In English / Senior High School | 2025-08-26

Nominal Duration: 1.5 hours Learning Outcomes:Upon completion of this topic, the student must be able to:differentiate Moral from Non-moral standards;cite the metaphors for moral standards; andexplain the characteristics of moral standards.IntroductionMoral Standards are principles, norms or models an individual or a group has about what is right or wrong, what is good or bad. It is an indication of how human beings ought to exercise their freedom. Norms are expressed as general rules about our actions or behaviors. Some examples are: “Take responsibility for your actions”; “Always tell the truth”; “Treat others as you want to be treated”; “It is wrong to kill innocent people”. Values are underlying beliefs and ideals that are expressed as enduring beliefs or statements about what is good and desirable or not. Some examples are: “Honesty is good”; “Injustice is bad.” Moral Standards are a combination of norms and values. They are the norms about the kinds of actions believed to be morally right or wrong, as well as, the values placed on what we believe to be morally good and morally bad. In other words, they point us towards achievable ideals (De Guzman, 2018).What moral standards do? First, they promote human welfare or well-being; second, they promote the “good” (animals, environment, and future generations); and third, they prescribe what humans ought to do in terms of a.) Rights (responsibilities to society); and b.) Obligations (specific values/virtues).Non-Moral or Conventional Standards are standards by which we judge what is good or bad and right or wrong in a non-moral way. Some examples are: good or bad manners, etiquettes, house rules, technical standards in building structures, rules of behavior set by parents, teachers, other authorities, the law, standards of grammar or language, standards of art, rules of sports, and judgments on the way to do things. Hence, we should not confuse morality with etiquette, law, and aesthetics or even with religion. As we can see, non-moral standards are matters of taste or preference. Hence, a scrupulous observance of these types of standards does not make an individual a moral person. Violation of said standards also does not pose any threat to human well-being.Some individuals may have heard the term “Amoral” (n.d). What makes this word different from the descriptions above? It means not influenced by right and wrong. If a person who is immoral acts against his conscience, a person who is amoral does not have a conscience to act against in the first place. Infants could be said to be amoral since they have not yet developed a mature mind to understand right and wrong. Some extreme sociopaths are also amoral, since they lack a conscience as a result of a cognitive disorder. In other words, an immoral person has a sense of right and wrong but fails to live up to those moral standards. An amoral person has no sense of right and wrong and does not recognize any moral standard.Another word that needs clarification is the adjective “Unmoral” (n.d.). It refers to something to which right and wrong are not applicable, such as animals, forces of nature, and machines. For example, Typhoons cause damages to properties and loss of lives but they are unmoral, since they are formed by unconscious natural processes that exist outside the bounds of morality. When talking about non-moral agents, such as animals or weather patterns, we use unmoral.​

Asked by johnclartc