Moral Values Essay Example for Free

Moral Values Essay A moral value is a universally accepted ethical principle that governs the day to day living of life. These principles are important in maintaining unity, harmony and honour between people. Moral values are usually communal and shared by the public in general, thus if there is no agreement among community members no moral values will be established. Moral values define the principles and standards which determine the extent to which human action or conduct is right or wrong. They encompass a wide range of universally accepted character traits such as compassion, love, humility and kindness. Morality (from the Latin moralitas manner, character, proper behavior) is the differentiation of intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good (or right) and those that are bad (or wrong). The philosophy of morality is ethics. A moral code is a system of morality (according to a particular philosophy, religion, culture, etc. and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code. Morality may also be specifically synonymous with goodness or rightness. Immorality is the active opposition to morality (i. e. opposition to that which is good or right), whileamorality is variously defined as an unawareness of, indifference toward, or disbelief in any set of moral standards or principles. An example of a moral code is the Golden Rule which states that, One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself. [5] Morality and ethics[edit] Ethics (also known as moral philosophy) is that branch of philosophy which addresses questions about morality. The word ethics is commonly used interchangeably with morality and sometimes it is used more narrowly to mean the moral principles of a particular tradition, group, or individual. [6] Likewise, certain types of ethical theories, especially deontological ethics, sometimes distinguish between ethics and morals: Although the morality of people and their ethics amounts to the same thing, there is a usage that restricts morality to systems such as that of Kant, based on notions such as duty, obligation, and principles of conduct, reserving ethics for the more Aristotelian approach to practical reasoning, based on the notion of a virtue, and generally avoiding the separation of moral considerations from other practical c onsiderations. Although the words are often used as synonyms, morals are beliefs based on practices or teachings regarding how people conduct themselves in personal relationships and in society, while ethics refers to a set or system of principles, or a philosophy or theory behind them. When comparing morality with ethics, the word ethics is often used to refer to a philosophical analysis of a particular morality, especially when the formal definition is applied.