Moral standards of human behavior. Moral and ethical standards

Basic ethical standards and principles of communication

Human communication is based on certain ethical principles, norms and rules. Without their observance, communication will slide down to satisfying one’s own needs, which will lead to the destruction of relationships between people.

The purpose of all ethical norms and rules of conduct is to unite and unite all members of society.

... the most important rule for communicating with strong people: you cannot publicly doubt their infallibility. Jennifer Egan. Citadel

Every person has a need to communicate with others. Some are more sociable, others less so, but for the main two forms of human interaction - friendship and love - communication is necessary. Any human actions always have some kind of framework, boundaries and rules. What norms and rules govern our communication and determine the culture of speech?

Foundation for building a harmonious society

Moral norms and principles ensure the achievement of harmony and integrity when people enter into relationships with each other. In addition, there is greater scope for creating a favorable environment in your own soul. If good has a creative role, then evil has a destructive role. Malicious intentions harm interpersonal relationships; they are engaged in the decomposition of the individual’s inner world.

A person’s moral standards are also important because their goal is the integrity of kindness in a person and the limitation of its negative manifestations. You need to realize the fact that the soul needs to maintain a good internal climate, set yourself the task of becoming well-behaved.

Moral standards emphasize the duty of each person to renounce sinful behavior both towards himself and those around him. We must make a commitment to society, which, however, will not complicate our lives, but, on the contrary, will improve it. The extent to which a person respects moral and ethical standards is controlled by the outside world. Adjustments are underway with the help of public opinion. Conscience manifests from within, which also compels us to act in the right way. By succumbing to it, each person realizes his duty.

Ethics

Ethical principles of communication can be determined by the culture of speech. According to the requirements of this concept, moral standards are put forward, behavioral manners in specific situations and various formulas of courtesy and politeness are assessed by rules. A person who observes the basic principles of communication, but violates its ethical norms, is often deceptive and hypocritical. The highly moral behavior of a person who does not use basic rules of decency in his life will never inspire confidence in others.

We can conclude that concepts such as communication ethics and good manners are worth studying together. The most common principles of etiquette and moral standards often go side by side with specific dialogue algorithms: greeting and farewell, request and gratitude, etc. Unlike speech etiquette, which is used everywhere (congratulations, gratitude, greetings, sympathy), we remember the principles and norms of decency much less often.

Free decision-making

Moral standards do not bring with them material punishments. The person decides for himself whether to follow them or not. After all, awareness of debt is also an individual matter. To stay on the right path with an open mind, you need to ensure that there are no overwhelming factors.

People must realize that they are doing the right thing not because of the possible punishment, but because of the reward that will result in harmony and prosperity for all.

It's about having personal choice. If society has already developed some legal and moral norms, it is often these that dictate such a decision. It is not easy to accept it alone, because things and phenomena have exactly the value that we give them. Not everyone is ready to sacrifice personal interests for the sake of what is considered right in a general sense.

Why do we need business ethics?

If we talk about business ethics and ethics in general, we cannot help but pay attention to and discuss the topic of speech culture.

Knowledge of psychology and the rules of communication plays a significant role in building business relationships, as well as in the interaction of colleagues and work partners. If you have an idea of how to behave in a given environment, then, most likely, you will avoid many of the mistakes that are common to entrepreneurs. In order for your business to be successful, you need to thoroughly study the characteristics of the personal qualities that are necessary for management activities. Patterns of human behavior, opportunities for developing entrepreneurial potential, the psychology of working relationships, as well as technology for the survival of a business person in a competitive environment.

The subject of the study of ethics is the motives of a person’s actions, character and actions. In the business sphere, these are relationships between partners, as well as the reasons for success or lack thereof in personal activities.

Protect yourself and others

Sometimes selfishness reigns in the soul of a person, which then devours it. The funny thing about this unpleasant phenomenon is that a person expects too much from others and, not receiving it, considers himself useless and worthless. That is, the road from narcissism to self-flagellation and suffering on this basis is not so far.

But everything is very easy - learn to give joy to others, and they will begin to share the benefits with you. By developing moral and ethical standards, society can protect itself from traps into which it itself will fall.

Different groups of people may have different sets of unspoken rules. Sometimes an individual may find himself caught between two positions from which to choose. For example, a young man received a request for help from both his mother and his wife. In order to please everyone, he will have to break up, in the end someone will say in any case that he acted inhumanely and that the word “morality” is apparently unknown to him.

So moral standards are a very subtle matter that you need to understand thoroughly so as not to get confused. Having some behavioral patterns, it is easier to build your own actions on their basis. After all, you need to be responsible for your actions.

Principles of ethics in communication

There is a so-called golden rule, familiar to everyone since childhood: treat others the way you want to be treated. It applies to absolutely any life situation. We can say that many ethical principles of communication are based on this rule: altruistic, norms of virtue, demanding of oneself and others, the law of equality and justice, etc.

Thanks to the principles of open and sincere communication, a high degree of trust arises, without which contact is not possible. Trusting close relationships cannot be built without honesty, truthfulness, kindness and respect for the people around you. This can also include care, politeness, good manners, etc. The principles of correct communication are inextricably linked with the quality of speech itself. It must contain logic, expediency, literacy, as well as conciseness and meaningfulness at the same time. As for brevity, it all depends on personal desires and preferences. To some, overly extended praises will seem boring, while others will not understand the idea that they tried to convey in a more concise form.

Why are these standards needed?

Moral standards of behavior have the following functions:

assessment of one or another parameter in comparison with ideas about good and evil;
regulation of behavior in society, the establishment of one or another principle, laws, rules by which people will act;
maintaining control over how standards are met. This process is based on public condemnation, or its basis is the conscience of the individual;
integration, the purpose of which is to maintain the unity of people and the integrity of the intangible space in the human soul;
education, during which virtues and the ability to correctly and reasonably make personal choices should be formed.

The definition that morality receives and its functions suggests that ethics is strikingly different from other areas of scientific knowledge that are aimed at the real world. In the context of this branch of knowledge, it is said that what must be created, sculpted from the “clay” of human souls. In many scientific discussions, much of the attention is paid to the description of facts. Ethics prescribes norms and evaluates actions.

Etiquette as a set of rules

The rules of etiquette also dictate the boundaries of our behavior. Remember, just recently we talked to you about templates. Etiquette is nothing more than that very necessary template that regulates our communication with each other.

If you accidentally step on someone's foot, you apologize, a polite man will open the door for a woman, and when we receive change at the store, we all say "Thank you." The way we follow the norms of behavior, including etiquette, can characterize us as a cultured or uncultured person.

What are the specifics of moral standards?

There are certain differences between them against the background of such phenomena as custom or legal norm. There are often cases when morality does not contradict the law, but, on the contrary, supports and strengthens it.

Theft is not only punishable, but also condemned by society. Sometimes paying a fine is not even as difficult as losing the trust of others forever. There are also cases when law and morality part ways along their common path. For example, a person can commit the same theft if the lives of loved ones are at stake, then the individual believes that the end justifies the means.

Basic qualities of a business person

You can also highlight the basic principles of effective communication that every business person should have. These include:

work activity – creativity, initiative, love of work, diligence, ability to accept responsibility;
sociability, friendliness, sensitivity and politeness towards people;
in relation to oneself - modesty, self-discipline and the ability to self-criticize.

Psychological properties important for business communication include the following:

high but adequate self-esteem;
creative potential;
the ability to quickly make adequate and effective decisions;
the ability to speak to people in their language, insight;
the ability to make and maintain useful business contacts;
a useful habit of keeping your word;
the ability to complete the work started;
the ability to connect with people, hard work and resilience.

The following social skills are also required to survive in the business world:

insight that will help you feel the situation and, based on it, establish contact;
stimulate the partner’s speech activity;
the ability to psychologically accurately determine the end point of communication;
correctly predict your partner’s reaction;
keep the initiative of the conversation in your hands, but at the same time tune in to the emotional tone of the interlocutor;
provoke the emotional reactions you want from your partner;
be able to overcome psychological barriers;
correspond to the emotional state of the interlocutor or business partner;
set goals and achieve them through mobilization.

Morality and religion: what do they have in common?

When the institution of religion was strong, it also played an important role in the formation of moral principles. Then they were presented under the guise of a higher will sent down to earth. Those who did not fulfill God's command committed sin and were not only condemned, but were also considered doomed to eternal torment in hell.

Religion presents morality in the form of commandments and parables. All believers must fulfill them if they claim purity of soul and life in heaven after death. As a rule, the commandments are similar in different religious concepts. Murder, theft, and lies are condemned. Adulterers are considered sinners.

What role does morality play in the life of society and the individual?

People evaluate their actions and the actions of others from a moral point of view. This applies to economics, politics and, of course, the clergy. They select moral implications to justify certain decisions made in each of these areas.

It is necessary to adhere to the norms and rules of behavior, to serve the common good of people. There is an objective need for collective conduct of social life. Since people need each other, it is moral norms that ensure their harmonious coexistence. After all, a person cannot exist alone, and his desire to create an honest, kind and truthful world both around himself and in his own soul is quite understandable.

Where did the new ethics come from and how does it differ from the old one?

The ideas of new ethics are often perceived as something fresh and innovative. Some people treat them with delight: it’s good that the world has changed and people have begun to treat each other more tactfully. Some, on the contrary, are indignant that these are unknown and imposed rules that are difficult to follow. Don't take a step, you'll offend someone.

But in fact, no one specifically created a new ethics. And many of its rules existed well before. Insulting people, touching them on different parts of the body without permission, or refusing them a job just because of the “wrong” skin color has long been considered, to put it mildly, incorrect. It’s just that the injured party did not have many opportunities to make the incident public, which means that the offender often went unpunished.

Now the situation has changed: thanks to the Internet, those who behaved less than politely realized that their actions could have consequences.

True, there is a point that really makes the new ethics fundamentally new in some aspects. This is the idea of social justice - or rather, the form that it has taken in the modern world. In 1989, American lawyer Kimberly Crenshaw formulated the name and main theses of intersectionality The intersectionality wars - a concept that suggests that in society some people are oppressed more than others because of their gender, race, class, health status, religion, and so on. And since a person suffers from discrimination by birth, society should try to compensate for this and provide him with more opportunities than someone who is less oppressed. This is where the ideas of workplace diversity and gender quotas stem from.

Intersectionality—or “intersectionality theory,” as it is called in Russian—can be difficult for some to understand and accept, and it naturally attracts a lot of criticism.