Moral Standards vs Non-Moral Standards

hello my fila notes friends with our simple white bird presentations we hope to help you in learning the key topics of philosophy in an incredibly easy way say if you'd want to learn more about philosophy and you're new here don't forget to subscribe just click the subscribe button below and tap the bell so you get notified of our newest whiteboard edition today we won't talk about an important topic in ethics that is about moral standards versus non moral ones to start off one may ask the question why the need to distinguish moral standards from non moral ones it is important to note that different societies have different moral beliefs and that our beliefs are deeply influenced by our own culture and context for this reason some values do have moral implications while others don't let us consider for example the wearing of a hijab for sure in traditional Muslim communities the wearing of hijab is the most appropriate act that women have to do in terms of dressing up in fact for some Muslims showing parts of a woman's body such as the face and legs is despicable however in many parts of the world especially in Western societies most people don't mind if women barely cover their bodies as a matter of fact the Hollywood Canon of beauty glorifies a sexy and slim body and the wearing of extremely daring dress the point here is that people in the West may have pitted Muslim women who wear hijab while some Muslims may find women who dress up daringly despicable and so this clearly shows that different cultures have different moral standards what is a matter of moral indifference that is a matter of taste in one culture may be a matter of moral significance in another now the danger here is that one culture may impose its own cultural standards and others which may result in a clash in cultural values and beliefs when this happens as we may already know violence and crime ian-sue such as religious violence and ethnic cleansing so how can we address this cultural conundrum this is where the importance of understanding the difference between moral standards and non moral ones comes in this issue may be too obvious and insignificant for some people but understanding the difference between the two may have far-reaching implications for one once we have distinguished moral standards from non moral ones of course through the aid of the principles and theories and ethics we will be able to identify fundamental ethical values that made guide our actions indeed once we know that particular values and beliefs are non moral we will be able to avoid running the risk of falling into the pit of cultural reductionism and the necessary imposition of one's own cultural standards on others the point here is that if such standards are non moral then we don't have the right to impose them on others but if such standards are moral ones such as not killing or harming people then we may have the right to force others to act accordingly in this way we may be able to find a common moral ground such as agreeing not to steal cheap kill harm and deceive our fellow human beings now what are moral standards and how do they differ from non moral ones moral standards are norms that individuals or groups have about the kinds of actions believed to be morally right or wrong as well as the values placed and what we believe to be morally good or morally bad moral standards normally promote the good that is the welfare and well-being of humans as well as animals in the environment moral standards therefore prescribe what the humans ought to do in terms of rights and obligations according to some scholars moral standards are the sum of combined norms and values in other words norms plus values equal moral standards on the one hand norms are understood as general rules about our actions or behaviors for example we may say we are always under the obligation to fulfill our promises or it is always believed that killing innocent people is absolutely wrong on the other hand values are understood as enduring beliefs or statements about what is good and desirable or not for example we may say helping the poor is good or cheating during exams is bad according to many scholars moral standards have the following characteristics first moral standards deal with matters we think can seriously injure or benefit humans animals in the environment such as child abuse rape and murder second moral standards are not established or changed by the decisions of authoritative individuals or bodies indeed moral standards rest on the adequacy of the reasons that are taken to support and justify them for sure we don't need a law to back up our moral conviction that killing innocent people is absolutely wrong third moral standards are overriding that is they take precedence over other standards and considerations especially of self-interest fourth moral standards are based on impartial considerations hence moral standards are fair and just and lastly moral standards are associated with special emotions and vocabulary non moral standards on the other hand referred to standards by which we judge what is good or bad and right or wrong in a non moral way examples of non moral standards are standards of etiquette by which we judge manners as good or bad standards we call the law by which we judge something as legal or illegal and standards of esthetics by which we judge art as good or rubbish hence we should not confuse morality etiquette law 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 one a moral person violation of said standards also does not pose any threat to human well-being finally may this serve as an example of a way of distinguishing moral standards from non moral ones if a moral standard says do not harm innocent people or don't steal a non moral standard says don't text while driving or don't talk while the mouth is full all right that's it for today keep looking forward to our series of daily whiteboard additions as we try to make the learning and understanding of philosophy incredibly easy thanks for joining us today in this edition of our daily whiteboard here at filo notes full transcript of this video is available at feel or notes com to keep you updated if our daily whiteboard additions here at filo notes just click here and subscribe until then thanks take care [Music]

Channel: PHILO-notes

Views: 225,671

Keywords: Moral Standards, Non-Moral Standards, Morals, Values, Norms, Moral Implication

Id: SVYcETMuJg8

Length: 8min 46sec (526 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 26 2018