What are the characteristic signs of morality? The concept of morality is a whole system of norms and rules that govern human behavior, there is a moral interaction between individual individuals, according to the generally accepted system of values. Thanks to moral views, a person gets the opportunity to distinguish good from evil.
How is morality formed?
By what grounds do we recognize morality? Morality affects all areas of public life. The concept of morality makes it possible to coordinate personal interests with social ones. Signs of morality, a person realizes during the formation of personality in a society. First, the individual learns the norms of morality in the course of education, trying to do the right thing, imitating older, more experienced people. Then, as they grow older, they comprehend their own actions in accordance with generally accepted judgments established in society.
Signs of morality
Morality as a way of active participation in social life is characterized by characteristic features. In total there are three signs of morality:
- Universality - the requirements of the norms adopted in the social environment are the same for all its members.
- Voluntary nature - actions that correspond to moral behavior are not performed by individuals forcibly. In this case, education, personal beliefs, and conscience come into effect. The voluntary performance of moral acts is influenced by public opinion.
- All-encompassing nature - morality affects any human activity. Moral acts naturally manifest themselves in communication, creativity, social life, science, and politics.
Moral functions
By what grounds do we recognize morality? Morality is primarily a way to flexibly change the behavior of individuals in the course of social life. This is its regulatory function. As society developed, many other decisions arose to stimulate the “right” actions of people: administrative penalties, legal norms. However, morality to this day remains a unique phenomenon. Its manifestation does not require reinforcement from punitive bodies or special institutions. The regulation of morality is carried out thanks to the activation of neural connections that were formed in the process of educating a person and correspond to the principles of behavior in society.
What is the hallmark of morality? Another of its functions is to evaluate the world in terms of humane behavior. To some extent, morality contributes to the development and creation of communities of individuals. The manifestation of the evaluation function makes a person analyze how the world around changes, depending on the commission of certain actions.
Another important function of morality is educational. Concentrating in itself the positive experience of previous eras, morality makes it the property of future generations. Thanks to this, the individual gets the opportunity to find the right social orientation, which does not contradict public interests.
What science studies morality?
Signs of morality, its functions, development in society are studied by a specific branch of philosophy - ethics. This science explores on the basis of what the origin of morality in the social environment took place, how it developed in a historical context.
The main ethical issues are:
- determination of the meaning of life, the purpose of humanity and the role of each individual;
- the relative nature of good and evil, their criteria in various historical eras;
- the search for ways to implement justice in the social life of people.
In general, ethics should be understood as a set of moral principles that are generally accepted in a particular society or individual social groups. For example, they single out such a concept as professional ethics, which includes responsibility for a certain activity.
How was morality formed in a historical context?
Throughout the existence of a civilized society, the signs of morality have remained unchanged. This is the desire to commit moral acts and abstinence from evil, caring for loved ones, the desire to achieve the public good. There is a wide range of universal human norms of behavior that operate regardless of the position of the individual in society, religious and national identity. However, some forms of morality underwent evolution during the historical development of society:
- Taboo - strict restrictions that were imposed in certain social communities on the commission of specific actions. Violation of the prohibitions was associated in the minds of individuals with a threat to personal security on the part of other people or supernatural forces. The specified phenomenon in certain cultures is valid until our time.
- Customs are repetitive norms of behavior that are maintained under the influence of public opinion. The need to carry out numerous customs is especially great in traditional cultures, but it gradually disappears into oblivion in highly developed countries.
- Moral rules are ideals that govern an individual’s behavior. Unlike customs and taboos, they require a person to make a conscious choice.
Finally
So we found out what is the hallmark of morality, answered other questions. In conclusion, it is worth noting that in a civilized society, morality is inextricably linked with the concept of law. Both systems impose on the individual the need to comply with certain standards of behavior, orient the person to observe order.