You've probably heard it said of someone, "He broke moral standards." What are moral standards and why their violation causes condemnation?

The emergence of moral standards. Moral standards determine how a person should behave in relation to society, other people, himself. They did not arise immediately, but were formed throughout the history of the development of human society.

Primitive man could not survive alone. The need for collective existence in that period of time required the implementation of certain rules living together. It was then that the prescriptions took shape: “Help your relatives”, “Do not kill”, “Do not steal”, “Do not lie”, etc. The decisive role in this process was played by labor, on the basis of which the requirements of diligence, respect for elders, help and protection of the weak, etc. appeared and were fixed in the minds and behavior of people. habit and passed down from generation to generation.

The emergence of moral norms accompanied the formation of society itself and meant the transition of a person from instinctive forms of behavior to conscious collective activity. Many elementary moral norms that arose in the era of the primitive communal system retain their significance today.

The value of moral standards for society and man. Today we cannot imagine life in a society without generally accepted moral norms. Morality was originally addressed to each individual and regulated the relationship "man - man", "man - collective", "man - society". In the process of the development of society, more and more complex rules for joint life were established and consolidated, which turned into norms and were passed down from generation to generation. At the same time, there was a process of denying those of its norms and attitudes that no longer corresponded to the new conditions of social life.

Moral norms are inherent only to man and are formed only in human society. But it is moral norms and attitudes that regulate human behavior and the development of society, and are the most important components of culture. And here we must remember that for successful action, moral norms must be deeply assimilated by a person, “enter his soul”, become part of inner peace. A person is moral only when moral norms and moral behavior become organic for him, help him behave correctly in a variety of situations. And a society can develop successfully when its members have moral standards that correspond to the moral ideals of a given era.

The relationship of moral norms, qualities, principles, ideals. Moral standards are the simplest form moral requirements. They require or prohibit behavior of a particular type. Moral standards directly affect all aspects of human relationships, instructing people to show mutual care, respect, support; be humble, truthful, sincere; develop diligence, tact, courage. Following moral standards characterizes such qualities of a person as politeness, decency, honesty. Do not offend the weak, do not humiliate, do not insult a person, do not interfere with others in in public places- all these are simple norms of human behavior that are formed in a person from the first years of life. The norm determines the behavior of the individual in some typical situations that have been repeated for thousands of years. Usually we are guided by norms out of habit, without thinking; only a violation of the norm attracts people's attention as a flagrant disgrace.

The effectiveness of moral norms, forcing a person to act in a certain way, is achieved with the help of public opinion. : after all, it is unpleasant for everyone to be known as an impolite, rude, tactless person, to experience condemnation or ridicule from others. Public opinion, forming certain standards of behavior, serves as a guarantor of the security of each person, protection from moral arbitrariness on the part of other people.

Each person, being formed as a person, acquires certain moral qualities. These qualities reflect the polarity of the moral world and are divided into good ( virtues ) and bad ( vices ). Even the ancient Greek sages identified four basic human virtues: wisdom, courage, moderation and justice. Evaluating a person, we most often list these qualities. However, unlike norms, moral qualities are not limited to prescriptions or prohibitions on certain actions, since the possessor moral qualities a person is able to choose the necessary rules of behavior, moral norms. This means that each person is responsible for cultivating virtues in himself and in those around him and rejecting vices.

But a person is usually not an ideal of morality or a living embodiment of all perfections. It also has shortcomings, and any one, albeit important, dignity cannot atone for moral shortcomings. It is not enough to have separate positive traits - they must complement each other, forming a common line of behavior. Usually a person himself determines it for himself, developing some of his own moral principles : collectivism or individualism, industriousness or laziness, altruism or selfishness.

moral principle denotes the strategic attitude of a person in his relations with people. By choosing principles, we choose a moral orientation in general and are able to reasonably justify it.

Loyalty to the chosen positive moral orientation has long been considered a human dignity. It meant that a person in any life situation will not deviate from the moral path. However, life is diverse, and not always the chosen principles help to make the right decision in a particular situation. So, in the past, it happened that love for people was sacrificed to revolutionary principles, and even today, misunderstood camaraderie sometimes pushes to immoral and soulless actions. That is why one must constantly check one's principles for humanity, humaneness, compare them with moral ideals.

The moral ideal it is a holistic pattern of moral behavior that people aspire to, considering it the most reasonable, useful, and beautiful. This is all the best that has been worked out by morality on this stage its development. In childhood, the ideal for us can be a specific person. In the future, the ideal as a unity of positive qualities usually acquires a more generalized character. The moral ideal allows you to evaluate the behavior of other people and is a guideline for self-improvement; allows everyone to navigate in life, to choose a line of behavior.

Thus, moral norms, qualities, principles, ideals do not act independently, independently of each other, but are the main elements of the moral system. All of them are closely interconnected and interdependent.

Some conclusions:

1. Moral standards are general rules behavior. They have been formed and changed throughout the history of the development of human society. One such norm is known as the Golden Rule of Morality.

2. To act according to the moral standards of people is prompted not only by public opinion, but also by the inner voice of conscience.

3. Moral norms, qualities, principles, ideals, acting together, constitute the moral system of a given society.

4. Guided by moral norms, principles, ideals, a person regulates his behavior and improves himself, and society as a whole can successfully move along the path of moral progress.

Questions and tasks:

1. What is meant by moral standards? What is the significance of moral standards for the individual and for society?

2. Are there any moral standards that you personally do not like? What would happen if they could be cancelled?

3. Do you think public opinion about human morality is always fair? Why do we follow it?

4. Often you want to answer all the teachings: “I don’t owe anything to anyone.” Is it so?

5. Why do we need to follow moral rules? Why do we sometimes want to avoid it?

6. Do you have a moral ideal? What do you understand by moral ideal?

7. A person with strong moral principles, a principled person - is this good or bad? Why?

Ethics Question #8

Conscience - this is one of the oldest intimate-personal regulators of human behavior. Conscience is understood as a special moral and psychological mechanism by which we evaluate our actions and thoughts, realize and experience their inconsistency with the requirements of duty.

As a category of ethics, conscience characterizes a person's ability to exercise moral self-control, internal self-assessment from the standpoint of the compliance of his behavior with the requirements of morality, independently formulate moral tasks for himself and demand that he fulfill them.

A lawyer, conducting proceedings on a case or performing other functions, acts in an area that affects the vital benefits of people, faces many conflicts, and is faced with the need to make responsible decisions, often in difficult moral situations. And only workers with a developed sense of conscience, capable of correctly, self-critically and fundamentally judging their motives and actions, can effectively fulfill their high mission and maintain the prestige of their profession and personality.

Conscience includes:

– internal(rational and emotional) assessment of the moral dignity of their intentions and actions taking into account the moral norms and ideals of the given personality acquired by the personality, acting as its internal "law" and "judge";

– a sense of personal moral responsibility for one's behavior before people, society and oneself.

Forms of manifestation of conscience can be : moral satisfaction, doubts, indecision, remorse, repentance, confession and, as a result, shame. Shyness, shyness, internally connected with sacrifice and compassion, the ability to forget oneself for the sake of a lofty goal are characteristic features of Russian culture.

Question number 9.

Honor and dignity are a form of moral self-awareness. They tell us about the special value of the human person. The concepts of honor and dignity develop in the history of culture in unity and parallel to each other.

As a category of ethicshonor means the moral attitude of a person to himself and the attitude towards him on the part of society, those around him, when the moral value of a person is associated with the moral merits of a person.

Honor is an assessment of a person in terms of the norms of a social group. Therefore, there are such concepts as the honor of an officer, the honor of a judge, the honor of a scientist, doctor, entrepreneur, etc. A sense of honor induces certain actions in order to achieve primacy, a high appreciation of one’s activities precisely within the social group to which a person belongs. The concept of honor is associated with mandatory requirements for members of this community, strict standards of behavior, which are called the “code of honor”.

If the concept of honor is associated with the desire to achieve high marks from others, then dignity denotes a combination of high moral qualities, as well as respect for these qualities in oneself and in others, colleagues. It obliges to perform moral deeds, to conform one's behavior with the requirements of morality.

concept personal dignity is based on the principle of moral equality of all people, is based on the equal right of each person to respect, the prohibition to humiliate his dignity, regardless of what social position he occupies.

Dignity acts as an element of moral culture, having, however, moral character. On the one hand, dignity is a moral value and, as a result, is most directly related to morality. At the same time, dignity is also related to law, since the protection of dignity is carried out on the basis of legal acts specially developed and fixed in the legislation.

There is a right to honor and dignity; the right to have an opinion and express it without fear of persecution; the right to free thought; the right to dissent; the right to opposition; the right to national dignity; the right to know everything about the life of their state without ridiculous censorship restrictions; the right to the need for human cultural life; the right to protect their human and civil rights -

In the Civil Code of the Russian Federation adopted October 21, 1994 , to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the court decision, a special article 152"Protection of honor, dignity and business reputation."

Moral norms are similar to legal norms in that both of them play the role of the main mechanism by which human behavior is regulated. are unwritten laws that have developed over the centuries. In law, however, laws are enshrined legally.

Moral culture

Moral norms, values ​​are the practical embodiment of morality. Their peculiarity lies in the fact that they determine the consciousness and characteristics in all spheres of life: life, family, professional activity, interpersonal relationships.

Moral norms are a set of rules defining human behavior, the violation of which causes damage to society or a group of people. They are formulated as a specific set of actions. For instance:

• you need to give way to those who are older;
• say hello when meeting another person;
• be generous and protect those who are weaker;
• arrive on time;
• speak civilly and politely;
• wear certain clothes, etc.

The Foundation for Building a Healthy Personality

Spiritual and moral norms and values ​​make up the image of a person who is perfect in the sense of conforming to the pattern of piety. This is the portrait to strive for. Thus are expressed ultimate goals one act or another. In the form of an ideal, such an image as Jesus in Christianity is used. He tried to lay justice in human hearts, he was a great martyr.

Moral rules and norms play the role of personal for a particular person. The individual sets his own goals in which its positive or negative side is manifested. Most people strive for happiness, freedom, knowledge of the meaning of life. Moral standards help them regulate their moral behavior, thoughts and feelings.

Morality functions in society as a combination of three structural elements, each of which represents one of the aspects of morality. These elements are moral activity, moral relations and moral consciousness.

Morality past and present

These phenomena began to appear for a long time. Each generation and community of people formed their own understanding of good and evil, their own ways of interpreting moral norms.

If we turn to, we will see that there the moral character was considered as an invariable phenomenon, actually accepted in the conditions of absence. The man of that time could not between acceptance and non-acceptance of the prevailing trends, he had to unconditionally follow them.

In our time, unlike legal norms, moral norms are more considered as recommendations for achieving happiness for oneself and the surrounding society. If earlier morality was defined as something given from above, prescribed by the gods themselves, today it is something similar to an unspoken social contract, which is desirable to follow. But if you disobey, in fact, you can only be condemned, but not called to real responsibility.

You can accept moral laws (for your own good, because they are useful fertilizer for the sprout of a happy soul), or you can reject them, but it will remain on your conscience. In any case, the entire society revolves around moral norms, and without them its functioning would be incomplete.

Variety of moral standards

All moral norms and principles can be conditionally divided into two groups: requirements and permissions. Among the requirements are obligations and natural duties. Permissions can also be divided into indifferent and overdue.

There is public morality, which implies the most unified framework. There is an unspoken set of rules that operates in a particular country, company, organization or family. There are also settings in accordance with which a separate person builds his line of behavior.

In order to know the moral culture, not only in theory, but also in practice, you need to do the right things, which others will accept and approve.

Perhaps the value of morality is exaggerated?

It may seem that following the norms of morality shackles a person into a narrow framework. However, we do not consider ourselves prisoners using the instructions for this or that radio device. Moral norms are the same scheme that helps us build our lives correctly, without conflicting with our conscience.

Moral norms for the most part coincide with legal norms. But there are situations when morality and law come into conflict. Let's analyze this issue on the example of the norm "do not steal". Let's try to ask the question "Why does this or that person never steal?". In the case when the fear of the court serves as the basis, then the motive cannot be called moral. But if a person does not steal, based on the belief that theft is bad, then the act is based on moral values. But in life it happens that someone considers his own that, from the point of view of law, is a violation of the law (for example, a person decides to steal a medicine in order to save the life of a loved one).

The Importance of Moral Education

Do not wait for the moral environment to develop by itself. It also needs to be built, cognized, that is, to work on oneself. Simply, along with mathematics and the Russian language, schoolchildren do not study the laws of morality. And, getting into society, people can sometimes feel as helpless and defenseless as if they went to the blackboard in the 1st grade and were forced to solve an equation that they had never seen before.

So all the words that morality fetters, enslaves and makes a slave out of a person are true only if moral norms are perverted and adjusted to the material interests of one or another group of people.

social hunger strike

Nowadays, the search for the right path in life worries a person much less than social discomfort. Parents care more about the child becoming a good specialist than a happy person in the future. It becomes more important to enter into a successful marriage than to know true love. Giving birth to a child is more important than realizing the true need for motherhood.

For the most part, moral requirements do not appeal to external expediency (if you do this, you will succeed), but to moral duty (you need to act in a certain way, as this is dictated by duty), thus having the form of an imperative, considered as a direct and unconditional command.

Moral norms and human behavior are closely interrelated. However, thinking about the laws of morality, a person should not identify them with the regulations, but fulfill them, guided by his own desire.

The unity of the ethical and aesthetic aspects of business etiquette

The rules of etiquette, dressed in specific forms of behavior, indicate the unity of its two sides: moral and ethical and aesthetic. The first side is an expression of a moral norm: precautionary care, respect, protection, etc.

The second side - aesthetic - testifies to the beauty, elegance of forms of behavior.

For example, for a greeting, use not only the verbal (speech) means “Hello!”, “Good afternoon”, but also non-verbal gestures: a bow, a nod, a wave of the hand, etc. You can say “Hello” indifferently, nod your head and walk past . But it’s better to do otherwise - say, for example, “Hello, Ivan Alexandrovich!”, smile warmly at him and stop for a few seconds. Such a greeting emphasizes your good feelings for this person, he will understand that you appreciate him, and the sound of your own name is a pleasant melody for any person.

Business etiquette as a set of moral norms and rules of conduct in business communication. Basic rules of business etiquette

Just being polite and friendly is not enough. V business etiquette general principles acquire a specific coloring, which is expressed in the following basic rules:

• - First rule business communication- be punctual in everything. Lateness of any employee interferes with work, in addition, they indicate that such a person cannot be relied upon;
• - Second rule business ethics communication - do not talk too much. Any employee is obliged to keep the secrets of his organization, this rule applies to all the affairs of a company or institution: from personnel to technology. The same applies to the conversations of colleagues about their personal lives;
• - The third rule of ethics in business - think not only about yourself, but also about others. It is impossible to conduct business successfully without taking into account the opinions and interests of partners, customers, buyers. Often the reasons for failure in business are the manifestation of selfishness, the desire to harm competitors, even colleagues, in order to advance within the framework of own enterprise. Strive to always patiently listen to the interlocutor, learn to respect the opinion of others and understand it, get rid of intolerance for dissent;
• - The fourth rule of business ethics - dress appropriately. The main thing is to dress appropriately for your environment in the service, without standing out from the contingent of workers at your level. Your clothes should show your taste;
• - The fifth rule is the ethics of business communication - speak and write in a good language. Everything you say and write must be written correctly. Your chances of concluding a particular contract often depend on the ability to communicate. A business person, in order to succeed, must also master the art of rhetoric, that is, the skill of eloquence.

Morality — is a set of norms, rules, principles, resulting from the inner conviction of a person or the influence of the forces of public opinion.

Moral culture is a "cut" of culture as a whole, all aspects and manifestations. It can be defined as the level of humanity, humanity in human relations achieved by society and individuals. Morality is based on the authority of public opinion and the moral convictions of the individual. Moral or moral consciousness includes moral standards and moral principles.

Moral norms are the rules for the behavior of people in a particular new life situations .

The purpose of moral standards is to enable people to determine the degree to which their actions conform to society's recognized ideas of good and evil, justice and injustice. These norms arise spontaneously, exist, as a rule, in oral form, reflected in the minds of people. Morality is formed and maintained by society itself, corresponds to the level of its development, to those social ideas that have developed historically and prevail in society. Moral norms are fulfilled only by those people for whom the rules contained in them are authoritative. So, the process of implementing these norms depends on the level of awareness, development and education of a particular person.

Moral principles are broader concepts, they are have a universal character and are usually formed as mottos, commandments, codes, according to which you need to behave not only in a specific life situation, but also in deep system of social relations. These include provisions such as “do not steal”, “do not lie”, “respect your neighbor”, “honor your father”, etc.

The moral culture of a person is embodied in the relationship of a person with other people, and the moral culture of a society is determined by the number of cultivated individuals.

Main moral concepts are:

• good andevil: opposite but related qualities. Good - positive, creative, harmonious quality of personality; evil - aggressive, selfish, destructive state of personality. kind person means good, evil means bad. The basic concepts of morality also include:
• duty — the need to obey a more significant will than one's own when fulfilling moral obligations;
• conscience - an internal prosecutor, "the own court of a just person", in other words, the correlation of a person's actions with generally recognized norms of morality;
• humanism - recognition of a person as the highest value. The main feature of humanism is expressed in the so-called "zolot of rules of morality", which is formulated like this: treat others the way you would like to be treatedflirt with you. Or, as the Bible says, "love your neighbor,as yourself".

Morality is the basis of love, marriage and family. The relationship of people in society is regulated not only by moral norms, but also law .

Unity and differences of law and morality

There is unity and interrelation between morality and law:

• morality and law perform a regulatory function in society, that is, they are aimed at the social ties of a person;
• morality and law have similar structures, standards and principles;
• morality and law must correspond to each other and affirm the principles of goodness and justice in society;
• morality and law should not oppose each other.

At the same time, there are differences between morality and law:

• law- this is the sum of laws, regulations, regulations sanctioned by the state;
• moral standards- "sanctioned" only by public opinion , that is, they are formed in the process of direct communication between people;
• law always specific and unambiguous in interpretation (for example, the "Criminal Code");
• moral standards allow different interpretation and perception depending on the ethnic, religious and other characteristics of society;
• law form rules of conduct in the form of rights and obligations;
• moral standards exist not only in the form of rights and obligations, but also in the form of general principles, goals, slogans, etc.;
• law provided by state coercion;
• moral standards provided by habit, inner conviction, moral, public influence and other non-state methods.

Significant differences between law and morality allow society and the state to flexibly use the most appropriate means for a particular situation in the process of regulating social relations. So, for example, the obligation to give way to elders in public transport is moral, while the duty to pay is legal.

So, morality and law have a common purpose in the process of regulating social relations and have different effects and significance in ensuring the systemic nature of society.

Law in the system of social norms

Law is a system of obligatory, formally defined rules of conduct, established or sanctioned by the state and protected by the power of the state, which regulate the most important social relations.

Right called the social and legal claims of people: the right to life, the right to freedom, the right to work and education, etc. These are the so-called natural human rights century . Law, reflecting the moral attitudes of society, contributes to the legitimization of certain moral principles and the gradual narrowing of the scope of those of them that have lost their relevance.

The hallmarks of law are:

• expression of the general will. According to G. Hobbes, law is a product of the will of those who have power over others. For K. Marx, “Law is the will of the rulingclass",
• Normative regulation of public relations, that is, the law prescribes to a person: “do this, and not otherwise.” The rules of law are universal and binding. ("The law is harsh, but it is the law").
• Determination of the measure of freedom of human behavior. This means that the law expresses the measure of accessibility, the reality of the rights and freedoms of the individual and the measure of the permissibility of restricting freedom. The principle of freedom was formulated in the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen: "freedom consists in the ability to do everything that does not harm another."
• The cornerstone of law is that it mustachetanavlivaetsya, sanctioned and supported by the statedonation. Within the framework of a separate state, it acts as state will. In real life, this means that the state ensures the implementation of recognized and valid legal norms, since there are no other ways to elevate the general will of citizens into law.

The functions of law in society are as follows:

• bind members of society by legal bonds in the form of legal relations;
• coordinate the various interests of people, communities, organizations;
• to consolidate the economic foundations of human activity (property rights);
• regulate by means of laws positive rules of conduct in order to consolidate and develop social relations;
• protect generally significant public and personal relations of citizens (with the help of prohibitions, sanctions and legal liability).

Law as the embodiment of social justice

Purpose of law - the implementation of one of the highest moral values ​​of universal human significance - justice.

The purpose of law as the embodiment of social justice is manifested in the fact that:

• law is based on the principles of humanism and justice;
• the rights and obligations of the subjects are in a relationship of fair reciprocity;
• the very process of developing law is characterized by the provision of just institutions of democracy;
• law ensures the equality of subjects in the process of exercising and protecting their rights, as well as establishing their obligations;
• law balances social interests different groups existing at the level of society;
• the law establishes the most expedient and fair means, forms and types of liability aimed at restoring violated rights, as well as the interests of society;
• performing a humanistic function, law provides an opportunity to implement in the specific behavior of people those principles of justice that most fully correspond to the level of development of society and the state.

So, by giving the subjects of law equal opportunities, imposing equal duties and establishing equal responsibility, law acts as a means of ensuring justice in real social practice.

The concept of political and legal culture

The view of the state and law as a historical achievement of civilization, their assessment from the standpoint of humanism and justice caused the active use in legal science of two interrelated concepts - "political culture" and "legal culture".

It comes from the Latin word "cultura", which is translated as "tillage", "education", "development", etc. Today it mainly refers to the system of material and spiritual values ​​created by mankind, a kind of historical experience that is transmitted from generation after generation and influences people's behavior accordingly. The social purpose of law is detailed in the legal culture.

Political culture is defined as historical experience, memory social groups and individuals in the political arena that influence their political behavior.

This experience in a generalized form contains achievements both in the field of international relations, as well as in the field domestic policy. On the one hand, political culture is part of the entire culture of society, on the other hand, it is associated with a particular political system.

Political culture can be characterized as the qualitative state of the political life of society and the degree of maturity of the political system of society.

At the same time, political culture reflects not only objective political institutions, but also political views, ideas, ideas, feelings that characterize the attitude of the bearers of political culture to political life.

Legal culture, by analogy with the previous concept, can also be defined as a historical experience that influences the behavior of social groups and individuals, but already in the field of law.

Sometimes legal culture is understood in a somewhat simplified way - as a category indicating the level of understanding, recognition and conscious execution of legal prescriptions. Based on this, the legal culture is divided into:

• public inherent in society;
• group characteristic of some social group;
• individual characteristic of the individual.

A certain level of legal culture is achieved with the help of objective and subjective factors. The objective ones are the conditions for the development of society, and the subjective ones are legal education .

The main tasks of legal education

Legal education is the activity of legal and individuals, purposefully influencing the legal consciousness and legal behavior of citizens.

The task of legal education is to ensure that, on the basis of common legal education goals, each person has formed:

• correct legal orientation and respectful attitude to laws;
• conscious choice of lawful behavior options;
• respect for law enforcement agencies;
• a sense of personal responsibility and awareness of the inevitability of punishment for an offense;
• critical attitude to violations and violators of the law;
• the need for personal participation in the fight against offenses;
• confidence in the need for legal norms for the normal functioning of society and its members;
• conscious habit of keeping the law.

Thus, legal education should influence the mind and feelings of a person, suggest to him the ways of correct behavior in a given life situation. Legal education directs the behavior and actions of people within the framework of the requirements of legality. That is why, along with the formation of legal consciousness, raising the level of legal culture of young people, legal education works for such an important social function as a warning of violations.

References:

1. Afonin V. A., Afonin Yu. V. Theory and history of culture. Tutorial for independent work of students. - Lugansk: Elton-2, 2008. - 296 p.

2. Fundamentals of law: Prob. assistant for grade 9 mid. zahalnosvit. school / Ed. I. B. Usenka. - Kiev: Irpin: WTF "Perun", 1997. - 448 p.: il. — Ros. my

3. Fundamentals of jurisprudence. 50 lesson notes according to the program of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. Grade 9 - Donetsk: Center for the preparation of applicants, 2003. - 328 p.