Morality

Morality refers mostly the actual patterns of action, conventions, rules or principles of certain individuals, groups or cultures.

So understood, the terms morality, ethics or morals are largely synonymous and descriptive (descriptive ) used. In addition, a range of practical judgments, actions, or whose principles (values, freight, duties, rights), is connected with talk of morality. This understanding of distinction between morality and immorality is not descriptive, but evaluative (normative). A moral evaluation can be understood as a mere expression of subjective approval or disapproval (comparable with applause or boos ), especially in the evaluation of actions whose maxims or other principles are regarded as morally good or morally bad. Therefore morality in the narrower sense of the subjective inclination of morality or ethics in a broader sense, or deviating, however, to follow as properly respected ethical maxims. In this sense, commitment or special discipline is called within a group as morality.

Positions that represent a meta-ethical realism, assume that the moral value of an action, a state of the world or of an object can not be reduced to their subjective evaluation. The theoretical elaboration of various methodical approaches and criteria of moral judgments and feelings are the subject of philosophical discipline of ethics.

Conceptual history

The German term " morality" is about the French morale to the Latin moralis ( the custom concerning; lat: mos, mores custom, customs ) back, which is used in neugeprägten of Cicero expression philosophia moralis as a translation of ethike (ethics).

Moral originally described in particular how people really act and what action is expected in certain situations or is held to be correct. This descriptive meaning aspect of morality is also referred to as morality or ethics and includes " regulating judgments and regulated behaviors " without rational or moral theoretical justification thereof assessed or evaluated. Such an assessment is called " reflection theory of morality " or "ethics".

Science of morality

Morality is the subject of various studies:

• Ethics is a discipline of philosophy, moral principles, values ​​, virtues, validity claims, demands, justifications, etc. studied and often formulated and justified.
• Meta-ethics examines the metaphysical, epistemological, semantic and psychological conditions and implications moral thought, speech and action.
• Moral Theology and Theological Ethics consider the relationship between morality and religion.
• Moral psychology examines the moral opinions, behaviors and emotions show individuals, Motivational psychology attempts to explain the inclinations to do so.
• Morality in the context of social units or organizations is one of the objects of the social sciences.
• Also, political science or economics can be understood normatively and be as moral sciences, which acts attach intrinsic value.

Morality and law

It is one of the fundamental questions of philosophy of law in which law and morality are relative to each other. In many ways agree morality and law (eg, the prohibition against killing ) match. The question, what about morally reprehensible laws, for example, has been much discussed in the German post-war period. Noteworthy in this context are in particular the Radbruch formula for the relationship between law and injustice, insubordination and whether deserters should be granted amnesty (see law repealing Nazi injustice judgments in criminal justice ).

Descriptive concept of morality

In descriptive describes using " morality" an action scheme, which is conductive for a society, social group, or an individual or " be living in a concrete community or internalized by a person's behavioral rules." This is specified differently, depending on the theoretical approach, such as "the totality of socially represented and embodied in the personality system of the individuals rule- related action orientations and mutual behavioral expectations or as a closer specific subclass of" the same. Luhmann defines " meant purely empirical ": " A communication assumes moral quality, if and insofar as it brings human respect or disrespect for expression". In this descriptive sense are also "moral" or " moral " simply descriptive in the sense of "belonging to morality," not normative "morally good" used to mean. " Morality" then referred to as " a member of the society" to " steering the individual and smaller groups." Such descriptive idioms correspond everyday language formulas such as " prevailing morality ," " bourgeois morality " or " socialist morality".