School Purposes

1. Learning Plan: Cultural Relativism, Filipino Values and Traits, and Stages of Moral
Development
It is a fact, as we recognize, that many cultures in the world have their own beliefs,
values, and practices that have developed in their own particular historical, political,
social, and environmental contexts. Thus, it makes sense that they would differ in
perspectives specifically to the context of what is right and wrong. The cross-cultural
relationship is an idea that people from different cultures can have relationships
provides hope that new opportunities will be discovered but at the same it is
threatening. The threat is that once the relationship occurs, one can no longer claim that
any single culture is the absolute truth. This is what we call Cultural Relativism.
Cultural relativism is the ability to understand a culture on its own terms and not to
make judgments using the standards of one's own culture. Franz Boaz, an American-
German anthropologist, first articulate this in 1887 when he says that "civilization is
something not absolute, but is relative, and our ideas and conceptions are true only
so far as our civilization goes". The world is wide and huge. Different group of people
have developed their own unique outlook on how to survive and thrive. These
differences led people to view life differently and live completely in different lifestyles.
So, the idea of this matter is that values, knowledge, and behaviour of people must be
understood with its own cultural context and not by the standards of other culture. The
goal of the cultural relativist's perspective is to promote understanding of cultural
practices that are not typically part of one's own culture. This also leads to the view that
no culture is superior than other culture when compared to system of morality, law,
politics, and others. Dr. James Rachels, in his book the Elements of Moral Philosophy,
laid out five claims of cultural relativists as to why right or wrong is only a matter of
cultural standards. The five claims are as follows: (1) Different societies have different
moral codes. (2) The moral code of a society determines what is right of wrong. And
there are not objectives standards considered better than the others. (3) There are no
universal truths. (4) The moral code of a particular society has no special status but it is
just one among the many. (5) It is arrogant for one culture to judge another culture, so
there should be tolerance among cultures. Dr. Rachels refuted these five claims saying
that cultural relativism is not plausible in the ethical-moral context. The five refutations
are as follows: (1) Different societies have different moral codes but there are moral
values which are shared by all creatures. (2) The moral code of the society
determines what is right or wrong within that society but people - society can be of
error. (3) We can appeal to broader universal principles when we criticize the
erroneous cultural moral claims. (4) The moral code of a particular society has no
special status but the society's moral code could be better or worse depending on
the reasonableness and the nature and the quality of the consequences it effects to
the society. (5) It is arrogant to judge other cultures bit we cannot tolerate
everything. There are warlike societies and we cannot tolerate their inhuman act.
Moral progress is not possible in the cultural relativist perspective. Furthermore, Dr.
Rachels argues with three substantial points on why cultural relativism poses a threat.

2. The three points are as follows: (1) We cannot call out societal practices that
promote harm. (2) We cannot justifiably criticize our own cultures harmful
practices. (3) The idea of social progress becomes doubtful.
Dr. Rachels identified two positive lessons we can learn from cultural relativism. He said
that taking into account of the rational points of cultural relativism, it definitely warns
us from assuming that our preferences are the absolute rational standards. It further
teacher us to keep an open mind and to be more amenable tin discovering the truth.
With these insights, it is now proper for us to take a view on our own values systems as
we try to reflect on broader universal values and redefine our values systems and
character traits. Filipino culture is a mix of both Easter and Western cultures. The
ancient cultural traits of the Malays, Negritos, and the Chinese and as well the
Spaniards, American and the Japanese during the Colonial and world war era influence
much of the Filipino cultural Values and traits. During the Spanish colonization,
Hispanic Culture influences much of the Filipino People. This explains religiosity of the
Filipino people. The American shaped the modern Filipino culture and this is primarily
manifested by the wide use of the English language in the Philippines today. Dr. Particia
Licuanan, a psychologist, educator, and former CHED commissioner, wrote an article, "A
Moral Recovery Program: Building a People-Building a Nation". In her article, she
enumerated the strengths and weaknesses of the Filipino values and traits. The
strengths are as follows: Pakikpagkapwa-Tao, Family Orientation, Joy and Humor,
Flexibility-Adaptability-Creativity, Hard Work and Industry, Faith and Religiosity,
and Ability to Survive. Pakikpagkapwa-Tao results in camaraderie and a feeling of
closeness to one another. Family Orientation means of a Filipino who possesses an
genuine and deep love for the family. Joy and Humor simply means that a Filipino who
have a cheerful and fun-loving approach to life and its ups and downs. Flexibility-
Adaptability-Creativity simply means that a Filipino who has a great capacity to adjust
and to adapt to circumstances and to the surrounding environment both physical and
social. Hard Work and Industry simply means that a Filipino who has a capacity for
hard work on a given proper condition. Faith and Religiosity simply means that a
Filipino who has deep faith in God. His or her innate religiosity enables him or her to
comprehend and genuinely accept the reality in the context of God's will and plan.
Ability to Survive simply means that a Filipino has the capacity for endurance despite
difficult times and also with the ability to get by on so little. The weaknesses of the
Filipino values are as follows: Extreme Personalism, Extreme Family-Centeredness,
Lack of Discipline, Passivity and Lack of Initiative, Colonial Mentality, Kanya-kanya
Syndrome, and lack of Self-Analysis. Extreme Personalism is the Filipino world view
in terms of personal relationships and the extent to which one is able to personally
relate things and people determines the recognitions of their existence and the value
given to them. There is no separation between the objective task and the emotion
involvements. This is manifested in the tendency to give personal interpretations to
actions such as "taking things personally". Extreme Family Centeredness is the
excessive concern for the family that creates an "in-group" to which the Filipino is

3. fiercely loyal, to the detriment of concern forth higher community or the common good.
Excessive concern for the family manifests itself in the use of one's office and power as a
means of promoting the interests of the family. It results in lack of concern of the
common good and acts as a block to national consciousness. Lack of discipline is the
Filipino's aversion to strictly set of procedures which results in a lack of standardization
and quality control. This is also the manifested in the Filipino's casual and relaxed
attitude towards time and space which manifest itself in lack of precision and
compulsiveness. The palusot syndrome and ningas cogon are also manifestations of this
particular character value. Passivity and lack of initiative is the Filipino reliance on
others. This is related to the attitude towards authority - dependence on authority
which a Filipino tends to be complacent, lack of urgency, and high tolerance for
inefficiency. Colonial Mentality is the Filipino attitude of lack of patriotism of lack of
active awareness, appreciation, and love of the country - the Philippines. This also
means that the actual preference to foreign things. Kanya-kanya Syndrome is the
Filipino selfish and self0servign attitude that generates a feeling of envy and
competitiveness towards others. Lack of self-analysis and self-reflection is the
Filipino's tendency to be superficial and even somewhat flighty. Jokingly on serious
matters prevents a Filipino from looking deeply into the problem. It means that a
Filipino may somehow tend to be satisfied with superficial explanations and superficial
solutions to the problems. Dr. Licuanan further added that the Filipino values, both
positive and negative, were rooted to the following: Home Environment, Social
Environment, Culture and Language, History, Educational System, Religion, Economic
Environment, Political Environment, Mass Media, and Leadership and Role Models.
FILIPINO GENERAL CHARACTER TRAITS
Filipino as an individual
Personalistic. Filipinos give to interpersonal relations or face-to-face encounters.
Successful leadership or being a good manager necessitates a personal touch, and
problem -solving is effective if handled though good personal relations.
Filipino as a Social Being
Familialistic. The Welfare of the family is the basis of group actions and interest of the
family over those of the community. Almost all community activity centres on the
family. The family, and ont the individual, decides on the important matters, and these
are decided on the basis of family, not individual interest. The family honor, and not that
of the individual, is at stake when a family member makes a mistake.
Filipino as a Moral Being

4. Particularistic(conformist). It results from the strong family influence on individual
and group behaviour. Individuals strive to promote their own and their family's interest
over community interests. Being Popular among peer groups is highly desirable, hence
Filipinos make special efforts to entertain friends and relatives. Knowing how to
entertain people (marunong umasikaso ng kapwa) is important. Conformity is proper
codes of conduct reaps the rewards of cooperation and assistance; non-conformity is
punished by withdrawal of support.
Dr. Emilta Quito, a well-known philosophy professor in the Philippines, wrote an article
"The Ambivalence of Filipino Traits and Values". In her article, she proposes to take a
second look at these so - called negative values and traits in the Filipino psyche. She said
that Filipino Values and Traits show ambivalence of positive and negative in aspect. The
following are as follows:
HIYA (SHAME)
Negative:
 Describes as morality of slaves
 This trait reduces on to the smallest
 Making the person timid, meek, and
weak.
Positive:
 It contributes to peace of mind-lack
of stress
NINGAS-COGON (PROCRATSTINATION)
Negative:
 Renders the person inactive and
unable to initiate things to
persevere
Positive:
 Makes a person detached
nonplussed should anything go
wrong and hence conductive to
peace and tranquility.
PAKIKISAMA (GROUP LOYALTY)
Negative:
 Tend to close one's eyes to evils like
graft and corruption in order to
conserve peace and harmony in a
group
Positive:
 It contributes to peace of mind -
lack of stress
 Disagreements are often avoided
PATIGASAN (TEST OF STRENGTH)
Negative:
 Hardheaded
 Resist all efforts for reconciliation
 Childish, Vindictive, Irresponsible,
Irrational
Positive:
 Not easily cowed into submission
specially when one holds the truth
with reason

5. BAHALA NA (RESIGNATION)
Negative:
 Laziness in the guise of religious
garb
Positive:
 Relies on superior power
 Conductive to Humility, Modesty,
and Lack of Arrogance
KASI (SCAPEGOAT)
Negative:
 Alibi for failure
 Disowns responsibility
Positive:
 Can see both sides of the picture
and knows exactly where a project
failed
 Will never suffer guilt of self -
recrimination
SAVING FACE
Negative:
 It enables a person to shirk
responsibility
 One is never accountable for
anything
Positive:
 It makes a person make a graceful
exit from guilt
 Person's psyche is saved from
undue embarrassment
SAKOP (INCLUSION)
Negative:
 Stunts growth and prevents a
person from growing on one's own
 Generating a life of parasitism
Positive:
 Cares for the family and clan
 Shown concern for the family
MAÑANA HABIT (PROCRATSTINATION)
Negative:
 Constantly postpones actions
 Accomplishes nothing
Positive:
 Not stress and tension
 Learn to take what comes naturally
UTANG NA LOOB (INDEBTNESS)
Negative:
 Overlook moral principle when one
is indebted to a person
 Condones what the other person
Positive:
 Recognitions of one's indebt-ness

6. does and will never censure him for
wrong doing
KANYA - KANYA (SELF - CENTERDNESS)
Negative:
 Self-centred
Positive:
 Takes care of oneself and one
family
Filipino values are ambivalent in the sense that they are potential for good or evil, help
or hindrance to personal and national development, depending on how they are
understood, practiced or lived. They can be used in a good or evil context for every
value has a counter value.
Considering the ambivalent nature of Filipino values and traits, there is a need to reflect
much of our values and channel our intentions and motivations towards the positive
side of our values. Human nature is naturally good. At least it leans decidedly towards
an awareness of the good, and a preference for it, over evil and injustice. Despite
appearances, human nature is inherently self0relaizing and self-perfecting in moral
understanding and aspiration more than practice. Morality grows in human beings
spontaneously alongside physical limbs, basic mental and social capacities. Both
individually and in social interaction the human species evolves mature more
conscience and charter despite the many psychological and social impediments that
slow or de-rail the process for a time.
Striving for excellence is the activity of the soul. One needs to understand the very
structure of a person's soul which must be directed by his or her rational activity in an
excellent way. Developing a practical wisdom involves learning from experiences.
Knowing that right thing to do when one is confronted by a choice is not easy. One
needs to develop this knowledge by exercising the faculty of practical reason in his or
her daily life. A person may initially make mistakes, but though these mistakes, a person
will be able to attain practical wisdom through one's ability to know morally right
choices and actions. One also seek the advice of elders in the community those who
gained right life experiences and practical wisdom.
What is moral character? Moral character refers to the existence of virtues such as
integrity, courage, fortitude, honest, and loyalty. Moral character is also a disposition or
the tendency to act or thing in a particular way for which a person can be held morally
responsible. Thus moral character traits are rational, informed, stable, and reliable
dispositions. How do moral characters develop? Moral development is the gradual
development of an individual's concept of right and wrong, religious values, social
attitudes and certain behaviour. Moral development is rooted in the ancient views For
the Confucian traditions, moral development was attributed to the "four beginnings"

7. of the human personality. These were considered as the seeds of human personality
that will naturally unfold to become human activities. In this concept, every person is
born with the four beginnings. The four beginnings are as follows: the (1) Heart of
Compassion which leads to JEN, (2) Heart of Righteousness which leads to YI, (3)
Heart of Propriety which leads to LI, (4) Heart of Wisdom which leads to ZHI. Jen
means goodwill, sympathy towards others, and generosity. Yi means righteousness and
the respect of duty towards humanity and nature. Li deals with outward behaviour such
as etiquette, customs, and rituals. Zhi means wisdom and this is the result or product of
practicing Jen, Yi, and Li. Each of these beginnings does not capture the concept of self. It
is only they are put together that the potential self is revealed.
Lawrence Kholberg, a development psychologist and moral philosopher, studied
morality using a very controversial technique. In his research, he asked children,
teenagers, and adults from various walks of life to try and solve moral dilemmas in
short stories and asked the participants to thing out loud so he could follow their
reasoning. Kholberg was not interested to the specific answer to every dilemma and he
just wanted to know how a person derived or got his or her answer, as a result, he was
able to form a moral theory which was developmental in nature. Moral reasoning has
six developmental stages which he clusters it to three levels.
Level 1: Pre-convention Morality 0 - 9 years
Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment
Especially common in young children, but adult are capable of expressing
this type of reasoning. At this stage, children see rules as fixed and
absolute.
 Obey rules in order to avoid punishment
 Determines a sense of right and wrong by thaw is punished and
what is not punished
 Obeys superior authority and allows that authority to make the
rules, especially is that authority has the power to inflict pain
 Is responsible to rules that will affect his/her physical well-being
Stage 2: Naively Egotistical
At this stage of moral development, children account for individual points
of view and judge actions based on how they serve individual needs.
Reciprocity is possible, but only if it serves one's own interests.
 Is possibly motivated by vengeance or "an eye for an eye"
philosophy
 Is self-absorbed while assuming that he/she is generous
 Believes in equal sharing in that everyone gets the same,
regardless of need
 Believes that the end justifies the means
 Will do a favour only to get a favour

8.  Expects to be rewarded for every non-selfish deed he/she does
Level 2: Conventional Morality 10 - 15 years
Stage 3: "Good Boy - Good Girl" Orientation
This stage of moral development is focuses on living up to social
expectations and roles. There is an emphasis on conformity, being "nice", and
consideration of how choices influence relationships.
 Finds peer approval very important
 Feels that intentions are as important as deeds and expects others
to accept intentions or promises in place of deeds
 Begins to put himself/herself in another's shoes and think from
another perspective
Stage 4: Law and Social Order
At this stage of moral development, people begin to consider society as a
whole when making judgments. The focus is on maintaining law and order by following
the rules, doing one's duty, and respecting authority.
 A duty doer who believes in rigid rules that should not be change
 Respects authority and obeys it without question
 Supports the rights of the majority without concern for those in
the minority
 Is part of about 80% of the population that does not progress past
stage 4
Level 3: Post-conventional Morality - 16+ years
Stage 5: Legalistic Social Contract
At this stage, people begin to account for the differing values, opinions,
and beliefs of other people. Rules of law are important for maintaining a
society, but members of the society should agree upon these standards.
 Is motivated by the belief in the greatest amount of good for the
greatest number of people
 Believes in consensus (everyone agrees), rather than in majority
rules
 Respects the rights if the minority especially the rights of the
individual
 Believes that change in the law is possible but only through the
system
Stage 6: Universal ethical Principles

9. Kohlberg's final level of moral reasoning is based upon universal ethical
principles and abstract reasoning. At this stage, people follow these
internalized principles of justice, even if they conflict with laws and rules.
 Believes that there are high morals principles that those
represented by social rules and customs
 Is willing to accept the consequences for disobedience of the social
rule he/she has rejected
 Believes that the dignity of humanity is sacred and that all humans
have value
This theory is a stage theory in which everyone goes through the stages sequentially
without skipping any stage. However, movement through these stages are not natural,
that is people do not automatically move from one stage to the next as the mature. In
stage development, movement only occurs when a person notice inadequacy in his or
her present way of coping with a given moral dilemma. People cannot understand moral
reasoning more than one stage ahead of their own. For example a person in Stage 1 can
only understand Stage 2 reasoning but nothing beyond that.
This theory, however, is not an ethical theory but rather a psychological theory. This
theory attempt to describe the stages of a person's growth in moral thinking. Actually,
one does not have to agree completely to this theory to see its over-all value. This
theory helps to pint out the difference in moral reasoning. To summarize the points, the
pre-conventional level, the moral reasoning process is focused more on the
consequences of the action in terms of pain which is a punishment and pleasure which
is a reward. This is egotistic and a lesser type of moral thinking wherein only one's own
personal comfort is considered instead of a greater one which is the society's
convention of what is right or wrong. In the conventional level, the reasoning process is
focused more on merely following the convention such as the established rule and
regulations of the institutions, laws of the land, and social etiquettes of different social
contexts including families and religions. This level is simply called the "good boy- good
girl" image. Many people see this type of moral reasoning as sensible and valid approach
to morality specially that most if not all of the present conventions such as the rules and
policies and also the laws of the land are truly right rules, policies, and laws. Most of the
people are into this level; however, a truly morally mature individual must outgrow
these two levels. This is where the third level comes into play. In the post-conventional
level, the person already recognizes that what is good or bad is not reducible to merely
following the rules of one's group or society. The moral reasoning in this level is focused
more on discerning on what is right and wrong in a universal sense in a particular
situational context. The universal essence of what is right and in contrast to what is
wrong is embedded in every rule, policy, and laws of the land if indeed these were truly
right rules, policies, and laws. In the fifth stage under this level, the person already sees
the value of "social contract" wherein the agreements arrived is for the common good.
In other words, the social conventions such as laws, rules, and policies serve for the
common good. Furthermore, if these rules, policies, and laws of the land did not serve

10. the common good, a discerned person in this stage will voice out the concern for
rectification of these rules. The discerned person will still follow the social norm in a
form of respect recognizing the value of what it serves as a social contract. In sixth, and
final, stage under this level, the discerned individual goes beyond mere valuing of a
social contract. The discerned individual only performs an action or chooses to perform
an action when it is grounded on universal ethical principles. One realizes that all the
conventions, such as rules, policies, and laws of the land, of the society are only correct
if they are based on the universal principles. Rules and laws are important in
maintaining peace and order but they only serve as guides that need to be weighed
down against personal principles and beliefs to uphold one's human rights. At this stage,
an individual already has a principled conscience, and will follow universal ethical
principled regardless of what the laws or the rules say. One must make free use of his or
her own power of reasoning in cases of moral choice and not remain a creature of blind
obedience to either pain or pleasure or to the demand of the group or society, if one
aspires to moral maturity.
Performance Tasks
As you have read the text discussions above, tell me what you think about his
matter.
1.) Different cultures have different beliefs, practices, social norm and others. In your
own knowledge, describe and anumerate the differences and similarities between
(Southern Leyteños and Waraynons)/ (Muslim Leyteños and Christian Leyteños)/
(Surigaonons and Leyteños)? Just choose one comparison.
 Southern Leyteños and Waraynons comparison and contrast:
2.) What is cultural relativism in your own understanding?
 Cultural relativism is the idea of understanding the culture with no judgement,
it’s also about the practices, values and beliefs of a society with its own
perspectives.

11. 3.) Explain the views and claims of the cultural relativists?

4.) Why cannot all cultural practices be always correct?
 Cultural practice cannot be always correct because people's perspectives vary
and because of the era in which they were created, cultural practices cannot
always be accurate. Cultural practices refer to the expression of a subculture or
culture associated with customary customs. Typically, different ethnic and
cultural groups have diverse cultural practices. Because of how quickly time is
passing, cultural traditions are not always proper. These laws were conceived of
as the best for everyone at the time they were passed, but many of these
practices are today discriminatory.
5.) Explain the dangers of cultural relativism?
 Our typical confidence in the objectivity and universality of moral truth is put
into question by cultural relativism. In essence, it asserts that there is no such
thing as an ethical universal truth and that there are only the many cultural rules.
Cultural relativism correctly cautions us against the peril of presuming that all of
our activities are founded on some unquestionably reasonable criterion. The
answer is no. It is simple to lose sight of the fact that some of our traditions are
essentially conventional—merely specific to our society.
6.) Explain and enumerate the Filipino values and character traits?
These are the following Values and Character traits that we Filipino is known for:
Hiya (Shame)  Hiya or shame is one of the
common values and traits of a
Filipino. This simply tells that
it’s a kind of conscious self-
control or restraint.
(Procrastination)
Ningas-cogon and Mana habit  We have this kind
Procrastination, that Some
Filipino has the capability to do
or act with full excitement and
enthusiasm but they are unable
to finish it from the start and
there comes this Mana habit or
“Mamay ana habit.
Patigasan (Test of strength)  This trait is one of the negative,
as a filipino we are known for being
“matigas”. It also makes us childish
and irresponsible.
Pakikisama (group loyalty)  We must say this trait is more
way positive. We filipinos are
good at it specially when we
we’re in different country.
Bahala na (resignation)  Bahala na trait is like mana

12. habit. We tend to say that we can do it
later or tomorrow without thinking the
consequences. It makes us lazier.
Kasi (scape goat)  Scape goat is a word that we
usually say if we failed on something or
when we blame someone to be done by
that mistake.
Saving face  We filipinos sees this a negative
trait. After we failed on
something or if we get caught by
someone, we easily save our self
out in trouble.
Sakop (inclusion)  One of the filipino traits that
mostly we saw in one family. They tend
to live in same roof with the whole
family including the newly member or
the newly couples.
Utang na loob (indebtness)  Utang na loob is a filipino sense
on how are we thankful, gratitude and
reciprocity. We keep to heart the good
deeds we receive from someone,
especially when we need help. It is as if
we say we are indebted to that person
for life.
Kanya kanya (self-centeredness)  Filipinos have a selfish, self-
serving attitude that generates a feeling
of envy and competitiveness towards
others, particularly one’s peers who
seem to have gained some status or
prestige.
7.) Why is it that the Filipino values and character traits are ambivalent in nature?
 Filipino values are contradictory in that, depending on how they are perceived,
applied, or lived, they have the potential to be beneficial or harmful, aiding or
impeding both individual and societal advancement. They can be applied for
either good or bad.
8.) Explain the moral development in Confucian tradition?
 Moral cultivation has been a major theme in Confucian philosophy throughout
history, and Confucians from many eras and locations share an interest in the
particular methods we might use to cultivate virtues as well as the importance
that interpersonal interactions play in that process.
9.) Explain the moral reasoning of an individual under the stage six, level three - the
post conventional level of Kholberg's Moral development.
 Preconventional, conventional, and postconventional are Kohlberg's three
categories for different stages of moral development. ... In the postconventional

13. stage, morality is defined in terms of more ethereal ideals and ideas. Nowadays,
people think that some laws should be modified or repealed because they are
unfair.