MORALITY

Vocabulary

  • Morality: Concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior, and the goodness or badness of human character.

  • Decision: The act of reaching a conclusion or making up one's mind

  • Ought: used to express duty or moral obligation

  • Must: expressing necessity

  • Should: a moral obligation (a must)

  • Conscience: This is the feeling in our mind (an inner voice) that tells us when we are about to do something or we are doing something that is wrong. This feeling is usually very intense and it can assist with our decision-making process. The conscience is believed to be a gift given by God Himself to help direct our actions. Our conscience sets in often after wrongdoing and it pushes us to correct that decision. However, even though we all may have been given a conscience, not everyone uses it as they should and some people have the power to stifle or disregard their conscience completely.

Moral language (one’s obligation): good, bad, right, wrong, ought, should, and must.

  • You OUGHT to tell the truth.

  • You MUST love your neighbor.

  • You SHOULD care for the poor.

  • A Moral Act: is an act that is considered to be right

  • An Immoral Act: is an act that is considered to be wrong

  • An Amoral Act: is an act that shows no understanding of right and wrong

  • A Non-Moral Act: is an act that is not concerned with right or wrong

  • A non-moral judgement – a view or opinion that has nothing to do with right or wrong.

Two Types of Morality Theories

  1. Absolute Morality

This belief states that if an action is considered wrong it is always wrong regardless of circumstance or situation.

For example: If someone believes that abortion is wrong, absolute morality would state that it is always wrong no matter what. Nothing can ever make it okay or right.

  1. Relative Morality

This belief states that some actions could be either right or wrong depending on the circumstance or situation. It is not saying that people who believe in relative morality believe in doing wrong. It simply means that sometimes depending on a situation an action that may have been considered wrong may be looked at as okay to carry out.

For example: The person may believe that abortion is wrong but agree that it is okay if the mother’s life is at risk.