Moral principles are guidelines that people live by to make sure they are doing the right thing. These include things like honesty, fairness, and equality. Moral principles can be different for everyone because they depend on how a person was raised and what is important to them in life.
History of Moral Principles
The history of moral principles dates back to Ancient Greece and Ancient China. Moral principles were important in these societies because they believed that to be successful, people needed a clear sense of right and wrong.
Research on moral principles began with Ancient Greek philosophers like Aristotle who wanted to figure out the meaning of virtue. Later, moral principles were studied by philosophers like John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Immanuel Kant.
In the field of psychology, moral principles have been studied in the context of moral development. Psychologists have been interested to understand how children develop a sense of morality and how moral principles are applied in different contexts. For example, psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg studied moral development in boys from different cultures.
ypes of Moral Principles
There are two types of moral principles: absolute and relative.1Absolute principles are unchanging and universal. Relative moral principles change depending on the situation.
Absolute Moral Principles
Absolute moral principles are based on universal truths about the nature of human beings. For example, murder is wrong because it goes against the natural order of things. These are also sometimes called normative moral principles, or those that are generally accepted by society. Below are some examples of absolute moral principles:
