARISTOTLE

- Tells us that there are good people in the world.

- These are those who exhibit excellences, excellences of thought and excellences of
character.
- His phrase for excellences of character ethikai aretai usually translate as moral
virtue or moral excellence.
- Defines virtuous character at the beginning of Book II in Nicomachean Ethics.

MORAL CHARACTER

- Is the will of the person directing him towards a recognized ideal.

- When a person falls short of the expectation, he is said to have bad character.
- A person who lives up to the ideals of his humanity is said to have good character or
morally integrity.

KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

LAWRENCE KOHLBERG

- Was an influential American psychologist best known for his theory of ages of moral
development.
- Born on October 25, 1927, in Bronxville, New York.
- Made significant contributions to the field of psychology particularly in
understanding how individuals develop moral reasoning over their lifetimes.

KOHLBERG’S THEORY OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

- Builds on Jean Piaget’s earlier work on moral judgment in children.

- Developed in 1958.
- Comprises 6 stages of moral development and 3 levels that reflect increasing
complexity in moral reasoning.
 - Provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the progression of moral
reasoning from a simplistic, self-centered perspective to a more complex, principled
approach that considers broader societal and ethical implications.

LEVEL 1: PRE-CONVENTIONAL LEVEL

- Morality is extremely controlled.

- Rules imposed by authority figures are conformed to in order to avoid punishment or
receive rewards.
- This perspective involves the idea that what is right is what once can get away with
or what is personally satisfying.

STAGE 1: PUNISHMENT/OBEDIENT ORIENTATION

- Behavior is determined by consequences.

- The individual will obey in order to avoid punishment.

STAGE 2: INSTRUMENTAL PURPOSE ORIENTATION

- Behavior is determined by consequences.

- The individual focuses on receiving rewards or satisfying personal needs.

LEVEL 2: CONVENTIONAL LEVEL

- Conformity to social rules remains important to the individual.

- The emphasis shifts from self-interest to relationships with other people and social
systems.
- The individual strives to support rules that are set forth by others such as parents,
peers, and the government in order to win their approval or maintain social order.

STAGE 3: GOOD BOY/NICE GIRL ORIENTATION

- Behavior is determined by social approval.

- The individual wants to maintain or win the affection and approval of others by being
a good person.

STAGE 4: LAW AND ORDER ORIENTATION

- Social rules and laws determine behavior.

- The individual now takes into consideration a larger perspective, that of societal laws.
- Moral decision making becomes more than consideration of close ties to others.
 - The individual believes that rules and laws maintain social order that is worth
preserving.

LEVEL 3: POST-CONVENTIONAL

- The individual moves beyond the perspective of his or her own society.
- Morality is defined in terms of abstract principles and values that apply to all
situations and societies.
- The individual attempts to take the perspective of all individuals.

STAGE 5: SOCIAL CONTRACT ORIENTATION

- Individual rights determine behavior.

- The individual views laws and rules as flexible tools for improving human purposes.
- That is, given the right situation, there are exceptions to rules.
- When laws are not consistent with individual rights and the interests of the majority,
it does not bring about good for people and alternatives should be considered.

STAGE 6: UNIVERSAL ETHICAL PRINCIPLE ORIENTATION

- This is the highest stage of functioning.

- Kohlberg claimed that some individuals will never reach this level.
- At this stage, the appropriate action is determined by one’s self-chosen ethical
principles of conscience.
- These principles are abstract and universal in application.
- This type of reasoning involves taking the perspectives of every person or group that
could potentially be affected by the decision.
LESSON TITLE: REASON AND IMPARTIALITY

MODULE 11

CONCEPT NOTES

REASON

- Is our ability to understand and make sense of the world around us.
- It allows us to established and verify facts, apply logic and adjust our practices,
institutions and beliefs based on new or existing information.
- This ability is at the heart of what makes us human, linking us to activities like
philosophy, science, language, mathematics and art.
- Is what we use to explain or justify our actions, decisions, or beliefs.

IMPARTIALITY

- Fairness is given more importance where people are supposed to be treated equally
before the law.
- Also called evenhandedness or fair-mindedness
- Is a principle of justice holding that decisions should be based on objective criteria,
rather than on the basis of bias, prejudice, or preferring the benefit to one person
ober another for improper reasons.
- Able to give a fair opinion or decision about it.
LESSON TITLE: INDETERMINATION OF THE WILL AND THE ROLE OF REASON

MODULE 12

CONCEPT NOTES

WILL

- Is understood as a rational appetite, which means it is the intellectual desire for a

known good.
- Is an intrinsic part of human nature that allows individuals to make choices and
pursue goals that are apprehended by reason or as understood by thinking.
- It is a voluntary faculty that allows the intellect in guiding actions toward perceived
goods.
- It is considered central to the field of ethics because of its role in enabling deliberate
action.

INDETERMINATION OF THE WILL

- Individuals have the capacity to make choices freely without being compelled by
instincts, desires, or external pressures.
- This concept emphasizes human freedom and autonomy in decision-making.

ROLE OF THE REASON

- Considers different possibilities and their consequences.

- Used logical principles to determine the best course of action.
- Aligns our decisions with ethical and moral values.
- Helps us resist actions based on immediate desires or biases.
- Teaches us to make thoughtful and deliberate choices.