The study of human society is a very multi-layered and difficult task. The basis, however, is always the behavior of each individual and of the group as a whole. It is on this that the further development or degradation of society depends. In this case, it is necessary to determine the relationship between the concepts of "ethics", "morality" and "morality".
Moral
Let's consider the terms of ethics, morality and morality one by one. Morality is the principles of behavior accepted by the public majority. At different times, morality appears in different guises, in fact, like humanity. From this we conclude that morality and society are inextricably linked, which means that they should be considered only as one.
The very definition of morality as a form of behavior is very vague. When we hear about moral or immoral behavior, we have little idea of specific things. This is due to the fact that behind this concept there is only a certainbasis for morality. Not specific prescriptions and clear rules, but only general directions.
Moral standards
Moral norms - this is exactly what the concept itself contains. Some general prescriptions, often not representing particular specifics. For example, one of the highest forms of morality of Thomas Aquinas: "Strive for good, avoid evil." Very vague. The general direction is clear, but the specific steps remain a mystery. What is good and evil? We know that there is not only "black and white" in the world. After all, good can do harm, but evil sometimes turns out to be useful. All this quickly leads the mind to a dead end.
We can call morality a strategy: it outlines general directions, but omits specific steps. Suppose there is a certain army. The expression "high/low morality" is often applied to it. But this does not mean the well-being or behavior of each individual soldier, but the condition of the entire army as a whole. General, strategic concept.
Morals
Morality is also a principle of behavior. But, unlike morality, it is practically directed and more specific. Morality also has certain rules that are approved by the majority. It is they who help in achieving high moral behavior.
Morality, as opposed to morality, has a very specific idea. These are, one might say, strict regulations.
The rules of morality
The rules of morality are the corethe whole concept. For example: “you can’t deceive people”, “you can’t take someone else’s”, “you should be polite to all people”. Everything is concise and extremely simple. The only question that arises is why is this needed? Why is it necessary to adhere to moral behavior? This is where morality comes in.
While morality is a general development strategy, morality explains specific steps, suggests tactics. By themselves, they do not function correctly. If we imagine that clear actions are performed aimlessly, then all meaning is obviously lost in them. The opposite is also true, a global goal without specific plans is doomed to remain unfulfilled.
Recall the analogy with the army: if morality appears as the general condition of the whole company, then morality is the quality of each individual soldier.
Education of morality and ethics
Based on life experience, we understand that moral education is necessary for life in society. If human nature were not bound by the laws of decency and each individual was guided only by basic instincts, then society as we know it today would quickly come to an end. If we put aside the laws of good and evil, right and wrong, then in the end we will stand before the only goal - survival. And even the loftiest goals fade before the instinct of self-preservation.
In order to avoid general chaos, it is necessary to educate a person in the concept of morality from an early age. There are different institutions for this.the main one being family. It is in the family that the child acquires those beliefs that will remain with him for life. It is impossible to underestimate the importance of such upbringing, because it actually determines the future life of a person.
A slightly less important element is the institution of official education: school, university, etc. At school, the child is in a close team, and therefore is forced to learn how to interact with others correctly. Whether teachers are responsible for education or not is another question, everyone thinks in their own way. However, the very fact of having a team plays a leading role.
One way or another, all education comes down to the fact that a person will be constantly "examined" by society. The task of moral education is to ease this test and direct it along the right path.
Functions of morality and ethics
And if so much effort has been invested in the education of morality, then it would be nice to analyze it in more detail. There are at least three main functions. They represent the ratio of ethics, morality and morality.
- Educational.
- Controlling.
- Estimated.
Educational, as the name suggests, educates. This function is responsible for the formation of the right views in a person. Moreover, often we are talking not only about children, but also about quite adult and conscious citizens. If a person is seen to behave inappropriately to the laws of morality, he is urgently subjected to education. It appears in different forms, but the goal is always the same -moral compass calibration.
The controlling function just monitors human behavior. It contains habitual norms of behavior. They, with the help of the educational function, are nurtured in the mind and, one might say, control themselves. If self-control or education is not enough, then public censure or religious disapproval is applied.
Evaluation helps others at the theory level. This function evaluates an act and labels it as moral or immoral. The educational function educates a person on the basis of a value judgment. It is they who represent the field for the control function.
Ethics
Ethics is the philosophical science of morality and ethics. But there is no instruction or teaching involved here, only theory. Observation of the history of morality and morality, the study of current norms of behavior and the search for absolute truth. Ethics, as a science of morality and morality, needs painstaking study, and therefore a specific description of behavior patterns remains "colleagues in the shop."
Problems of ethics
The main task of ethics is to determine the correct concept, the principle of action, according to which morality and morality should work. In fact, this is just a theory of a certain doctrine, within which everything else is described. That is, we can say that ethics - the doctrine of morality and morality - is primary in relation to practical social disciplines.
Naturalistic concept
There are several basic concepts in ethics. Their main task is to identify problems and solutions. And if they are unanimous in the highest moral goal, then the methods differ greatly.
Let's start with naturalistic concepts. According to such theories, morality, morality, ethics, and the origin of morality are inextricably linked. The origin of morality is defined as qualities originally inherent in a person. That is, it is not a product of society, but represents somewhat complicated instincts.
The most obvious of these concepts is Charles Darwin's theory. It argues that socially accepted moral norms are not unique to the human species. Animals also have concepts of morality. A highly controversial postulate, but before we disagree, let's look at the evidence.
The whole animal world is given as an example. The same things that are elevated to the absolute by morality (mutual assistance, sympathy and communication) are also present in the animal world. Wolves, for example, care about the safety of their own pack, and helping each other is not at all alien to them. And if we take their close relatives - dogs, then their desire to protect "their own" is striking in its development. In everyday life, we can observe this in the example of the relationship between the dog and the owner. The dog does not need to be taught devotion to a person, you can only train individual moments, like the right attack, various commands. From this follows the conclusion that fidelity is inherent in the dog from the very beginning, by nature.
Of course, in wild animals, mutual assistance is associated with the desire for survival. Those kindswhich did not help each other and their own offspring, simply died out, could not stand the competition. And also, according to Darwin's theory, morality and morality are inherent in a person in order to undergo natural selection.
But survival is not so important for us now, in the age of technology, when most of us do not lack food or a roof over our heads! This, of course, is true, but let's look at natural selection a little more broadly. Yes, in animals this means a struggle with nature and rivalry with other inhabitants of the fauna. Modern man has no need to fight with either one or the other, and therefore he fights with himself and other representatives of humanity. This means that natural selection in this context means development, overcoming, fighting not with an external, but with an internal enemy. Society develops, morality strengthens, which means that the chances of survival increase.
Utilitarian concept
Utilitarianism involves the maximum benefit for the individual. That is, the moral value and level of morality of an act directly depend on the consequences. If, as a result of some actions, people's happiness has increased, these actions are correct, and the process itself is secondary. In fact, utilitarianism is a prime example of the expression "the end justifies the means".
This concept is often misinterpreted as completely selfish and "soulless". This, of course, is not so, but after all, there is no smoke without fire. The thing is, between the lines utilitarianism involves some degree of selfishness. Directlyit is not said, but the principle itself - "to maximize the benefit for all people" - implies a subjective assessment. After all, we cannot know how our actions will affect others, we can only guess, which means we are not completely sure. Only our own feelings give us the most accurate forecast. We can say more precisely what we like than trying to guess the preferences of the people around. It follows from this that we will first of all be guided by our own preferences. It is difficult to call it selfishness directly, but the bias towards personal gain is obvious.
Also criticized is the very essence of utilitarianism, namely the neglect of the process by virtue of the result. We are all familiar with how easy it is to deceive ourselves. Imagine something that doesn't really exist. Also here: a person, in calculating the usefulness of an action, is inclined to deceive himself and adjust the facts to his own interest. And then such a path becomes very slippery, because in fact it provides the individual with a tool to justify himself, regardless of the perfect deed.
Creationism theories
The concept of creationism puts divine laws at the basis of moral behavior. The commandments and instructions of the saints play the role of sources of morality. One should act in accordance with the highest postulates and within the framework of a certain religious denomination. That is, a person is not given the opportunity to calculate the benefits of an act or think about the correctness of a particular decision. Everything has already been done for him, everything is written and known, remainsjust take it and do it. After all, a person, from the point of view of religion, is an extremely unreasonable and imperfect being, and therefore allowing him to decide about morality on his own is like giving a newborn child a textbook on space engineering: he will tear everything up, he will be exhausted, but will not understand anything. So in creationism, only an act that agrees with religious dogmas is considered the only true and moral.
Conclusion
From the above we can clearly trace the relationship between the concepts of ethics, morality and morality. Ethics provides a base, morality determines the highest goal, and morality reinforces everything with concrete steps.
