Morality is the desire of an individual to evaluate conscious actions and human states on the basis of a set of conscious norms of behavior inherent in a particular individual. The expression of the ideas of a morally developed person is conscience. These are the deep laws of a decent human life. Morality is an individual’s idea of evil and good, the ability to competently assess the situation and determine the typical style of behavior in it. Each individual has his own criteria of morality. It forms a certain code of relations with a person and the environment as a whole, based on mutual understanding and humanism.
What does the concept of “morality” mean?
Very often morality is identified with morality and ethics. However, these concepts are not entirely similar. Morality is a set of norms and values of a particular person. It includes an individual’s ideas about good and evil, about how one should and should not behave in various situations.
Each person has his own criteria of morality. What seems completely normal to one is completely unacceptable to another. So, for example, some people have a positive attitude towards civil marriage and do not see anything bad in it. Others consider such cohabitation immoral and sharply condemn premarital relationships.
The hero of a work of art, his character, actions
Most often, the definition of the hero of a work of art sounds like “the exponent of the plot action.” And it is through the hero that the key content of a literary work is revealed, since his character, his choices and actions indicate what side of morality the author wants to show us.
By revealing and drawing our attention to the character traits of the literary hero, the author shows the main idea of the work and emphasizes a certain theme, of which there may be several in the work. Thus, the main moral lessons that the author laid down in his creation become clear to us; using the example of the hero, we become more aware of them.
Principles of moral behavior
Despite the fact that morality is a purely individual concept, there are still common principles in modern society. First of all, these include the equality of rights of all people. This means that there should be no discrimination against a person on the basis of gender, race or any other basis. All people are equal before the law and the court, everyone has the same rights and freedoms.
The second principle of morality is based on the fact that a person is allowed to do everything that does not contradict the rights of other people and does not infringe on their interests. This includes not only issues regulated by law, but also moral and ethical standards. For example, deceiving a loved one is not a crime. However, from a moral point of view, the one who deceives causes suffering to the individual, and therefore infringes on his interests and acts immorally.
Techniques for creating character in epic, lyric and drama
The techniques used to reveal the personality and character of the main character in a work depend on the genre. In the epic, a person is portrayed to a greater extent through his actions and behavior. In this genre, the characterization of the hero by the author himself is also appropriate. This is not so typical for drama; drama reveals character through the actions and speech of the hero, through his differences from other people.
In this it is very different from the epic, which forms character in a completely different way. At the center of the drama there can be only one problem, which reveals the moral bottom of the hero. And his choice speaks for itself; it is one specific action or decision that will show the true character of the main character.
And in the lyrics, the hero is most often shown through feelings and experiences, through the filling of his inner world. Understanding what exactly the hero is experiencing, what emotions he shows, the reader realizes his true nature and recognizes his real face.
The meaning of morality
Some people believe that morality is only a necessary condition for going to heaven after death. During life, it has absolutely no effect on a person’s success and does not bring any benefit. Thus, the meaning of morality lies in cleansing our soul from sin.
In fact, such an opinion is erroneous. Morality is necessary in our lives not only for a specific person, but also for society as a whole. Without it, there will be arbitrariness in the world, and people will destroy themselves. As soon as eternal values disappear in a society and habitual norms of behavior are forgotten, its gradual degradation begins. Theft, debauchery, and impunity flourish. And if immoral people come to power, the situation worsens even more.
Thus, the quality of life of humanity directly depends on how moral it is. Only in a society where basic moral principles are respected and observed can people feel secure and happy.
How to develop morality?
Research shows that morality is formed in childhood. Its foundation is laid by the age of 7, and by 16 it is fully developed. This does not mean that an adult cannot influence his own moral development. He may well improve, instill in himself new principles and strictly adhere to them. However, for him they will be more moral than ethical.
Morality needs to be developed at an early age, so children need to be provided with the appropriate conditions for this. It is obvious that every responsible parent tries to instill in their child certain traits of moral behavior: honesty, responsibility, sincerity, decency and other generally recognized human values.
Despite efforts, not everyone succeeds, since parents themselves often misunderstand what morality is and try to impose their views on their children using incorrect or even unacceptable methods. Let's consider several correct approaches that will help develop morality in a child.
Personal example
In the practice of psychologists, a situation often occurs when a person has some inexplicable habit, about which he cannot say exactly where it came from. This could be an unusual way to prepare a certain dish or a strange sequence of actions in completely familiar activities. Subsequently, it often turns out that this habit was passed on to a person from his parents, but he himself did not even know about it.
Children adopt many aspects of their behavior from adults. And if you want to instill morality in your child, try to always behave appropriately in his presence. This is an effective pedagogical technique that provides a more reliable result than any persuasion or punishment.
Friendly conversation
Children react negatively to any moral teaching. They may agree, but only in order to quickly end the unpleasant conversation, because for a child any moral pressure is unbearable. At the same time, children perceive and remember very well the information they receive during an interesting, friendly conversation. Replace instructions and reproaches with advice, and the child will listen to you much more attentively.
Discussion with a joint search for truth
An excellent way of learning that ensures lasting retention of information is to independently search for the answer or find it in the process of discussion. Therefore, if you want to instill in your child some moral trait, try to make sure that he himself understands its importance. You can give an example from life and whet his interest with leading questions.
Educational games
Children's love of games is a powerful development mechanism provided by nature. So why not use it for its intended purpose? It is through games that children usually learn to interact with other people. And it is in games that it is best to instill in them such important aspects of morality as honesty, responsibility and justice. By looking at the reactions of other players, the child learns to think about those around him, overcoming his innate egocentric perception.
Reading
Not only children's fairy tales, but also quite adult literary works show the bad and good deeds of the characters, inviting the reader to draw the necessary conclusions for himself. Therefore, reading books helps children understand which actions are moral and which are not.
Developing morality in a child is not so difficult; the main thing is to pay attention to the little things that we have considered. It is also important to always let your child speak out, so that he realizes the value of his opinion for others and values it more himself. In the future, he will attach more importance to his own thoughts, which is important for the development of morality.
Morals and ethics
Traditionally, the concept of “morality” is identified with morality. In many cases, these words are used interchangeably, and most people do not see a fundamental difference between them.
Morality represents certain principles and standards of behavior of people in various situations, developed by society. In other words, it is a public point of view. If a person follows established rules, he can be called moral, but if he ignores them, his behavior is immoral.
What is morality? The definition of this word differs from morality in that it does not apply to society as a whole, but to each individual person. Morality is a rather subjective concept. What is the norm for some is unacceptable for others. A person can be called moral or immoral based only on his personal opinion.
History of the problem
For as long as humanity can remember, the fight against immorality has been going on.
The source of morality for humanity is the Divine commandments, transmitted through prophets and messengers, of whom there were over 124 thousand. All the prophets of the Most High called for Monotheism, purity of thoughts and deeds. For this they were killed, persecuted and tortured. There have always been those who fought against the truth, but there were also those who accepted it, and these, of course, were the majority.
In different eras, spiritual guidelines were different. Sometimes people, guided by them, did things that would horrify a modern person. For example, the Egyptian pharaoh killed all newborn boys for fear of losing his kingdom. Remember the same Pompeii, Sodom and Gomorrah, destroyed by the Almighty for their unbelief, for crossing the boundaries of what is permitted.
If we look into history and turn to the memory of mankind, we will clearly see that moral standards of behavior, faith, honor, dignity, loyalty, love for the Motherland, a sense of duty and given word have always been above all for those who have reached at least a small part of the Laws Almighty. The echoes of the prophetic instructions and what remained of the Holy Scriptures, over the past centuries, were transformed in the minds of people into a moral code that they revered. And people died for these values.
In Rus', the “merchant’s word of honor” was inviolable and symbolized sincerity and directness.
Until recently, history remembers women always “with their heads covered.” Harlots, bacchantes, commoners, or those whom they wanted to disgrace threw off their veils. The more noble a woman, the more she was closed - with clothes and a fence - from prying eyes.
In Europe and Asia in the old days, girls always dressed modestly and covered their bodies - such clothing today is called a hijab and is attributed only to Muslims. In Rus', a woman who took off her headdress in public was said to have “lost her hair,” and this was considered extremely indecent.
The Mona Lisa is a portrait of a young woman painted by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci around 1503. This is one of the most famous works of Renaissance painting, which by modern standards is considered the image of a modest woman. There is probably no person who has not seen this picture. However, studying the history of its writing, historians came to the conclusion that this image symbolized a girl of easy virtue, since women in those days did not allow themselves to expose their breasts and hair.
The problem of “alcoholism and offspring” has always worried the advanced minds of humanity. Two thousand years ago, Plutarch derived the famous formula “Ebrii ebrois gigunt” (“A drunkard gives birth to drunkards”). And Plato achieved the adoption of a law prohibiting drinking alcohol. The sage knew well that the still fragile body especially suffers from alcohol and that chronic alcoholics are primarily those who become addicted to wine from an early age. In ancient Rome, those who drank before the age of thirty were executed. This was explained by the fact that it was during these years that a person started a family and children. And in Carthage there was a law prohibiting drinking wine on days when marital duties were being performed. So, as we see, humanity, even at the dawn of civilization, fought for a healthy generation. The percentage of sincerity in those days was high. The love was pure and genuine.
Our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), the crown of the human race, who was sent down by mercy for all worlds, opened the way of deliverance from ignorance and darkness to science and light, his instructions have been educating humanity for over 1400 years. Thanks to him, millions of people overcame the threshold of poverty, got rid of the feeling of fear, he saved peoples from anarchy and violence and brought them to order. All the best that humanity has is inherited from the prophets, and the latest and greatest of them is Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
That is why the Almighty says in the Quran, addressing His Beloved (meaning): “I did not send you except as a mercy for the worlds” (Surah Al-Anbiya, verse 107).
Modern morality and religion
Everyone knows that any religion calls a person to virtue and respect for basic moral values. However, modern society puts human freedom and rights at the forefront of everything. In this regard, some of God's commandments have lost their relevance. So, for example, few people can devote one day a week to serving the Lord because of their busy schedule and fast pace of life. And the commandment “thou shalt not commit adultery” for many is a restriction on the freedom to build personal relationships.
Classic moral principles regarding the value of human life and property, help and compassion for others, condemnation of lies and envy remain in force. Moreover, now some of them are regulated by law and can no longer be justified by supposedly good intentions, for example, the fight against infidels.
Modern society also has its own moral values, which are not indicated in traditional religions. These include the need for constant self-development and self-improvement, determination and energy, the desire to achieve success and live in abundance. Modern people condemn violence in all its forms, intolerance and cruelty. They respect human rights and his desire to live as he sees fit. Modern morality places emphasis on human self-improvement, transformation and development of society as a whole.
The history of the emergence of morality
It is believed that the first manifestations of morality appeared among primitive people. To live in society, they had to confront their own animal instincts. At the same time, morality was also formed, since the first people needed to behave in such a way as to achieve approval and gain a certain status in their tribe. But if moral standards were developed jointly, and their observance was monitored, then morality was the personal guideline of each individual person.
In the modern world, moral standards also remain a personal matter for each person. The state monitors compliance with the law and punishes criminals; society condemns people who deviate from moral standards. But you need to monitor morality yourself. The only external institution that supports moral behavior is the church. But as we found out above, the desire to be “pure” from the point of view of one’s faith is not always quite selfless.
However, many people sincerely strive to adhere to the rules dictated by their religion. So in Christianity there are 10 commandments that prescribe moral behavior for a person. Like many other religions, Christianity has the so-called “Golden Rule of Morality.” The most common formulation is: “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” This principle is found in philosophical works and in many literary works.
The problem of youth morality
Many people say that modern society has already begun to decay morally. Indeed, crime, alcoholism and drug addiction are thriving in our country. Young people do not think about what morality is. The definition of this word is completely foreign to them.
Very often, modern people put values such as pleasure, an idle life and fun at the forefront of everything. At the same time, they completely forget about morality, guided only by their selfish needs.
Modern youth have completely lost such personal qualities as patriotism and spirituality. For them, morality is something that can interfere with freedom and limit it. Often people are ready to commit any act to achieve their goals, without thinking at all about the consequences for others.
Thus, today in our country the problem of youth morality is very acute. Solving it will require more than a decade and a lot of effort on the part of the government.
Orthodox understanding of morality
Before the Fall, human nature was in complete harmony and unity - it was whole. It is from here that the term chastity originates, which is understood in Orthodoxy as the non-dispersion of the human mind on objects of desire of sinful passions.17 The material and spiritual components of a single human nature were in harmony with each other: the human body followed the dictates of the soul, the soul obeyed the aspirations of the human spirit , and the spirit rushed to God - to His knowledge through the fulfillment of the commandments (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the cultivation of the Garden of Eden) and communication with Him in prayer. In the biblical narrative we see an obvious connection between the commandments, i.e. way of life and their goal, which was to achieve a state of godlikeness. It is obvious that without Communion with God, achieving this goal would not have been possible; a necessary condition for Communion with God was observance of the commandments.
When a person fulfilled these commandments, in his heavenly state before breaking them, then the state of his nature was completely different from ours: the powers of the human soul - mind, feelings and will - were united in their aspiration towards the Lord. Everything that was required for a person’s body did not contradict his soul, and everything that was characteristic of his soul did not bring dissonance to his spirit.18
Violation of God's commandment led the first parents of the human race to a state of spiritual death (Gen. 2:17). If physical death is the separation of the soul from the body, then spiritual death consists of the separation of the soul, as an organ of knowledge of God, from God.19
The Fall, which externally manifested itself through man's disobedience to God - through the violation of His commandment about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, violates the original unity and harmony of human nature. Sinful disharmony distorts human nature: the flesh (corporality) begins to dominate the soul, the soul becomes the place of concentration of base, carnal passions, and the spirit (νους - mind) began to strive not for God, but for the earthly, for the animal-biological way of life, and became immune to the Truth. But God is not the culprit of this state. Departure from God as the source of Good and Life (See, for example: Ps. 106:1; Matt. 19:17; Deut. 30:15; Job 33:18; John 1:4; John 11: 25), which, strictly speaking, is sin (αμαρτια - other Greek
. blunder, sin), has as its consequence the absence of good, i.e. the choice of evil and the absence of life – i.e. death (See Rom. 6:23).20 “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all men” (Rom. 5:12).
In the Fall, Adam and Eve, having believed the devil, who falsely promised them to achieve the divine state through violation of the commandment (“you will be like gods” (Gen. 3:5)), received the opposite: not the self-sufficiency of their existence, but the need for survival. Our created nature, having lost the true source of its existence - God, is now supported to life by what can be obtained from creation itself: heat, food, minerals, etc., i.e. humanity survives on what is in the dust of the earth or created from it. However, sooner or later, this replacement of true Life - God, turns a person into the very dust, thanks to which we now support our own life (See: Gen. 3:19).21
Because of the violation of the commandment, instead of true spirituality, instead of knowledge of God or deification, i.e. communion with God, a person receives passion, corruption and mortality.22
A characteristic feature of Orthodox theology is the assertion that the Fall introduces into our human nature an unnatural state for it, which is called corruption (see, for example: 2 Pet. 2:19; Rom. 8:21; Gal. 6:8) . This state is not external, understood in legal terms as guilt for sin, and not some kind of accident that a person himself can overcome, but a state of inferiority of being that has become part of our nature. It is a consequence of falling away from God as a result of the first sin of our ancestors, or the Fall. Smoldering has begun to dominate our nature - processes of cell death and decay take place in the body - aging and dying occur. Ultimately, this leads to death itself - the separation of the soul from the body.
Corruption, which became, on the one hand, a condemnation for sin, and on the other, at the same time a consequence of ancestral sin, affects our nature through “immaculate or natural passions”: feelings of hunger, thirst, cold, pain, fatigue, fear, etc. 23 Human nature, as a created being, of course, was characterized by these states, but before the violation of the commandment in paradise, these infirmities were covered by the abundant action of God’s grace. According to the thought of St. Maximus the Confessor, the first sin of Adam, worthy of condemnation, is the falling away of our will from good to evil, “through the first sin the second arose - a change in nature from incorruption to corruption that cannot cause censure,” i.e. man himself refused “the grace of incorruptibility.”24
Now, after the Fall, natural non-sinful passions force us to look for the easiest and simplest ways to satisfy our weaknesses, which also affects our desires, which also begin to smolder. Distortions in our moral image occur due to the fact that it is human nature to avoid unpleasant states and seek more pleasant ones, to strive for pleasures, which plunges us “into the power of carnal pride.”25 For our personal will, natural passions become fertile ground for the development of sin, therefore corruption of will ” appears in our nature
", which affects our will, which is expressed in the desire to sin and in the desire to commit it. In a word, after the Fall it became easier and, as it were, “more natural” for man to choose sin.
There are many places in the Holy Scriptures that speak about this state, here are some of them: “If you do not do good, then sin lies at the door; he draws you to himself, but you must rule over him” (Gen. 4:7) and “let not sin reign in your mortal body, so that you should obey him in his lusts” (Rom. 6:12).
As a result of corruption, each of the parts of our originally united and harmoniously arranged by God nature began to desire its own in contrast to the rest, and now the destiny of man, namely his personal ( gnomic)
) will - to choose from this chaos of desires what he considers most correct and necessary at a given moment in time. We are afraid of pain, we are afraid of damage to ourselves, we strive for sensual and rough pleasures, therefore our will cannot, as it should, resist sin, as a result of which a person breaks the commandments - he sins all the time.
“For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; because the desire for good is in me, but I don’t find it to do it. I don’t do the good that I want, but I do the evil that I don’t want. But if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me” (Rom. 7:18-20). Blessed Theodoret of Cyrus wrote about this: “Having become mortal, [Adam and Eve] conceived mortal children; mortal beings are necessarily subject to passions and fears, joys and sorrows, anger and hatred.”27
The thought of the holy father is revealed by Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlahos), who writes that “due to the corruption and mortality that we inherit from our parents, all kinds of passions develop, such as voluptuousness, love of money and love of fame. In general, it is precisely because of mortality that we fall into many different sins.”28
It is especially noticeable that in the fallen state of our nature such a fundamental sinful passion as self-love manifests itself. According to the thoughts of the saints and fathers, pride is the mother of all other vices. According to one of the Orthodox ascetics, whose teachings are included in the Philokalia, Abba Thalassius, self-love precedes all passions, giving rise to the three most important passions: “gluttony, vanity and love of money, from which all other passions emanate.”29 A person begins to think, first of all. , about himself and tries with all his might to push back the moment of his death as far as possible, by providing more comfortable and better conditions for his earthly existence, often at the expense of others.
Therefore, under the influence of corruption and pride, our natural passions are realized and satisfied in unnatural, sinful ways, which is strengthened by external influence from the devil and fallen spirits through various temptations.30
This is how it is stated in Orthodox ascetic literature: “It is natural for a person to feel hunger. However, you need to eat food necessary to support life, and not out of passion or for satiety. Sleep is natural for a person, but not to the point of satiety and pampering of the body, so that we can subdue the passions and vicious aspirations of the body. ... It is natural for a person to be angry, but not in the indignation of passion. Let him be angry with himself and his vices: the more easily he will be able to correct himself and cut off passions.”31
Thus, as a result of the Fall, our moral state cannot be called perfect or neutral. In other words, the Fall brought about a change not only in man’s relationship with God and with the world He created, but also distorted man’s moral consciousness, feelings and will. It is impossible for one person with his imperfect and damaged moral powers to overcome such a situation. This is evidenced by the experience of the holy fathers of the Orthodox Church. According to the Monk Macarius the Great († c. 391), “the sinful passion that has risen into the soul due to the crime of Adam is incurable among people and can only be healed by God... otherwise it is impossible to receive healing even with a great variety of spiritual drugs, if free will and the will will not cease to sin, being associated with evil.”32
Based on such a fallen state of human nature, we can affirm the insufficiency of the natural moral law and the dictates of conscience in the matter of moral improvement of man. The temptation of self-sufficiency and autonomy of one’s being, which first manifested itself in ancestral sin, contributes to the construction of one’s own world of values, one’s own hierarchy of “good.” Man has not only lost the strength to do good, but also the very criteria of good, as evidenced by the history of pagan religions and the powerless attempts to solve a moral problem with the strength of the human mind alone in the history of philosophy.33
