What is morality - functions, norms and principles of morality

Updated July 24, 2021 465 Author: Dmitry Petrov
Hello, dear readers of the KtoNaNovenkogo.ru blog. Most people remember the moral of the fable “The Dragonfly and the Ant”, which is that you can’t always have fun, you need to have time and work. Otherwise, after long idleness, heavy retribution will come in the form of hunger and cold.

In this and his other works, fabulist Ivan Krylov tries to convey to the reader generally accepted rules that should be followed so as not to harm yourself.

Thus, morality represents general provisions designed for all members of society and reflecting the consciousness of the public.

Let's look into this in more detail.

Definition of moral principles

In other words, moral principles are requirements that must be strictly followed in all life situations.

The formation of moral principles is strongly influenced by upbringing, family relationships, religion, environment, and culture. What seemed unacceptable and reprehensible some time ago may become the norm and not cause condemnation. And vice versa: some things that were considered ordinary may become completely unacceptable.

It is moral principles that allow a person to choose the right path in life and influence decision-making in accordance with his conscience throughout his life, giving him a general direction for his activities.

Every person goes through several stages of moral development at different stages of his life, and his own moral principles can change under the influence of external factors.

Moral principles are something that is formed and can change throughout life, is relevant for a particular society and for each person separately, without these principles the existence of a harmonious society is impossible.

2.1. Post-institutional forms of regulating people's behavior

There are such features that are specific features of the moral regulation of behavior:7

1. a real representation in morality of freedom, an individual independent of no one. This realization of personality cannot be provided by any means of regulating human behavior;
2. comprehensiveness, the same focus on each of the people;
3. distribution to all areas of life of each person;
4. the basis lies on the opposition of the due (ideal) to the existing;
5. due to the fact that it is impossible to achieve the ideal, setting maximum goals for a person is impossible;
6. on the conscience of a person there is an emphasis on social opinion, as well as a belief that is internal;
7. the relationship between priority and spiritual prohibitions, primarily with public opinion, as well as one’s own self-condemnation or the consent of one’s own behavior.

The behavior of all people as a whole can be regulated by other means. First of all, these are customs. They came before morality.

Custom is a type of public discipline that was formed subconsciously and historically, and also became widespread in a team or society, a joint, usual style of actions and actions that people of a group or society are obliged to adhere to.8

In our lives, there are also situations that are often repeated, and also require some identical actions from a person. And this is even despite the fact that human life is filled with diversity and specific complexity. There are a number of reasons that form customs in a broad sense:9

1. religious rituals generally accepted in a particular society;
2. relationships between people in everyday life generally accepted in a certain society;
3. forms of socio-political activity generally accepted in a particular society;
4. generally accepted methods, techniques in people’s marriage and family life, and so on.

And customs that are carried out by crowds are customs that are considered in a narrow sense. It is precisely such customs, which are understood in a narrow sense, that are compared with morality.10

The main difference between customs and morality is that people do not have the right to choose one action or another, they act as is customary to act in a particular community (someone once laid down these generally accepted norms).

There is such a requirement: “Do as all other people should do” - it is by this principle that people act according to customs. 11 As for morality, a person himself is guided in choosing an action in accordance with morality, moral requirements and his own beliefs. But first of all, it is based on one’s conscience. If morality sharply contrasts what should be with what is, then custom identifies them: “Do this, I and everyone else do.”

Customs play a dominant role in the life of all humanity. This is due to the fact that customs are the most massive form of regulation of people’s lives. Because in ordinary situations people act or communicate as they should in a given situation. But still there are such cases, rarely, but they still exist, when people for some reason cannot act according to their usual (custom). In this situation, people make independent, independent choices - a moral choice.

Custom, just like morality, is a means by which people’s behavior is regulated.12 This means performs such functions as:

1. will unite the community;
2. promotes community building;
3. determines the everyday relationships of the people of this community;
4. forms community traditions;
5. protects the traditions of the community;
6. provides stability.

Morality can object to custom, try to overcome it, or strengthen the role of custom. Due to the fact that morality is not absolute perfection, the truth or condemnation of a certain custom by morality is not justified in all cases. An action is ideal when it corresponds to both custom and morality.

History of the term "morality"

It is impossible to say exactly when society first began to think about what morality is.

The earliest source that describes this concept is the parables of Solomon (mid-10th century BC). During Homer's life, society was well aware of conscience, virtue, honor, and legality.

Confucius (6th–5th centuries BC) wrote about issues of morality and morality, who considered mercy, philanthropy and integrity to be the most important universal values.

Cicero made a great contribution to the formation of the concept of morality. He talked a lot about how ethics, morality and law relate to each other. He sought to show that it is impossible to separate the concepts of law and morality, since together they make it possible to rid society of chaos and create order. Of course, Cicero, who lived in the 1st century BC, was far from a pioneer on this topic. But it was he who introduced the definition of morality that we still rely on today.

Pythagoras, Socrates and Plato also raised questions of morality in their contemporary society and gave examples of highly moral behavior by the standards of that time.

The term “morality” originates from the Latin moralitas, moralis, mores - tradition, folk custom, behavior, and later - disposition, character, mores. Ancient Roman authors translated the word as “conformity to good morals.” In the 18th century, a similar word was used in French and meant “equal to the law, legitimate.” The word “morality” also came into Russian through French (la morale) in the 18th century.

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Approaches to understanding morality

There are four approaches to understanding morality:

1. Religious. Its adherents believed that the source of morality is the absolute. To curb his passions, a person is forced to turn to God for help. Faith in him helps to follow the absolute rules of behavior.
2. Evolutionary. In the process of natural selection, a person acquires and inherits a certain line of behavior. According to this version, morality comes from the instinct of sociability of people.
3. Naturalistic. The root cause of morality is nature. The human mind defines natural moral values ​​as good or evil.
4. Cultural. Morality is one of the elements of society's culture.

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Basic functions of morality

Morality performs the following functions:

• The integrative function of morality is to harmonize the internal state of a person.
• The evaluative function of morality is associated with a person’s ability to determine the criteria for his own and others’ actions based on the concepts of good and evil. Moral assessment is expressed in praise, blame, agreement, etc.
• The regulatory function of morality determines activities taking into account the needs of surrounding people and the entire society. Morality establishes social norms to be observed, imposes sanctions, and maintains rules of behavior.
• The controlling function of morality is checking the compliance of a person’s behavior with the norms established in society. Self-control based on the judgment of others or conscience.
• The educational function of morality is a mechanism for learning to live in society: how to learn to reckon with other people. Morality teaches us to understand and accept their needs and interests, shapes the individual’s personality, his worldview and personal concepts of good and evil.
• The value-orienting function of morality forms life values ​​and moral goals for each person, lays down the concept of the meaning of life.

Introduction

This topic of my essay is relevant, since it is morality that forms generally accepted norms of behavior, as well as regulates relationships between people and evaluates both their behavior and their actions. It goes without saying that with the help of morality, development occurs, as well as the formation of personality, and a person’s orientation in a value-oriented world occurs.

Based on the foregoing, outstanding scientists note a number of functions that will be considered during the work:

1. Evaluative-imperative function;
2. Cognitive function;
3. Communication function;

Classification of moral principles

A person recognizes moral principles as behavior that determines the nature of relationships in society.

The following moral principles are distinguished:

• The principle of humanism is the highest human value, which is expressed in love for one’s neighbor, protection of dignity, recognition of the right to a happy existence and self-realization.
• The principle of altruism is a moral norm that calls for providing selfless support to those in need.
• The principle of collectivism is the possibility of coexistence to achieve a common goal. It consists of cooperation, mutual assistance, and democracy.
• The principle of justice is equal rights and freedoms for all members of society. Social and economic benefits are available to everyone without exception and are distributed depending on the amount of effort on the part of each person.
• The principle of mercy is the willingness to sympathize and help those who ask, regardless of social status and appearance.
• The principle of peacefulness is based on the recognition of human life as the highest value. It assumes respect for national and regional characteristics and state sovereignty. Peacefulness helps maintain social order and mutual understanding between generations.
• The principle of patriotism is love for the Motherland, care for it, readiness to defend it from enemies, pride in state achievements, respect for history and respect for national property.
• The principle of tolerance means respect, acceptance and correct understanding of the rich diversity of cultures of our world, forms of self-expression and ways of manifesting human individuality. In other words, accepting the diversity of cultures without the desire to suppress or correct them.

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Moral principles of communication

Moral norms and principles in the context of communication:

• self-respect and showing respect to interlocutors;
• priority of other people's or public interests over personal ones;
• conscious avoidance of using life's benefits for the sake of achieving a set goal;
• tackling complex social problems and working under extreme conditions for higher goals or ideals;
• responsibility and free care for those in need;
• building relationships with members of society based on kindness and benevolence;
• recognition of the inviolability of the personal dignity of each person;
• politeness and respect for the interlocutor, the use of generally accepted ethical standards;
• communication is a two-way process, not a monologue, each participant contributes to it;
• equality of parties participating in communication, regardless of gender, age, social status;
• sincerity in expressing feelings, truthfulness of transmitted information;
• clarity and accessibility for all participants in communication;
• consistency and correct order of communication elements, for example, question-answer, encouragement to respond.

Lack of moral principles

A complete absence of moral principles is impossible - a person in any case has some idea of ​​​​what can and cannot be done. These ideas may differ significantly from those generally accepted in a particular society, then such a person may be called immoral. If a person stops developing his personality, stops setting goals and guidelines for himself, then he begins to degrade. Along with this, a regression of formed moral norms and rules begins.