MORALITY A Presentation

INTRODUCTION In today’s world understanding of values, ethics and morality is important for ones professional as well as personal development.

Morals or moral values are generally associated with personal view of values. They can reflect the influence of religion, culture, family and friends.

Ethics is concerned with how a moral person should behave. Ethical values are beliefs concerning what is morally right and proper as opposed to what is simply correct or effective.

Ones moral values or understandings help them resolve a question about how to act, which ultimately helps an individual for effective decision making in the professional world.

This helps people formulate solutions to problems in ethical manner.

ETHICS Ethics or moral philosophy is the branch of philosophy that involves, defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct.

Ethics has to do with what my feelings tell me is right or wrong. Ethics has to do with my religious beliefs. Being ethical is doing what the law requires. Ethics consist of the standards of behavior our society accepts.

ETHICS THREE MAJOR AREAS OF STUDY WITHIN ETHICS RECOGNISED TODAY ARE:-

Meta ethics, concerning the theoretical meaning and reference of moral propositions, and how their truth values can be determined.

Normative ethics, concerning the practical means of determining a moral course of action.

Applied ethics, concerning what a person is obligated to do in a specific situation or a particular domain of action.

VALUES Values are judgments about how important something is to us.

  There are three basic attributes of values. 1) values are subjective judgments. 2) we may make a judgment of how important something is relative to something else.

3) values may be principles that help us make important personal decisions.

VALUES TYPES OF VALUES •Personal values: These are considered essential principles on which we build our life and guide us to relate with other people. They are usually a blend of family values and social-cultural values, together with our own individual ones, according to our experiences.

  • Family values: These are valued in a family and are considered either good or bad. They are the basic principles and guidelines of our initial behavior in society, and are conveyed through our behaviors in the family, from the simplest to the most complex.

 

VALUES TYPES OF VALUES • Social-cultural values: These are the prevailing values of our society, which change with time, and either coincide or not with our family or personal values. They constitute a complex mix of different values, and at times they contradict one another.

• Material values: These values allow us to survive, and are related to our basic needs as human beings, such as food and clothing and protection from the environment.

VALUES TYPES OF VALUES • Spiritual values: They refer to the importance we give to non-material aspects in our lives. They add meaning and foundation to our life, as do religious beliefs.

  • Moral values: The attitudes and behaviors that a society considers essential for coexistence, order, and general well being.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VALUES AND ETHICS

• Values can be universal as well as personal and are actually beliefs a person has that help him behave in a particular manner all his life.• Ethics are unwritten code of conduct that are to be followed by an individual or employees in an organization.•Values are more general statements while ethics relates to putting those values into effect in concrete situations.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VALUES AND ETHICS

• "Values motivate, ethics necessarily constrain (because we live in a society, we cannot live our values any way we want).“•Values describe what is important in a person's life, while ethics and morals prescribe what is or is not considered appropriate behaviour in living one's life.•values are our measures of importance, whereas ethics represent our judgments about right and wrong. The close relationship between importance and right and wrong is a powerful influence on our behaviour and how we evaluate the behaviour of others.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VALUES AND ETHICS

• Concepts such as material success, individualism, efficiency, thrift, freedom, courage, hard work, prudence, competition, patriotism, compromise, and punctuality all are value standards that have varying degrees of potency in contemporary American culture. But we probably would not view them primarily as ethical standards of right and wrong. Ethical judgments focus more precisely on degrees of rightness and wrongness in human behaviour. •However, standards such as honesty, truthfulness, fairness, and humaneness usually are used in making ethical judgments of rightness and wrongness in human behaviour.

SIGNIFICANCE OF MORAL VALUES

• Positive moral values are important because they allow you to have an overall feeling of peace and joy. Moral values can give meaning and purpose to your life. You are able to direct your behavior towards beneficial and fulfilling activities.•When you live your life according to moral values that are based on honesty, compassion, courage, modesty, and forgiveness, then you can also form positive bonds with other people.•Thirdly, the moral value of courage gives you the determination to face anything that impedes your progress through life. You will also be able to overcome any obstacles because you won’t let fear hold you back. Others will feel confident relying on you for encouragement because you find solutions to whatever problems arise in your life. When courage is one of your moral values, you can bravely face the world.

SIGNIFICANCE OF MORAL VALUES

• Lastly, it is also important to incorporate the moral value of forgiveness in your life. Forgiveness allows you to move past hurtful or damaging situations. It allows you to abandon feelings of anger or resentment against others or yourself. You can be emotionally healthy when you practice forgiveness because it keeps you from holding onto pain and resentment.•In conclusion, moral values are extremely important for your overall well-being. Moral values provide a structure for your life. Honesty makes you respectable.

SOME IMPORTANT MORAL VALUES…

•  Be honest and trustworthy. Refrain from lying, cheating and stealing. It includes being honest with yourself as well as with others.• Have integrity. Have courage of conviction. Stand up for what is right. Do what you say you will do; be dependable and keep your promises.• Be caring and compassionate. Do what you can to improve the lives of others (as well as all life on this planet).• Be fair and just. Treat others as you want them to treat you. Do not discriminate.•Persevere. Don’t give up; see obstacles and setbacks as lessons.

SOME IMPORTANT MORAL VALUES…

•  Take personal responsibility. Own your life! Be accountable for your thoughts, words and actions. Know that your circumstances are a direct result of your thoughts, words and actions. Do not blame, judge, criticize or condemn.•  Have empathy. See things from different perspectives; put yourself in others’ shoes so you can understand them and their point of view.• Respect others. Know that your way is not the only way; it is one of several billion ways. Acknowledge the dignity, freedoms and rights of others.•Forgive. Leave past hurts and misunderstandings behind. Stop any cycles of causing pain to oneself or others. Don’t seek revenge – seek peace.•Be open-minded. Open your mind to alternative points of view – different points of view are just as real to others as your point of view is to  

MORAL FOUNDATIONS QUESTIONNAIRE When you decide whether something is right or wrong, to what extent are the following

considerations relevant to your thinking? Please rate each statement using this scale:   [0] = not at all relevant (This consideration has nothing to do with my judgments of right and wrong)

[1] = not very relevant [2] = slightly relevant [3] = somewhat relevant [4] = very relevant [5] = extremely relevant (This is one of the most important factors when I judge right and wrong)

______1. Whether or not someone suffered emotionally ______2. Whether or not some people were treated differently than others ______3. Whether or not someone’s action showed love for his or her country ______4. Whether or not someone showed a lack of respect for authority ______5. Whether or not someone violated standards of purity and decency

MORAL FOUNDATIONS QUESTIONNAIRE

______6. Whether or not someone was cruel ______7. Whether or not someone was denied his or her rights ______8. Whether or not someone showed a lack of loyalty ______9. Whether or not an action caused chaos or disorder ______10. Whether or not someone acted in a way that God would approve of

MORAL FOUNDATIONS QUESTIONNAIRESCORINGThe box then shows your score on each of 5 psychological “foundations” of morality. Scores run from 0-30 for each foundation. (Questions 6 and 22 are just used to catch people who are not paying attention. They don't count toward your scores).

CONCLUSION•  Values are core beliefs or desires that guide or motivate our attitude and actions. What one values drives his or her behaviour. Some people value honesty or truthfulness in all situations; others value loyalty to a higher degree in certain situations.

• Ethics is the branch of philosophy that theoretically, logically and rationally determines right from wrong, good from bad, moral from immoral and just from unjust actions, conducts and behaviour. Some people define ethics simply as doing what you say you will do or walking the talk .

CONCLUSION•  Overall, morality establishes the rules and standards that govern the moral behaviour of individuals and groups. It also distinguishes between right and wrong conducts. It involves honest consideration to underlying motive, to possible potential harm and to congruency with established values and rules.

•ethics describes a generally accepted set of moral principles

•morals describes the goodness or badness or right or wrong of actions

•values describes individual or personal standards of what is valuable or important.