Morality, Moral Philosophy, and Ethics: A Deep Dive
Morality, Moral Philosophy, and Ethics
Legal Systems
All societies have developed a moral, i.e. a regulatory system, which often includes:
- A model of human being, of their status and virtues.
- A model of behavior.
- A model of society.
These three models are enforced through a set of rules with great authority, usually attributed to a legislator or a mythical deity.
Morality serves two universal human needs: to regulate conflicts of interest between people and inner conflicts between opposing desires. Moral standards are listed because they are useful and remain because they are an advantage for the survival of the cultural group.
The problems posed by coexistence are similar in all societies (Doc.1)
Fundamentals
Moral philosophy studies historical morals. But it does not stop there; it tries to develop a transcultural moral, valid for all cultures, which is called “ethics.”
There are three related concepts:
1. Morality: The normative system of a society that determines what are good and bad behaviors. There are as many morals as cultures.
2. Philosophy of morality: Studies morality as part of human culture, according to its genealogy and its validity criteria.
3. Ethics: Moral crossing, drawn by reason, taking advantage of society’s moral experience.
Those who think there is no work to develop a universal morality believe that ethics is useless or impossible. Others believe their morality is universally valid and, therefore, ethics is already developed. Others are skeptical; this is called “moral relativism,” considering that values cannot be set or universal standards.
This is an important issue that should be studied in philosophy because, in a world where cultural clashes occur, we need to know if we can find a policy valid for all mankind (doc.2)
The Crisis of Morality
As societies lived in isolation, morals were stable but plunged into crisis when the following factors appeared:
- Within society, emerging movements are critical of the standards or their foundations. The protest movements clashed with the existing rules at different historical moments.
- Social or cultural changes raise moral problems that the previous system is unable to solve. New technologies have raised moral problems unthinkable a few years ago.
- The emergence of great moral or religious figures shows a new way of understanding life and raising enormous accessions. The most widespread religious traditions have great personalities who originally taught new ways of living. And they all appear as reformers with existing beliefs.
- Contact with other cultures undermines confidence in the infallibility of one’s own. Knowing that societies had lived so differently provoked feelings of concern and uncertainty.
Some morals opposed these difficulties dogmatically in their rules, and others tried to justify them rationally, that is, by claiming arguments to be valid for all. Thus arose the edge of morality.
Genealogy of Morals
The Origin of Morality
Morals are complex systems that have a long history with varied influences. We consider them the result of social intelligence. That is, they spring from the interaction of personal intelligences.
Each person has his private project of happiness that must be coordinated with other people. From this interaction arise spontaneously forms of conflict resolution.
Not all members of a society have the same influence. It is easy to see the trace of active characters. Movements claiming rights have also exerted considerable prominence.
At the bottom of this dynamism is the tireless pursuit of happiness by humans. The specific objectives are quite varied, as each has our own idea of happiness, but basic desires are universal.
Human beings seek pleasure, sociability, and increased opportunities or to fulfill ourselves.
These desires are influenced by our selfish desire to enjoy, which is controlled by our need to socialize with other people. Our need to expand the possibilities is governed by the need for social recognition.
A Shared Rationality
We consider the history of mankind as the test of morality. It allows us to see them in action and to study their effects. On this extensive historical experience, philosophers should reflect to develop the ethical model.
We have spoken of “wise use of intelligence” as a moral demand because we seek truth that may have universal validity.
In the case of morality, this requirement makes us go a step further and seek shared rationality, social rationality, publish, communicate, because individual reason can justify selfishness perfectly, while “reason shared” should look for valid arguments for all, not only for oneself.
Relying on history, we can propose a law of moral progress of mankind, leading to the establishment of a universal ethic moral:
Every society, culture, or religion, when it escapes extreme misery, fear, ignorance, dogmatism, and hatred of neighbor, is moving convergently toward an ethical model that includes the defense of individual rights, participation in power, the fight against discrimination, rationality as a way of solving problems, the social function of property, legal assurances, and behavior of help.
The search for rational solutions, not just for science but for human problems, has been a historical constant.
These developments are the noble history of mankind.