Moral Ethics in Human Behavior - Essay Example

? MORAL ETHICS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR Module Module no: Submitted Submitted by: Section I Introduction: Ethical values maintain imperative place in everyday human behavior. It is actually moral ethics that regulate the activities of the individuals and force them to abide by the social norms, cultural values, tradition, customs and statutes of law prevailing within a social structure and political establishment as well. Moral values are the principles that determine and decide the magnitude to which a human action or behavior is right or wrong. Nature has created the call of conscience in the breast of every human, which applauds him on performing righteousness as well as condemns him on going astray from the right path. All religious beliefs and faiths vehemently look for the strict observance of ethics in order to avoid troubles and sufferings at individual level, and escape chaos and disorder in collective human life. It is therefore the philosophers, preachers and moralists lay stress upon the people to remain benevolent, compliant, self-effacing, chaste and compassionate towards the fellow humans on the one hand and all other creatures on the other. Leviticus 19 manifestly strongly orders the followers to observe honesty, virtue and chastity in order to obtain the will of the Lord and subsequently get rewarded in the world Hereinafter. “Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another. Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus, 19, 11, 13-14) Holy Jesus Christ and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them) have also preached the same teachings in the Sermon on the Mount and the Last Sermon respectively. Both Jesus and Muhammad tolerated the opposition and torture of worst kinds; they were battered, pelted with stones and garbage, and were rebuked and inflicted with pains and sufferings, but they did never take revenge even they had the power to exercise the same. Hence, they advocated the exercising of chastity, piousness and integrity in individual and collective level by suppressing the satanic enticement and temptation and compliance with the commands of God to turn successful and rewarded in the life on earth as well as in the eternal life. Illustrious philosophers of ancient Greece including Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and others reiterate the individuals to be modest, supportive and truthful towards others in their dealings both at domestic and professional levels, and do not deceive others while entering into business deals and transactions at large. Socrates lays stress upon working for the welfare of society in general without taking their character or activities in consideration. Socrates sacrificed his life but remained firm and dauntless in the face of hardships. Instead of making any compromise with the enemies of morality, justice, knowledge and wisdom, he preferred to drink hemlock and leave this mortal world in a highly dignified manner. He did not curse his bitterest opponents, and adopted extreme tolerance towards them. Plato declares virtue as the excellence of soul, and sins, according to him, hurt and spoil the soul. Plato is of the view that if a man says that justice consists in the repayment of debts, and that good is the debt which a just man owes to his friends, and evil the debt which he owes to his enemies; to say this is not wise; for it is not true, if, as has been clearly shown, the injuring of another can be in no case just. (2002: 12) Section II Theories of Morality: Moral laws are based on the obligations with regard to be good or bad in the eyes of Almighty God. The philosophers of medieval and classical eras including Descartes, Nietzsche, Kant and Hegel urge the humans to avoid materialism, avariciousness, egocentricity and falsehood; on the contrary, they strongly believe in altruism, tolerance, politeness and modesty instead of getting indulged into aggression, offensiveness, belligerence and injustices, as these moral principles bring happiness to man. These philosophers looked for the peaceful strife against inequalities and injustices, but never supported violence for the eradication of the evil existing in the society. Hence, the prophets, preachers, philosophers unflinchingly argue in favor of morality, justice and integrity in every walk of human life. Renowned German philosopher Immanuel Kant has also presented his theory of moral principles, according to which the basic rule of morality is the abiding of prevailing law without taking into consideration whether it has been passed rightly or wrongfully. Following of the statutes of law by all and sundry, according to Kant, creates discipline, uniformity, coherence and order in society, and subsequently discourages favoritism, nepotism, prejudice and chaos. Kant believed that a social life under a rule of law was a prerequisite for the rational and moral capabilities and the achievement of maximum human autonomy and freedom. (Solomon, 2003:106) The father of Socialism Karl Marx has also presented his theory of morality, according to which there should be no ground for the exploitation of haves-not at the hands of haves. Hence, Marxism is strictly against the exploitations of the individuals by the fellow humans. Marx is of the opinion that it is ethical values that keep a society in perfect order. If individuals neglect morality, the very foundations of the society, according to Marxist point of view, will go to dashes. Marxists regard the law as an ideological instrument for maintaining existing social relations, which are in turn based on control of the means of production. It is thought to be the theory and practice related to the liberation and self-emancipation of the oppressed. The theories of Marxism are based on a scientific method of thought which is called dialectal materialism. Moral beliefs are said to be grounded in cultural contexts. Culture, is a dynamic process subject to change in response to internal contradictions and critical social thought. There exist numerous positions within a culture, as well as distinctive values shared by members of a culture. Though the leading moral values in a society serves to justify the interests of the upper stratum, it is the stance that represents the interests of the oppressed that is more valid. Marxist perspective demands parity while incorporation of law in the state. People must relate to each other as independent and equal personalities in order for the products of human labour to be related to each other as values. (Pashukanis, 2004) The Marxists opine domination of individuals over the fellow beings as the bleakest aspect of moral values and declare it sure to transforming a definite part of the cost of its production, and reproduction, into a product. If there is no space for the ethical laws, the powerful will continue exploiting the weak. The introduction of ethical law to a society will bind the upper classes not to exploit the labour classes. It is morality that protects the interests of all the social classes. Section III Opposite Opinion: There exists a school of thought that takes unnecessary adopting of moral values as the sign of collapse as well as the symbol of cowardice in this world, where materialism, egocentrism and greed certainly prevail in almost all societies of the globe at large since the very beginning. Consequently, the principles of politeness and morality are mere the weapons of the cowardice and chicken-hearted people. Since gentlemen lead a modest life and stick to nobility and civility, they do not apply power or unfair means extremely essential for the protection of their rights and assets. As a result, the wicked snatch their rights and deprived them of their belongings and properties even. Moreover, the torch-bearers of morality, according to the supporters of prudence and non-tolerance against the wicked, claim to crush injustices with an iron hand. Additionally, they look for misuse of power time and again in order to realise the society of their worth and strength, so that no one could gather courage to take advantage of the meekness and humility. This school of thought does not see eye to eye with the notion that the wicked should be tolerated and provided with chances of making positive alterations in their everyday life. History is replete with the examples of might is right, where the powerful stratum has always squashed the rights of the weak and modest stratum, and they have always been the victim of the assaults of the powerful. The so called civilized countries of Europe and America invaded on African and Asian states during seventeenth century onward just for plundering their wealth and resources, and thus declared them as their colonies for the future decades to come. These powers not only inflicted their culture, language and technology, but also turned them as the market for their manufactured commodities out of the raw material produced from the subjugated countries. Hence, the purported torch-bearers of freedom, equality, fraternity, liberty and democracy smashed the principles of justice and fair play under the chariot wheels of their lust for power and wealth. . Anghie (2005) censures the powerful countries of the globe for imposing their policies upon them. He is of the view that international law supports some of the social movements which are perhaps in the interests of big powers. In the same way, it condemns those resisting forces launched by the oppressed that are contradictory to them. The western nations look into the movements of third world countries with colored spectacles. The local governments also look helpless while facing the commands directed by the super powers regarding some specific policy formulation and implementation. The contemporary world also exhibits the same where the big countries have exploited the interests of the third world countries for their personal gains and benefits at large. Thus, the weak countries certainly require strategic power to survive in the international arena in a dignified manner instead of leading a life of humiliation and instability, as the big powers impose the governments and policies of their own choice for their vested interests. Section IV Personal Experience: I have my personal experience of getting involved into the ethical values in its real sense, which proved somewhat burdensome for my personal and professional life. Since my kind parents brought me up by teaching me the religious and moral stories, I adopt the same pattern of life even in my career. I have got over twenty thousand books in inheritance, which kept me very close to the ethics that have least space in real life. It is therefore, I had to face lots of difficulties during my career as a lawyer. I looked for the strict observance of the rules prescribed in the literature, though a large majority of people deviates from the same in practical life. During my career, I found my colleagues telling lies and presenting false evidences in the support of their cases at the court of law. Production of fake and false witnesses is the order of the day, and even the so-called civilized lawyers also apply such tactics to win the legal proceeding in favour of their clients. I also observe that the people practice illegalities within the legal framework, and deprive the deserving persons of their rights and privileges. They seldom pay any heed to morality, and are thus running amuck in the pursuit of pelf, possession, power and prestige by hook or crook. I admit the very reality that the presence of moral law reminds the individuals regarding their obligations to the fellow beings. People are so absorbed in their financial activities that they altogether neglect the moral values and ethics in general. Deprivation from the resources urge individuals to revolt the code of law to snatch away all that has been kept out of their reach. Dispossession does not accept the code of law and therefore so many crimes including rape, homosexuality, forced male rape, fornication, incest and murder are the outcome of the reaction of the unfulfilled desires of the suppressed class. Presence of moral law would end a number of specific crimes. Euthanasia or the killing of another at his own request, suicide, attempted suicide and suicide pacts, dueling, abortion, incest between brother and sister, are all acts which can be done in private and without offence to others and need not involve the corruption or exploitation of others.” (Devlin, 1965:179) I supported my deserving relatives both financially and morally, and left no stone unturned to take care of them. However, in return I had to witness deceit from the nasty relatives in the name of trustworthiness. Though such obnoxious people like my relatives are also rare in society, yet the statistics reveal the very fact that an overwhelming majority of the innocent people is victimized by the blood relations, family friends, neighbors or other individuals having close association with them. However, I explore one thing i.e. the society does not look at the criminals, offenders, cheaters, deceivers and obnoxious persons with admiration. On the contrary, such nasty individuals are treated as the black mar on the very face of their society, who is responsible for challenging the very peace, tranquility and harmony of the social set up. Hence, obtaining of wealth through unfair means does not earn respect for the deviants. On the contrary, they are censured, condemned and looked down upon because of their shameful behavior while interacting with other members of their society. Section V Conclusion: It has aptly been viewed that ethics and moral values enjoy significant status in every society and culture of the world, and an overwhelming majority of the people belonging to divergent racial, ethnic, religious and cultural groups and communities applaud moral laws in their private and professional life. People revere the individuals performing benevolence towards others, and enter into social contacts as well as in business deals with the honest persons that are true to their words and do not deceive others at any cost. Although the prophets, philosophers, preachers and moralists were vehemently opposed during their life by the cruel stratum of their society, which inflicted every type of pains upon them, yet they not only achieved their targets and goals by communicating to them the word of God, but also won unabated reverence and regard even after several centuries of their departure from this mortal world of bitter reality. On the contrary, the tyrant rulers, who created hurdles and obstacles on their way, are still being rebuked and cursed by the future generations to come. Thus, morality and ethics are the noble principles that produce fruit for the noble, modest, compassionate and benevolent forever and ever. On the other hand, reward offered by the evil is temporary and fast diminishing one in nature, and eliminates very soon leaving the wrong-doer and transgressor at the perplexed state of affairs for the rest of his life. Though the virtuous are blamed, accursed, banished and deprived of their rights and due respect, yet virtue is strongly rewarded eventually from high heavens and from the members of society as well. It was society that had declared Socrates as the evil-doer, who was tempting the youth of ancient Greece to break the shackles of evil, and consequently he was forced to drink hemlock. However, the Greek are still feel pride of their great martyr, who established examples for the virtuous and modest stratum of society. The world does not know the names of the murderers of the prophets, saints and preachers; though everyone tries to exhibit his affiliations with the torch-bearers of tolerance, mercy, love, justice and truthfulness. Thus, evil always offers temporary benefits; while virtue observes long term respect, reverence and rewards. Additionally, breaking of moral values and revolting from the prevailing law causes disorder in society, which is actually the outcome of the wrath of God because of disobeying the Lord and inflicting pains to the fellow-beings. According to Hobbes nature always guides humanity to seek peace in the first hand. On not complying with this law and revolting from peace, disintegration and chaos are created in a society, which may cause civil war within the state. (Quoted in Porter, 1997: 331) It is therefore I strictly adopt the noble principles of ethics and morality in my everyday routine life, where there is no place for treachery, disloyalty, insincerity and absence of fulfillment of the commitment I generally make with the people at large. References Anghie, Antony. (2005) Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law Cambridge University Press 31-210 Devlin, Lord Patrick. (1965) The Enforcement of Morals. Pashukanis, Evgeny (1924/2004) The General Theory of Law and Marxism Porter, Jene M. (1997) Classics in Political Philosophy. Second Edition. Prentice-Hall Canada. 293-402 Solomon, Benjamin.(2003) Kant's Perpetual Peace: A New Look at this Centuries-Old Quest. The Online Journal of Peace and Conflict Resolution Summer 5.1 ISSN: 1522-211X | Retrieved from www.trinstitute.org/ojpcr/5_1solomon.htm 106-126 Leviticus Chapter 19 Retrieved from http://www.bartleby.com/108/03/19.html Read More