What is morality? What is morality? Problems of morality in the modern world What is morality

Every person even unconsciously knows what morality is. Psychologists believe that this is the identification of the free will of each individual, based on certain principles and morality. From the moment we make the first, independent decision, personal, moral qualities begin to form in everyone.

What is morality?

The modern concept of "morality" is presented to each person in his own way, but carries the same meaning. The formation of internal ideas and decisions in the subconscious originates from it, and the social position is built on it. The society in which we live is used to dictating its own rules, but this does not mean that everyone is obliged to follow them, because everyone has the right to be an individual.

Often people choose a partial deviation from their moral values, in favor of a template and live their lives according to someone else's example. This leads to some disappointment, because you can lose your best years in finding yourself. Correct upbringing from a very young age gives a big imprint on the future fate of a person. Considering what morality is, we can single out some of the qualities inherent in it:

• kindness;
• compassion;
• honesty;
• sincerity;
• reliability;
• hard work;
• peacefulness.

Morality and moral values

Our society more and more began to believe that it is a relic of the past. To achieve their goals, many go over their heads and such actions are completely contrary to the old days. Such a society cannot be called healthy and, perhaps, it is doomed to a meaningless existence. Fortunately, not everyone gets into the social funnel, and the majority remains honest and decent.

In search of the meaning of life, a person forms his character, and also fosters high morality. Everything that the parents raised in a person can disappear over time or change in any direction. The world around us adjusts past values, perceptions and, in general, attitude towards oneself and people, in order to create a comfortable existence. Spiritual changes are now taking place with the desire to make more money and become financially independent.

Morality in psychology

Both ordinary people and psychologists have their own concepts of morality, from their point of view, which can be completely different and never intersect, even if they are very similar. Each of the subspecies originates in the inner world of a person, his upbringing and values. The human psyche is divided by specialists into two societies, each of which pursues its own goal:

1. Collective values ​​are herd instincts that can unite against others with their own world.
2. Compassionate values ​​are based on caring for others, for the good of any society.

Any objective morality is set up to find oneself as a socially secured, well-formed person. Psychologists believe that a person from birth is defined in the first or second subgroup, and this is controlled by the individuals who live with him and bring him up. In the process of growing up and independent perception of the world, re-education rarely takes place. If this still happens, then people who have changed themselves have a very high fortitude and can go through any difficulties without changing themselves.

How does morality differ from morality?

Many argue that morality and ethics are synonymous, but this is a fallacy. Morality is considered to be a system established by society that regulates the relationship between people. Morality, however, implies adherence to its principles, which may differ from the attitudes of society. In other words, moral qualities are given to a person by society, and moral qualities are established by character and personal psychology.

Functions of morality

Since human morality is a phenomenon of social and spiritual life, it must imply some functions that people perform alternately. Without knowing it, these tasks always occur in any modern society and, fortunately, are beneficial. Rejection of them entails loneliness and isolation, in addition to the inability to actively develop.

1. Regulatory.
2. Cognitive.
3. Educational.
4. Estimated.

Each of them is considered a goal and an opportunity for spiritual growth and development. Considering what morality is, existence without these functions is completely impossible. Society helps to develop and grow only those individuals who can control the possibilities that give rise to these goals. There is no need to specially train them, all actions take place automatically, in most cases for the good.

The rules of morality

There are many rules that characterize morality, and we follow them almost without realizing it. Acting at the subconscious level, a person brings his mood, achievements, victories and much more into the world. Such formulations very tightly embody what morality means, in all its incarnations. Relations in the world should be based on reciprocity, for a comfortable existence.

By accepting these conditions, a person can learn to be kinder, more sociable and more responsive, and a society consisting of such people will be like an ideal. Some countries achieve such a situation, and their crime rate is significantly reduced, orphanages are closed as unnecessary, and so on. In addition to the golden rule, others can be considered, such as:

• sincere conversations;
• address by name;
• respect;
• Attention;
• smile;
• good nature.

What does the "golden" rule of morality sound like?

The basis of the world and culture is the golden rule of morality, which sounds like: do with people the way you would like to do to you, or do not do to another what you do not want to receive for yourself. Unfortunately, not everyone succeeds in following this, and this increases the number of crimes and aggression in society. The rule tells people how to behave in any situation, you just have to ask yourself the question, how would you like? The most important thing is that the solution to the problem is not dictated by society, but by the person himself.

Morality in modern society

Many believe that the morale and ethics of modern society has now fallen dramatically. Ahead of the whole planet are going, who turn people into a herd. In fact, it is possible to achieve a high financial position without losing morality, the main thing is the ability to think broadly and not be limited by templates. Much also depends on upbringing.

Modern children practically do not know the word "no". Getting everything you want from an early age, a person forgets about independence and loses respect for elders, and this is already a decline in morality. In order to try to change something in the world, it is necessary to start with oneself and only then there will be hope for the revival of morality. By following good rules and teaching them to their children, a person can gradually change the world beyond recognition.

Education of morality

This is a necessary process in modern society. Knowing how morality is formed, one can fully hope for a happy future for our children and grandchildren. The impact on the human personality of people who are considered authorities for him, form in him peculiar qualities that maximally influence his future fate. It is worth remembering that upbringing is only the initial stage of the formation of a personality, in the future, a person is able to independently make decisions.

Spirituality and morality

Two completely different concepts very often intersect. The essence of morality is good deeds, respect and so on, but no one knows what they are done for. Spiritual kindness implies not only good deeds and behavior, but also the purity of the inner world. Morality is visible to everyone and everyone, in contrast to spirituality, which is something intimate and personal.

Morality in Christianity

A similar combination of the two concepts, but with the same different meanings. Morality and religion set themselves common goals, where in one case there is freedom of choice of actions, and in the other, complete obedience to the rules of the system. Christianity has its own moral goals, but it is forbidden to deviate from them, as in any other faith. Therefore, turning to one of the religions, you need to accept their rules and values.

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

What is morality

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

The concept of morality combines a certain set of personality traits of the subject. Primarily these are honesty, kindness, compassion, decency, hard work, generosity, reliability. Analyzing morality as a personal property, it should be mentioned that everyone is able to bring their own qualities to this concept. For people with different types of professions, morality also forms a different set of qualities. A soldier must be brave, a fair judge, a teacher. On the basis of the formed moral qualities, the directions of the subject's behavior in society are formed. The subjective attitude of the individual plays a significant role in assessing the situation in a moral sense. Someone perceives civil marriage as absolutely natural, for others it is like a sin. Based on religious research, it should be recognized that the concept of morality has retained very little of the truth from its meaning. The modern man's ideas about morality are distorted and emasculated.

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

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

In fact, morality, as a property necessary for the subject, is extremely important for society. This is, as it were, a guarantee of the preservation of humanity as a species, otherwise, without norms and principles of moral behavior, humanity will uproot itself. Arbitrariness and gradual - the consequences of the disappearance of morality as a set of trailers and values ​​of society as such. Most likely, and the death of a certain nation or ethnic group, if its head is an immoral government. Accordingly, the level of people's comfort in life depends on developed morality. Protected and prosperous is the society, the observance of values ​​and moral principles, respect and altruism in which, above all.

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

The rules of morality

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

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

Since ancient times, many peoples have had the concept of a certain "Golden Rule", which carries the basis of morality. Its interpretation has dozens of formulations, while the essence remains unchanged. Following this "golden rule", an individual should behave towards others as he relates to himself. This rule forms the concept of a person that all people are equal in terms of their freedom of action, as well as their desire to develop. Following this rule, the subject reveals his deep philosophical interpretation, stating that the individual must learn in advance to realize the consequences of his own actions in relation to the "other individual", projecting these consequences onto himself. That is, the subject, who mentally tries on the consequences of his own action, will think about whether to act in this direction. The golden rule teaches a person to develop their inner flair, teaches compassion, empathy and helps to develop mentally.

Although this moral rule was formulated in ancient times by famous teachers and thinkers, the relevance of its purpose in the modern world has not lost. “What you don’t want for yourself, don’t do to another” - this is the rule in the original interpretation. The emergence of such an interpretation is attributed to the origins of the first millennium before our era. It was then that a humanistic revolution took place in ancient world... But as a moral rule, it received its status of "golden" in the eighteenth century. This prescription focuses on the global moral principle according to the relationship to another person within different situations of interaction. Since its presence in any existing religion has been proven, it can be noted as the foundation of human morality. This is the most important truth of the humanistic behavior of a moral person.

The problem of morality

Considering modern society, it is easy to notice that moral development is characterized by decline. In the twentieth century, there has been a sudden fall in all laws and values ​​of morality in society in the world. The problems of morality began to appear in society, which negatively influenced the formation and development of humane humanity. This decline reached even greater development in the twenty-first century. Throughout human existence, there have been many problems of morality, which in one way or another had a negative impact on the individual. Guided by spiritual guidelines in different eras, people put something of their own in the concept of morality. They were able to create things that in modern society terrify absolutely every sane person. For example, the Egyptian pharaohs, who were afraid of losing their kingdom, committed unthinkable crimes, killing all newborn boys. Moral norms are rooted in religious laws, the adherence to which shows the essence of the human person. Honor, dignity, faith, love for the motherland, for man, loyalty are qualities that served as a direction in human life, to which at least to some extent some of the laws of God have reached. Consequently, throughout its development, society had a tendency to deviate from religious commandments, which led to the emergence of moral problems.

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

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

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

Education of morality

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

The upbringing of morality is a process that does not imply interruptions, but only close interaction between the student and the educator. To educate a child's moral qualities should be by example. It is rather difficult to form a moral personality; it is a painstaking process in which not only teachers and parents take part, but also the public institution as a whole. In this case, the age characteristics of the individual, his readiness for analysis, and information processing are always provided. The result of moral education is the development of an integral moral personality, which will develop together with its feelings, conscience, habits and values. Such education is considered a difficult and multifaceted process that generalizes pedagogical education and the influence of society. Moral education implies the formation of feelings of morality, a conscious connection with society, a culture of behavior, consideration of moral ideals and concepts, principles and behavioral norms.

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

Speaker of the Medical and Psychological Center "PsychoMed"

Usually 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 daily and every minute and from the moment of making an immediate decision. We can safely say that the level of morality directly depends on which country a person came from, what his attitude towards himself and people is. Society identifies its own ideals, and invites them to be equal. But after all, each person is, first of all, a person, and he did not leave the incubator quite recently, therefore 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 it is worth moving and where exactly should you start your path. The fact. that each person is trying to unconsciously repeat the act or even the fate of another person. This is just the psychology of each of us, we tend to make stereotyped decisions that often become frustrations. And in his creative years it is not easy at all, because a person, in fact, is a very vulnerable creature and is often lost in a given situation, trying to find a way out of it. Devotion turns into hypocrisy in an instant, and kindness becomes deceit.

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

Characteristics of morality

Can one precise formulation characterize the concept of "morality"? 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. Do not forget that there is also love, with respect and mutual understanding. As one popular saying goes, there is no true love without mutual respect. Right now, you can consider 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 in a child? Thanks to upbringing, you can do this, only moral upbringing can be called a complex and at the same time unusually purposeful process, in which it is not allowed to allow any pauses. You either educate a person every day, or you do not educate him at all. This is the close interaction between the pupil and the person who calls himself an educator.

How is the morality of a person formed?

The teacher must have the same moral qualities that were listed above. To educate a moral personality will take a tremendous amount of time, patience, and not every teacher can do that. You may ask quite a logical question, why? It's just that everyone is convinced that it is his technique that 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 through the combination of 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.

As an example, each individual situation should be analyzed, explained and interpreted in terms of the methods used. Do not forget that there are a number of age-specific characteristics of the individual and there should be a special readiness to perceive the same or other information, to carry out analysis, as well as to understand it. Morality is in everyone, in one form or another. Only here she "sleeps" with a sound sleep in someone, and in someone she does not, and everyone can wake her up. There are many ways for this, you must try to pay special attention to human behavior.

Morality and ethics

Usually morality is put on a par with morality, therefore 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 certain principles, as well as standards of behavior of other people, which were developed by society in various situations. Morality is a social point of view and if a person tries to follow an established set of rules, he can be characterized 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 only in society, freedom and human rights are still at the head, so some commandments have gradually lost their relevance. Few people even go to church once a week and give to serve the Lord. The crazy rhythm of life and a busy schedule sometimes does not allow you to break out of these clutches. From this angle, you can safely consider each of the commandments. Values ​​that are classic for each of us, which directly relate to the values ​​of property and human life, remain in force.

Definition

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

Morality is a value, a person's inner state, his life attitude, which allows him to take any actions based on conscience.

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

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

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

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

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

The connection between morality and spirituality of a person

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Is spirituality an achievable result?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oh, morality, the essence of the Gospel, an inalienable 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 flowering information technologies against the backdrop of the decline of morality, spirituality and truly human culture?

Unfortunately, we must honestly admit that about morality in 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 now very much distorted.

Today in the public and individual consciousness there is a mostly 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 the modern information-technocratic society, the manifestations of which are numerous forms of addictions (addictions), the crisis of the institution of the traditional family, gender and juvenile problems and contradictions, the loss of the meaning of life, stress, depression, suicidal manifestations, etc. not to touch upon such a strategically important topic as moral.

O morality and the importance of forming 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 said today by many, if not all.

The importance of a category such as moral today no one doubts, since this is a basic or system-forming category of a personal nature, which is a kind of cognitive foundation and a basis for the formation moral personality, as socially oriented, value-determined and civilly 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, stands guard over the cognitive and mental and 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 is understood as both purely religious and general outlook aspects of the moral personality, which is the personification of humanism, humanity, social justice and unconditional love.

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

It is not a secret for any of the specialists in spiritual and educational work today that moral- this is the only correct basis for developing a person who is most value-oriented and socially oriented, i.e. civil consciousness, thinking and worldview, which is called moral.

That is, in fact, why the presence in the mind of a person, first of all moral, or rather spiritual and moral attitudes, principles and criteria, is essentially the very main characteristic personality, its protection and a guarantee of its social, mental and mental health. We can say what exactly moral is responsible for the internal readiness of a person not only for consumption and money-grubbing, but also for the fulfillment of human and civic duty.

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

Such wording worn by ideologists as moral improvement / development / education / formation/ strengthening / becoming etc. (comprehensively and harmoniously developed personality), used over the years, have so blurred the essence of this concept that it has actually become a household name or, at best, 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, not just distorted, but practically lost.

To confirm this situation, it is enough to take the most authoritative voices that define today morality:

S.Yu. Golovin. Dictionary of the Practical Psychologist, 1998

• - Regulatory function of human behavior. According to Z. Freud, its essence is reduced to the limitation of drives.

• - The general tendency to behave in a manner that is consistent with the moral code of the community. This term means what kind of behavior.

Oxford Explanatory Dictionary of Psychology, ed. A. Reber, 2002 - Principles or patterns of behavior, which are manifestations of principles, evaluated in terms of their correctness or incorrectness.

Antsupov A.Ya., Shipilov A.I. Conflict Resolution Dictionary, 2009

• - See Morality.

Zhmurov V.A. Great Encyclopedia of Psychiatry, 2nd ed. 2012 r.

• - (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 this behavior is arbitrary; 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 - ethics. In a narrower sense, morality is the internal attitude of the individual to act in accordance with his conscience and free will - in contrast to morality, which, along with the law, is an external requirement for the behavior of the individual.

Glossary of terms in general and social pedagogy, A.S. Voronin - 2006

• - a special form of public knowledge and a type of social relations, one of the main ways of regulating human actions in society with the help of norms. Unlike simple norms or traditions, moral norms are justified in the form of the ideals of good and evil, ought, justice, etc. (1)The system of internal human rights, based on the humanistic values ​​of kindness, justice, decency, compassion, willingness to help. (2)

Big Encyclopedic Dictionary, 2000

• - See Morality.

Ozhegov Dictionary, "Az", 1992

• - Internal, spiritual qualities that a person is guided by, ethical standards; rules of conduct determined by these qualities.

The vocabulary definition of a practical psychologist reduces moral according to Z. Freud to the limitation of drives, although it is obvious that any limitation and self-limitation must have some kind of conscious and practical meaning.

Definition of Oxford explanatory dictionary A. Rebera reduces moral to a public moral code or a public assessment of correctness or incorrectness, but it is known that the concepts of morality can differ significantly in different societies and social systems (bourgeois morality, proletarian morality, Islamic morality, secular morality, etc.).

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

Great encyclopedia of psychiatry Zhmurov V.A. reduces moral again to the moral code of society, excluding any other aspects. Wikipedia gives a somewhat more precise formulation related to the action of conscience.

An even deeper definition is given by a dictionary of terms on 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 the Ozhegov Dictionary, which directly correlates moral with deeply internal spiritual qualities of a person, as institutional.

We 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 defining the very nature and direction of the human personality.

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

It is in this unfortunate contradiction, in fact, that the main problem of the formation, development and strengthening of the institution lies 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, then we will inevitably come to the conclusion that these reasons are global in nature, which is associated with a change in recent years in the very model of human thinking. We are talking about a shift in the vector of social and individual consciousness from deep and essential (spiritual and energy) categories and values ​​to superficial, opportunistic and rational (consumer).

That is why in the understanding of 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, originally related to the characteristics of the human spirit itself (its energy), was first reduced to the moral side (mental), 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.

Thus, the category morality, deprived of the most important essential (spiritual) content and basis, it personifies at the present time a distorted term that reflects the external and purely superficial side of this category.

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

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

To study the essence of the concept moral let us turn to its etymology.

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

"Mind and disposition merge 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, a tendency to something (good or evil), etc.

In this regard, we can say that in relation to the human spirit, as an expression and manifestation of the mind, "Disposition" is, as it were, a kind of "modulator" that gives the human spirit quite definite properties and characteristics. In one case (with one type of disposition), the spirit, as the orientation of the personality, can be the personification of virtue itself, and in the other case (with a different type of modulation of disposition), the spirit and orientation of a person can be the personification of demonism and evil.

In this regard, the modulating function of human disposition, 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 this function that ultimately determines the direction in relation to good and evil. , both as an individual and the society itself.

It is well known what a person's disposition is like - quiet and noisy, meek and violent, humble and proud, patient and quick-tempered, righteous and crafty, artless and insidious, unpretentious and capricious, complaisant and wayward, virtuous and demonic, etc.

As you can see from this list, a person's temper is nothing more than system of internal installations, which includes and activates in the consciousness of certain qualities (energies) of the human personality, forming their movement (flow), which determines the general nature of the orientation of the personality. We can say more than that - moral in fact, it acts in the structure of the personality as a completely definite commutator of separate scattered qualities and energies, transforming them into the orientation of the personality.

That is why the attitudes of the personality's temperament are the attitudes of the activation (inclusion) of certain qualities (energies) of the personality, which determine its character.

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

The categories of disposition, as a system of grouping the basic qualities of consciousness and personality attitudes, are not easy to find an analogy among the known. However, it is clear that disposition or "Burrows" ultimately creates some kind of special uniqueness and uniqueness of a person's personality (the direction of his mind and spirit), which is the result of switching and a unique fusion of a number of different qualities, both positive and negative, which, mixing with each other, ultimately and create a unique character. Thus, a person's character can be considered a unique combination or alloy of individual qualities of a human person.

Bouquets of flowers as symbols of different customs

In 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 those 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, as separate flowers, can differ among themselves.

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

To answer this question, it is necessary to consider the integrated circuit of morality through the prism of spirituality and morality.

As you can see 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 the fundamental principles of the highest spiritual and moral law (the Law of God) and then on the social (social) level take the form of moral norms, as generally accepted norms of behavior and life.

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

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 reference character. And only the paradigm of morally oriented Christian psychology provides an answer to this question, since the category of Christian morality it is precisely the key one in Christian psychology.

As the reader probably already guessed, the standard or Image of the perfect morality that would personify the true humanity in its standard and exceptionally virtuous quality, it certainly exists. By this Image of the 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 a 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, temper is essentially the resulting factor in the action of many institutional structures of consciousness and forces. Among these attitudes and forces, passions and virtues can be distinguished, which determine the general state of the entire cognitive sphere.

Most amazing in the category of temper and morality is that the settings of the moral code of the individual, which are similar to the settings of the "BIOS-a" of the 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 temper can gradually move from a passionate state to a dispassionate (virtuous) one.

In this way, disposition is nothing else than the result of the grouping in the system of consciousness of 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 inimitable color.

In other words, a person's temper is the final fusion of all the energies of his consciousness (cognitive sphere), which manifests itself in a specific state and direction of his mind and spirit.

The curious thing is that the concept disposition, as a special state of mind, it 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 merging of individual morals into a certain common or collective disposition or spirit. In this case, the cllective disposition or spirit of a particular society is a form of reflection of social identity and ethnocultural uniqueness.

In this regard, it is not a secret for anyone that some peoples of the world have a completely inimitable and unique disposition, which cannot be confused with any other.

As mentioned earlier, the category of disposition (both individual and collective) is, to a certain extent, regulated and modulated by means of appropriate mechanisms and technologies. Looking at how the process of degeneration of individual nations and cultures is currently going on, as well as the process of displacement and replacement of some cultures by others, we can safely say that the character of an individual 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 disposition ( morality) are deeply negative and vicious. It can be safely asserted that an active process of disintegration of the individual and collective morality(and hence spirituality ) through the decomposition of individual and collective morals. At the heart of this decomposition lies, first of all, the freedom of human egoism, as the basis of passion, which tends to permissiveness, uncontrollability and thirst for endless pleasures, since it cannot put up with any restrictions and self-restraints.

In this global process of decay of human morality you can clearly see the interaction of two global forces and doctrines - the Christian, standing on the defense morality, and neoliberal, which stands for the freedom of selfishness.

If you try to determine what lies at the basis of the concept morality, then we will inevitably come to the concept of a higher moral law, as the fundamental basis of all being, which has not spontaneous, but deep moral character.

In other words, the concept morality originates from the fundamental spiritual and moral law of being (the Law of God), which is the same for the entire universe. That's why moral 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 the characteristics of God and the highest law of being, it is quite natural that the fact that it is moral should be the fundamental characteristic of the person himself, created in the Image and Similarity.

Thus, the meaning of the concept of human morality consists in the conformity of the character and spirit of a person to the criteria of the highest moral law.

If this is the conformity of the character and spirit of a person 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 the character and spirit of a person does 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, it is 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 that provide its bearer with the possibility of sustainable growth and development in harmony and happiness in accordance with a higher purpose.

In this way, moral- this is a completely unique set of individual "morals" as 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 you can very often come across the concept morality, which in a number of sources is erroneously presented as a synonym for morality... However, morality and moral Is far from the same thing as moral and spirituality. From the point of view of the trimeric device of a person (body, soul, spirit) categories morality, ethics and spirituality represent different levels of refraction of the highest moral law (the Law of God).

Morality (from lat. moralis- concerning morals) is a derivative of disposition 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 the aspects of ordering and regulation of the mores of society (society) through the corresponding norms, rules, traditions and principles. In other words, m oral- this is a more external and accepted in a given society for execution a set of norms and social rules for regulating behavior, which always implies the presence of an external evaluator and the corresponding institution of morality (other people, society, church, etc.). In this case, moral norms may not be shared by a person (with the outward appearance of their observance).

unlike 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... In this way, moral institutionally, it is much deeper than morality, since it does not come from a 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 deification or assimilation of a person to God.

Thus, morality is more a measure of external social decency and decency of the bodily level, moral Is a measure of the inner and deeply personal decency and humanity of the spiritual level, and spirituality is a measure of the similarity of the spiritual level.

That is why, for the bodily level (morality) at which all humanity is located, it is moral is the highest measure of our humanity and integrity on Earth, which determines our virtue, while itself moral determined by the highest spirituality. Where the connection - morality - morality - spirituality takes place, there is a higher divine order of regulating 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 to Christian culture and tradition, which gave the world the golden rule of morality:

"So in everything, as you want people to do to you, so do you to them, for in this is the law and the prophets."(Matthew 7:12)

Continuing to explore the category morality, it should be definitely mentioned that the spiritual and moral basis of man was 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 the corresponding morally oriented social doctrines of the most perfect in the moral sense of the device and organization of human society.

Many of them have a category morality seemed not just a tool for the formation of an ideal personality with a civic type of thinking and morality, but a kind of "matrix" for building an ideal civic (highly moral ) a 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 to create the most perfect social ideology on its basis morality, as the ideological basis of the most correct social relations. For clarity, you can explore the appropriate approaches to solving this issue of the ideological inspirers and ideologists of the two greatest powers of the world and social systems - the USA and the USSR.

Not many people today know about the main document on morality in the United States called the Jefferson Bible or "The Life and Moral Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth" 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 not copied literally, but rationally revised with the elimination of all spiritual artifacts confirming the human nature of the Savior.

In other words, Jefferson's Bible is essentially a distorted presentation of the Gospel without major 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 immaculate conception, transfiguration, resurrection and ascension of Christ are simply absent in Jefferson's Bible, moreover, with one goal - to establish the priority of social principles and rational-pragmatic relations over spiritual ones.

Simply put, Jesus Christ, according to Jefferson and in the American way, respectively, is not God, but an ordinary socially preoccupied deeply moral "man" who cares about morality in the aspect of social justice, equality and freedom. There is no doubt that Thomas Jefferson sincerely considered Jesus Christ 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 related to the use of the category morality, can be done by studying carefully the main document on morality and morality in USSR - "The moral code of the builder of communism", for more than a dozen years, inspired the Soviet people to outstanding deeds 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 a list of them:

1. Devotion to the cause of communism, love for the socialist homeland, for the socialist countries.
2. Conscientious work for the good of society: he who does not work does not eat.
3. Everyone's concern for the preservation and enhancement of the public domain.
4. High awareness of public duty, intolerance of violations of public interests.
5. Collectivism and comradely mutual assistance: each for all, all for one.
6. Humane relations and mutual respect between people: a person is a friend to another, a comrade and a brother.
7. Honesty, moral purity, simplicity and modesty in public and private life.
8. Mutual respect in the family, care for the upbringing of children.
9. Intransigence to injustice, parasitism, dishonesty, careerism, money-grubbing.
10. Friendship and brotherhood of all the peoples of the USSR, intolerance of 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.

Anyone familiar with Christian culture and tradition can find in this moral code of the builder of communism a lot of truly Christian and Orthodox principles. At the same time, connoisseurs of the Gospel will immediately notice for themselves the obvious correlation of these principles with the principles of the same Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ.

For clarity, you can give a structural diagram of the 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 highest 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 to observe fidelity in family relationships(Mt 5: 27-28),
8. - the need for vigilance and severity towards yourself(Mt 5: 29-30),
9. - bans on divorce, all kinds of vows and revenge(Mt 5.31-39),
10. - prohibitions on hypocrisy, stinginess and mercy(Mt 5: 40-48),
11. - the need for forgiveness(Mt 6: 14-15),
12. - a ban on the manifestation of greed and self-interest(Mt 6: 19-21),
13. - prohibition on condemnation of neighbors(Mt 7: 1-5),
14. - the need for reverence for knowledge and faith(Mt 7: 6),
15. - the need to show diligence and perseverance(Mt 7: 7-11),
16. – the need to strictly and rigorously adhere to the Christian doctrine(Mt 5, 13-14),
17. - awareness of responsibility for non-observance of the highest law(Mt 7: 21-37)

Analyzing these two lists of basic moral the 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 (the USA and the USSR), when developing the fundamental spiritual and moral criteria of social relations, proceeded 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 foundation - the spiritual, which was replaced by a more superficial ideological and moral.

Essentially both moral doctrines, forming the 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.

This 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 the perfect moral leads a person to perfect spirituality.

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

Talking about morality, one cannot but touch upon the Soviet school of psychology, which, represented by such scientists as S.L. Rubinstein, A.V. Petrovsky, L.S. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontiev, 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 moral stable personality of the builder of socialism and communism.

The real merit of the Soviet school of psychology and sociology was the 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, conviction, morality, etc.) over a person who is guided exclusively by external circumstances (situation).

Currently available developments in the field morally oriented psychologies are separate works and studies belonging to different authors, which are not combined 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. Two stages of moral development according to Piaget. The main differences between heteronomous and autonomous morality. "
• I. Ilyin “On the Essence of Legal Awareness. 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 (sample) in the development of preschoolers."
• S. Moskovichi, K.A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya “On the moral personality. Theories of social representations ".
• B.S. Brothers "On four types of moral development."
• T.A. Florenskaya “The main features of the spiritually-oriented approach. The world of your house, etc. ".

Applied to the structure of the 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 influences 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 an increase in the level of mental security, both of an individual person and of the whole society. That is why the development and implementation of the paradigm of morally oriented Orthodox psychology into the individual and public consciousness is an urgent task and a problem, the solution of which will significantly increase the level of moral and the spiritual culture of society and an individual.

Currently the most in-depth understanding of the category morality contained only in "Moral Theology", which is a theological discipline that reveals the very Christian doctrine of moral consciousness, the system of Christian ethics or Christian doctrine of 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 an ineradicable desire of the human spirit to evaluate consciously free actions and states (ie thoughts, feelings and desires) of a person, on the basis of the idea of ​​goodness innate to the human spirit, the expression of which is conscience."(Priest V. Boschanovsky. "Life in Christ", Serg. Posad, 1913)

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

This work belongs to the hand of Basil the Great (330 - 379) - the saint, archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, the theologian, who was one of the first to expound the essentially complete code of Christianity. morality, taking as a basis the books of the Holy Scriptures and the New Testament.

His "Moral Rules" to this day form the basis of "Moral Theology" and contain 80 main principles of Christian morality, the observance of which is a necessary condition for the formation of practical Christian thinking and worldview.