"No man is like an island" (John Donne)
Society consists of many individuals who are similar in many ways, but also extremely different in their aspirations and worldviews, experiences and perceptions of reality. Morality is what unites us, these are those special rules adopted in the human community and defining a certain general view of categories such as good and evil, right and wrong, good and bad.
Morality is defined as norms of behavior in society that have been formed over many centuries and serve for the correct development of a person in it. The term itself comes from the Latin word mores, which means rules accepted in society.
Moral Traits
Morality, which is largely decisive for the regulation of life in society, has several main features. Thus, its fundamental requirements for all members of society are the same, regardless of position. They operate even in situations that are outside the area of responsibility of legal principles and extend to such areas of life as creativity, science, and production.
Norms of public morality, in other words, traditions, are significant in communication between specific individuals and groups of people, allowing them to “speak the same language.” Legal principles are imposed on society, and failure to comply with them carries with it consequences of varying severity. Traditions and moral norms are voluntary; every member of society agrees to them without coercion.
Literature
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Key factor of management / Ed. Yoshio Kondo / Trans. from English E.P. Markova; scientific
Types of moral standards
Over the centuries, moral standards have taken different forms. Thus, in primitive society, such a principle as taboo was indisputable. People who were proclaimed as transmitting the will of the gods were strictly regulated as prohibited actions that could threaten the entire society. Violation of them was inevitably followed by the most severe punishment: death or exile, which in most cases was the same thing. Taboos still persist in many traditional societies. Here, as a moral standard, examples are the following: you cannot be on the territory of the temple if the person does not belong to the clergy caste; You cannot have children from your relatives.
Custom
A moral norm is not only generally accepted, as a result of its derivation by some elite, it can also be a custom. It represents a repetitive pattern of actions that is especially important in order to maintain a certain position in society. In Muslim countries, for example, traditions are more revered than other moral norms. Customs based on religious beliefs in Central Asia can cost lives. For us, who are more accustomed to European culture, legislation is an analogue. It has the same impact on us as traditional moral standards have on Muslims. Examples in this case: a ban on drinking alcohol, closed clothing for women. For our Slavic-European society, the customs are to bake pancakes on Maslenitsa and celebrate the New Year with a Christmas tree.
Among moral norms, tradition is also distinguished - a procedure and pattern of behavior that is preserved for a long time, passed on from generation to generation. A kind of traditional moral standards, examples. In this case, these include: celebrating the New Year with a tree and gifts, perhaps in a certain place, or going to the bathhouse on New Year’s Eve.
What is immoral behavior?
This is a violation of moral principles, expressed in actions. Immoral behavior is directly related to weak spiritual and moral attitudes of the individual. Another reason is commitment to human vices. If an individual behaves immorally, it means that his parents and society did not instill in him certain standards of behavior that are considered moral in society. Further circumstances of life (the environment or being at the bottom of the social ladder) developed in him his own internal moral consciousness. It began to contradict morality in society.
Functions of morality
One of the functions is evaluation. Morality considers events and actions that take place in society from the point of view of their usefulness or danger for further development, and then makes its verdict. Various kinds of reality are assessed in terms of good and evil, creating an environment in which each of its manifestations can be assessed both positively and negatively. With the help of this function, a person can understand his place in the world and form his position.
The regulatory function is no less important. Morality actively influences people's consciousness, often acting better than legal restrictions. From childhood, with the help of education, each member of society develops certain views on what can be done and what cannot be done, and this helps him adjust his behavior in such a way that it is useful for himself and for development in general. Moral norms regulate both the internal views of a person, and therefore his behavior, and the interaction between groups of people, allowing the preservation of the established way of life, stability and culture.
The educational function of morality is expressed in the fact that under its influence a person begins to focus not only on his own needs, but also on the needs of the people around him and society as a whole. The individual develops an awareness of the value of the needs of other participants in society, which, in turn, leads to mutual respect. A person enjoys his freedom as long as it does not violate the freedom of other people. Moral ideals that are similar among different individuals help them better understand each other and act harmoniously together, positively influencing the development of each of them.
Why is morality needed in society?
How harmoniously people can coexist in a separate society is determined by moral standards. They are not universal and change under the influence of facts of history, geography, traditions and ethnicity. Over time, the answers to questions like “what is morality for” began to differ radically. In the Middle Ages, the modern consumerist attitude to life and the desire to get rich would have been condemned. Nowadays, it is accepted that the more wealthy people in society, the better.
Morality gives rise to qualitative relationships, defining the boundaries between good and evil, bad or good actions. In general, the personal “ego” is formed from the rules that determine our entire existence, our approach to what happens around us. Therefore, the questions - why morality is needed in human life or why moral rules are needed will be relevant as long as humanity itself exists.
Morality as a result of evolution
The basic moral principles of any time in the existence of society include the need to do good deeds and not cause harm to people, regardless of what position they occupy, what nationality they belong to, or followers of what religion they are.
The principles of norms and morality become necessary as soon as individuals interact. It was the emergence of society that created them. Biologists who focus on the study of evolution say that in nature there is also a principle of mutual utility, which in human society is realized through morality. All animals that live in society are forced to moderate their egoistic needs in order to be more adapted to later life.
Many scientists consider morality as a result of the social evolution of human society, being the same natural manifestation. They say that many of the principles of norms and morality, which are fundamental, were formed through natural selection, when only those individuals survived who could interact correctly with others. Thus, as an example, they cite parental love, which expresses the need to protect the offspring from all external dangers in order to ensure the survival of the species, and the ban on incest, which protects the population from degeneration through the mixing of too similar genes, which leads to the appearance of weak children.
Humanism as a basic principle of morality
Humanism is the fundamental principle of public morality. It refers to the belief that every person has the right to happiness and countless opportunities to realize this right, and that at the core of every society should be the idea that everyone in it has value and is worthy of protection and freedom .
The basic idea of humanism can be expressed in the well-known rule: “treat others the way you want to be treated.” Another person in this principle is seen as deserving the same benefits as any particular person.
Humanism assumes that society must guarantee basic human rights, such as the right to life, inviolability of home and correspondence, freedom of religion and choice of place of residence, and the prohibition of forced labor. Society must make efforts to support people who, for one reason or another, are limited in their abilities. The ability to accept such people distinguishes human society, which does not live according to the laws of nature with natural selection, dooming those who are not strong enough to die. Humanism also creates opportunities for human happiness, the pinnacle of which is the realization of one’s knowledge and skills.
Approaches to understanding morality
There are four approaches to understanding morality:
- Religious. Its adherents believed that the source of morality is the absolute. To curb his passions, a person is forced to turn to God for help. Faith in him helps to follow the absolute rules of behavior.
- Evolutionary. In the process of natural selection, a person acquires and inherits a certain line of behavior. According to this version, morality comes from the instinct of sociability of people.
- Naturalistic. The root cause of morality is nature. The human mind defines natural moral values as good or evil.
- Cultural. Morality is one of the elements of society's culture.
Mercy as a basic principle of morality
Mercy is understood as a person’s readiness to help people in need, to sympathize with them, perceiving their suffering as his own and wanting to alleviate their suffering. Many religions pay close attention to this moral principle, especially Buddhism and Christianity. In order for a person to be merciful, it is necessary that he does not divide people into “us” and “strangers”, so that he sees “his own” in everyone.
Currently, great emphasis is placed on the fact that a person should actively help those who need mercy, and it is important that he not only provides practical assistance, but is also ready to support morally.
Morality and law
Law and morality are in close contact, since together they form the rules in society, but they have a number of significant differences. The relationship between legal and moral norms makes it possible to identify their differences.
The rules of law are documented and developed by the state as mandatory rules, non-compliance with which inevitably entails liability. The categories of legal and illegal are used as an assessment, and this assessment is objective, built on regulatory documents, such as the constitution and various codes.
Moral norms and principles are more flexible and can be perceived differently by different people, and can also depend on the situation. They exist in society in the form of rules that are passed on from one person to another and are not documented anywhere. Moral norms are quite subjective, assessment is expressed through the concepts of “right” and “wrong”; their failure to comply in some cases cannot lead to more serious consequences than public censure or simply disapproval. For a person, violating moral principles can lead to pangs of conscience.
