Developing the concepts of

morality
Morality comes from a Latin word
“mores” meaning custom, habit,
manner, character or proper behavior
Morality may be applied to four areas:
• Religion: Morality determined by relation between
human being and supernatural being. In the Jewish and
Christian traditions, for example, the first three of the
Ten Commandments pertain to this kind of morality.
These commandments deal with a person’s relationship
with God, not with any other human beings. By
violating any of these three commandments, a person
could, according to this particular code of ethics, act
immorally toward God without acting immorally toward
anyone else.
• Nature: Morality determined by relation
between human being and nature. Natural
morality has been prevalent in all primitive
cultures, such as that of the Native American,
and in cultures of the Far East.
• Individuality: Morality refers to individuals in
relation to them-selves and to an individual
code of morality that may or may not be
sanctioned by any society or religion. It allows
for a “higher morality,” which can be found
within the individual rather than beyond this
world in some supernatural realm
• Society: Morality determined by relation between
human being and society. It is probably the most
important aspect of morality; in that it cuts across all of
the other aspects and is found in more ethical systems
than any of the others. For a majority of ethicists, the
most important human moral issues arise when human
beings come together in social groups and begin to
conflict with one another. Even though the Jewish and
Christian ethical systems, for example, importune
human beings to love and obey God, both faiths, in all of
their divisions and sects, have a strong social message.
Humans have a moral sense because their
biological makeup determines the presence of
three necessary conditions for ethical behavior:
• The ability to anticipate the consequences of
one's own actions;
• The ability to make value judgments; and
• The ability to choose between alternative
courses of action.
Are all animals non-moral? Is domesticating
animals’ moral?
• Some animals are capable of responding to
moral motivations due to their sophisticated
cognitive abilities - such as elephants,
cetaceans (whales and dolphins) and primates
- and are capable of feeling things like
empathy, compassion, pain and loss of a loved
one.
Forms of Morality
We can separate morality into two forms:
• Customary/Traditional morality: Traditional morality
refers to the moral systems handed down through
custom from generation to generation. We might call
this static morality
• Reflective morality: Reflective morality requires that
moral ideas are carefully examined and tested.
Traditional morality can become reflective and dynamic
when those moral ideas that are simply handed down
and accepted are subjected to analysis and criticism.
• The relation between Morality with Law and Religion
• Morality also overlaps with Law and Religion but shouldn’t be confused with
them.
• Morality and law. Morality and law are not the same although of course they
overlap. Law might be thought of as a public codification of morality for a
culture, although certain laws in that system, or even the system itself, might be
deemed immoral, e.g., apartheid. Law is not a necessary attribute of morality
although morality may well be thought to be a necessary attribute of law.
Morality and religion. Is morality dependent upon religion?
Morality need not be based exclusively on religion for five reasons.
• Supernatural existence cannot be proven.
• Non-religious people can be moral.
• Religious foundation for ethics is difficult to establish.
• No religion would be best ethically
Purpose of morality
• The purpose of morality is constituted in the five
purposes to:
• Keep society from falling apart;
• Ameliorate human suffering;
• Promote human flourishing;
• Resolve conflict of interest justly and orderly
• Assign praise, blame, reward, punishment and
guilt
 Identifying Moral Principles
Moral principles
• Moral principles are principles based on reason and rationalityTypes of Moral Principles
• There are two types of moral principles: absolute and relative. Moral absolutism is an
ethical view that certain actions are intrinsically right or wrong. Moral relativism believes
there are no absolute rules to what are right or wrong, and that moral principles can
change depending on the situation.
• Absolute Moral Principles
• Absolute moral principles are based on universal truths about the nature of human
beings. For example, murder is wrong because it goes against the natural order of things.
These are also sometimes called normative moral principles, or those that are generally
accepted by society. Below are some examples of absolute moral principles:
• Don't kill.
• Speak the truth.
• Be careful with what you say and do to others.
• Respect the property of others.
• Treat people in need or distress as we would want to be treated if our situation were
reversed
• Relative moral principles are based on opinions and
circumstances that may change over time or from person to
person or for different situations. Relative moral principles
depend on a person's beliefs. Relativism is to what people
perceive as good or bad in relation to themselves. In other
words, when someone says something is good, in most cases
they are really saying it is good for them, or perhaps it
contributes to their well-being. Below are some examples of
relative moral principles including:
• It is morally wrong to spend money on a luxury item.
• It is morally right to care for our planet and preserve it for
future generations
 Impacts of Moral Principles
In general, moral principles are beneficial both to society and the
individual person. However, blindly following moral principles
without considering their origin or using your judgment based
on the situation can be problematic.
Ways to Develop Good Moral Principles
Ask yourself what you think is right or wrong and make sure that
your actions are in line with those thoughts
If it helps, write down a list of moral principles and post them
where they're easy to see, like on a mirror or in your
workspace
Moral Characters in School or College
respect for the rights of others, absence of hatred and racism,
fiscal responsibility, mental and emotional stability
Practice of morality in the work place
Employees with good morals set a positive
example for their co-workers.