Moral

standard
What is moral standards?
 A moral standard refers to the norms which we have about the types
of actions which we believe to be morally acceptable
and morally unacceptable. Specifically, moral standards deal with
matters which can either seriously harm or seriously benefit human
beings.
 Moral standards involve the rules people have about the kinds of
actions they believe are morally right and wrong, as well as the values
they place on the kinds of objects they believe are morally good and
morally bad. Some ethicists equate moral standards with moral
values and moral principles.
 Common morals that most people agree on, such as:

 Always tell the truth  Do  Have patience

not judge
 Be loyal
 Do not destroy  Be dependable
property  Be
 Have respect for yourself
forgiving and others
 Have courage  Have integrity  Be tolerant of differences
 Keep your promises  Take  Seek justice
 Do not cheat responsibility for  Have humility
 Treat others as you your actions  Be generous
want to be treated
 Six (6) characteristics of moral
standards
a. Moral standards involve serious wrongs or significant benefits.
Moral standards deal with matters which can seriously impact, that is, injure or benefit human beings. It is not the case
with many non-moral standards. For instance, following or violating some basketball rules may matter in basketball games
but does not necessarily affect one’s life or wellbeing.
b. Moral standards ought to be preferred to other values.
Moral standards have overriding character or hegemonic authority. If a moral standard states that a person has the moral
obligation to do something, then he/she is supposed to do that even if it conflicts with other non-moral standards, and even
with self-interest.
Moral standards are not the only rules or principles in society, but they take precedence over other considerations,
including aesthetic, prudential, and even legal ones. A person may be aesthetically justified in leaving behind his family in
order to devote his life to painting, but morally, all things considered, he/she probably was not justified. It may be prudent to
lie to save one’s dignity, but it probably is morally wrong to do so. When a particular law becomes seriously immoral, it may
be people’s moral duty to exercise civil disobedience.
 Six (6) characteristics of moral standards

c. Moral standards are not established by authority figures.

Moral standards are not invented, formed, or generated by authoritative bodies or persons such as nations’ legislative bodies.
Ideally instead, these values ought to be considered in the process of making laws. In principle therefore, moral standards cannot
be changed nor nullified by the decisions of particular authoritative body. One thing about these standards, nonetheless, is that its
validity lies on the soundness or adequacy of the reasons that are considered to support and justify them.
d. Moral standards have the trait of universalizability.
Simply put, it means that everyone should live up to moral standards. To be more accurate, however, it entails that moral
principles must apply to all who are in the relevantly similar situation. If one judges that act A is morally right for a certain person
P, then it is morally right for anybody relevantly similar to P.
This characteristic is exemplified in the Golden Rule, “Do unto others what you would them do unto you (if you were in their
shoes)” and in the formal Principle of Justice, “It cannot be right for A to treat B in a manner in which it would be wrong for B to
treat A, merely on the ground that they are two different individuals, and without there being any difference  between the natures
or circumstances of the two which can be stated as a reasonable ground for difference of treatment.” Universalizability is an
extension of the principle of consistency, that is, one ought to be consistent about one’s value judgments.
 Six (6) characteristics of moral standards

e. Moral standards are based on impartial considerations.

Moral standard does not evaluate standards on the basis of the interests of a certain person or group, but one that goes beyond personal
interests to a universal standpoint in which each person’s interests are impartially counted as equal.
Impartiality is usually depicted as being free of bias or prejudice. Impartiality in morality requires that we give equal and/or adequate
consideration to the interests of all concerned parties.

f. Moral standards are associated with special emotions and vocabulary.

Prescriptivity indicates the practical or action-guiding nature of moral standards. These moral standards are generally put forth as
injunction or imperatives (such as, ‘Do not kill,’ ‘Do no unnecessary harm,’ and ‘Love your neighbor’). These principles are proposed for use,
to advise, and to influence to action. Retroactively, this feature is used to evaluate behavior, to assign praise and blame, and to produce
feelings of satisfaction or of guilt.
If a person violates a moral standard by telling a lie even to fulfill a special purpose, it is not surprising if he/she starts feeling guilty or
being ashamed of his behavior afterwards. On the contrary, no much guilt is felt if one goes against the current fashion trend (e.g. refusing to
wear tattered jeans).
 Non-moral Standards
 Non-moral standards refer to rules that are unrelated to moral or ethical considerations.
Either these standards are not necessarily linked to morality or by nature lack ethical
sense. Basic examples of non-moral standards include rules of etiquette, fashion
standards, rules in games, and various house rules.

  Non moral standards govern individual life,aspirations and

desires and may decide a persons’s place in his group.
Some non moral standards of any society could be table
manners,general etiquette, grammer and language
expectations,socially accepted measures of
aesthetics,rules of games,clothing,etc.
 How are moral standards formed?

Morals are formed out of a person's values. Values are the

foundation of a person's ability to judge between right and
wrong. Morals build on this to form specific, context-
driven rules that govern a person's behavior.
They're formed from a person's life experience and are
subject to opinion.
 How are you going to solve this dilemma :

 Your friend has a great sense of humor. However, sometimes his jokes involve making fun of others in
inappropriate ways. He will point out a physical flaw or look for something odd or different about a person
and make an unkind comment. You feel uncomfortable when your friend does this. Do you say something or
just laugh along with him?
 Your friend has excitedly shared that she has a new love in her life. Unfortunately, you know the guy is a
narcissistic player who only stays with a woman as long as he is getting what he wants from the relationship.
Do you try to convince her to drop him or let her learn a lesson on her own?
 You buy a pile of clothing items on sale at your favourite department store. When you get home, you realize
one of the items is not on the receipt. Do you go back to the store and pay for it or just let it go?
Moral dilemma

Moral dilemmas, therefore, are situations where

persons, who are called “moral agents” in ethics,
are forced to choose between two or more
conflicting options, neither of which resolves the
situation in a morally acceptable manner. 
You are at your best friend's wedding just an hour before the
ceremony is to start. Earlier that day, you came across definitive
proof that your best friend's spouse-to-be is having an affair with
the best man/maid of honor, and you catch them sneaking out of a
room together looking disheveled. If you tell your friend about the
affair, their day will be ruined, but you don't want them to marry a
cheater. What do you do? 
 What are the three levels of moral dilemma?

Kohlberg identified three distinct levels of moral reasoning:

 pre-conventional
 conventional, and
 post-conventional.
Each level has two sub-stages. People can only pass through these levels in the order listed.
Lawrence Kohlberg (1958) agreed with Piaget's (1932) theory of moral development in principle but wanted to develop
his ideas further. 
 He used Piaget’s storytelling technique to tell people stories involving moral dilemmas.  In each case, he presented a
choice to be considered, for example, between the rights of some authority and the needs of some deserving individual
who is being unfairly treated.
 Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

(Pre-Conventional) (Conventional) (Post-Conventional)
3. Interpersonal accord and
1. Obedience and punishment conformity
5. Social contract orientation
orientation ( The good boy/good girl
attitude)
6. Universal ethical
2. Self-interest orientation principles
4. Authority and social-order
maintaining orientation
( What's in it for me?)
( Law and order morality)

Related Video: https://youtu.be/5czp9S4u26M (Heinz Dilemma)

“Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses.
Focus on your character, not your reputation.
Focus on your blessings, not your misfortunes.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

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