What is morality in modern society and what are its functions? What should be understood by human morality

Every person in his life has come across the concept of morality more than once. However, not everyone knows its true meaning. In the modern world, the problem of morality is very acute. After all, many people lead the wrong and dishonest way of life. What is human morality? How is it related to concepts such as ethics and morality? What behavior can be considered moral and why?

What does the concept of "morality" mean?

Very often morality is equated with morality and ethics. However, these concepts are not entirely similar. Morality is a set of norms and values ​​of a particular person. It includes the individual's ideas about good and evil, about how one should and should not behave in various situations.

Each person has his own criteria for morality. What seems completely normal to one person is completely unacceptable to another. So, for example, some people have a positive attitude towards civil marriage and do not see anything bad in it. Others consider such cohabitation immoral and strongly condemn premarital relationships.

Principles of moral conduct

Despite the fact that morality is a purely individual concept, there are still common principles in modern society. First of all, these include the equality of the rights of all people. This means that there should be no discrimination against a person on the basis of gender, race or any other basis. All people are equal before the law and the courts, all have the same rights and freedoms.

The second principle of morality is based on the fact that a person is allowed to do everything that does not run counter to the rights of other people and does not infringe on their interests. This includes not only issues regulated by law, but also moral and ethical standards. For example, cheating on a loved one is not a crime. However, from the point of view of morality, the one who deceives inflicts suffering on the individual, which means that he infringes on his interests and acts immorally.

The meaning of morality

Some people believe that morality is just a prerequisite for going to heaven after death. During life, it absolutely does not affect the success of a person and does not bring any benefit. Thus, the meaning of morality lies in the cleansing of our souls from sin.

In fact, this opinion is erroneous. Morality is necessary in our life not only for a specific person, but also for society as a whole. Without it, arbitrariness will ensue in the world, and people will destroy themselves. As soon as the eternal values ​​disappear in a society and habitual norms of behavior are forgotten, its gradual degradation begins. Theft, debauchery, impunity flourish. And if immoral people come to power, the situation is aggravated even more.

Thus, the quality of human life directly depends on how moral it is. Only in a society where basic moral principles are respected and upheld can people feel secure and happy.

Morality and morality

Traditionally, the concept of "morality" is equated with morality. In many cases, these words are used interchangeably, and most people do not see a fundamental difference between them.

Morality represents certain principles and standards of human behavior in various situations, developed by society. In other words, it is a social point of view. If a person follows the established rules, he can be called moral, but if he ignores, his behavior is immoral.

What is morality? The definition of this word differs from morality in that it does not refer to society as a whole, but to each individual person. Morality is a rather subjective concept. What is normal for some is unacceptable for others. A person can be called moral or immoral, based only on his personal opinion.

Modern morality and religion

Everyone knows that any religion calls a person to virtue and respect for basic moral values. However, modern society puts at the head of all freedom and human rights. In this regard, some of God's commandments have lost their relevance. So, for example, few people can devote one day a week to serving the Lord because of the busy schedule and fast pace of life. And the commandment "do not commit adultery" for many is a restriction of the freedom to build personal relationships.

The classical moral principles concerning the value of human life and property, help and compassion to others, condemnation of lies and envy remain in force. Moreover, now some of them are regulated by law and can no longer be justified by supposedly good intentions, for example, by fighting the Gentiles.

Modern society also has its own moral values ​​that are not indicated in traditional religions. This includes the need for constant self-development and self-improvement, dedication and energy, the desire to achieve success and live in abundance. Modern people condemn violence in all its forms, intolerance and cruelty. They respect human rights and their desire to live as they see fit. Modern morality focuses on human self-improvement, transformation and development of society as a whole.

The problem of youth morality

Many people say that modern society has already begun to decay. Indeed, crime, alcoholism and drug addiction are flourishing in our country. Young people do not think about what morality is. The definition of this word is completely foreign to them.

Very often, modern people put at the head of everything such values ​​as having pleasure, an idle life and fun. At the same time, they completely forget about morality, guided only by their selfish needs.

Modern youth has completely lost such personality traits as patriotism and spirituality. For them, morality is something that can hinder freedom, limit it. Often people are ready to commit any act in order to achieve their goals, completely without thinking about the consequences for others.

Thus, today the problem of youth morality is very acute in our country. To solve it, it will take more than one decade and a lot of efforts on the part of the government.

It is difficult for a modern person to distinguish, and sometimes he is not able to explain “What is morality” and “spirituality”. The thinker sees how quickly views change, how a person's idea of ​​good and evil is deformed. Our time is aptly called the time of great dislike and lack of spirituality, although articles, blogs, songs, TV programs daily shout the opposite.

What is morality?

Definition

There are a lot of definitions of the term, but they all boil down to a single opinion. Moral Is the ability to take responsibility for your thoughts and actions.

Morality is a value, an internal state of a person, his life attitude, which allows him to take any actions based on conscience.

Values ​​shape principles. Principles shape nature. Nature builds character.

In Ancient Greece, prudence, courage, and justice were emphasized. Over time, the priorities have changed somewhat, however, a general list of values ​​that determine morality is determined, these are:

• Honesty;
• loyalty;
• duty;
• love;
• respect.

In ordinary life, it is difficult for us to find a person with such qualities, but the pursuit of personal perfection is necessary. These are impeccable values ​​that act as absolute ethical ideals. People who are just, strong in spirit, possessing the ability for all-encompassing love have always been respected, often acting as spiritual teachers.

A moral person under no circumstances (including death) will change his concepts of honor, conscience, goodness. They are important to him in themselves, are at the heart of his life priorities, not because he is waiting for the approval of others, or receives material benefits for them. No. These are moral qualities natural for a developed personality, which form the basis of a person's spirituality.

The connection between morality and spirituality of a person

To most clearly understand what morality is, let's define spirituality.

The most general definition of spirituality is. Spirituality is the highest level of self-development, at which the highest human values ​​become the regulator of life. Thus, spirituality is closely related to morality. Morality is an indicator of the degree of spirituality of a person and society as a whole.

For the past 200 years, there has been a debate among the humanities on the topic of spirituality. Some argue that this is an internal movement of a person towards the "spiritual I", others associate spirituality with intangible values ​​to which a person aspires, overcoming experiences, intrapersonal struggle.

Religions associate spirituality with the higher forces of divine nature, which manifests itself in human actions. However, all philosophers and theologians agree on one thing - spirituality is transcendental. It cannot be touched, weighed, measured. This is something that does not lend itself to experimental knowledge, but is accepted a priori.

Spirituality- this is the brightest thing that can be found in a person: the best qualities of character, sincere feelings (love, gratitude, disinterestedness, tolerance), talents, generosity, responsibility.

Spiritual beauty is manifested in actions, demeanors, emotions, words. However, there have been a hundred such people since the time when man began to realize himself as a Man and learned to use the brain not only for obtaining food and reproduction, but also for thinking.

Morality indicates the vector of direction, provides the conditions for upward movement, under which a person can grow and develop at the fastest rate.

Is spirituality an achievable result?

The concept of good and evil in the modern world has considerably transformed, although even 70 years ago everything was transparent. "The little son came to his father and asked the little one: What is good and what is bad?" V.V. Mayakovsky in a children's poem clearly sets the priorities that should underlie a moral, spiritual society.

Today there is no clear understanding of what Good (good) and Evil (bad) are, any action can be explained by playing with concepts in the most beneficial direction. The initial values ​​were transformed: kind means weak; honest means narrow-minded; polite means mannered, disinterested - definitely a fool.

Due to dissonance in the fundamentals, the spirituality of society falls, which is expressed in the personal deformation of a person, in the substitution of some values ​​for others, the growth of violence, suffering. The concepts of "family", "love", "mutual understanding" are leaving.

Each institution of the state comes out with its own "truth", as a result, the original foundations of morality are destroyed. Children do not have a single concept of what to strive for. The direction, the moral ideal, which underlies human self-development, and, consequently, the development of society, has been lost.

It is difficult to say whether a unified spirituality is achievable. Spiritual leaders meet, but as far as the state is concerned, the question is open. The state is built on material components: power, money, dominance, lies, deceit. It is impossible to educate everyone as ideal, and although the struggle for the souls of people is waged at all levels of the state (family, school, church, media), there are no massive positive successes.

So is there any hope for building a moral, spiritual society? I would like to believe that there is, if everyone begins to build it in their souls.

Morality as a quality of a person is the ability to follow the rules of behavior in relation to oneself, which are consistent with conscience, with dignity, duty and honor, correspond to the laws of the universe, ethical standards, based on the manifestation of positive, the best qualities of a person.

Once upon a time, an old Indian revealed to his grandson one vital truth. - In every person there is a struggle, very similar to the struggle of two wolves. One wolf represents evil - envy, jealousy, regret, selfishness, ambition, lies ... Another wolf represents good - peace, love, hope, truth, kindness, loyalty ... Then he asked: "Which wolf wins in the end?" The old Indian smiled faintly and replied, “The wolf you feed always wins.

In the Russian Encyclopedia, the concept of morality is positive and contrasted with the bodily, carnal. Moral is what is consistent with conscience, with the laws of truth, with the dignity of a person, with the duty of an honest and pure-hearted citizen of his Fatherland.

For a native Russian person, the moral life is more important than the material life. And this means the ability to selflessness. “Any selflessness is a moral act, good morality, valor. The Orthodox faith contains the rules of the highest morality. The morality of our faith is higher than civil morality: the first requires only strict observance of laws, while the second puts conscience and God as the judge ”(VI Dal).

Morality is an internal moral code for oneself. Morality is a verdict to one's behavior and one's actions from the point of view of conscience and goodness. A man of impeccable morality is a devoted servant of God and a clear executor of his moral laws. Serving God means serving people with love and selflessness. In such service, a person develops moral purity.

The higher the bar of morality for the majority of members of society, the more benevolent and pious it is. Life is a moral lesson. The meaning of life is to go through its lessons, grow up personally, cultivate dignity in oneself, as close as possible in one's qualities to God, in a word, raise one's morality to an unprecedented height.

The philosopher Elena Orekhova writes: “We are spiritual beings who are not subject to death. And we simply exchange one material body for another. Over and over again going through birth, disease, old age and death. That is, we learn the highest morality. What is the highest morality? The laws of morality are present in every society. But there are moral laws that are the same throughout the universe. That is, what is morality? This is the ability to forgive, purity, lack of envy and greed, self-denial, truthfulness, control of one's feelings, gentleness, modesty, and so on. That is, following the laws of morality, living beings on different planets satisfy their senses in one way or another. And the highest morality is to achieve perfection in the qualities that I have just listed. That is, to learn to satisfy not your own senses, but the senses of the Absolute Truth. The final stage of the law of reincarnation is that the soul, having developed all the above virtues in itself, goes home, to the wonderful spiritual world. "

In the world of selfishness and self-interest of morality, it is often necessary to enter into an unequal battle with them.

Morality and Material Interest met on a narrow bridge, where two cannot miss each other. - Spread before me, low creature! - Morality ordered menacingly. - And I will step over you! Material Interest said nothing, just looked into her eyes. - Well, ... uh-uh ... okay, - Morality said uncertainly. - Let's draw lots of who will be allowed to pass. Material Interest remained silent and did not look away. “To avoid an unwanted conflict,” Morality said then, not without mental anguish, “I’ll spread myself out myself,“ and you will be able to walk over me. Here only Material Interest opened its mouth. “It’s hardly comfortable for my feet to step on you,” he said. - I'm very sensitive on my feet. You better get off the bridge into the water. And that was the end of it.

It is no secret that the strongest love is love at the level of the higher centers. When a person respects your moral principles, it is worth a lot. Love below the belt quickly comes to satiety and satiety. It is quite another matter when love has reached the moral unity of the spouses.

I will marry only the most beautiful princess, the prince announced to his parents. The queen began to invite beautiful princesses to visit, but the prince did not like any of them. Then the queen called a wise wizard to the palace. - Your Highness, what do you like about girls? the wizard asked the prince. - Sometimes I like blue eyes, but after a minute the green ones seem prettier. Once I liked the golden hair, another time - black, - the prince replied. “I will enchant one princess who loves you, and her appearance will change depending on your desire,” the wizard suggested. - Excellent, I will never get tired of such a wife! the prince exclaimed.

Soon the wedding took place. The young princess looked the way the prince wanted. Moreover, she was kind, loyal and reasonable. The prince was delighted. Time passed, and one day the prince said to his wife: - You are a faithful and kind wife. I can't imagine life without you, but I dream of seeing your real face. - If I show myself in my present form, you will stop loving me, - the princess was frightened. - No way! I don't need another woman, no matter how beautiful she is, the prince insisted.

Finally, the princess agreed. She called a wise wizard and asked to return her to her real appearance. To his amazement, the prince saw his childhood friend - a snub-nosed princess from a neighboring state. “I have loved you since childhood, prince,” the princess admitted. - Yes, I remember, as a child you were my best friend. How glad I am that you became my wife, ”the prince laughed. - You cannot stop loving if you love for moral merits. Such love is tied to the eternal, - said the magician.

Petr Kovalev

What is morality? On the one hand, this is a very complex philosophical question that requires serious thought. On the other hand, usually we can quite clearly determine whether a person acted morally or not. Well, let's speculate.

If we dig deeply, we will understand that from time immemorial the source of morality has been the scriptures. In Christianity, it was the ten commandments of Christ that determined the moral code of man. Why do I say in the past tense? Probably, because now there are not so many believers, religion no longer permeates all spheres of human life, as before. In addition, as culture and humanity develop, new moral and ethical norms appear in society.

But still, what is morality? Perhaps, it should be understood as the spiritual qualities of a person, which are based on high ideals of good, duty, honor, justice and are manifested in relation to other people and nature. Morality is how a person himself evaluates his actions and behavior from the point of view of good. But everyone understands good in his own way. What is good for one is completely unacceptable for another. And where is the truth? I think morality is precisely in seeing your actions not only acceptable, but also good for society. Immoral behavior makes a person licentious, ethically ugly and unworthy.

Can we talk about the actions of children from the point of view of morality? I'm afraid not, because the concept of "good" at a tender age is very vague, a child is simply not interested in analyzing his behavior and looking at it from the angle of some kind of incomprehensible morality. Children's actions are determined by a single criterion - "like", "not like". And it is not at all a fact that, having matured, the child will acquire moral traits. Here a lot already depends on the upbringing and environment. The first teachers of morality for children are parents and schools. I don’t think that morality cannot be learned. On the contrary, it is possible and necessary. A person learns all his life, and this is not only about expanding his horizons, but also about self-education, changing priorities, mastering new values.

You need to control your every step. Experience shows that someone who has committed an immoral act once cannot resist in the future. And here anti-morality is already born: a person becomes a liar, a opportunist, and even an outright rogue. Therefore, it seems to me, you should not shout about moral norms - it is better to behave in accordance with them. The moral principles of one person will become the moral principles of society only if he is guided by positive intentions and lives according to his conscience.

Morality is the desire of a person to evaluate conscious actions, a person's state on the basis of a set of conscious norms of behavior inherent in a particular individual. The expression of the ideas of a morally developed person is conscience. These are the deep laws of a decent human life. Morality is the idea of ​​an individual about good and evil, about the ability to correctly assess the situation and determine the typical style of behavior in it. Each individual has his own moral criteria. It forms a certain code of relations with a person and the environment as a whole, based on mutual understanding and humanism.

Morality is an integral characteristic of a person, which is the cognitive basis for the formation of a morally healthy person: socially oriented, adequately assessing the situation, having an established set of values. In today's society, in general use, there is a definition of morality, as a synonym for the concept of morality. The etymological features of this concept show the origin of the word "temper" - character. For the first time the semantic definition of the concept of morality was published in 1789 - "Dictionary of the Russian Academy".

The concept of morality combines a certain set of personality traits of the subject. Primarily these are honesty, kindness, compassion, decency, hard work, generosity, empathy, reliability. Analyzing morality as a personal property, it should be mentioned that everyone is able to bring their own qualities to this concept. For people with different types of professions, morality also forms a different set of qualities.

A soldier must be brave, a fair judge, an altruist teacher. On the basis of the formed moral qualities, the directions of the subject's behavior in society are formed. The subjective attitude of the individual plays a significant role in assessing the situation in a moral sense. Someone perceives civil marriage as absolutely natural, for others it is like a sin. Based on religious research, it should be recognized that the concept of morality has retained very little of the truth from its meaning. Modern man's ideas about morality are distorted and emasculated.

Morality is a purely individual quality that allows a person to consciously control his own mental and emotional state, personifying a spiritually and socially formed person. A moral person is able to determine the golden measure between the egocentric part of his self and sacrifice. Such a subject is able to form a socially-oriented, value-determined civic consciousness and worldview.

A moral person, choosing the direction of his actions, acts solely according to his own conscience, relying on the formed personal values ​​and concepts. For some, the concept of morality is the equivalent of a "ticket to heaven" after death, but in life it is something that does not particularly affect the success of the subject and does not bring any benefit. For this type of people, moral behavior is a way to cleanse the soul from sins, as if a cover for their own wrong actions. Man is an unhindered being in his choice, has his own course of life. At the same time, society has its own influence, is able to set its own ideals and values.

In fact, morality, as a property necessary for the subject, is extremely important for society. This is, as it were, a guarantee of the preservation of humanity as a species, otherwise, without norms and principles of moral behavior, humanity will uproot itself. Arbitrariness and gradual degradation are the consequences of the disappearance of morality as a set of trailers and values ​​of society as such.

Most likely, and the death of a certain nation or ethnos, if its head is an immoral government. Accordingly, the level of people's comfort in life depends on developed morality. Protected and prosperous is the society, the observance of values ​​and moral principles, respect and altruism in which, above all.

So, morality is internalized principles and values, based on which a person directs his behavior, performs actions. Morality, being a form of social knowledge and relations, regulates human actions through principles and norms. Directly these norms are based on the point of view of the impeccable, about the categories of good, justice and evil. Based on humanistic values, morality allows the subject to be human.

In everyday use of expressions, morality and morality have the same meaning and the same sources. At the same time, everyone should determine the existence of certain rules that easily outline the essence of each of the concepts. So moral rules, in turn, allow a person to develop their own mental and moral state. To some extent, these are the "Laws of the Absolute" existing in absolutely all religions, worldviews and societies. Consequently, moral rules are universal, and their failure to comply with them entails consequences for the subject who does not comply with them.

There are, for example, 10 commandments obtained as a result of direct communication between Moses and God. This is part of the rules of morality, the observance of which is argued by religion. In fact, scientists do not deny that there are a hundred times more rules, they boil down to one denominator: the harmonious existence of mankind.

Since ancient times, many peoples have had the concept of a certain "Golden Rule", which carries the basis of morality. Its interpretation has dozens of formulations, while the essence remains unchanged. Following this "golden rule", an individual should behave towards others as he relates to himself. This rule forms the concept of a person that all people are equal in terms of their freedom of action, as well as their desire to develop.

Following this rule, the subject reveals his deep philosophical interpretation, which says that the individual must learn in advance to realize the consequences of his own actions with respect to the "other individual", projecting these consequences onto himself. That is, the subject, who mentally tries on the consequences of his own act, will think about whether it is worth doing in this direction. The golden rule teaches a person to develop their inner flair, teaches compassion, empathy and helps to develop mentally.

Although this moral rule was formulated in ancient times by famous teachers and thinkers, the relevance of its purpose in the modern world has not lost. “What you don’t want for yourself, don’t do to another” - this is the rule in the original interpretation. The emergence of such an interpretation is attributed to the origins of the first millennium before our era. It was then that a humanistic revolution took place in the ancient world.

But as a moral rule, it received its status of "golden" in the eighteenth century. This prescription focuses on the global moral principle according to the relationship to another person within different situations of interaction. Since its presence in any existing religion has been proven, it can be noted as the foundation of human morality. This is the most important truth of the humanistic behavior of a moral person.

Considering modern society, it is easy to notice that moral development is characterized by decline. In the twentieth century, there has been a sudden fall in all laws and values ​​of morality in society in the world. The problems of morality began to appear in society, which negatively influenced the formation and development of humane humanity. This decline reached even greater development in the twenty-first century.

Over the entire existence of a person, many moral problems have been noted, which in one way or another had a negative impact on the individual. Guided by spiritual guidelines in different eras, people put something of their own in the concept of morality. They were able to create things that in modern society terrify absolutely every sane person. For example, the Egyptian pharaohs, who were afraid of losing their kingdom, committed unthinkable crimes, killing all newborn boys.

Moral norms are rooted in religious laws, the adherence to which shows the essence of the human person. Honor, dignity, faith, love for the motherland, for man, loyalty are qualities that served as a direction in human life, to which at least to some extent some of the laws of God have reached. Consequently, throughout its development, society had a tendency to deviate from religious commandments, which led to the emergence of moral problems.

The development of moral problems in the twentieth century is a consequence of the world wars. The era of moral decline has been going on since the First World War, during this crazy time a person's life has depreciated. The conditions in which people had to survive have erased all moral restrictions, personal relationships have depreciated exactly like human life at the front. The involvement of humanity in inhuman bloodshed has dealt a crushing blow to morality.

One of the periods of the emergence of moral problems was the communist period. During this period, it was planned to destroy all religions, respectively, and the norms of morality inherent in it. Even if in the Soviet Union the development of the rules of morality was much higher, this position could not be maintained for a long time. Along with the destruction of the Soviet world, there was a decline in the morality of society.

For the current period, one of the main problems of morality is the fall of the institution of the family. What leads to a demographic catastrophe, an increase in divorce, the birth of countless children in unmarried. The views on family, motherhood and fatherhood, and on the upbringing of a healthy child are regressive in nature. The development of corruption in all areas, theft, deception is of certain importance. Now everything is bought, exactly as it is sold: diplomas, victories in sports, even human honor. This is precisely the consequences of the fall in morality.

The upbringing of morality is a process of purposeful influence on the personality, which implies the influence on the consciousness of the behavior and feelings of the subject. During the period of such upbringing, the moral qualities of the subject are formed, which allow the individual to act within the framework of public morality.

The upbringing of morality is a process that does not imply interruptions, but only close interaction between the student and the educator. To educate a child's moral qualities should be by example. It is rather difficult to form a moral personality; it is a painstaking process in which not only teachers and parents take part, but also the public institution as a whole.

At the same time, the age characteristics of the individual, his readiness for analysis, perception and processing of information are always provided. The result of moral education is the development of an integral moral personality, which will develop together with its feelings, conscience, habits and values. Such education is considered a difficult and multifaceted process that generalizes pedagogical education and the influence of society. Moral education implies the formation of feelings of morality, a conscious connection with society, a culture of behavior, consideration of moral ideals and concepts, principles and behavioral norms.

Moral education takes place during the period of education, during the period of education in the family, in public organizations, and directly includes self-improvement of the individual. The continuous process of moral education begins with the birth of the subject and lasts for his entire life.