Every society has a set of rules, assessments, principles and norms of behavior that are based on a historically established understanding of what is good, what is bad, and is not subject to criticism. This organization of life in society is called morality. For many people, this is synonymous with moral behavior.
Moral behavior
In psychology, this concept is considered not only in a collective, but also in an individual sense; morality is understood as the level of self-control of an individual.
How did morality appear, its essence
The term "morality" is of Latin origin. Literally translated, it means “character”, “custom”. Over the centuries since its appearance, its content has changed. The concept is based on the laws and traditions of the state. Changes in the social way of life and the evolutionary development of society entailed a transformation in the content of morality.
In modern society, this concept is used as a presentation of acceptable human actions. At the same time, legally established principles in relation to people with different citizenships in the territory of one country will operate differently. They treat “insiders” more leniently than strangers. The current legislation of the Russian Federation provides for the recovery of compensation from a citizen if he has caused moral damage to someone.
In addition, society has a class stratification; different rules and norms of behavior prevail in its different layers. By identifying himself with a particular social group, a person accepts its legal principles. He develops a sense of responsibility for his actions, empathy, guilt, and repentance.
Research reports regarding the emergence and development of morality in humans can be combined into 3 approaches:
- The cognitive approach is based on the confidence of scientists that morality goes through several stages in its development and is correlated with the age periodization of development. The founders of this approach were J. Piaget, L. Kohlberg, E. Turiel.
- The biological approach connects morality with the development of the psyche. A small child is not yet able to understand moral rules and analyze the behavior of others. An adult whose mental functions have reached their maximum, observing this or that behavior of people, can say with confidence whether it is moral or not. Proponents of this approach were D. Haidt and M. Hoffman.
- The psychoanalytic approach explains the child’s ability to follow the rules for the development of feelings of guilt and shame. The founder of this approach is S. Freud.
Feelings of guilt and shame
Attention! Moral norms differ in different countries. Their content is determined by nationality, value guidelines of residents and the desire of state authorities to protect the quiet life of citizens.
Definition of morality in different sciences
Fear of heights - what is the name of the phobia?
Sciences that study human behavior, law and laws, and the characteristics of different segments of the population offer different interpretations of moral teachings. However, all these definitions are similar in that morality is a person’s assessment of his actions from the point of view of their correctness or incorrectness.
Important! In different societies, the attitude towards the same act may be different, because morality and morality of an individual are conditional characteristics.
The first science in which researchers began to wonder what morality is was philosophy. The author of the term “morality” is Cicero. Ancient philosophers identified it with ethical principles of behavior.
Physiologists and biologists have established that a separate cognitive system is not formed in the human brain at the moment of thinking about moral issues. Solving questions related to moral choice activates the neural regions of the brain that are responsible for a person’s explanation of the intentions of other people. These same parts of the brain are responsible for a person’s understanding of social emotions. Based on this, the researchers concluded that morality is involved in the emergence of mutual understanding between people. The physiological development of a part of the brain also explains the formation of the moral foundations of a person in the process of growing up.
Psychologists, answering the question of what morality means, associate it with a person’s personal development, with the emergence of his ability to empathize with others, analyze his own and others’ behavior. From the point of view of psychology, the formation of morality is impossible without education. Norms and values are formed in the family. It is here that the experience of moral behavior must be passed on from one generation to another.
Important! In philosophy, morality is ethics. Physiology has proven that morality is a result of brain development. In psychology, the concept of morality is associated with a high level of education.
High education
Question 2. Features of morality as a social phenomenon.
Value-orienting function - a person independently navigates life according to moral values, morality contains important guidelines for a person: ideas about the meaning of life, about the purpose of man, about the value of everything humane.
The cognitive function is a means of understanding the inner world of a person, gives him ethical knowledge, helps him solve moral issues, manage his behavior, feelings, etc.
The educational function is aimed at stimulating the process of moral self-education of the individual.
The communicative function of morality is to ritualize human communication, humanize communication, and strive to make communication as pleasant as possible for all parties. Orients a person toward goodness in communication.
Ideological function - substantiates the morality of the political and economic goals and interests of a particular class, social layer, group, social movement with the aim of moral consolidation of a socially heterogeneous society.
The worldview function is the moral foundations of an individual, the system of moral values developed by him, which mediates all his political, religious, aesthetic, philosophical and other views.
The evaluative function is a person’s way of mastering reality using evaluative categories, for example, good and evil.
Orienting function - before making a moral judgment and implementing one or another form in action or behavior, sometimes you have to weigh a fairly significant number of circumstances; choosing from many norms the only correct, fair one can only be a good command of the science of ethics, a high level of moral culture, which are a mechanism that can give us an accurate guideline (the most moral line of behavior).
The identification of certain functions of morality (as well as a separate analysis of each of them) is quite conditional, since in reality they are always closely fused with each other , since morality simultaneously regulates, educates, orients, etc. It is in the integrity of functioning that the uniqueness of its impact on human existence is manifested.
Question 16. Independence as a universal principle of morality, its specification in the professional activity of a lawyer.
Independence is a moral quality that characterizes an individual’s ability to independently, freely and responsibly perform actions and choose a line of behavior.
Independence is the principle of professional activity.
Ethics of a prosecutor's office employee,
Ethics of a judge
The ethics of an entrepreneur is a set of norms of conduct for an entrepreneur in negotiations, communication, drawing up documentation, etc., reflecting the specifics of his activities, and also often determined by the historical conditions of a particular country,
Social work ethics is a manifestation of general moral standards in social services.
Professional ethics as a necessary condition for achieving the goals of professional activity:
• People performing the same functions in society develop in the process of their activities common moral standards, the meaning of which is to effectively contribute to the solution of professional problems and improve the personality of a specialist.
• Useful activity is socially oriented, aimed at the benefit of man, therefore it is based on the principle of humanism. The range of issues of professional ethics also includes the problem of work motivation. Labor is an activity that requires high discipline, attention, etc. The constant tension of the employee’s will is determined not only by material incentives, but also by moral values. Identifying them and choosing the optimal motivation model becomes an urgent task of professional ethics.
Question 20. Code of ethics: concept and its types. Question 21. Purpose, structure of the code of ethics, main issues to be regulated.
A code of ethics is a set of moral norms that are prescribed for execution and have one degree or another of reinforcement.
Features of the Code of Ethics:
1. The code reflects those moral requirements that the spontaneous moral consciousness of a society or group had already developed before it.
2. The Code covers mainly those standards of behavior that are practiced by the vast majority
3. It reflects norms of behavior that are desirable and ideal, but society is not yet able to ensure their implementation
The role of the code of ethics: it is a set of rules and norms of behavior that are shared by group members. With the help of the code, certain models of behavior and uniform standards of relationships and joint activities are set. The code of ethics is one of the levers of personnel management. With its help, you can unite all team members and create a corporate culture.
Types of ethical codes:
1) Professional Code of Ethics - regulates relations within the professional community,
2) National Code of Ethics - establishes the basic rules of ethical behavior and indicates moral guidelines,
3) World Code of Ethics - testifies to social progress, the gradual humanization of society,
4) Corporate Code of Ethics – the goal is to help corporation employees behave ethically.
Types of codes (according to the textbook):
• general moral code - the requirements are universal;
• codes of corporate ethics;
• professional codes of ethics,
• codes of professional ethics.
Functions of the code of ethics:
• Reputational – increasing trust in the company from potential investors and business partners.
• Managerial – formation of ethical aspects of corporate culture between stakeholders, regulation of priorities in relations with external stakeholders, listing and specifying forms of behavior that are unacceptable from an ethical standpoint, determining the order and procedure for developing and making decisions in complex ethical situations.
• Development of corporate culture – focusing employees on common corporate goals.
Features of codes of both corporate and professional ethics in contrast to general moral codes:
1. Represent a systematic collection of principles and norms of corporate or professional behavior
2. Mandatory, which is achieved through their legitimation either administratively or through approval by a congress or congress of representatives of a given profession
3. Their execution is ensured, including disciplinary measures, for which mechanisms and procedures for control and disciplinary action are provided, and the authorized subjects of such control and appropriate sanctions are indicated
The professional code of ethics has a clearly defined structure and can be represented as consisting of the following main sections:
1. preamble ( introduction ), which substantiates the need to introduce the code, reveals its goals and objectives, areas of application, and defines the subjects and objects of activity;
2. values – requirements for the essence and content of professional activity as such;
3. principles of behavior - the most general requirements for the behavior of specialists across the entire range of their activities;
4. professional duty and responsibilities (standards) of specialists (to society and the state, profession, colleagues and staff, students and their parents, to themselves);
5. requirements for the personality qualities of a specialist , criteria for professional suitability and selection , the requirement for professional and personal improvement;
6. enforcement of the code, a system of sanctions (punishment and rewards);
7. conditions for the validity and legalization of the codec (when and by whom it was adopted, in what cases it can be used and under what conditions it can be suspended).
Sometimes the code contains additional sections:
• main problem areas, conflict zones and the most common ways to resolve them;
• the most important rules of professional etiquette;
• cooperation with other professional associations, government and public bodies;
• provision of services, remuneration for work.
A specific example is the code of judicial ethics (see question 23).
CHAPTER 2. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CONDUCT OF A JUDGE
Article 4. Requirements for compliance with legislation and the Code of Judicial Ethics
1. When performing his duties in the administration of justice, a judge must proceed from the fact that the judicial protection of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen determines the meaning and content of the activities of the judiciary.
2. In his professional activities and outside of service, a judge is obliged to comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal constitutional laws, federal laws, be guided by the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Status of Judges in the Russian Federation”, norms of procedural legislation, other normative legal acts, as well as principles and rules behavior established by the Code of Judicial Ethics, generally accepted norms of morality and morality, strictly follow the oath of the judge.
3. Compliance with the Code of Judicial Ethics should be the internal conviction of the judge, the rule of his life, and should help strengthen public confidence in the judicial system, his confidence that justice is carried out competently, independently, impartially and fairly.
Article 5. Requirements for ensuring priority in professional activities
1. A judge must proceed from the fact that the administration of justice is a priority for him in relation to any other activity that he has the right to carry out in accordance with the legislation on the status of judges.
2. A judge does not have the right to evade consideration of applications, petitions and complaints received by him or to otherwise refuse to perform his professional duties, except for cases requiring a statement of self-recusal.
3. During the entire term of office, a judge must not carry out any activities that could call into question his independence and impartiality and lead to a conflict of interest.
4. In addition to exercising judicial powers, a judge may engage in other paid activities permitted by law, including teaching, scientific, and creative activities, if this does not interfere with the administration of justice.
Article 6. Requirements for a judge aimed at ensuring his status
1. A judge must follow high standards of morality and morality, be honest, maintain personal dignity in any situation, value his honor, avoid anything that could diminish the authority of the judiciary and damage the reputation of the judge.
2. A judge must conscientiously exercise his civil rights and perform civil duties. He must not use his official position to obtain personal advantages in civil relations. He should avoid concluding agreements that entail the emergence of financial obligations with persons who are professionally dependent on him, as well as with persons who are participants in legal proceedings in cases pending before him.
3. A judge should not use his status in order to obtain any benefits, services, commercial or other benefits for himself, his relatives, friends, acquaintances (for example, obtaining a loan, concluding agreements on terms other than those provided for other persons ); demand or accept benefits, payments and advantages not provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation (for example, loans, interest-free loans, services, payment for entertainment, recreation, transportation expenses) and is obliged to take reasonable measures to ensure that these benefits, payments and advantages cannot be accepted members of his family, if this is caused by actions that the judge has committed or intends to commit, or by the judge’s inaction in connection with the performance of his official duties.
A judge should not use his status when contacting various state bodies and local governments on personal issues; receive remuneration related to the performance of duties to administer justice from sources other than the federal budget, and in cases provided for by law, the budget of the relevant constituent entity of the Russian Federation.
4. A judge must be aware of his personal property and the sources of its formation, and must take reasonable measures to obtain information about the property and material interests of his family members.
5. A judge should not perform any actions or give reasons to other persons to perform such actions that would allow one to draw a conclusion about influencing the exercise of the judge’s powers and to doubt the independence and impartiality of the judge.
Article 7. Requirements regarding the acceptance of titles, awards, gifts
A judge may accept honorary and special titles, awards and other insignia, including from foreign states, political parties, public associations and other organizations, as well as receive gifts in cases and in the manner prescribed by law.
Article 1
The Code of Professional Ethics for Lawyers establishes mandatory rules of conduct for every lawyer when carrying out legal activities, based on the moral criteria and traditions of the legal profession, on international standards and rules of the legal profession, as well as the grounds and procedure for holding a lawyer accountable.
Lawyers have the right in their activities to be guided by the norms and rules of the General Code of Rules for Lawyers of the Countries of the European Community insofar as these rules do not contradict the legislation on advocacy and the legal profession and the provisions of this Code.
Article 2
1. This Code supplements the rules established by the legislation on advocacy and the legal profession.
2. No provision of this Code should be interpreted as prescribing or allowing the commission of acts that contradict the requirements of the legislation on advocacy and the legal profession.
Article 3
1. This Code applies to lawyers.
2. Lawyers (heads of legal entities (divisions)) are obliged to familiarize assistant lawyers, trainee lawyers and other employees with this Code, ensure their compliance with its norms in the part corresponding to their functional responsibilities.
Article 4
1. A lawyer must, under all circumstances, maintain the honor and dignity inherent in his profession.
2. The need to comply with the rules of the legal profession follows from the fact of conferring the status of a lawyer.
The lawyer's oath is taken by an applicant who has successfully passed the qualifying exam for the status of lawyer, in a solemn ceremony no later than three months from the date the qualification commission makes a decision to grant the applicant the status of lawyer. The document containing the text of the oath and the signature of the lawyer under it is kept in the files of the Council of the corresponding bar association of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Council).
2.1. By taking the oath of attorney, the applicant who has passed the qualification exam assumes responsibility for performing the duties of a lawyer and observing the rules of conduct established by the legislation on advocacy and the legal profession and this Code.
3. In cases where issues of professional ethics of a lawyer are not regulated by the legislation on advocacy and the legal profession or by this Code, the lawyer is obliged to comply with the customs and traditions established in the legal profession that correspond to the general principles of morality in society.
4. In a difficult ethical situation, a lawyer has the right to turn to the Council for clarification, which cannot be denied to him.
Article 5
1. The professional independence of a lawyer, as well as the client’s confidence in the decency, honesty and integrity of the lawyer are necessary conditions for trust in him.
2. A lawyer must avoid actions (inactions) aimed at undermining trust.
3. Breach of trust is incompatible with the title of lawyer.
Article 6
1. There can be no trust in a lawyer without confidence in maintaining professional secrecy. Professional secrecy of a lawyer (advocate privilege) ensures the immunity of the principal granted to the latter by the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
2. Maintaining professional secrecy is an absolute priority of a lawyer’s activities. The period for keeping secrets is not limited in time.
3. A lawyer cannot be released from the obligation to maintain professional secrecy by anyone other than the client. The principal's consent to terminate the attorney-client privilege must be expressed in writing in the presence of a lawyer under conditions that exclude influence on the principal by the lawyer and third parties.
4. Without the consent of the client, a lawyer has the right to use information communicated to him by the client to the extent that the lawyer considers reasonably necessary to substantiate his position when considering a civil dispute between him and the client or for his defense in disciplinary proceedings or criminal proceedings initiated against him.
5. The rules for maintaining professional secrecy apply to:
– the fact of contacting a lawyer, including the names of the principals;
– all evidence and documents collected by the lawyer during preparation for the case;
– information received by the lawyer from clients;
– information about the principal that became known to the lawyer in the process of providing legal assistance;
– the content of legal advice given directly to the principal or intended for him;
– all legal proceedings in the case;
– terms of the agreement for the provision of legal assistance, including monetary settlements between the lawyer and the client;
– any other information related to the provision of legal assistance by a lawyer.
6. A lawyer does not have the right to give testimony about circumstances that became known to him in connection with the performance of his professional duties.
7. A lawyer cannot assign to anyone the right of a monetary claim against the principal under an agreement concluded between them without the special consent of the principal.
8. Lawyers carrying out professional activities jointly on the basis of a partnership agreement, when providing legal assistance, must be guided by the rule of extending secrecy to all partners.
9. In order to maintain professional secrecy, a lawyer must conduct office work separately from materials and documents belonging to the principal. Materials included in the lawyer's proceedings in the case, as well as correspondence between the lawyer and the client, must be clearly and unambiguously designated as belonging to or emanating from the lawyer.
10. The rules for maintaining professional secrecy apply to attorney assistants and trainees, as well as other employees of legal entities.
Assistants and trainees of attorneys, as well as other employees of legal entities, are warned in writing about the need to maintain attorney-client privilege and sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Article 6.1
1. For the purposes of this Code, a principal means:
– a person who has entered into an agreement with a lawyer to provide legal assistance;
– a person to whom legal assistance is provided by a lawyer on the basis of an agreement for the provision of legal assistance concluded by another person;
- a person to whom a lawyer provides legal assistance free of charge or as directed by the inquiry body, preliminary investigation body or court.
2. When resolving an issue related to maintaining attorney-client privilege, a principal is understood to be any person who has entrusted the lawyer with personal information for the purpose of providing legal assistance.
Article 7
1. A lawyer accepts an assignment to conduct a case even if he has doubts of a legal nature, which do not exclude the possibility of supporting and defending it reasonably and in good faith.
2. Prevention of legal disputes is an integral part of the legal assistance provided by a lawyer, therefore the lawyer takes care of eliminating everything that impedes a settlement agreement.
Article 8
When carrying out professional activities, a lawyer is obliged to:
1) honestly, reasonably, conscientiously, qualifiedly, principledly and timely fulfill their duties, actively protect the rights, freedoms and interests of principals by all means not prohibited by law, guided by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the law and this Code;
2) respect the rights, honor and dignity of persons who turn to him for legal assistance, clients, colleagues and other persons, adhere to a demeanor and style of dress appropriate for business communication;
3) constantly improve their professional level in the manner established by the bodies of lawyer self-government;
4) conduct legal proceedings.
Article 9
1. A lawyer has no right:
1) act contrary to the legitimate interests of the principal, provide him with legal assistance, guided by considerations of his own benefit, immoral interests or under the influence of external pressure;
2) take a position in the case that is opposite to the position of the principal and act against his will, except for cases where the defense lawyer is convinced of the existence of self-incrimination of his client;
3) make public statements about the proof of the principal’s guilt if he denies it;
4) disclose, without the consent of the principal, information communicated by him to the lawyer in connection with the provision of legal assistance to him, and use them in his own interests or in the interests of third parties;
5) accept orders for the provision of legal assistance in quantities that are obviously greater than the lawyer is able to fulfill;
6) impose one’s assistance on persons and attract them as trustees by using personal connections with employees of judicial and law enforcement agencies, promising a successful resolution of the case and other unworthy means;
7) make statements during the proceedings that belittle the honor and dignity of other participants in the proceedings, even if they behave tactlessly;
acquire in any way for personal interests property and property rights that are the subject of a dispute in which the lawyer takes part as a person providing legal assistance;
9) provide legal assistance as assigned by the inquiry bodies, preliminary investigation bodies or the court in violation of the procedure for its provision established by the decision of the Council;
10) provide legal assistance in the context of a conflict of interests of clients, provided for in Article 11 of this Code.
2. A lawyer has the right to combine advocacy with work in the legal entity in which he carries out his advocacy, as well as with work in elected and other positions in the bar chamber of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, the Federal Chamber of Lawyers, and public associations of lawyers.
The exercise by a lawyer of the powers assigned to him in connection with his election to a position in the Bar Chamber of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation or the Federal Chamber of Lawyers, as well as the exercise by a lawyer of the powers of the head of a lawyer's education (unit) is his professional responsibility and does not relate to labor relations.
The remuneration paid to a lawyer for work in legal education, the bar chamber of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation and the Federal Chamber of Lawyers in connection with the exercise of these powers is in the nature of a compensation payment.
3. A lawyer also has no right:
– engage in other paid activities in the form of direct (personal) participation in the process of selling goods, performing work or providing services;
– outside the scope of advocacy, provide legal services (legal assistance), with the exception of dispute resolution activities, including as a mediator, arbitrator, as well as participation in charitable projects of other civil society institutions that provide for the provision of legal assistance free of charge.
3.1. Cooperation with bodies carrying out operational investigative activities in the course of practicing law is incompatible with the status of a lawyer.
4. The performance of professional duties on accepted assignments must have priority for a lawyer over other activities.
The performance of other activities by a lawyer must not discredit the honor and dignity of the lawyer or damage the authority of the legal profession.
Article 10
1. Law and morality in the legal profession are higher than the will of the client. No wishes, requests or demands of the principal aimed at non-compliance with the law or violation of the rules provided for by this Code can be fulfilled by a lawyer.
2. A lawyer does not have the right to give promises to a person who has applied for legal assistance or to a principal of a positive result in fulfilling the assignment.
3. A lawyer should not accept an assignment if its execution will interfere with the execution of another previously accepted assignment.
4. A lawyer should not place himself in debt dependence on the client.
5. A lawyer should not allow familiar relations with the client.
6. When canceling an assignment, the lawyer must immediately return to the principal all original documents on the case and the power of attorney received from the latter, and also when canceling or executing the assignment, provide the principal, at his request, with a report on the work done.
7. When executing an assignment, the lawyer proceeds from the presumption of reliability of the documents and information presented by the principal and does not conduct additional verification of them.
8. The obligations of a lawyer, established by the current legislation, when providing legal assistance free of charge in cases provided for by law, or as assigned by the inquiry body, preliminary investigation body or court, do not differ from the obligations when providing legal assistance for a fee.
9. If, after accepting the assignment, in addition to the assignment for defense in a criminal case during the preliminary investigation and in the court of first instance, circumstances are revealed under which the lawyer was not entitled to accept the assignment, he must terminate the agreement. When deciding on the impossibility of fulfilling an assignment and terminating the agreement, the lawyer must, if possible, notify the principal about this in advance so that the latter can contact another lawyer.
Article 11
1. A lawyer does not have the right to be an adviser, defender or representative of several parties in one case whose interests contradict each other, but can only contribute to the reconciliation of the parties.
2. If, as a result of specific circumstances, the need arises to provide legal assistance to persons with different interests, as well as in the event of a potential conflict of interest, lawyers providing legal assistance jointly on the basis of a partnership agreement are required to obtain the consent of all parties to the conflict relationship to continue the execution of the assignment and ensure equal opportunities for legal protection of these interests.
Article 12
When participating in legal proceedings, as well as representing the interests of the principal in state authorities and local governments, the lawyer must comply with the norms of the relevant procedural legislation, show respect for the court and persons participating in the case, monitor compliance with the law in relation to the principal and in case of violations of the latter’s rights petition for their removal.
When objecting to the actions (inaction) of judges and persons participating in the case, a lawyer must do this in the correct form and in accordance with the law.
Article 13
1. Apart from the cases provided for by the legislation on advocacy and the legal profession, a lawyer does not have the right to accept an assignment to carry out defense in one criminal case from two or more persons if:
1) the interests of one of them contradict the interests of the other;
2) the interests of one, although they do not contradict the interests of the other, but these persons hold different positions on the same episodes of the case;
3) it is necessary to protect persons who have reached and have not reached the age of majority.
2. A lawyer who has accepted, by appointment or by agreement, an assignment to provide defense in a criminal case, does not have the right to refuse the defense, except in cases specified in the law, and must perform the duties of a defense lawyer, including, if necessary, preparing and filing an appeal against the verdict court
A lawyer who has accepted an assignment for defense at the stage of preliminary investigation by appointment or by agreement does not have the right to refuse defense in the court of first instance without good reason.
3. The defense lawyer must not unnecessarily worsen the situation of other defendants. Any actions of a lawyer directed against other defendants, whose interests contradict the interests of the client, are justified only when without this the protection of his client cannot be fully carried out.
4. The defense lawyer is obliged to appeal the verdict:
1) at the request of the client;
2) if the court did not share the position of the defense lawyer and (or) client and imposed a more severe punishment or punishment for a more serious crime than the lawyer and (or) client requested;
3) if there are grounds to cancel or change the sentence for reasons favorable to the defendant.
The defendant’s refusal to appeal the verdict is recorded by his written statement to the lawyer.
Article 14
1. If, for good reasons, it is impossible to arrive at the appointed time to participate in a court hearing or investigative action, as well as if he intends to apply for the appointment of another time for their conduct, the lawyer must, if possible, notify the court or investigator about this in advance, and also inform about this other lawyers participating in the process, and agree with them on the time for performing procedural actions.
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Norms and principles of morality
Moral norms are regulators of people’s behavior in all types of social life: at home, in the family, at work, in communication with friends. Morality extends to relations between groups within the same society, as well as to relations between states. Through the condemnation of illegal actions by members of society, specialized control over compliance with the norms and rules of interaction is implemented. Internally, moral behavior is controlled by a person’s conscience.
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Moral standards can be compared to a scale for assessing the legal, political and aesthetic actions of an individual. You can understand how life in a society is morally organized if you become familiar with the peculiarities of public administration in it, its traditions and forms of expression of public opinion.
However, compliance with moral standards is not always the result of good upbringing, the formation of moral patterns of behavior in a person. A person can control his behavior and actions out of fear of punishment. Violation of moral standards entails responsibility and sanctions.
Additional Information. Moral standards are not just customs and traditions. They have an ideological basis in the human mind. Guided by them, a person not only decides what to do in a given situation, he has ideas about the admissibility and impermissibility of this or that behavior in general.
Moral principles are briefly formulated basic moral requirements of society. They guide people's behavior and act simultaneously on all members of society. Through them, a national culture is formed. The basic moral principles include:
- The principle of humanism, according to which man is the most important value;
- The principle of altruism, requiring selfless service to loved ones;
- The principle of mercy says that love should be compassionate and active, a loving person should be ready to help a loved one;
- The principle of collectivism speaks of nurturing a person’s need to contribute to the achievement of a common goal;
- The principle of renouncing individualism means prohibiting the opposition of an individual to a group, condemning egoism;
- The principle of consciousness reflects how thoughtful a person is about his actions.
Important! Moral principles are criteria for the education of citizens.
Upbringing
Basic values and moral standards (8th grade)
Morality consists of individual moral norms - that is, individual instructions, rather of a recommendatory nature, for example, “do not steal” or “honor your father and mother.” The formulations of moral standards are short and simple, easily understandable to anyone, but following them in practice may not be easy; living in accordance with moral standards requires significant moral and sometimes physical effort.
Moral norms and values are expressed in moral principles . These principles include:
Humanism, that is, philanthropy, which manifests itself in benevolence, courtesy towards others, readiness to help, and to protect the rights of others.
Collectivism is manifested in a person’s ability to correlate his own needs and interests with the needs and interests of society.
The principle of hard work is realized through recognition of the social value of labor and self-realization through work.
Following the principle of patriotism means respecting your homeland and being proud of the achievements of your people.
Like any other social institution, morality performs a number of important functions :
- Estimated. First of all, it is thanks to morality that we positively or negatively evaluate this or that event. For example, from a moral point of view, we have a negative assessment of World War II.
- Worldview. Morality creates a system of value guidelines (norms, ideals, assessments), which make it possible to correlate with them the events that have happened and are happening in the world.
- Cognitive. Morality helps a person navigate the diverse cultural values around him. This function is especially important in the modern world, when everyone must independently determine their attitude to many different phenomena and processes, for example, to fascism, feminism, humanism.
- Regulatory. Although there is no punishment for violating moral norms, they still have a significant impact on people’s actions and regulate many processes occurring in society and those social relations that are not regulated by law. For example, there is no official punishment for mistreating animals, and only moral principles help a person choose a way to communicate with “lesser brothers.”
- Educational. Morality is also the entire experience of humanity, concentrated in simple formulations. It is from the standpoint of moral standards that most people are brought up. Even in childhood, we were all explained and shown with examples what “good” is and what “bad” is.
The purpose of morality in human life
Morality permeates the whole life of a person. This is explained by the fact that in everyday life an individual interacts with different people. People depend on each other and have a need for social interaction and communication. One person cannot achieve high results, but when working in a team, he feels his contribution to the common cause. In order for people, working together, to maintain a respectful attitude towards each other, it was decided to introduce rules of life in society that are equivalent to moral principles. Their elements are:
- Moral consciousness;
- Moral activity;
- Highly moral relationships.
Obsessive movement syndrome in a child
What does it mean to “behave morally”? This means subordinating your actions to social ethical patterns. Regulating the actions of one person is a manifestation of the collective will of society. Ideals of social behavior are the result of people’s attempts to reconcile the interests of one individual and the positions of society.
Attention! Morality is not a specially organized activity, unlike such phenomena of social life as art, religion, and science. Today there are no institutions that would regulate the development of morality. The efforts and resources that are provided for the development of science and art are not invested in the development of morality. This is the paradoxical meaning of morality: it is elusive, but all-encompassing.
Morality performs such functions as regulatory, evaluative, educational, controlling, integrating.
Regulatory function
This is the main function of morality. This includes identifying signs of acceptable behavior and self-control of an individual’s actions.
Evaluation function
Morality divides all social phenomena into characteristic groups: good and bad. Examples of such a division can be mercy, help, mutual assistance, assessed by people as positive manifestations of personality; theft, deception, meanness, considered as harm and immoral behavior.
Note. If a person is able to evaluate this or that phenomenon, it means that he has formed the moral foundations of his worldview.
Assessment is an indicator of developed morality
Educational function
Morality is formed through educational influences. By adopting patterns of behavior from older generations, younger generations learn the laws of life in society. Education allows you to combine public and personal interests in a person. The main task of education is to teach a person to achieve his goal without infringing on the interests of other people.
Control function
This function instructs morality to monitor the implementation of norms and rules of behavior in society. The ways to implement this function are condemnation, sanctions and conscience.
Integrating function
This function calls for morality to establish unity between humanity in general and the spiritual world of the individual in particular.
Morality concept
In social science, morality refers to moral standards of human behavior. They evaluate his activities from the standpoint of good and bad, good and evil. These rules are not enshrined in official documents, but affect all members of society without exception.
In early childhood, we learn the moral standards that our family adheres to (family values, patterns of behavior, reactions to what is happening). As you grow up in a school class, a friendly company, or a work team, these ideas about right and wrong are enriched and become an important part of a person’s inner world, the basis of his worldview.
Rice. 1. A child in the family.
Morals and ethics
Morality and ethics have certain similarities. They also have different features. The main differences between ethics and morality are as follows:
- Ethics has long been a science that contains ideal examples of social behavior. Morality is not a science, it is a side of people's real social life.
- Ethics answers the question “How should a person behave?” Morality answers the question: “Why should a person follow the rules and norms of behavior?”
- Ethics is a broader concept. Morality is the subject of the study of ethics.
- The content of ethics is relatively constant, while the content of morality changes along with socio-economic changes in society.
Additional Information. Today, ethics is recognized as a practical version of philosophy, one of the sections of which is devoted to the study of the moral system of social behavior.
Basic functions of morality
Morality deals with the affirmation and consolidation of the best human qualities, and also determines social behavior.
People are connected to each other in various relationships and have social responsibilities. Each member of society has a profession and other activities that involve acquiring skills and conscientiously performing assigned tasks, as well as obeying rules and instructions called external ones.
In addition to external rules, there is a person’s internal attitude towards his work as a whole, which characterize his moral aspects:
- love for the chosen profession;
- a sincere desire to benefit society;
- training, obtaining new knowledge for successful work achievements.
In addition to professional activities, a person is also involved in everyday affairs: raising and educating children, forming everyday relationships.
Thus, the following functions of morality are distinguished:
- Educational. Forms the spiritual side of the personality, which improves throughout life.
- Cognitive. Provides information about all social processes, about good and evil.
- Worldview. Solves questions about the meaning of life.
- Regulatory. Moral standards define the boundaries of acceptable behavior for individuals.
In developing conditions, the concept of morality is also called upon to preserve all basic social values, which include: peace, equality and care.
The importance of morality in human society
For the life of a modern person, the meaning of morality is determining the way of interacting with people. The ethical conditions for joint activities are justified by the need for mutual respect between people in the team.
A person cannot live outside of society. For successful socialization and the opportunity to be useful, he must obey the norms and rules of group interaction. When a person is faced with a moral choice, he must always think about how his loved ones will react to his action.
The role of morality in society
