Ideas about morality in different countries
Morality is an unspoken code that guides the life of society. In different countries, the concepts of “good”, “evil”, “bad”, “shameful”, “good”, “right”, etc. are interpreted differently.
What does it mean to be a moral person, for example, in Thailand? It is enough not to discuss out loud the life of the royal family, especially the actions of the king. In Russia, anyone can express their opinion about the personality and life of the president. From the point of view of Islam, a person who clearly follows the rules of Sharia is considered moral. The measure of morality is the motivation of his actions: sincere, selfish or hypocritical. Since ancient times, Jews and Christians believed that morality was sent by God and is a set of rules (10 commandments). It is quite natural that to the question of what it means to be moral, representatives of these societies will give different answers, corresponding to a specific culture and morality. But they will also have something in common: all cultures recognize that a moral person follows the laws and guidelines of the ethics that are accepted in a certain society, and never violates the laws (legal and moral) accepted in his environment. This is a correct but narrow understanding of morality. But there are also universal human values in the world that do not depend on the characteristics of a particular culture. And from this point of view, the answer to the question of what it means to be a moral person will sound completely different.
What types of education, on the contrary, do not work?
- Moral teachings contrary to personal example. If parents persistently tell their child how bad it is to lie, swear and drink alcohol, and they themselves regularly lie, argue and get drunk, such upbringing will not give a positive result. All methods of education must be integrated and not contradict each other.
- Imposing norms through constant punishments and scandals. The child will strive not so much to observe moral principles because they are correct and good, but rather to strive to avoid punishment. To do this, he will lie and hide his bad deeds.
- Art without analysis. Just showing your child a cartoon about good and evil or reading a book is not enough - he can understand the work in his own way. It is worth talking to him about the meaning of what he saw or heard, to make sure that he understood everything correctly.
Universal morality and ethics
Moral and moral values are inherent not only in a particular society, but also in a particular person. They can change over time: a person and society develop, traditions and foundations change, new relationships arise. However, all peoples, regardless of the time of their residence on Earth, culture, religion and government, have absolute moral truths. Prohibitions against murder and theft are just two examples of universal human values.
They are necessary for the prosperity of every society and for the peaceful coexistence of peoples with different religions and cultures. From this point of view, the answer to the question of what it means to be a moral person will sound somewhat different. Suppose someone follows the laws (written and unwritten), does not swear on the streets, does not kill animals and people, does not disturb public order because it is prohibited or not accepted. Naturally, this person can be called moral. But if someone does the same out of his own convictions, then he is considered deeply moral. What does it mean to be a moral person? Follow the prescribed principles and rules to avoid condemnation or punishment. What does it mean to be a moral person? Understand the meaning of values that are close to all people, follow morality not out of fear, but out of conviction.
Distinctive features of moral standards
- Universal obligation. Some categories of people cannot be convicted by law, for example, due to their young age or other reasons. Moral norms imply that for a bad deed, everyone who committed it will receive condemnation.
- Voluntariness. Perhaps this is the main distinguishing feature. All residents and guests of the state are required to comply with the law. Compliance with moral standards lies on the conscience of each individual person. It depends on his upbringing and personal qualities, as well as his personal opinion about reasonableness and the acceptable framework of morality.
- The special nature of sanctions for non-compliance. This sign follows from the previous one. If failure to comply with state laws is punishable by criminal or administrative penalties, failure to comply with moral standards is punishable by public censure.
- Inclusiveness. Moral laws apply to everyone - from major politicians to ordinary citizens.
Moral education
A person is born into society, therefore, from childhood he absorbs its morals. Unfortunately, it often happens that local ethics begin to prevail over universal human values.
And then Muslims oppose Christians, the crusaders try to instill their beliefs with the help of the sword, some countries bring their own “democracy” to their neighbors, without being interested in their beliefs. In today's turbulent world, it is especially important to instill moral and ethical foundations in a child from childhood.
What does it mean to be a moral person: examples from literature
- In the novel L.N. In Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” Natasha Rostova faces the need for a moral choice that will not be condemned by society, but is only a matter of morality. When residents left besieged Moscow, the Rostov family had the opportunity to take away their belongings. The heroine must decide whether to take away valuables or give the carts to help the wounded soldiers. The heroine chooses selfless help to strangers. The situation of fulfilling a moral duty showed that helping people in need is much more important than material wealth.
- In the work of M.Yu. Lermontov's "Hero of Our Time" one of the main ideas is the loss of spiritual values. A hero who has lost his spiritual foundations cannot find peace of mind and happiness. If a person does not realize the importance of good deeds, love, friendship, he cannot experience the joy of life. So, Pechorin, trying to get everything from life, rejected love and friendship, thereby depriving himself of happiness. His search is fruitless, because short-term emotions - bright novels and exciting adventures cannot give a person a feeling of completeness and meaning in life. As a result, the hero’s vital resources are exhausted, he does not see anything bright ahead and leaves this world, having realized his mistake.
This is what happens today, when moral principles are replaced by mercantile interests and the desire to rise above others in any way.
Special item
To this end, in 19 regions of the Russian Federation, a new subject “Fundamentals of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics” (FRCSE) has been introduced into the school curriculum. What does it mean to be moral? What values are close to people around the world? What moral values underlie different religions? Why should people adhere to universal human values? Teachers teaching a new subject try to answer these and other questions. It is designed to develop motivation for conscious moral behavior, which is based on the ability to make the right and free moral choice.
Proper meditation technique for relaxation at all levels
There are a few things to consider before you start practicing meditation. This practice requires some work, and it is not so easy to master. But those who own it are able to fully relax in 20-40 minutes more than those who don’t – in an entire night of sleep.
For meditation you will need silence and solitude.
- Body position – lying on your back or sitting upright on a chair. In any case, your back should be straight. You need to stretch the top of your head straight, feeling how your spine stretches. The eyes should be closed - the main perception is now tactile. You need to feel the part of the body that relaxes.
- Each part of the body must be felt in turn. Bring all your attention to your right leg. Feel how the muscles relax in it - from the hip to the foot. Repeat the same with your left leg.
- Feel how your hands relax one by one.
- Relax the muscles of your back, abs, chest and shoulders. Feel the tension release from them. Feel that your torso is no longer constrained by the need to constantly hold in an unnatural position.
- Relax your neck and facial muscles.
This meditation requires some practice. One day you will feel like you did everything right. Then your body will be in a state close to weightlessness - as free and relaxed as possible. You will feel that a little more - and soar from the resulting lightness.
Let's sum it up
So what does it mean to be a moral person? This means:
- Adhere to the morals accepted in a particular society.
- Be prepared to make the right and informed moral choice.
- Consciously adhere to universal human values.
- Be guided in your behavior by these values.
- Be able to answer for immoral or immoral actions.
- Understand that only adherence to moral principles helps to live spiritually in society, avoid wars, and develop.
Tyrants, dictators, despots, some modern politicians strive to dominate and achieve their own goals, ignoring moral principles and moral laws. Societies headed by such rulers are degrading. Tyrants, having reached the top, remain there alone.
The meaning of the word moral
Each intelligent race goes through several stages in its development. I'm not talking about the boring stages of knowledge development, I'm talking about spiritual growth. In this regard, as in the intellectual one, the distribution of individuals of different levels is extremely heterogeneous. There is a first, lower level, people of simple desires, I will say people, although this applies to any kind of reasonable ones. Among them may be those who are highest on the ladder of intellectual development. These individuals strive only to obtain their own benefit, to achieve only their goals, regardless of the price that others pay for their success. As I said before, they do not necessarily have low intelligence, they can even be brilliant in the intellectual sense. But the highest intelligence does not make them higher spiritually; on the contrary, a genius of this type is extremely dangerous, since he uses his genius only to achieve his own goals and walks over corpses, either literally or figuratively. But, thank God, there are very few geniuses among them; the majority are simply ordinary people, unable to take their eyes off the trough and look into the sky. This, to my deepest regret, is the bulk of the population. From this group we can also distinguish a subgroup of those who thirst for power and seek this power by any means; often these are born leaders and have enormous willpower. Leaders are capable of a lot and usually achieve a lot, but they all have the same driving incentive - their own power. The second level of a person’s spiritual development is to perceive as his own the needs of some group of people who are not related to him by blood. Groups, people, parties, states, religions. Among the people of the second level, natural leaders also stand out, but these leaders are already capable of caring not only about their own interests. The best monarchs, heads of states and any organizations in general came from leaders of the second type. And ordinary people of this level of development are capable of working not only for themselves, but for the sake of an abstract idea. But towards those who are alien to them, they can be so cruel that even the morally limited will be horrified. After all, the latter are cruel only if it benefits them or if they are mentally abnormal. Sometimes these people simply do not perceive those who do not belong to their clan, country or religion as intelligent beings, and are completely confident in their right to do whatever comes into their head with strangers. This degree of xenophobia, unfortunately, is very common... Let's move on to the main thing, people of the third level of spiritual development. These are people who initially strive for something greater than the reality around them, people who strive to become better, kinder and purer than they are at the moment. People who do not want to live by self-interest are physically incapable of meanness. The latter are the core of any people, any civilization, although they themselves do not realize it, often being spontaneous rebels. But it is they who provide the people’s path forward, who provide the very opportunity to rise higher for others. Most often, they fail, they suffer and die, but they always leave a mark on people’s souls. They make these people cleaner and kinder, even by a thousandth of a percent, but still...
Iar Elterrus
In the dictionary Dictionary of foreign words
oh, oh, flax, flax
1. full f. Relating to morality. Moral principles.
2. Highly moral, corresponding to the rules of morality; opposite immoral. M. action.
Morality is a property of morality.
3. full f. Internal, soulful. Moral satisfaction. High m. spirit. Obsolescence (technical) - obsolescence (of machines, mechanisms, etc.) due to the emergence of more advanced models.
Share the meaning of the word:
