The Moral Agent

Developing Virtue as a Habit

 PRE-ASSESSMENT:

Read carefully and answer the following question.

⚫ Give at least five (5) examples of virtues.
⚫ How is a moral character developed
 VIRTUE-is the moral excellence of a person

⚫ Morally excellent people have a character made-up of virtues valued as

good.
⚫ They are honest, respectful, courageous, forgiving, and kind, for example.
⚫ They do the right thing, and don’t bend to impulses, urges or desires, but
act according to values and principles.

Key Concepts
1. Virtuous – having or showing high moral standards.
2. Transcends – go beyond limits.
3. Complements – a thing that completes or brings to perfection.
 BECOMING MORE VIRTUOUS PEOPLE

Philippians 4:8-9
⚫ Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely and of good report, if
there is any virtue and if there is anything praise worthy-meditate on these things.
⚫ The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the
God of peace will be with you.

⚫ People(Family, friends, Neighbors etc) will see the difference in us, trust us and come to
us for guidance and help.
⚫ Practicing virtues allow us to develop our potential, and live a more purposeful and better
life.
 LIST OF VIRTUES
4. Caring
1. Acceptance
Feeling or showing concern for other people.
The act of accepting something or someone.
Complements: Compassion, Kindness
Complements: Contentment, Forgiveness Transcends: Cruelty, Insensitivity
Transcends: Denial, Rejection. 5. Commitment
2. Assertiveness An agreement or pledge to do something in the
Disposed to or characterized by bold or confident future.
statements and behavior. Complements: Loyalty, Perseverance
Complements: Confidence, Courage Transcends: Lack of Direction
Transcends: Self-doubt, Shyness 6. Compassion
3. Authenticity Sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress
True to one’s own personality, spirit, or character. together with a desire to alleviate it.
Complements: Honesty, Integrity Complements: Caring, Understanding
Transcends: Low self-esteem Transcends: Grief, Judgment
7. Contentment 10. Dignity
The state of being happy and satisfied. A way of appearing or behaving that suggests
Complements: Fulfillment, Joy seriousness and self-control.
Transcends: Dissatisfaction, Restlessness Complements: Honor, Respect
8. Courage Transcends: Egoism, Selfishness
Mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and 11.Excellence
withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. Extremely high quality.
Complements: Boldness, Confidence Complements: Dignity, Honor, Integrity, Respect
9. Determination Transcends: Mediocrity
A quality that makes you continue trying to do or 12. Fairness
achieve something that is difficult. Treating people in a way that does not favor some
Complements: Commitment, Tenaciousness over others.
Transcends: Complacency Complements: Equality, Justice
Transcends: Grievance, Injustice
 ARISTOTLE’S GOLDEN
MEAN

The Golden Mean is a sliding scale for determining what is virtuous. Aristotle
believed that being
morally good meant striking a balance between two vices. You could have a vice of
excess or one of deficiency.
The Golden Mean is a means of assisting a person in practicing good character as
they strive to make it second in nature.
Sphere of feeling or action Deficiency (Vice) Mean (Virtue) Excess (Vice)

1.Fear and confidence • Cowardice • Courage •Rashness

(recklessness, foolishness
2.Pleasures and pains • Insensibility •Temperance •Self-indulgence
(self-control)
3.Getting and spending • Stinginess •Generosity •Extravagance
(kindness)
4.Getting and spending • Pettiness •Magnificence •Vulgarity
(small minded) (brilliance) (rudeness)
5.Honour and dishonour • Vanity •Proper pride •Pusillanimity
(narcissism, self-importance) (showing lack of
determination, timid)
6.Honour and dishonour •Lack of ambition •Proper ambition •Ambition
7.Anger •Lack of spirit •Good temper •Irascibility
(easily provoked to anger, irritable)
•Surliness •Friendliness/civility •Obsequiousness
8.Social conduct
(aloofness, coldness) (flattery, fawning)
(obedient or attentive to an excessive
or servile degree)
9.Self-expression •Mock modesty •Boastfulness
•Truthfulness

10.Conversation •Boorishness •Wittiness •Buffoonery

(rude, vulgar) (amusing, clever) (a person who does silly things,
usually to make other people laugh)
11.Shame •Shamelessness •Modesty
(keeping within measure) •Shyness
12.Indignation
•Envy •Proper indignation •Spite
(resentment, ire
 MORAL CHARACTER

The word "character" is derived from the Ancient Greek word

"charaktêr", referring to a mark impressed upon a coin. Later it
came to mean a point by which one thing was told apart from
others.
Two approaches:
1. Normative ethics-involve moral standards that exhibit right
and wrong conduct.
2. Applied ethics- involve specific and controversial issues along
with a moral choice.
 Moral Character
Moral character or character -is an evaluation of an individual's
stable moral qualities.
⚫ It implies variety of attributes including the existence or lack of virtues such
as empathy, courage, fortitude, honesty, and loyalty, or of good behaviors
or habits
⚫ refers to the assemblage of qualities that distinguish one individual from
another.
Fortit Hon
Cour esty Loyal
Empa
age ude Stingy
thy ty
Lawrence Pervin (Psychologist) - "a disposition to express behavior in
consistent patterns.”
Marie I. George (Philosopher) - the “sum of one’s moral habits and
dispositions.”
MORAL DEVELOPMENT
-It is one of the most significant aspects of the personality development.
-It proceeds along with social development

Immoral behavior is that behavior which fails to conform to social expectations

arising not due to ignorance, but due to intentional disapproval of social
standards or lack of feelings of obligation to conform.
Unmoral or non-moral behavior arises due to ignorance of what the social
group expects rather than intentional violation of the group’s standards.
 FACTORS INFLUENCING MORAL
DEVELOPMENT
1. Family
2. School
3. Neighborhood
4. Religious Institutions
5. Club and Camp Experiences
6. Playmates and Friends
7. Culture
8. Community
 MORAL DEVELOPMENT

⚫ There is a big difference between a young child’s reasoning on

the right thing to do and the manner a morally mature individual
arrives at an ethical decision.

⚫ Lawrence Kolberg (1927-1987) theorized that moral

development happens in six stages, which he divided into three
levels.
Three Levels of Moral Development
1. Pre-conventional- (up to age 9) corresponds to how infants and young
children think. The child’s reasoning is centered on the consequences of one’s
actions.
Stage 1
Obedience and Punishment - reasoning centers around obedience and the
avoidance of punishment: “good” if it enables one to escape from
punishment; “bad” if it leads to punishment.
Stage 2
Instrumental and Relativist –(reasoning)-thechild learns to act according to
what she thinks will serve her self-interest; thus, what is “good” at this stage
is what the child thinks can bring her pleasure.
2. Conventional (Most Adolescents and adults) - older children, adolescents, and young adults learn to
conform to the expectations of society.
This is the time when one learns to follow the conventions of her group .
Stage 3
Interpersonal Concordance -when one begins to act according to what the larger group she belongs to expect
of her.
The individual here assumes that what will benefit her best is when the other members of her group approve of
her actions.
Tendency is to conform to the values of one’s immediate group-family playmate ,barkada.

Stage 4
Law and Order Orientation- achieved when the person realizes that following the dictates of her society is not
just good for herself but more importantly, it is necessary for the existence of society itself.
The individual at this stage values most the laws, rules, and regulations of her society.
Moral reasoning is shaped by dutifulness to the external standards set by society.
3. Post-conventional –(10 to 15% of the over 20s) what is good or right is not reducible to following the
rules of one’s group.
Instead, it is a question of understanding personally what ought to do and deciding, using one’s freewill to act
accordingly.
This level represents the individuals realization that the ethical principles she has rationally arrived at take
precedence over even the rules or conventions that her society dictates.

Stage 5
Social Contract -Moral maturity therefore is seen in an individual who acts on what she has understood
using her full rationality i.e. to be what is right, regardless of whether the act will bring the person pleasure
or pain and even regardless of whether the act is in accordance with one’s community’s laws or not.
Stage 6
Universal Ethical Principle – the individual has attained full moral development if she acts according to her
well-thought-out rational principles.
DEVELOPMENT

⚫ Kohlberg (1958) agreed with Piaget's (1932) theory of moral

development in principle but wanted to develop his ideas
further.

⚫ He used Piaget’s storytelling technique to tell people stories

involving moral dilemmas. In each case, he presented a choice
to be considered, for example, between the rights of some
authority and the needs of some deserving individual who is
being unfairly treated.
One of the best known of Kohlberg’s (1958) stories concerns a man called
Heinz who lived somewhere in Europe.

Heinz’s wife was dying from a particular type of cancer. Doctors said a new
drug might save her. The drug had been discovered by a local chemist, and the
Heinz tried desperately to buy some, but the chemist was charging ten times
the money it cost to make the drug, and this was much more than the Heinz
could afford.
Heinz could only raise half the money, even after help from family and friends.
He explained to the chemist that his wife was dying and asked if he could have
the drug cheaper or pay the rest of the money later.
The chemist refused, saying that he had discovered the drug and was going to
make money from it. The husband was desperate to save his wife, so later that
night he broke into the chemist’s and stole the drug.
Kohlberg asked a series of questions such as:

1. Should Heinz have stolen the drug?

2. Would it change anything if Heinz did not love his wife?
3. What if the person dying was a stranger, would it make any
difference?
4. Should the police arrest the chemist for murder if the woman died?

By studying the answers from children of different ages to these

questions, Kohlberg hoped to discover how moral reasoning changed as
people grew older.
 This stage is mostly manifested by Level 1
children. Elders teach them to follow a
certain conduct in the absence of which
they are punished. This is an elementary
Stage 1 Obedience & Punishment state of mind of the child who tries to follow
the best way in his/her own realm. Very few
Pre-conventio of them remain in this state when they grow
up. But in certain situations, most elders
nal still shift back to this stage.
(up to age 9)

Similar, but right and wrong is now

determined by what we are rewarded for,
Stage 2 Instrumental and Relativist and by doing what others want. Any
concern for others is motivated by
selfishness.
 Being good is what pleases others. The
child adopts a conformist attitude to
Stage 3 Interpersonal concordance morality. Right and wrong are determined
by the majority.

Level 2
Conventional
(most
adolescents
& adults)
Being good now means doing your duty to
society. To this end, we obey laws without
Stage4 Law and Order orientation question and show a respect for authority.
Most adults do not progress past this
stage.
 Right and wrong are now determined by
personal values, although these can be
Stage 5 Social Contract over-ridden by democratically agreed
laws. When laws infringe our sense of
Level 3 justice, we can choose to ignore them.

Post-conventi
onal
(10 to 15% of
the over 20s)

We can now live in accordance with

deeply held moral principles which are
Stage 6 Universal Ethical Principle seen as more important than the laws of
the land.