Ethics as “Practical Philosophy”

Morality as a Form of Social Regulation of Human Behavior

The primary forms of social regulation of human behavior include tradition, law, and morality. Tradition, as a regulatory form, is more characteristic of agrarian societies, where the cyclical and repetitive nature of existence prevails. In contrast, modern society is marked by constant change and the coexistence of diverse traditions. However, tradition performs irreplaceable cultural functions:

• It establishes cultural continuity, binding its elements into a strong framework by passing down knowledge, experience, symbols, customs, norms, and behavioral patterns from one generation to the next.
• Tradition serves as a channel of information transmission, particularly powerful in oral cultures where it preserves and processes knowledge.
• It acts as a mechanism of socialization, education, and upbringing, as rituals are passed down through memorization of their segments and components.
• Tradition also fulfills a selective function, preserving the most valuable cognitive, social, technological, and mythological knowledge of a community, often transmitted through rituals and ceremonies in non-literate societies.

In addition to tradition, behavior in society is regulated by law and morality, though these systems of rules are not identical. Both law and morality regulate human relations through the mediation of norms and rules, and neither promotes immoral actions. They create conditions for human existence grounded in personal freedom. However, while morality governs interpersonal relations through internal conviction—conscience—and external persuasion—public opinion (approval or condemnation), law enforces behavior through external compulsion by the state and internal compliance through lawfulness.

Legal norms, established by the state, are expressed in laws and are obligatory for all citizens. The state ensures adherence to these norms through its apparatus of enforcement, such as courts and prosecution. While law relies on the authority of state power, morality draws upon the authority of respected individual opinions, public approval, or the inner authority of self-respect and dignity.

In essence, the law addresses the minimal regulatory requirements necessary to maintain social order, while morality comprehensively considers the well-being of both the individual and society. Despite the respect law demands, it must be subordinate to the higher ideals of morality. Societies may encounter paradoxes where certain laws are morally unjustified, or widely accepted behavior is not codified by law. For example, discrimination was considered immoral long before it was legally prohibited. Similarly, adherence to the law does not always equate to justice, and certain immoral practices, such as lying, may not always be legally addressed.

However, developed legal institutions create better conditions for the growth of morality, while moral standards contribute to the refinement of law. A general analysis of morality, according to ethicists, first involves characterizing how morality functions. It is noted, first of all, that morality encompasses the entire spectrum of human life, addressing not just one aspect but all areas in which human activity occurs. Moreover, modern perspectives on morality extend ethical relationships beyond "human-to-human" interactions to include "human-to-others," broadening moral considerations to encompass interactions with both living and non-living nature, responsibility for the future, scientific endeavors, and professional conduct.

Second, morality is not confined to any specific, concrete, or positive set of demands. This means that there is no definitive list of moral norms, just as one cannot specify the final number in an infinite sequence. Moral demands highlight human imperfection, pointing to the distance from the goal and the ongoing journey toward it.

Third, in formulating moral judgments, a person must apply them to themselves. In demanding certain behavior from others, one equally demands it of oneself, reflecting the mirror-like nature of morality.

Finally, morality is not a static state but a vector of conscious life, implying that moral effort is continuous, and individuals are always engaged in the process of moral self-improvement.

Spanning all areas of human activity, morality distinguishes between morally permissible, obligatory, and impermissible actions. Particularly praiseworthy are actions that go beyond mere duty and are often viewed as moral ideals. These moral categories apply universally, regardless of the particular society or its prevailing moral conceptions.

Morality is also understood as a measure of an individual’s mastery over themselves, indicating how responsible they are for their actions. The set of moral norms adhered to by a person reflects their ability to live in human society, while their moral values signify the importance they place on certain phenomena, shaping their relationship to the world and giving meaning to their existence.

One of the fundamental characteristics of morality is its imperativeness. Moral imperatives prescribe obligatory behavior not just within a limited circle of relatives, friends, colleagues, or compatriots, but in relationships with all people. These imperatives are characterized as suprasituational, impersonal, and universal prescriptions. Morality is also normative (defining how moral demands are expressed) and evaluative (how actions are judged from the perspectives of good and evil, justice and injustice, including self-judgment).

In any society, there exists an objective need for individuals to act consistently in frequently recurring situations. This need is practically fulfilled by moral norms, which represent the simplest form of moral obligation. Their obligatory nature for each person is rooted in the influence of mass example, public opinion, collective habits, and other forms of socially expressed will, manifesting as societal customs and mores.

The moral imperative, expressed in the form of norms, is reflected in moral consciousness as corresponding rules and commandments, representing the subjective aspect of the moral norm. Moral consciousness formulates the norm as a command equally directed toward all individuals, requiring their unconditional compliance in every situation. For instance, the fundamental prohibitions "do not kill," "do not steal," "do not bear false witness," "do not commit adultery" form the foundation of moral life across many cultural worlds.

However, the application of particular moral norms must be carried out concretely, taking into account specific conditions and circumstances, and based on general principles: moral ideals, concepts of justice, and the distinctions between good and evil. This does not imply that a person engages in a rational process of "measuring" the moral norm against the specific situation each time. The most important and difficult task is transforming the moral norm into an internal need, an inclination, a habit for the individual to fulfill it without external or internal compulsion. This transformation is also a sign of a morally mature personality.

Experts classify moral norms into prohibitive norms (unacceptable behaviors from which one must abstain) and exemplar norms (models of appropriate behavior to be emulated). The prohibitive norm entails an active rejection of evil; it is clear and more understandable. Adhering to prohibitions allows one to avoid wrongdoing, but at the same time, it offers no impetus for high levels of activity in pursuing the good. In contrast, the positive exemplar norm obliges an individual to perform moral acts and to realize specific qualities through them, demanding an active engagement from the moral agent (the person) and a creative interpretation of positive exhortations ("be compassionate," "be honest," "be just," etc.).

The shared essential features of moral norms are their imperative nature and their potential for universalization. The "Golden Rule" of morality is one such universal norm that has emerged across various cultures in similar formulations: "Do not do unto others what you would not want done to you," or "Do unto others what you would have them do unto you." The Golden Rule provides an ethical strategy for behavior, aiming to overcome the ancient opposition of "us versus them" by postulating the equality of all people, regardless of their group affiliation.

Morality’s aspiration and ability to evaluate human actions, the deeds of social agents, and the functioning of institutions from the perspective of good and evil, justice or injustice, honesty or dishonesty emphasize its evaluative nature. These evaluations manifest in forms of approval or condemnation, shame or pride, agreement or disagreement with certain actions, and they also express positive emotions in response to correct deeds and negative ones in response to incorrect ones. The issue of the truthfulness of moral judgments and evaluations, particularly regarding truth and falsehood, is likewise significant.

Most contemporary researchers, when analyzing the complex phenomenon of morality, identify three main elements in its structure: moral consciousness, moral activity, and moral relationships. Moral consciousness includes norms, principles, motives, and value orientations, as well as the core ethical categories of good and evil, duty, responsibility, justice, the meaning of life, attitudes toward death, happiness, and the moral self-awareness of honor and dignity, conscience, and shame.

Moral activity encompasses freedom of action, freedom of choice, freedom of will, the deed as the primary element of moral activity, and the relationship between the goals and means of action, as well as between the motive and the result of moral action. In moral relationships, the moral essence of human interaction is examined, with characteristics of openness or closedness, monologic or dialogic forms of communication, respect, compassion, and love as the foundation of moral relations between people; etiquette and the culture of communication are also considered.

In the evolution of moral consciousness, L. Kohlberg identified three levels: pre-conventional (pre-moral), conventional, and post-conventional. A person at the pre-conventional level of morality evaluates their actions based on whether they can avoid punishment or gain rewards or personal benefits. The conventional level of moral development is characterized by the individual's readiness and ability to orient their actions according to societal principles and norms. However, the highest level of moral development is the post-conventional, where the individual is guided by impersonal moral standards that have become internal criteria. At this level, a person adheres to the laws of the state for the sake of the common good, and following universal ethical principles becomes an internal necessity.

In understanding the essence of morality, its functions play a crucial role. Among researchers, there is no consensus on a fixed list of moral functions. However, most agree that one of the fundamental functions of morality is its regulatory role, complemented by its evaluative-imperative, educational, communicative, cognitive, life-orienting, motivational, communicative (facilitating interaction), and prognostic functions. The unique influence of morality on the life of the individual, community, or society is revealed in the integrity of its operation, as morality simultaneously regulates, evaluates, and guides the individual within their value system.