Understanding Moral Principles and Ethics in Society
Rules to Solve Problems
Coexistence always causes conflict, which all human societies have been forced to address. Rules should always seek to regulate a conflict or solve a problem, but they may do better or worse, in a fair or an unfair way. The Moral Issues affecting the happiness and dignity of all include:
- The value of life.
- Duties to the community.
- Power and its exercise.
- Modes of resolving conflicts.
- Property, its ownership and distribution.
- Sexuality, procreation, and family.
- Caring for the weak.
- Dealing with foreign and different.
- The afterlife, death, and gods.
The Moral: It is the system of rules governing coexistence in a society. There are many morals and cultures.
Ethics is the part of philosophy reflecting on these issues and trying to rationally develop a universal morality, valid for all cultures. It is responsible for developing the great human project, a world of living desired by all. Civic Ethics is the effort of human beings to think, justify, and implement the project of just coexistence. It is based on the idea that we are all citizens of the world, and we must abide by rules common to all mankind.
Including Intelligence arises from the interaction of many minds to learn, teach, argue, debate, and criticize the solutions given, the tested, and strive to rediscover the fundamental values that derive from human dignity and to design a common project of universal morality.
Some Criteria to Find Valid Solutions:
- The values and standards should be compatible with each other and meet the basic needs of human nature, which is intelligent and social.
- Lifestyle defenders must seem just and desirable to any intelligent person, capable of putting themselves in the other’s shoes and that impartiality is sought together.
- The solution must be universalized, meaning it must hold for all.
- It should be checked that the beneficial effects of a solution do not come with injurious effects.
The Great Religious Traditions: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Hinduism and Buddhism believe in a “spiritual way,” with which humans can enter into relationship. Each religion offers a moral framework, and its teachings have been very beneficial for mankind, helping to learn more deeply some values and proposing noble ways of life.
Christianity, founded by Jesus, has its holy book, the Bible, which preaches that morality is based on love for God and neighbor.
Islam: Founded by Muhammad, the prophet of Allah, with their holy book, the Koran, their morality is based on five pillars: the profession of faith in Allah, prayer five times a day, alms, fasting during Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Hinduism: Its sacred book is the Vedas, which believe in Brahman, the eternal and infinite principle that is the source of all that exists. They believe that actions determine the future of the soul, and salvation liberation takes place when the cycle of death and rebirth is broken.
Buddhism: Founded by Buddha, for them, the world is a prison, and salvation lies in discovering that nothing stands still; the root of suffering is attachment to material things.
All religions have common moral elements that should be considered as a fundamental contribution to the construction of a universal ethics.
The Voice of Victims and Social Movements: The vindication of justice for victims who suffer injustice is a creative force of ethics. Notable movements seek to draw attention to values and rights that are not recognized and press for recognition. An example is the struggle against racial discrimination, such as the South African anti-apartheid movement and the U.S. civil rights movement for blacks.
The Way to Resolve Conflict Well: The solution to conflicts is sought with judges and mediators. Besides laws being passed, they must be approved by parliament, made public, and not retroactive (past actions do not affect them). Conflicts can lead to war and must always meet certain conditions (response to unjust aggression, last resort, liability for damages, and respect for international human rights). The solutions must go through the acceptance of laws and fair courts, and limits on power imposed by democratic systems (establishing citizen involvement in the creation of laws). Articles 7 and 8 of human rights outline basic principles of legal protection, equality before the law, and the right to resort to the courts.