PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

LESSON 6 | MORAL AND SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

Every decision that we make holds us liable. Its consequences are our responsibility. Remember what
was told in the 'Spiderman' movie 'with great powers comes great responsibility."

Ethics has taught us of our duty as a human person. We need to love God above all Things and love our
neighbor as we love ourselves. Priority is self-preservation but next to this is our responsibility to the
larger community. Hence decisions should be weighed to determine its pros and cons.

Morality
This is a principle concerning how individuals distinguish what is right from what is wrong. Morality comes
from the Latin word 'moralitas' which denotes manner, character and proper behavior.
It is the differentiation of intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are distinguished as proper
and those that are improper, the disjunction between right and wrong ([Link]
wiki/Morality). In determining this however, 'freewill' becomes an important element as individuals are
provided a 'freedom of decision as they are not forced into performing something which is against their
will as one is always considered liable for his acts.

Values
A value is the worth that we assign to things/ entities that are considered to be important. It is an
abstraction that is manifested in our actions. They are deep seated and remain constant overtime. It may
originate from our family, our peers, our school, our church, the government and mass media. It is a
product of our socialization process.

An example of values includes honesty and sincerity which may be manifested in our desire to tell the
truth even in the midst of extreme financial constraint or other challenging moments in this will do as they
promise, no matter what.
human lite. A sincere person also is true to his word such that they will do as they promise, no matter
what.

Indeed as Filipinos we have developed values that are now deeply ingrained even in our youth as part of
elder requirements to be considered responsible and respectful individuals. There are values that are
uniquely and distinctly Filipino such as ' Pakikisama and 'Bayanihan'. These are very positive values
unless taken into the wrong light which connotes being with people who influences the individual on
wrong practices because they are friends.

Hence, Filipino values should be reviewed and revisited as they have to be taken as a way to improve the
individual. There is a need to be dynamic and innovative in this time of globalization, we can no longer
stick to those values that do not inculcate resourcefulness, independence, creativity and dynamism. This
is a necessity to broaden our perspective as a people if we desire to grow and progress as a society.
Some Values include the following:
1. Loyalty - faithfulness to words we speak; devoted in relationships; conscientious to our duty.
2. Sincerity - truthfulness to promises; openness and transparency about one's thoughts.
3. Kindness - benevolence and gentleness in how one treats other people.
4. Compassion - humane and sympathetic about what others are undertaking.
5. Courage - bravery in the midst of difficulties.
6. Perseverance - Steadfast and persistent to attain life goals.
7. Cheerfulness - positivity and light heartedness even during adversities.
8. Optimism - having a sense of gratitude to appreciate what one possesses.
 9. Respect - courtesy, reverence for those in authority and of seniority.
10. Volunteerism - initiative to extend help to those in dire need.
11. Integrity - moral uprightness for greater credibility.

Personal values provide an internal reference for what is good, beneficial, important, useful, beautiful,
desirable, constructive, etc. Values generate behavior and help solve common human problems for
survival by comparative rankings of value, the results of which provide answers to questions of why
people do what they do and in what order they choose to do them. Over time the public expression of
personal values that groups of people find important in their day-to-day lives, laid the foundations of law,
custom and tradition ([Link]

Value Judgement
A value judgment is an assessment or evaluation of specific values system as either right or wrong based
on one's a particular set of standards or own value system.

It reiterates that an act be carried out while judging a certain value according to personal evidence. The
value system should be in harmony with deeper convictions while searching for an objective and known
evidence for the given opinion. Value judgement connotes that a conclusion is biased, very subjective
and one-sided. It is in contrast with a fair, impartial and well thought judgement. This is due to the
judgement being based on insufficient information and prejudiced perspective.

Value judgment refers to an individual's very subjective opinion that is based as well on his own belief
system which has a different set of standards be subjected to criticisms by the majority. Some argue that
true objectivity is impossible. Scientific "truths" are considered objective, but are held tentatively, with the
understanding that more investigative studies might still change what is considered true. There is
therefore no constancy even to the truthfulness behind value system. As emphasized an assessment that
a behavior, object, person, principle, belief, is right or wrong, good or bad is highly subjective and
therefore prone to fallacies or errors. Value judgments involve principled ethical, ideological, moral,
theological interpretations hence cannot be concluded as statements of fact If a westerner would assert
that Filipinos are 'highly dependent' people coupled with a character of' subservience' brought about by
the Filipino value of 'Utang na Loob' or 'debt of gratitude his remarks will be considered a value
judgement. It is in this light that we ought to emphasize the relativity of elements such as beliefs and
value system that has become a significant part of one's culture, norms and mores. It is absurd to base
our judgement on what we uniquely have as it is totally different from what others have been endowed
with.

Existential humanism
This is a principle reiterating that individuals as a whole person live in a socially interconnected and
holistic world. Jean Paul Sartre in this line of thought asserted on the freewill of people to make choices
and responsibility. A person's ability to use his capacity to make choices and to choose what aptly fit him
provides an opportunity to live his life in its full potential. This may be rooted in a personal search for the
appropriate values that will suit him right rather than rules, laws and impositions from outside.

A person has the ability and desire to attain self-realization as well as self-determination. Hence we have
to view the person as a holistic entity who can discriminate between good and bad and between what is
righteous form what is not. A need to provide respect for choices is necessary to be provided to better
understand how individuals desire to work and choose for what they want and what they are motivated to
do.

As every individual have their own set of unique experiences it is therefore very relevant to understand a
person's subjective or conscious experience without any judgment, bias, expectation, or comparison. It is
only through this that we can fully grasp the complexities of human life.
One cannot dictate that person's character, goals in life, motivations, and decisions as only the individual
can define his essence. According to Sartre, "man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the
world - and defines himself afterwards" Thus Sartre claims that people must take responsibility for their
behavior as they are responsible for humanity as well. This is conclusive as to the perceived ability of the
person to adopt that which serves not only him but also the greater majority, a basic characteristic of
human nature that brings one back to his being a 'social animal created and existing with others and for
others.