Morality System

A Morality System is a normative system that is a decisioning system that provides moral principles, moral rules, and moral frameworks to guide moral agents in making moral decisions and moral judgments.

• AKA: Moral System, Ethical System, Moral Framework, Ethics System.
• Context:
  • It can typically establish Moral Principles for right action determination.
  • It can typically define Moral Rules for behavioral guidance.
  • It can typically provide Moral Criteria for action evaluation.
  • It can typically specify Moral Values for priority setting.
  • It can typically guide Moral Reasoning through ethical frameworks.
  • ...
  • It can often prescribe Moral Duties for moral agents.
  • It can often determine Moral Rights within social contexts.
  • It can often address Moral Dilemmas through resolution principles.
  • It can often establish Moral Sanctions for norm violations.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Formal Morality System to being a Personal Morality System, depending on its morality system codification level.
  • It can range from being an Abstract Morality System to being an Applied Morality System, depending on its morality system specificity.
  • It can range from being a Universal Morality System to being a Relative Morality System, depending on its morality system scope.
  • It can range from being a Religious Morality System to being a Secular Morality System, depending on its morality system foundation.
  • It can range from being a Deontological Morality System to being a Consequentialist Morality System, depending on its morality system evaluation focus.
  • ...
  • It can support Moral Arguments through ethical reasoning.
  • It can enable Moral Decision-Making via decision criteria.
  • It can facilitate Moral Education through principle transmission.
  • It can undergo Moral Evolution through cultural change.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Philosophical Morality Systems, such as:
    • Consequentialist Morality Systems evaluating action outcomes, including:
      • Utilitarian Morality System maximizing overall happiness or well-being.
      • Ethical Egoism System prioritizing self-interest.
      • Act Consequentialism evaluating individual actions by consequences.
    • Deontological Morality Systems emphasizing moral duty, including:
      • Kantian Ethics System based on categorical imperatives.
      • Rights-Based Morality System protecting fundamental rights.
      • Divine Command Theory grounding moral obligations in divine will.
    • Virtue Ethics Systems focusing on moral character, including:
      • Aristotelian Virtue Ethics cultivating human flourishing.
      • Stoic Ethics System emphasizing emotional control and wisdom.
      • Care Ethics System prioritizing relational responsibility.
  • Religious Morality Systems, such as:
    • Christian Ethics System based on biblical teachings and divine love.
    • Islamic Ethics System following Quranic principles and prophetic traditions.
    • Buddhist Ethics System emphasizing compassion and non-harm.
    • Jewish Ethics System combining Torah law with rabbinic interpretation.
    • Hindu Ethics System incorporating dharma and karma principles.
  • Professional Morality Systems, such as:
    • Medical Ethics System governing healthcare practices.
    • Legal Ethics System regulating legal profession conduct.
    • Business Ethics System guiding corporate behavior.
    • Research Ethics System ensuring scientific integrity.
    • Engineering Ethics System prioritizing public safety.
  • Cultural Morality Systems, such as:
    • Indigenous Morality Systems emphasizing community harmony.
    • Confucian Ethics System prioritizing social hierarchy and filial piety.
    • Ubuntu Philosophy System valuing collective humanity.
  • Applied Morality Systems, such as:
    • Environmental Ethics System addressing human-nature relations.
    • AI Ethics System governing artificial intelligence development.
    • Bioethics System regulating biotechnology applications.
    • Global Ethics System addressing transnational moral issues.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Legal Systems, which enforce legal rules through state authority rather than moral principles.
  • Social Convention Systems, which establish behavioral norms through custom rather than moral reasoning.
  • Economic Systems, which allocate resources through market mechanisms rather than moral considerations.
  • Scientific Method Systems, which pursue empirical truth rather than moral truth.
  • Aesthetic Systems, which evaluate beauty and artistic merit rather than moral worth.
• See: Normative System, Ethics Discipline, Moral Philosophy, Applied Ethics, Meta-Ethics, Moral Agent, Moral Decision.

---

---

References

2015

• (Damon & Colby, 2015) ⇒ William Damon, and Anne Colby. (2015). “The Power of Ideals: The Real Story of Moral Choice."
  • QUOTE: We consider morality to be the vast realm of social actions, intentions, emotions, and judgments aimed at providing benefits (and preventing damage) to people, society, and the world beyond the self. It's a multilayered system of prosocial acts ...

2014

• (Wikipedia, 2014) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morality Retrieved:2014-6-22.
  • Morality (from the Latin "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).Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of conduct from a particular philosophy, religion, culture, etc., or it can derive from a standard that a person believes should be universal. 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), while amorality is variously defined as an unawareness of, indifference toward, or disbelief in any set of moral standards or principles. Moral philosophy includes moral ontology, or the origin of morals, as well as moral epistemology, or what we know about morals. Different systems of expressing morality have been proposed, including deontological ethical systems which adhere to a set of established rules, and normative ethical systems which consider the merits of actions themselves. An example of normative ethical philosophy is the Golden Rule which states that, "One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself."

---