What is high morality? What is morality - definition and golden rule

Every person in his life has encountered 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 an incorrect and dishonest lifestyle. What is human morality? How does it relate 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 identified 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 an individual’s ideas about good and evil, about how one should and should not behave in various situations.

Each person has his own criteria of morality. What seems completely normal to one 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 sharply condemn premarital relationships.

Principles of moral behavior

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 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 court, everyone has 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 contradict 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, deception loved one is not a crime. However, from a moral point of view, the one who deceives causes suffering to the individual, and therefore infringes on his interests and acts immorally.

The meaning of morality

Some people believe that morality is only a necessary condition for going to heaven after death. During life, it has absolutely no effect on a person’s success and does not bring any benefit. Thus, the meaning of morality lies in cleansing our soul from sin.

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

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

Morals and ethics

Traditionally, the concept of “morality” is identified 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 behavior of people in various situations, developed by society. In other words, it is a public point of view. If a person follows established rules, he can be called moral, but if he ignores them, his behavior is immoral.

What is morality? The definition of this word differs from morality in that it does not apply to society as a whole, but to each individual person. Morality is a rather subjective concept. What is the norm 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 human freedom and rights at the forefront of everything. 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 their busy schedule and fast pace of life. And the commandment “thou shalt not commit adultery” for many is a restriction on the freedom to build personal relationships.

Classic moral principles regarding the value of human life and property, help and compassion for 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, the fight against infidels.

Modern society also has its own moral values, which are not outlined in traditional religions. These include the need for constant self-development and self-improvement, determination 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 his desire to live as he sees fit. Modern morality places emphasis 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 morally. Indeed, crime, alcoholism and drug addiction are thriving 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 values ​​such as pleasure, an idle life and fun at the forefront of everything. At the same time, they completely forget about morality, guided only by their selfish needs.

Modern youth have completely lost such personal qualities as patriotism and spirituality. For them, morality is something that can interfere with freedom and limit it. Often people are ready to commit any act to achieve their goals, without thinking at all about the consequences for others.

Thus, today in our country the problem of youth morality is very acute. Solving it will require more than a decade and a lot of effort on the part of the government.

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. How often do we hear “This is immoral!” or “He has low morale.” What do these words mean? What is morality, why look for it in others and cultivate it in yourself?

Something about morality, spirituality and maybe even religiosity comes to mind. They introduce themselves, if not saints, then very good people- kind and wise.

General definition

The definition of morality appeared in our language in 1789 in the dictionary of the Russian Academy.

Essentially, it is a set of attitudes, values, internal norms and rules that determine a person’s behavior in a given situation.

These values ​​are based on the ideas of justice, honor, dignity, compassion, kindness, honesty, peacefulness and other “good” categories.

A person absorbs all these concepts from childhood along with his mother’s milk, that is, he acquires them in the family circle, then among friends, teachers and other significant adults. In other words, it acquires .

Morality is something that is instilled in a person through education.

In this regard, its level may differ for different individuals depending on what kind of people raised them. An evil mother is unlikely to teach a child to be sacrificial and patient with others, and an honest one is unlikely to teach her to steal.

Morality and ethics in philosophy (ethics)

In everyday life, the terms morality and ethics are used as synonyms, although in the philosophical paradigm (?) they are completely different.

The first means the internal beliefs of a person - his own rules of behavior, formed in the process of growing up and becoming a person. The second concept is external norms that society requires us to observe.

But this is not the only interpretation. In philosophy, the following definition of the difference between morality and morality is also found. First, let me remind you that both of these terms are the subject of study of the science of ethics - the basis on which its principles are built. Thus, about the moral and moral values ​​of a person.

Must be (theory). This is what people plunge into when studying ethics. But we are all different, and reading the same book we can draw different conclusions. It is precisely morality that actually determines how well morality has formed in a person. In essence, these are the implementation of theory (morality) in practice.

Rules of morality

What do you need to do and what do you need to be like to be told that you are a moral person? It's actually simple:

1. address others with respect and by name;
2. smile kindly at your interlocutor;
3. be careful;
4. respect others;
5. be honest.

The most important thing that must be present in all these points is a sincere desire to behave in this way, to be like this not only outside, but also inside, that is, it must be in character.

Golden Rule

In addition to these qualities, there is a golden rule of morality, presented in the form of a wise parable, which says that once on the banks of a large river a dialogue between a wise teacher and his follower took place. A student asked a question:

“Teacher, you know so much about goodness and peace, justice and spiritual purity. You say that people should be honest, work hard and not be lazy, eradicate passions and vices, respect others, take care of their bodies, and much more. Can you put it all together and call it just one word?”

The teacher thought about it, was silent for a long time, and then smiled and said:
- “This word is reciprocity. And it means this: do unto others as you would have them do unto you.»

This rule was called the golden rule; it formed the basis of the concept of morality. It can also be expressed in other words: do not do to others what you do not want to do to yourself.

Morality is a person's determination of his own values ​​and respect for the same values ​​that belong to other people.

Proverbs are worldly wisdom. For example, a phrase I read in a hairdresser when I was probably six years old became defining for me. It read:

“Nothing comes so cheaply and is valued so dearly as politeness.”.

Even as a child, I was stunned by its genius, and what’s remarkable is that it contains real truth that helps me establish contacts with people. How easy it is to be polite and how much it can give. Extra thanks please. Don’t say them, and the attitude towards you will be different.

Regarding the topic of morality, these proverbs and expressions are well suited:

And here's some more folk wisdom:

What goes around comes around
Take care of your clothes again, and honor from a young age
To a good hello, a good answer.
As we are to people, so are people to us.
Expect good for good, bad for bad.
When doing evil, do not hope for good.
Whoever follows evil will not find good.
Good to sow, good to reap.
Virtue is rewarded.
As you go to bed, so will you sleep.
As it comes back, so will it respond

Notice how often and differently the golden rule of morality described above is played out in proverbs. Our people are amazingly smart. Wise!

Education of morality

In the individual (?) moral qualities, their cultivation, of course, should first of all be dealt with by the family in which the child is growing up. Moms and dads, grandparents, from a very early age, should instill in their children the concepts of good and evil, good and bad deeds.

I think there are many different ways, but the main ones are:

1. personal example– the child copies the behavior of his parents, implements it into his life strategy, so it is worth doing more kind, good deeds. Even if an adult says that fighting is bad, but he fights himself, the offspring will not hear the words (or his words), but will imitate actions;
2. reading for your child, good fairy tales, parables and proverbs about morality. Stories form imaginative thinking, corresponding emotions and feelings, which become the basis of the inner world.

A person who grew up in such conditions cannot be immoral. It is enough for adults to pay attention to this issue during childhood and school years - then this worldview becomes “ingrained” into the psyche, automatic. Changing it is difficult and sometimes unrealistic.

Problems

Unfortunately, modern society is increasingly pushing morality into the far corner, placing it in personal benefits and interests. The latter force people to go over their heads in the direction of their goals: to betray friends, to set up family and friends.

It is believed that decline in moral and ethical standards began during the First World War, when it was devalued. During the period of socialism, the burning of churches and the renunciation of God also dealt a great blow to human values.

At the moment, this problem has affected, which in turn has led to the corruption of youth, a large number of children without fathers or completely abandoned by both parents. The demographic crisis and crime are also consequences of that decline.

People began to forget what morality is, the definition and essence of this concept. And it’s stupid to think that someone else will solve this problem for us: everyone must start with themselves.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

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“Morality in general is the ineradicable desire of the human spirit to evaluate the consciously free actions and states of a person, on the basis of the idea of ​​​​good innate to the human spirit, the expression of which is conscience” (V. Borshchanovsky)

Oh, morality, the immutable internal law of a decent life, not invented by man, but given to humanity from above.

Oh, morality, the unchanging basis of humanity, the unwritten code of human relations based on mutual love, responsibility and justice, operating through conscience.

Oh, morality, the essence of the Gospel, an integral property of the Christian soul and the main quality of the Christian spirit, what is known about you to modern humanity, which is experiencing a rapid flourishing information technologies against the backdrop of the decline of morality, spirituality and truly human culture?

Unfortunately, we must honestly admit that morality in the true, i.e. the essential meaning of this concept, or rather the whole category, is known to modern man very little, and primarily because the true meaning of the category morality is currently very much distorted.

Today, in public and individual consciousness, there is a largely changed and emasculated concept morality, which reflects exclusively the superficial side of this category, and not the deep essence.

Speaking about the crisis of morality in a modern information-technocratic society, the manifestations of which are numerous forms of dependencies (addictions), the crisis of the institution of the traditional family, gender and juvenile problems and contradictions, loss of the meaning of life, stress, depression, suicidal manifestations, etc., it is impossible not to touch upon such a strategically important topic as moral.

ABOUT morality and the importance of developing in humans moral self-awareness and worldview, expressed in the qualities of collectivism, responsibility, patriotism, humanism, readiness to serve and fulfill civic and human duty, are spoken by many, if not all, today.

The importance of such a category as moral today no one doubts it, since this is a basic or system-forming category personal nature, which is a kind of cognitive foundation and basis for the formation moral personality as socially oriented, value-determined and civically sound.

We can safely say that the category morality is one of the most important characteristics of the human personality, which, both consciously and unconsciously, guards the cognitive and mental-spiritual health of a person, personifying nothing more than human perfection or the perfection of the human image in its spiritual, social and personal orientation. Spiritual orientation refers to both the purely religious and worldview aspects of a moral personality, which is the personification of humanism, humanity, social justice and unconditional love.

In this regard, we can safely say that exactly moral is the only alternative to greed and human selfishness and essentially a factor that ensures not just the balance of selfishness and sacrifice, but the entire internal configuration and architecture of the human personality - either ego-oriented or morally oriented.

It is no secret to any of the specialists in spiritual and educational work today that moral- this is the only correct basis for developing in a person the most correct in terms of value, socially oriented, i.e. civil consciousness, thinking and worldview, which is called moral.

This is, in fact, why the presence in a person’s consciousness, first of all, moral, or rather spiritual and moral attitudes, principles and criteria, is essentially the most main characteristic personality, its protection and guarantee of its social, mental and spiritual health. It can be said that exactly moral is responsible for a person’s internal readiness not only for consumption and acquisitiveness, but also for fulfilling human and civic duty.

At the same time, in the system of social and individual consciousness in relation to the category morality There is currently a deep conceptual vacuum. Due to a number of circumstances of a political, ideological and socio-economic nature, the concept morality has depreciated greatly over the past decades, but the most depressing thing is that it has almost lost its original and essential (iconic) meaning.

Such hackneyed formulations by ideologists as moral improvement / development / education / formation/ strengthening/becoming and so on. (comprehensively and harmoniously developed personality), used over many years, so blurred the essence of this concept that it actually became a common noun or best case scenario a reflection of formal morality or ideological correctness. At the same time, internal and deep, i.e. spiritual and energetic side of the concept moral, was not just distorted, but practically lost.

To confirm this situation, it is enough to take the most authoritative votes that today give the definition morality:

S.Yu. Golovin. Dictionary practical psychologist, 1998

• – Regulatory function of human behavior. According to Z. Freud, its essence comes down to the limitation of drives.

• – The general tendency to behave in a manner that is consistent with the moral code of society. This term means that such behavior.

Oxford Dictionary of Psychology, ed. A. Rebera, 2002 – Principles or patterns of behavior that are manifestations of principles, evaluated in terms of their rightness or wrongness.

Antsupov A.Ya., Shipilov A.I. Dictionary of conflict specialist, 2009

• – See Morality.

Zhmurov V.A. Great encyclopedia in Psychiatry, 2nd ed. 2012

• – (Common Slavic, cf. lit. “noras” – will, desire, desire) – The general tendency to behave in a way that corresponds to the moral code of society. This term means that the behavior is voluntary; one who obeys this code against his will is not considered moral.

Free electronic encyclopedia Wikipedia, 2013

• - a term most often used in speech and literature as a synonym for morality, sometimes for ethics. In a narrower sense, morality is indoor installation the individual to act according to his conscience and free will - in contrast to morality, which, along with the law, is external requirement to the behavior of the individual.

Dictionary of terms for general and social pedagogy, A.S. Voronin – ‎2006

• – a special form of social knowledge and type public relations, one of the main ways to regulate human actions in society through norms. Unlike simple norms or tradition, moral norms receive justification in the form of ideals of good and evil, due, justice, etc. (1)A system of internal human rights based on the humanistic values ​​of kindness, justice, decency, empathy, and willingness to help. (2)

Big encyclopedic Dictionary, 2000

• – See Morality.

Ozhegov's Dictionary, “Az”, 1992

• – Internal, spiritual qualities that guide a person, ethical standards; rules of behavior determined by these qualities.

The definition of a practical psychologist's dictionary reduces moral according to Z. Freud, to limit drives, although it is obvious that any limitation and self-restraint must have some conscious and practical meaning.

The definition of the Oxford Explanatory Dictionary by A. Reber reduces moral to a public moral code or public assessment of right or wrong, but it is known that the concepts of morality can vary significantly in different societies and social systems (bourgeois morality, proletarian morality, Islamic morality, secular morality, etc.).

Definition in the dictionary of conflict specialist A.Ya. Antsupova directly correlates moral with morality, implying their complete identity, although it is obvious that morality has a much greater relation to external forms of human behavior (social decency), whereas moral has much more to do with a person’s internal attitudes (direction of conscience and will).

Great encyclopedia of psychiatry Zhmurova V.A. reduces moral again to the moral code of society, to the exclusion of any other aspects. A somewhat more precise formulation related to the action of conscience is given by Wikipedia.

An even deeper definition is given by the dictionary of terms in general and social pedagogy, equating moral to a special form of social consciousness, without deciphering the type of society and its dominant ideology.

And perhaps the most profound definition morality gives Ozhegov's Dictionary, which directly correlates moral with the deeply internal spiritual qualities of a person, as institutional.

You can continue to give definitions morality from other more or less authoritative sources and voices, but the essence of the issue remains unchanged. In the system of public consciousness and its social institutions there is no single and correct understanding of the category morality, as institutional and determining the very nature and orientation of the human personality.

For any educated and enlightened person, it is quite obvious that essentially none of the so-called above. professional definitions morality does not correspond to its true meaning and meaning, both attitudinal and institutional, i.e. determining the character and direction of the human personality.

It is in this unfortunate contradiction that, in fact, lies the main problem of the formation, development and strengthening of the institution morality, since initially there is no correct idea of ​​the subject and category itself morality.

If we try to understand the reasons for this phenomenon, we will inevitably come to the conclusion that these reasons are of a global nature, which is associated with a change in the very model of human thinking in recent years. We are talking about shifting the vector of public and individual consciousness from deep and essential (spiritual and energetic) categories and values ​​to superficial, opportunistic and rational (consumer) ones.

That is why in understanding the category morality the original depth inherent in human nature itself, as three components, was lost - bodily-mental-spiritual.

In other words, the concept morality, which initially had to do with the characteristics of the human spirit itself (its energy), was reduced first to the moral side (spiritual), and then to the purely external and formal side of social decency.

At the same time, the essential (spiritual) side of the category morality simply dropped out of sight and context of psychological research.

So the category morality, Having lost the most important essential (spiritual) content and basis, it currently represents a distorted term that reflects the external and purely superficial side of this category.

The importance of this partly lost and partly distorted basis of the category morality It is dangerous to underestimate, since at all times it was the most important for people, as it defined humanity itself in its true spiritual and moral sense, and not in a predatory sense.

In other words, at all times people knew that everything truly human is always morally, as corresponding to the moral Image and Likeness, and vice versa, everything immoral does not correspond to the human Image and Likeness.

To explore the essence of the concept moral Let's turn to its etymology.

The very concept of morality comes from the word "temper" or "temper" (noras).

“Mind and character unite to form the Spirit”(Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary).

It means that " disposition" is not only an attunement of the mind, but also a form of expression of the human spirit. It is the temper through moral gives the mind a very specific direction and determines its state: dynamism, reaction, flexibility, sophistication, sophistication, benevolence, inclination towards something (good or evil), etc.

In this regard, it can be said that in relation to the human spirit, as the expression and manifestation of the mind, "temper" is, as it were, a kind of “modulator” that gives the human spirit very specific properties and characteristics. In one case (with one type of morality), the spirit, as the orientation of a person, can be the personification of virtue itself, and in another case (with a different type of modulation of character), the spirit and orientation of a person can be the personification of demonism and evil.

In this regard, the modulating function of human morality, capable of setting the direction of the entire system of consciousness (cognitive sphere), is fundamentally important, both for the individual and for society, for the reason that it is precisely this function that ultimately determines the direction in relation to good and evil , both the individual and society itself.

It is well known what a person’s disposition can be - quiet and noisy, meek and violent, humble and proud, patient and quick-tempered, righteous and crafty, simple-minded and insidious, unpretentious and capricious, flexible and wayward, virtuous and demonic, etc.

As can be seen from this list, a person’s character is nothing more than internal installation system, which includes and activates in consciousness certain qualities (energies) of the human personality, forming their movement (flow), which determines the general nature of the personality’s orientation. Moreover, one can say - moral in fact, in the structure of the personality, it acts as a completely definite switch of individual disparate qualities and energies, transforming them into the orientation of the personality.

That is why the attitudes of a person’s character are attitudes of activation (inclusion) of certain qualities (energies) of the individual, which determine his character.

In this regard, by analogy with computer science, it becomes clear that by changing certain characteristics of a person’s character, it is possible to change (modulate) the character and orientation of the human personality itself. This is why the categories of human character (and morality) at all times was given such important and paramount importance, because it essentially determined the “BIOS” itself or the institutionality of a person as an individual.

The categories of morality, as a system of grouping the basic qualities of consciousness and personality attitudes, are very difficult to find an analogy among the known. However, it is obvious that disposition or "norm" ultimately creates some kind of special uniqueness and originality of a person’s personality (the direction of his mind and spirit), which is the result of commutation and a unique fusion of a number of different qualities, both positive and negative, which, mixing with each other, ultimately create a unique character. Thus, a person’s character can be considered a unique combination or fusion of individual qualities of the human personality.

To the roughest approximation disposition can be correlated with the color and aroma of a “bouquet of flowers,” which can have its own unique personality depending on the individual qualities (flowers) that make it up.

The differences between these bouquets of flowers, symbolizing different human morals, clearly demonstrate how human morals, collected from completely different personality traits and energies, can differ from each other, like individual flowers.

In this regard, the very fact of the existence of various types of human morality - from openly vicious to deeply virtuous (moral) - reasonably raises the question of whether there can be a certain standard type of human morality, which can act as an Image of perfect humanity, i.e. perfect morality ?

To answer this question, we need to consider the integrated scheme of morality through the prism of spirituality and morality.

As can be seen from this diagram, moral occupies an intermediate position between spirituality and morality. In other words, the inexpressible uncreated energies of the Creator, transmitted through the mind, feelings and will, at the level of the heart are refracted into divine commandments or fundamental principles of the highest spiritual and moral law (the Law of God) and then at the social level they take the form of moral norms, like generally accepted norms of behavior and life.

Thus, the highest level in relation to the category of morality is the spiritual level, where conscience plays the role of morality, as the voice of God in the human heart.

It is for this reason that the foundations of morality lie at the level of spirituality, the paradigm of rational psychology does not know the answer to the question about the nature of the standard morality. And only the paradigm of morally oriented Christian psychology provides an answer to this question, since the category of Christian morality is precisely the key one in Christian psychology.

As the reader has probably already guessed, the standard or Image of the perfect morality, which would personify the genuine humanity in its standard and exclusively virtuous quality, certainly exists. This Image is perfect morality, without a doubt, is the image of the God-man - Jesus Christ, who showed the world the standard of human morality as the embodiment of perfect virtue.

Talking about like, as a manifestation morality person, we can say that he has an unconscious character, since the attitudes themselves morality lie at a fairly deep level of the individual unconscious. As the direction of the sphere of consciousness of the individual, character is essentially the resulting factor in the action of many institutional structures of consciousness and forces. Among these attitudes and forces, one can distinguish passions and virtues, which determine the general state of the entire cognitive sphere.

The most amazing in the category of character and morality is that the settings of a person’s moral code, which are similar to the settings of the “BIOS” of a computer, can be influenced accordingly, i.e. they can be purposefully changed and modulated.

As can be seen from the presented diagram, as the ratio of passions and virtues changes, a person’s disposition can gradually move from a passionate state to a dispassionate (virtuous) one.

Thus, disposition is nothing more than the result of grouping in the system of consciousness the most characteristic qualities of the human personality, which represent the corresponding energies of passion and virtue, the unique combination of which gives the human personality a completely special and unique coloring.

In other words, a person’s disposition is the final fusion of all the energies of his consciousness (cognitive sphere), manifested in the specific state and direction of his mind and spirit.

It is curious that the concept disposition, as a special state of mind, can relate not only to an individual, but also to any relatively stable human community - a group of people, clan, tribe or people, as a form of fusion of individual morals into a certain general or collective morality or spirit. In this case, the collective character or spirit of a particular society is a form of reflection of social identity and ethnocultural uniqueness.

In this regard, it is no secret to anyone that some peoples of the world have a completely unique and disposition, which cannot be confused with any other.

As mentioned earlier, the category of morality (both individual and collective) is to a certain extent regulated and modulated through appropriate mechanisms and technologies. Looking at how the process of degeneration of individual nations and cultures is currently underway, as well as the process of displacement and replacement of some cultures by others, we can safely say that the disposition of an individual person and humanity as a whole is currently undergoing active changes.

Unfortunately, the changes that are taking place today in the field of individual and collective morality ( morality), are deeply negative and vicious in nature. We can safely say that currently in the world there is an active process of decomposition of individual and collective morality(and therefore spirituality ) through the disintegration of individual and collective morals. The basis of this decomposition is, first of all, the freedom of human egoism, as the basis of passion, which gravitates towards permissiveness, lack of control and the thirst for endless pleasures, since it cannot tolerate any restrictions and self-limitations.

In this global process of human decomposition morality one can clearly see the interaction of two global forces and doctrines - Christian, standing in defense morality, and neoliberal, standing up for the protection of freedom of selfishness.

If we try to determine what underlies the concept morality, then we will inevitably come to the concept of the highest moral law, as the fundamental basis of all existence, which has not a spontaneous, but a deeply moral character.

In other words, the concept morality originates from the fundamental spiritual and moral law of existence (the Law of God), which is the same for the entire universe. That's why moral- this is a reflection in essence of the very divinity and quality of God Himself, as in the highest degree moral mind and spirit.

From this deep and essential meaning morality, as characteristics of God and the highest law of existence, it follows quite naturally that it is moral should be a fundamental characteristic of the person himself, created in the Image and Likeness.

Thus, the meaning of the concept of human morality lies in the conformity of a person’s character and spirit with the criteria of the highest moral law.

If this is the compliance of a person’s character and spirit with the criteria of the highest moral law (the Law of God) takes place, then such a person can be called fully moral and meeting the criteria of true humanity.

If a person’s character and spirit do not meet the criteria of the highest moral law (the Law of God), then such a person can be called immoral or wayward, not meeting the criteria of true humanity set from above.

Thus, exactly moral is essentially the most important and fundamental characteristic of true humanity and the human image from the point of view of the norms and criteria of the highest moral law (the Law of God).

In other words, from a psychological point of view moral can be correlated with a certain standard set of internal attitudes, which is a perfect code of truly human norms of life and principles of behavior, providing its bearer with the opportunity for sustainable growth and development in harmony and happiness in accordance with the highest purpose.

Thus, moral- this is a completely unique set of individual “mores”, as the basic attitudes of true humanity in accordance with the highest spiritual and moral law (the Law of God).

As mentioned earlier, in modern sources of information, along with the concept morality one can very often come across the concept morality, which in a number of sources is erroneously presented as a synonym morality. At the same time, morality and moral- this is far from the same thing as moral and spirituality. From the point of view of the trimeric structure of a person (body, soul, spirit) categories morality, ethics and spirituality represent different levels refraction of the highest moral law (the Law of God).

Morality (from lat. moralis- relating to morals) is a derivative of morality and morality and the most superficial level of manifestation of the highest spiritual and moral law, as a form of normative regulation of morality in human society. The concept of morality is associated to a greater extent with aspects of ordering and regulating the mores of society (society) through relevant norms, rules, traditions and principles. In other words, m oral- this is a more external set of norms and accepted in a given society for execution and social rules regulation of behavior, which always implies presence of an external assessing entity and the corresponding moral institution (other people, society, church, etc.). At the same time, moral norms may not be shared by a person (even if there is an outward appearance of their observance).

in contrast to morality, it is an internal and deeply personal law of a person’s voluntary fulfillment of certain obligations and norms of the highest spiritual and moral law (the Law of God) without external evaluator. Thus, moral institutionally much deeper than morality, since it comes not from formal law, but from the very conscience and good will of a person.

Spirituality - this is an even deeper (higher) category, as a measure of a person’s involvement not only in the spiritual and moral law itself, but also in God, as a measure of the deification or likening of a person to God.

Thus, morality is more a measure of external social decency and bodily integrity, moral is a measure of internal and deeply personal decency and humanity at the spiritual level, and spirituality is a measure of godlikeness at the spiritual level.

That is why for the bodily level (morality) on which all humanity is located it is moral is the highest measure of our humanity and integrity on Earth, defining our virtue, while itself moral determined by higher spirituality. Where the connection - morality - morality - spirituality takes place, there is a higher divine order of regulation of life on the basis of higher love and higher justice.

It is not difficult to guess that this principle and this connection takes place and corresponds to the greatest extent with Christian culture and tradition, which gave the world the golden rule of morality:

“Therefore in everything that you would have people do to you, do so to them, for this is the law and the prophets.”(Matthew 7:12)

Continuing the category exploration morality, it is necessary to mention that the spiritual and moral basis of man has been the subject of study not only by mystics, philosophers and theologians. All social reformers, ideologists and famous politicians also very actively sought to comprehend the nature of the category morality to create appropriate morally oriented social doctrines for the most morally perfect structure and organization of human society.

Many of them category morality seemed not just an instrument for the formation of an ideal personality with a civil type of thinking and morality, but a kind of “matrix” for the construction of an ideal civil (highly moral) ) human society in which collective values ​​will prevail over personal ones.

That is why all the greatest reformers, creating social doctrines and models of social systems, strenuously sought to lay in them one or another template morality in order to create the most perfect social ideology on its basis morality, as the ideological basis of the most correct social relations. For clarity, we can explore the corresponding approaches to solving this issue of the ideological inspirers and ideologists of the two greatest powers in the world and social systems - the USA and the USSR.

Not many people today know about the main document about morality in the USA under the title Jefferson Bible or “The Life and Moral Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth” in 1895, which formed the basis of the “Declaration of Independence” of July 4, 1776 and the Constitution of 1787 (Bill of Rights) is a unique set of moral principles, underlying American ideology and philosophy.

The uniqueness of this moral code lies in the fact that, firstly, it was copied by Jefferson from the Gospel, and secondly, it was copied not verbatim, but rationally processed with the elimination of all spiritual artifacts confirming the divine-human nature of the Savior.

In other words, the Jefferson Bible is essentially a distorted presentation of the Gospel without the main spiritual artifacts, i.e. without any mention of the divinity and divine origin of Jesus Christ. All spiritual artifacts associated with the descent of the Holy Spirit and the virgin birth, transfiguration, resurrection and ascension of Christ are simply absent from the Jefferson Bible, and with one purpose - to establish priority social principles and rational-pragmatic relations, over spiritual ones.

Simply put, Jesus Christ, according to Jefferson and in American terms, respectively, is not God, but an ordinary socially concerned, deeply moral “man” who cares about morality in terms of social justice, equality and freedom. There is no doubt that Thomas Jefferson sincerely considered Jesus Christ to be one of the greatest teachers morality in the world, but this is only a small part of the whole truth.

The second no less surprising discovery associated with the use of the category morality, can be done by carefully studying the main document on morality and morality in USSR - "The Moral Code of the Builder of Communism", for decades, inspiring Soviet people to outstanding feats and social achievements. The “Moral Code of the Builder of Communism” is a set of basic principles of communist morality and morality, which was included in the text of the Third Program of the CPSU, adopted by the XXII Congress (1961). Here is their list:

1. Devotion to the cause of communism, love for the socialist Motherland, for the countries of socialism.
2. Conscientious work for the benefit of society: he who does not work, does not eat.
3. Everyone cares about preserving and increasing the public domain.
4. High consciousness of public duty, intolerance to violations of public interests.
5. Collectivism and comradely mutual assistance: each for all, all for one.
6. Humane relations and mutual respect between people: man is friend, comrade and brother to man.
7. Honesty, moral purity, simplicity and modesty in public and personal life.
8. Mutual respect in the family, concern for raising children.
9. Intransigence to injustice, parasitism, dishonesty, careerism, money-grubbing.
10. Friendship and brotherhood of all peoples of the USSR, intolerance towards national and racial hostility.
11. Intolerance towards the enemies of communism, the cause of peace and freedom of peoples.
12. Fraternal solidarity with the working people of all countries, with all peoples.

Any person familiar with Christian culture and tradition can discover in this moral code of the builder of communism many truly Christian and Orthodox principles. Connoisseurs of the Gospel will immediately note the obvious correlation of these principles with the principles of the same Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ.

For clarity, we can cite block diagram Sermon on the Mount:

1. - the need to show love(Matt. 22:37-40)
2. - The pursuit of excellence(Mt 5:3-12),
3. – the need to bring the light of true faith to the world(Mt 5:13-16),
4. – about the immutability and inevitability of the supreme law(Mt 5:17-20),
5. - the need to maintain friendship(Mt 5:21-22),
6. - the need to maintain peace(Mt 5:23-26),
7. - the need for fidelity family relationships (Matt 5:27-28),
8. – the need to be vigilant and strict with oneself(Matt 5:29-30),
9. – prohibitions on divorce, all kinds of oaths and revenge(Mt 5:31-39),
10. – prohibitions on hypocrisy, stinginess and unmercifulness(Mt 5:40-48),
11. – need for forgiveness(Mt 6:14-15),
12. – prohibition on the manifestation of greed and self-interest(Matt 6:19-21),
13. – prohibition on judging others(Mt 7:1-5),
14. – the need for a reverent attitude towards knowledge and faith(Mt 7:6),
15. – the need to show diligence and persistence(Mt 7:7-11),
16. – the need to strictly and strictly adhere to Christian doctrine(Mt 5:13-14),
17. – awareness of responsibility for non-compliance with the higher law(Mt 7:21-37)

Analyzing these two lists of basic moral principles set forth in the Moral Code of the Builder of Communism and in the “Sermon on the Mount”, one can clearly see their common moral and ethical basis, based on the key principles of Christian morality.

Thus, both world doctrines (USA and USSR), when developing fundamental spiritual and moral criteria for social relations, started from the same primary source - the Gospel, interpreting it in each case with a distortion of the true basis. Moreover, both codes morality(American and Soviet) to a certain extent were deprived of the main essence and deep basis - spiritual, which was replaced by a more superficial ideological and moral one.

Essentially both moral doctrines forming a code morality, forgot about the spiritual level and therefore lost God as the Primary Source of morality and the highest moral law. With the loss of God and the Son of God as the Savior, in both cases the very Image of the true morality as the unity of the divine and the human.

That is why studying the perfect person of Jesus Christ and the Gospel as the highest code morality, any person thereby touches not only perfect humanity, but also perfect spirituality, since perfect moral leads the individual to perfect spirituality.

This is, in fact, why Christian moral is not just one of the most humane doctrines compared to others, but is a directly divine doctrine given to people by God Himself (the Trinity) - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Talking about morality, can't help but touch Soviet school psychology, which is represented by such scientists as: S.L. Rubinshtein, A.V. Petrovsky, L.S. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontyev, M.G. Yaroshevsky, T.A. Florenskaya and others also made a great contribution to the development of areas of socially and morally oriented psychology.

At the same time, it is necessary to emphasize the fact that the Soviet school of psychology did not create any new paradigm morality basically. The Soviet school of psychology tried to develop the already existing rational model, strengthening its ideological component (dispositional) and supplementing it with a number of pedagogical aspects and approaches aimed at forming an ideologically armed and morally stable personality of the builder of socialism and communism.

The real merit of the Soviet school of psychology and sociology was its contribution to the development of the so-called. dispositional or attitudinal approach to life, which showed the indisputable advantage of a person who has internal dispositions (character, worldview, belief, morality, etc.) over a person guided exclusively by external circumstances (situation).

Current developments in the field morally oriented psychology are separate works and studies belonging to different authors, which are not united into any single theory or concept:

• A.A. Ukhtomsky “On the dominant”.
• S.L. Rubinstein “On the essence of the concept “I”. The role of traditions and consciousness in moral development during critical historical periods.”
• J. Piaget “On the moral development of the child. Piaget's two stages of moral development. The main differences between heteronomous and autonomous morality."
• I. Ilyin “On the essence of legal consciousness. I. Ilyin’s classification of two types of legal consciousness. The connection between legal and moral development.”
• S.G. Jacobson “On the role of the moral standard (model) in the development of preschool children.”
• S. Moscovici, K.A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya “On the moral personality. Theories of social representations".
• B.S. Bratus "On four types of moral development."
• T.A. Florenskaya “Main features of a spiritually oriented approach. Peace of your home, etc.”

In relation to the structure of human personality moral can be correlated with the centering rod that holds (reinforces) the entire structure of the personality pyramid. In this regard, it is obvious that a person who has a strong spiritual and moral core within himself is both dispositionally and situationally more resistant to any kind of influence in comparison with a person who does not have this core.

Thus, the formation moral thinking and worldview are the essence of cognitive improvement and increasing the level of mental security of both an individual person and the entire society. That is why the development and implementation of the paradigm of morally oriented Orthodox psychology into individual and public consciousness is an urgent task and a problem, the solution of which will significantly increase the level of moral and spiritual culture of society and the individual.

Currently, the deepest understanding of the category morality is contained only in “Moral Theology,” which is a theological discipline that reveals the very Christian teaching about moral consciousness, the system of Christian ethics or Christian teaching about morality. In this regard, it is not surprising that one of the most accurate definitions of morality belongs to a clergyman:

“Morality in general is the ineradicable desire of the human spirit to evaluate the consciously free actions and states (i.e. thoughts, feelings and desires) of a person, on the basis of the idea of ​​​​good innate to the human spirit, the expression of which is conscience”(Priest V. Boshchanovsky. “Life in Christ”, Serg. Posad, 1913)

Concluding our category research morality, it is simply impossible to ignore one of the outstanding sources, which is associated with the basic set of rules of Christian morality.

This work belongs to the hand of Basil the Great (330 - 379) - the saint, archbishop of Caesarea of ​​Cappadocia, theologian, who was one of the first to set out an essentially complete code of Christian morality, based on books Holy Scripture and the New Testament.

His “Moral Rules” still form the basis of “Moral Theology” and contain 80 main principles of Christian morality, compliance with which is a necessary condition formation of practical Christian thinking and worldview.

Typically, the words morality and ethics are used interchangeably; they are often used as synonyms. But what is meant by the concept of morality? The term “morality” is the identification of free will, that is, the internal attitude of the individual, the foundation for which is a number of norms, ideas and principles. She is able to determine how a person will behave in a given situation.

The fact is that moral qualities are formed every day and every minute and from the moment of making a direct decision. We can safely say that the level of morality directly depends on what country a person came from and what his attitude towards himself and people is. Society highlights its own ideals and invites people to live up to them. But after all, every person is, first of all, an individual, and he has not recently left the incubator, so he must necessarily have his own opinion.

What are moral values?

Every citizen of the country must have in his head his own template and embodiment of values ​​that can be called unusual. There is no right decision; each person has his own path and awareness of which direction to move in and where exactly to start. The thing is. that every person tries to unconsciously repeat the action or even the fate of another person. This is simply the psychology of each of us; we tend to make stereotyped decisions, which often become disappointments. And in the creative years it is not at all difficult, because a person is essentially a very vulnerable creature and often gets lost in one situation or another, trying to find a way out of it. Loyalty in an instant turns into hypocrisy, and kindness becomes deception.

What about morality? What is meant by this concept? Is this really the very understanding of life and the assessment of the actions of not only your own, but also other people? This is, in fact, a special choice, according to conscience, which a person makes consciously on the one hand, but not on the other hand.

Characteristics of morality

Is it possible to characterize the concept of “morality” in one precise formulation? If there is such a term, it is definitely worth highlighting its key qualities that allow you to describe the word. The category of moral qualities includes: honesty, kindness, sincerity, decency, politeness and most importantly - compassion. Each person can find in this series the qualities that he possesses. Don’t forget that there is also love, respect and mutual understanding. As one popular wisdom says, there is no true love without mutual respect. Right now we can look at this term using the example of individual professions, and it can be noted that a judge is justice, a soldier is courage, and for a doctor the most important quality is compassion. Is it possible, with the help of some levers, to achieve the manifestation of these qualities in an adult or a child? Thanks to education, you can do this, but moral education can be called a complex and at the same time unusually purposeful process, in which no pauses are allowed. You either educate a person every day, or you don’t educate him at all. This is the close interaction between the student and the person who calls himself a teacher.

How is a person’s morality formed?

A teacher must have the same moral qualities that were listed above. To develop a moral personality, you will need a colossal amount of time and patience, and not every teacher can do this. You may ask a completely logical question: why? It’s just that everyone is convinced that his method is the most effective, but in such a matter it is better not to conduct any experiments. For such people, new things are often inaccessible, but only by combining several techniques can the desired result be achieved. The teacher must first of all take care of himself and set a personal example in various life situations.

Each individual situation should be analyzed as an example, explained and interpreted from the point of view of the methods used. Do not forget that there are a number of age-related personality characteristics and there must be a special readiness to perceive this or that information, carry out analysis, and understand it. Everyone has morality, in one form or another. Only for some she is “sleeping” soundly, but for others she is not, and anyone can wake her up. There are many ways to do this; you need to try to pay special attention to human behavior.

Morals and ethics

Morality is usually put on a par with morality, so they are often used as synonyms and most people do not even try to consider any difference in these two concepts. Morality is a series of specific principles, as well as standards of behavior for other people, which have been developed by society in various situations. Morality is a social point of view and if a person tries to follow established series rules, he can be described as a moral person. On the other hand, if he ignores the rules of morality, then his behavior is characterized as immoral.

It is also worth mentioning that now any religion calls on every person to honor a number of basic moral values. But in society, freedom and human rights are still at the forefront, so some commandments gradually lost their relevance. Few people even go to church once a week and give to serving the Lord. The crazy pace of life and busy schedule sometimes does not allow you to escape from these clutches. From this angle we can safely consider each of the commandments. The classic values ​​for each of us remain in force, which directly relate to the values ​​of property and human life.