Morality
(derived from the Latin word:
moralis
- moral; comes from the word:
mores
- morals) or
morality
is a special form of social consciousness and a type of social relations (moral relations) [1] ; a special sphere of suprabiological regulation of human relations in society, determined by sociocultural attitudes. Morality is also considered as a generalized set of norms of human behavior and communication accepted in a particular community, based on ideals and principles of duty.
Morality is the subject of study in ethics.[2]
[edit] The concept of morality
Morality summarizes different aspects of human experience, denoted by the concepts of “good” and “evil”, “virtue” and “vice”, “right” and “wrong”, “duty”, “conscience”, “justice” and the like.[2 ] Moral demands and actions are often higher than usual forms of behavior, sometimes even deny the existing foundations of life, have a progressive historical meaning, and are aimed at the future.[3]
Historically, ideas about morality are formed in the process of philosophical understanding, firstly, of correct behavior based on the ideals of duty and associated principles and values; secondly, the conditions and limits of a person’s will, limited by his own (internal) obligation, as well as the limits of freedom in conditions of externally specified organizational and/or normative order.[2] Human behavior, according to morality, is focused not on the current, but on the future development of events.
Morality cannot arise either in the subject alone, or entirely apart from the subject, but only in the dialectical interaction of these two sides. The essence of the dialectic of subjective and objective in morality is that here what is valuable in the social sense turns into personal interest, recognized as the internal dictate of conscience and the voice of duty.[4]
The main rule of a good person. Golden rule of morality (grade 6)
2500 years ago in the Himalayas there lived a man whose name was Buddha - “enlightened one”. He was a prince, but left his kingdom to travel. Getting to know the world, he learned how much grief and evil there is among people. Buddha wanted to teach people to be happy. He believed that, to happiness, one must follow the path of good thoughts, good deeds and kind words: “do not do to others what you yourself consider evil.”
The golden rule of morality (also called the golden rule of morality) is a way of correctly choosing an action based on a good attitude towards another person. People always face a choice, so they need to know what to do in a given situation. People are also interested in how to properly prove whether they did the right thing. The golden rule of morality teaches you to live correctly, not to do bad things, because all evil will come back.
[edit] History
[edit] Origin of the term
The term moralitas
(morality) arose in the 4th century AD from the adjective
moralis
(relating to character, customs), which the Romans (Cicero), focusing on Greek experience and directly referring to Aristotle, formed from the word
mos
, which is an approximate Latin analogue of the word
ethos
(ethics) .[4]
[edit] History of the emergence and development of morality
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Among primitive people
actions and actions, being a relic of animal adaptation to the environment, did not yet fall under moral regulation. With the development and complexity of social relations, the need to regulate social contradictions predetermined the origin of morality.
The morality of the primitive communal tribal
system was local in nature, extending only to members of the clan and tribe.
With the emergence of slave society
and by the division into privileged and unprivileged, the morality of slave owners and the morality of slaves arose as two sides of the first major contradiction in spiritual culture. Compared to the local nature of the requirements of tribal morality, in a slave society, ideas about values began to spread to all people. The new social force that emerged—the state—with the help of its organizations tried to transform the morality of slave owners into a universal one.
In feudal society
ideas about morality were class-limited in nature and assumed an unequal degree of moral responsibility (depending on class status), prescribed a person a way of life and action that did not degrade the dignity of the class to which he belonged.[4]
Origin, subject and functions of morality
Origin, subject and functions of morality.
The relationship between morality and morality, goals and means as the main issue of morality.
Historical types and norms of morality as a condition for the self-preservation of humanity.
Introduction
The concept of “morality” is extremely polysemantic. There are several dozen specific moralities. Most often, morality is understood as one of the main ways of normative regulation of human actions in society, as well as a special form of social consciousness and type of social relations.
The roles of morality in the life of society and the individual are numerous. It is difficult to explain why morality exists, but it is clear why it exists. If for other earthly creatures the way of life and fate are prescribed by nature, then man - a historical being - makes his own destiny. There is no law written for him once and for all. What man is can never be definitively decided, for neither history nor our personal destiny is yet complete.
Every hour we become different, we improve according to a program that does not yet exist, which we write for ourselves. The point is not to come up with a model of the future and decide how we are going to live. It is much more important to decide what we ourselves will be, what will be considered humane and befitting a person. What will be not only our rights, but also our responsibilities? Who must we become to be fully called human? Man is always on the path of this search; such a truly human path is morality.
The judgment of the sages that humanity is moving in the direction of good is not an illusion or a good wish, it is the essence of morality. Once it exists, we move along it inevitably.
Origin, subject and functions of morality
Morality is a historical concept.
It is one of those universal spiritual values that determine the content of social existence from the very beginning of the emergence of human civilization and will remain its most important attribute as long as man and society exist. Being one of the most ancient forms of social consciousness, morality was formed as man was separated from the animal world in the course of the formation of social relations, the formation of social groups and communities.
Primitive man could not survive alone, and the need for collective existence in that period of time required certain rules of community that each member of the clan had to master. Labor played a decisive role in this process, on the basis of which certain requirements and norms in people’s behavior emerged and were consolidated (became traditions). Collaborative work required coordinated behavior, each and everyone following certain rules. The emergence of morality accompanied the formation of society itself and signified the transition of primitive man from instinctive forms of behavior to expedient and conscious activity. Many elementary moral requirements that arose in the era of the tribal system retain their significance today.
Morality initially, by virtue of its purpose, was addressed to each individual and regulated the relationship “person - person”, “person - collective”, “person - society”. In the process of development of society, increasingly complex rules of community life were established and consolidated, which turned into a habit and were passed on from generation to generation. Biological inheritance gave way to the implementation of social programs, the content of which, as a necessary element, included morality as a mechanism of social continuity. Having arisen from the need to regulate relations between people and manage social processes based on a combination of individual and public interests, it has a social content
, is the most important sign of the spiritual world of man as a social being. This need existed throughout the development of society, defining its humanistic essence.
Questions of the origin of morality are considered differently in different ethical systems. Naturalistic
(evolutionist) concepts - they derive morality from the natural factor, its content is determined by the achievement of a moral goal in relation to nature and the outside world. Morality is seen as a simple continuation and complication of the group instincts of animals as a way of survival of the species in the struggle for existence. There is nothing in human behavior that is not found in animals.
The naturalistic interpretation of the requirements of morality arises in ancient times: the teaching of Heraclitus on morality as the law of a single logos, the Pythagoreans’ ideas about heavenly harmony, the theory of Confucius about the heavenly world, etc. So Heraclitus wrote that people for the most part do not understand the single law of logos, the original kinship with they do not follow his demands. And this leads to the fact that they are captive of various prejudices, “enjoying dirt like pigs.” Therefore, self-will in behavior must be “extinguished sooner than a fire.”
Naturalistic concepts in ethics became widespread during the Renaissance (D. Bruno, B. Telesio) and during the New Age: theories of natural morality and law, reasonable egoism, utilitarianism, etc. In the 19th century. these ideas are developed by Charles Darwin, P. Lafargue, K. Kautsky, G. Spencer, P. Kropotkin and other sociologists who consider ethics as a phase of the biological evolution of the world. The meaning of morality is to ensure biologically expedient activity, and the organic world is included in the sphere of moral relations. So P.A. Kropotkin considered the principle of sociability or the “law of mutual assistance” in the animal world as the initial beginning of the emergence of such moral norms as a sense of duty, compassion, respect for fellow tribesmen and even self-sacrifice. Mutual assistance in the process of evolution turns into the concept of justice, which is the main content of ethics.
In modern ethics, K. Lorenz adheres to a similar position. In his publications “Tales of Animals”, “The Ring of King Solomon”, “On So-Called Moral Evil”, “The Eight Deadly Sins of Mankind” and others, he views moral standards as a simple continuation and complication of animal instincts. The main ones are: 1) the struggle for the preservation and continuation of the family gives rise in human practice to such virtues as love, care, pity, responsibility and 2) the struggle for existence, protection of the territory of residence is manifested in human competitiveness and aggressive principles. As a result, humanity must admit that its nature is natural, biological, and we must learn to tame aggressiveness and try to reduce its influence on our lives. The best way to overcome it is love, creativity and humor, which allows you to orient your life in a positive direction.
The disadvantage of naturalistic concepts is that they blur the line between the social and the biological, identify humans and animals, and equate moral values with biological ones. Explaining the emergence of morality through the course of natural evolution, representatives of naturalistic ethics deny the qualitative specificity of the spiritual world of the individual in relation to the natural environment, exaggerate the role of natural sciences in understanding and improving morality, and downplay the importance of moral education.
A variety of naturalistic concepts on the issue of the origin of morality is the sociological approach to ethics. Its supporters note the difference between human culture and the animal world, but emphasize that they have a common basis of origin - the gene as an elementary information unit, which is a means (keeper and transmitter) of information, a method of biological and social inheritance at the molecular level about the individual and collective living experience. And the whole question of morality comes down to understanding whether genes are altruistic or selfish. Thus, the famous English geneticist Robert Dawkins1 believes that genes are selfish. The entire evolution of living things, in his opinion, is connected with the struggle for existence already at the molecular level and it is not always the strong and worthy who survive, but, as a rule, the most cunning, who have managed to adapt the inherited experience to fight their neighbors. Those who show maximum self-love survive to a greater extent. The egoist gene even allows forms of behavior that are in some way related to altruism and are currently beneficial to it. Where it is beneficial and necessary, the egoist gene will (and is able) to love another. From these positions, the nature of altruism is only a projection of selfish behavior. Man is just a machine for bearing genes, and morality is an invention of egoists for greater security for themselves. Essentially, this theory also denies the social determination of morality.
Anthropological concepts
The origin of morality derives morality from the “nature of man” as a natural being, his needs, interests, and the “unchangeable” biological and psychological essence of the individual.
The initial principles of this direction were proclaimed back in the 5th century. BC. Greek philosopher Protagoras in his famous saying: “Man is the measure of all things.” Within this direction there were many ethical schools. Thus, hedonism
(from the Greek - pleasure, enjoyment) derived morality from empirical sensations of pleasure or displeasure. A person must be taught to understand the differences between them and to find the fullness of being in the pursuit of pleasure. The main value for a person is a good mood, and to prevent it from turning into a bad one, there is no need to burden yourself with unnecessary problems - property and other worries.
Representatives of eudaimonism
(from the Greek - happiness) as a type of anthropological teaching, happiness was considered the initial principle of morality, its main goal. Happiness as the highest moral good is not limited to momentary bodily pleasures, but is a combination of physical and spiritual values. For example, happiness, according to Socrates, is the achievement of internal freedom and self-awareness of the individual. Democritus viewed happiness as the ability to manage and enjoy the blessings of life. Representatives of the anthropological trend in ethics are F. Aquinas, D. Hume, French materialists, L. Feuerbach, and Russian revolutionary democrats of the 19th century. and other thinkers. In modern conditions, anthropological ethics is presented in the works of the American philosopher E. Fromm and other philosophers.
Within the framework of this direction in ethical teachings, the concept of utilitarianism can also be considered.
Its main concept is the benefit of the individual (benefit, personal interest, self-interest, etc.). The source of morality is “human nature,” and the content of moral choice is assessed by arithmetic calculation of benefits and losses based on the results of an action. In the history of ethics it was represented by the sophists in the 5th-6th centuries. BC e., Bentham, J. S. Mill, the doctrine of pragmatism, etc. Frank individualism and the subordination of personal behavior to the principle of material benefit and selfish calculation, denial of the leading role of spiritual interests in human activity make utilitarianism unattractive for a significant part of the public, which does not accept the commercial approach in determining spiritual values. Therefore, at present, overt utilitarianism is rare and is presented in a disguised form. As a rule, it flourishes in a society with uncontrolled market relations.
Creationist
theories (creation - creation) represent various types of religious moral systems. The source of morality within these concepts is God. Morality is God's gift, which, like a lightning strike, cut man off from the animal world. Since the authority of God is sacred and indisputable, his moral commandments are equally sacred, absolute and do not require justification. These commandments are associated with the names of Moses, Jesus Christ, Buddha and Muhammad. Following them, observing them brings a person closer to the moral ideal.
In the Bible, the legislation of Moses sets forth the basic moral principles of the Jews. The starting point is the idea of a single God and common moral principles, which set a single spiritual space for uniting various tribes into a single people and raised them to an awareness of their special purpose in the world. The ethical meaning of this teaching is that the Jews are the children of Israel, and their spiritual father is Moses. Their religiosity rests on monotheism, morality on love for their people, legislation on the principle of equal retribution. In ethical culture, the name of Moses is associated with the ten commandments (“the code of Moses”), which are usually divided into 2 groups: the first four belong to the sphere of sacred law and are considered religious, and the next six belong to the sphere of secular law and are actually moral. Both groups of rules are connected into a single system in such a way that the norms of relationships between people directly follow and depend on their relationship with God.
The first three commandments command the worship of only God Yahweh and prohibit the worship and creation of other gods. The liberation of Jews from slavery is a testament to his strength and justice. In the fourth commandment: “remember the day of rest,” the relationship to God and the relationship to others turns out to be one and the same relationship. Saturday is a time of reflection on God; on this day everyone is equalized before him. Rest is prescribed for both slaves and foreigners, regardless of their social status. The fifth commandment commands honoring father and mother. In the Pentateuch there is a norm prescribing the death penalty for children who beat or cursed their father and mother. The following commandments are the norms of a person’s attitude towards his neighbors, his people. They set the measure of justice: “do not kill; Thou shalt not commit adultery; don't steal; do not bear false witness; do not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Compliance with them is a criterion of moral behavior. Justice, as defined by the Decalogue, is equal retribution, prescribes to respond with murder for murder (if there is no evidence of its unintentionality), mutilation for mutilation, according to the principle: life for life, eye for an eye. The same principle applies when other commandments are violated. Moses instructs: “Do to him as he plotted to do to his brother. And destroy evil from your midst. And the rest will hear and be afraid, and will no longer do the like of this atrocity among you. And let no eye spare you: life for soul, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot” (Deut. 19:19-21).
The division of people into “us” and “strangers” in the commandments of Moses continued the tradition of cannibal “ethics”, which reflected the original enmity of the tribes. The commandments of Moses tried to somehow subordinate this hostility to certain rules. For example, if a hostile city surrendered voluntarily, it was not plundered; otherwise, revenge would apply to everyone, including women and children. Cruelty is also shown towards Israeli communities found to be apostates. All life in them was destroyed. From the point of view of New Testament morality, Old Testament morality is limited, but it allows for a transition “to further improvement, the limit of which is outside the Old Testament itself”2.
In Christianity
– the largest world religion, problems of ethics will be of paramount importance, and morality has religious origins. The founder of this religion, Jesus Christ, is the creator of a new morality, which can be defined as the ethics of love. The essence of his teaching boils down to the following: man’s misfortunes began from the moment when he walked away from God and imagined that he himself could decide what is good and fight evil, violence and deception. Such conceit only multiplies evil in the world and brings humanity to a fatal point. Salvation consists in realizing the falsity of the division of people into good and evil and the need to fight evil with the help of good. All people are children of God, in each of them there is a spark of God. Therefore, their relationship should be the same as between children in the same family and be built on love. Love is original and self-sufficient. At the same time, the meaning of love is deeper; it is not limited to earthly life, but presupposes aspiration towards God. Earthly life is imperfect, so the heart should not belong to the world and its values. Truly moral values are those that direct a person to divine spirituality. The highest spiritual selflessness is a symbol of divine love. The earthly world is marked with the seal of death, but the divine world is eternal. The less a person strives to have, the more he will have in heaven.
The ideal of Christ is the ethics of love. His last instruction to his closest disciples before his death was to love each other. Love is humble and imbued with the highest humanism - “love your enemy.” Pride is the first sin of man. Love is active. A person's morality must be assessed by his deeds, not by his words. Love is selfless when it is directed toward those from whom we cannot benefit. These are the disadvantaged, humiliated, insulted, persecuted. Love is understood as the spiritual unity of people. Christ raises the commandments of the Torah to a higher degree of humanism and spirituality. For example, the Pentateuch says, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” and Jesus says, “...thou shalt not commit adultery, even in thought, in thy heart.”
In the holy book of Muslims
— In the Koran (Arabic – read, declare), the relationship between God and people, according to Muhammad, is determined exclusively by God. In a person’s life, everything depends on God; to achieve happiness, one must trust and submit to God. God is one. This guarantees the harmony of the world. True faith is associated with the understanding that socio-natural differences are secondary; unity in God is more important. Islam was understood by Muhammad himself as a universal religion. Faith, according to his teaching, is revealed in actions. It reads: “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet.” The Muslim faith is a way of life that includes obligatory prayer, obligatory fasting, obligatory almsgiving, pilgrimage (Hajj) to the main shrine of Muslims - the Kaaba in Mecca, performed according to the orders of Muhammad himself at a precisely set time. A true Muslim must touch a shrine at least once in his life and make a pilgrimage.
The uniqueness of the ethics of the Koran lies in the fact that moral norms are consistent with other forms of regulation of interpersonal relationships. Morality is woven into the language of practical life. If Christian ethics is based on generalized moral principles, then the ethics of the Koran, on the contrary, prescribes what must be done specifically in order to embody morality and get closer to the ideal. This is ethics of practical standards. Christian ethics is rigoristic and in this sense its prescriptions are absolute. The ethics of the Quran are relative, for example, eating pork is prohibited, but under certain circumstances you can deviate from this rule. The imperative nature of norms is not categorical. Christian ethics answers the question: why should one be moral? Muslim - how to become moral. Christian ethics is focused on a divided person, on the one hand, imperfect; on the other hand, striving for perfection. Muslim - comes from a person who understands his imperfection and the limitations of his capabilities. Man in it is not godlike; in the Koran there is no idea of original sin.
The main idea of Buddhist
is that man is an imperfect being and his endless suffering is associated with this. In order to come to terms with himself, to achieve harmony, he needs to break out of the flow of life in which he is included. This means being “beyond good and evil.” Thus, a person achieves immortality. This idea has practical meaning for humans. To achieve immortality, a person must conquer himself. And Buddhism prescribes a specific path to this victory. To do this, you need to comprehend the four noble truths: there is suffering; there is a cause of suffering; there is a cessation of suffering - nirvana; there is a path leading to the cessation of suffering - this is the right path. It includes 8 steps, which can be considered as a scheme of moral ascent to perfection.
Perfection is associated with going beyond the boundaries of morality itself. Buddha in one of his sayings says that a brahmana (a bearer of high moral qualities) is one who has avoided attachment to both good and evil, who is carefree and dispassionate. The ethics of Buddhism are asocial. For all times and peoples, it is outside the specific historical system. It is individualistic and indicates the path of individual ascent to perfection, regardless of the social environment and involves the resolution of social conflicts through the internal self-improvement of everyone. Moral goals in Buddhism are outlined by practical precepts. The religious element in his ethical system is weakly expressed.3
Socio-historical
direction in ethics proceeds from the fact that there is a fundamental difference between the biological nature of animals and humans, generated by the conditions of existence and development of society. The most important specific feature of the formation of human spiritual life, including morality, is the active activity of people, which differs from the herd behavior of animals in its expediency and meaningfulness. The justification of morality based on the facts of social life is presented in the works of T. Hobbes, J.-J. Rousseau, French materialists and other representatives of educational ideology. For the functioning of society as a whole, from their point of view, it is necessary to define and isolate certain initial human rights, and a person, in turn, must realize the need for moral obligations to other people and society. The solution to these problems should be ensured by moral standards of behavior in accordance with the requirements of reason and moral education. People's behavior is socially conditioned, and education and upbringing are the most important conditions for improving the conditions of their life.
The main drawback of these concepts - considering the individual outside of social relations and understanding morality as an external condition of human existence - was overcome in Marxist ethics. K. Marx and F. Engels were the first to introduce into the content of morality the concept of practice based on work activity as the main criterion of human behavior. The example given in K. Marx’s work “Capital” about the activities of a bee and an architect illustrates the qualitative difference in the behavior of animals and humans. He writes that the spider performs operations reminiscent of those of a weaver during work, and the bee puts many architects to shame with the construction of its wax cells. But the worst architect differs from the best bee from the very beginning in that before he builds anything, he builds a model of the future building in his head. Already at the beginning of the labor process, its result is in ideal form. The second important feature of human activity is the manufacture of tools, which are used as a means of active, purposeful activity. Only man has consciousness. If rational activity, such as the ability to retain information, is also characteristic of animals, then reason is the privilege of only humans.
The human community is built on special mechanisms of interaction between individuals that animals do not have. This is the ability to empathize (sympathy, entering the spiritual world of another). Only humans are characterized by altruistic actions, care and responsibility, and moral creativity. To maintain relationships within its community, humanity has developed a mechanism of spiritual culture. Culture is a way of receiving, preserving, transmitting and developing information about a wide variety of life activities. Morality is a cultural way of obtaining information about how to live with dignity in order to survive.
Modern ethics
, critically analyzing various approaches to resolving the issue of the origin and essence of morality, believes that it arises in the process of the formation of a person as a tribal being, is his spiritual essence, and is determined by the requirements of life. And it is not imposed from the outside. Moreover, its individual elements did not arise and form simultaneously. First, the practice of moral relations arises. This is the period of primitive society, when moral regulation itself was combined with other forms of regulation - utilitarian-practical, religious-ritual, etc. The next stage in the development of morality is group morality as a system of prohibitions (taboos) in tribal society. And finally, at the third stage, internal individual moral values appear, which determined the beginning of civilization. This refers to the period of decomposition of the tribal system and the emergence of a slave society.
Functions of morality
Philosophers argue that morality has three main functions: evaluating, regulating, and educating .
Evaluating : morality evaluates all actions, all social life (economics, politics, culture) from the point of view of humanism, whether it is good or bad, good or evil. If actions are useful to people, contribute to the improvement of life, free development, this is good, this is good. They do not contribute, they hinder evil. If a person wants to evaluate from a moral point of view (people’s actions, behavior), then he uses the terms of good and evil, or words with similar meanings: honor, dishonor, decency, baseness, meanness, etc., while expressing his moral assessment, either blames, or praises, or criticizes. Assessment influences practice, otherwise it would not be needed. When a phenomenon is assessed as good, then one must strive for it; if it is evil, then eradicate and avoid it. Consequently, by assessing the world around us, we change something in it and, first of all, ourselves, our position, behavior, worldview. Morality helps us in the search for true values.
Regulatory: morality regulates human behavior and consciousness to one degree or another in all spheres of social life without exception in work, everyday life, politics, family, personal, intra-group, inter-class and international relations. In contrast to the special requirements imposed in each of these areas, the principles of morality have socially universal significance and apply to all people, capturing in themselves that common and fundamental thing that makes up the culture of interhuman relations and is deposited in the centuries-old experience of the development of society. They support and sanction certain social foundations, ways of life and forms of communication (or, on the contrary, require their changes) in the most general form, in contrast to more detailed, traditionally customary, organizational, administrative and technical norms.
Morality does not use the services of departments and officials. It regulates the movement of our lives through the opinions of people around us, public opinion, through the inner conviction of the individual, through conscience. A person is very sensitive to the opinions of others, he is not indifferent to what they think of him, therefore, public opinion can influence a person, regulate his behavior, and such regulation is based not on the force of an order or law, but on moral authority, moral influence. But there are times when society is under the rule of prejudice, ignorance, stupidity, and self-interest. Therefore, a person, living in society, must listen to his own opinion, and most importantly, be able to evaluate it correctly, not be a soulless cog in the state machine and not a slave of social relations. When necessary, become a fighter, defending truth, justice, and humanism.
Educational: morality occupies a special position in the educational process, in addition to education from other people (parents, teachers, public opinion), as well as self-education. The fact is that morality is present everywhere, it is included in all parts of human activity, and therefore in mental, physical, aesthetic education and is the highest guideline for education, putting forward moral ideals for it.
From the special position of morality in the educational process follows its special task in society: to give education the correct orientation, to promote a harmonious combination of personal and public interests, i.e. a person's ability to care for others as well as for themselves.
Morality teaches us to see value in every person and encourages people to treat each other humanely. We should never oppress the interests and rights of other people by our behavior. Morality teaches us to do every thing in such a way that it does not cause harm to other people. In other words, the educational task of morality is to educate a person who knows how to act fairly and humanely.
Freedom and responsibility (8th grade)
A person must always comprehend his actions, foresee their consequences - good or evil - and, of course, bear responsibility for the result. Because, even if we work hard and earn good money, but at the same time we do not think about the meaning of our activity, its social consequences, we can become a toy in the hands of evil and, willy-nilly, help commit crimes. Each of us, whether we want it or not, always bears responsibility for the social results of our actions. To be a responsible person means to correctly understand your own and other people’s problems and difficulties, try to foresee the results of your actions and be able to answer for them. There are different types of responsibility, but the most important one is moral responsibility , responsibility before one’s own conscience. Freedom is the ability to act at your own discretion . But if you have already made a choice, you will be responsible for your actions yourself. Because freedom and responsibility are like two sides of the same coin: one is impossible without the other. Freedom without responsibility is irresponsibility, it is arbitrariness, it is permissiveness, licentiousness. Irresponsibility is always associated with indifference and frivolity, with empty self-confidence. This is a blind, thoughtless, random choice, which often leads to harmful consequences, both for others and for the one who committed the irresponsible act. From this we can conclude that a person is always in a difficult situation. There has never been a ready answer, and there never will be. You have to decide for yourself what to do and take responsibility for your choice.
What is ethics?
Ethics is the science of the essence and content of morality, the laws of its emergence, development and functioning. Marxist ethics is an integral part of the ideology of the working class; it includes a theoretical understanding of morality. Marxist ethics for the first time determined the socio-economic source of morality, the patterns of its development and functioning. She pays special attention to the content of morality, expressed primarily in its requirements (principles, norms and rules), as well as the laws of its functioning - the fulfillment of a regulatory function, the process of transforming moral knowledge into beliefs and needs.
The study of ethics attracts a person’s attention to the moral side of his behavior, teaches him to see the moral aspect in any type of activity, helps him correctly solve his moral problems: to form an idea of the meaning of life and the moral ideal, to understand that morality is not established on its own, spontaneously, but requires a person’s activity in the struggle with himself, with the remnants of bourgeois morality in his consciousness and behavior, that he embodies morality” in practical affairs, in the fight against manifestations of evil and the affirmation of good. The study of ethics gives a person the opportunity to understand the entire system of moral relations in society and help him in organizing moral education and self-education.
Moral choice is responsibility. Moral choice (8th grade)
Moral standards provide an example of correct behavior. However, there is no reason to claim that a person always behaves correctly. He can be kind, generous, merciful, honest, noble, etc. But he is also capable of meanness, lies, betrayal, immeasurable cruelty, etc. Believers have a wonderful word for this case - sin. Everything that a person has done against morality, any evil, is a sin, they say. Instead of the program that is laid down by natural evolution, man is given freedom of choice in his actions - between good and evil, moral and immoral. This is a great gift that no other living creature possesses. A person himself always decides what to do: to observe or not to observe moral standards. When a person thinks about what choice he should make, this is a choice of action or, more precisely, a moral choice - when a person not only internally chooses his moral (good or evil) attitude, but also acts in accordance with his choice. We can say this: moral choice is the choice of one’s attitude (good or evil) towards other people.
Signs of moral standards
- sustainability
Moral norms, represented, for example, in customs and traditions, can persist for a long time. Having originated in one century, they continue to be observed by several generations of people until they are replaced by other norms, but this process, as a rule, takes a long time. The second feature of morality follows from this.
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What types of deviant behavior do sociologists identify?
- variability
Moral standards tend to change, since the social structure itself is subject to constant change. The emergence of new social groups is always associated with the formation of their own spiritual and material values, which do not always coincide with the values of the majority. The strengthening of the role of new layers of society leads to the fact that their values and norms are spreading more and more and becoming generally accepted.
