1.1 Moral culture as a philosophical and pedagogical problem
Modern science covers the most diverse areas of human life and activity, penetrating the secrets of the laws of nature and society. But one of the most attractive, important and complex objects of knowledge is culture and its bearer and creator - man. Culture has many sources: everything that happens in the world, in society, in politics, and everything that happens in a social group, in a family, and all personal experience, and everything that the people teach, and literature, and art. Only by drawing from universal human cultural values can one become a person of high culture.
The economic and socio-cultural situation in the Republic of Belarus at the stage of transition to a socially oriented economy, civil society and the rule of law has complicated the process of educating younger generations. Among them, social anxiety, uncertainty, aggressiveness and cruelty began to appear more and more; the number of students with deviant behavior has increased. In many ways, this became possible due to the decrease in the educational potential of educational institutions since the beginning of the 90s: in educational work, formalism has still not been eliminated, which consists in the mechanical assimilation and use of certain provisions, norms and rules of behavior without their conscious assimilation and the ability to independently apply them in life. Formalism also manifests itself in template planning educational work and sports and recreational activities, lack of analysis carried out with students.
In this regard, the task of identifying new theoretical, methodological and practical approaches to modern education, which are reflected in the “Concept of raising children and students in the Republic of Belarus,” has become urgent. The goal of education is also indicated - the formation of a social, spiritual and morally mature creative personality - with a high level of culture, possessing creative potential, capable of self-development and self-regulation, with the inherent qualities of a citizen, patriot, worker and family man. Awareness of the intrinsic value of human life, orientation towards the revival of spiritual moral values determines the education strategy, in the implementation of which main role culture plays. It is the culturological approach that makes it possible to make culture the content, and education the process of cultural creation. Since moral and ethical culture is a basic component of personal culture, the most important task of education is the moral development of the individual, which presupposes students’ awareness of the fact of interaction in the world of many cultures with their ideals, spiritual and moral values; mastering concepts of culture, morality, spirituality; education of moral qualities and experience of moral behavior.
“The 21st century will be the century of humanitarian culture, if there is one at all.”
These words belong to the famous French philosopher K. Levi-Strauss, and their meaning is that humanity may not have a future if it does not turn its interest to the humanitarian development of the individual, the moral aspects of his life.
The problem of moral culture is located on the border of ethics and cultural theory. Currently, there are two approaches to revealing the essence of the concept of “moral culture”. The first begins with revealing the essence of the generic concept - “culture”, and the second approach - the specific one - “morality”.
To get an idea of what moral culture is, first of all, you need to turn to the etymology of the word “culture”. IN ancient world
of the past paid a lot of attention to the problem of culture. In the works of Cicero (106-43 BC) the concept of “cultura animi” is found, which can be translated as “processing, improvement of the soul.” He wrote: “Just as a fruitful field without cultivation does not produce a harvest, so does the soul. Cultivating the soul is philosophy: it weeds out vices in the soul, prepares the soul to receive sowing and entrusts, so to speak, only those seeds that, having ripened, bring a bountiful harvest.” In ancient times, the understanding of culture came down to the recognition in its composition of the inextricable unity of Truth, Goodness and Beauty. This eternal triad subsequently gave birth modern science
The great German philosopher I. Kant (1724-1804), although he recognized the triad of ideas at the heart of the universe - Truth, Goodness and Beauty - came, however, primarily to a moral awareness of the concept of “culture”. His statement is widely known: “Two things always fill the soul with new and ever stronger surprise and awe, the more often and longer we reflect on them - this is the starry sky above me and the moral law in me.”
Another outstanding German scientist G. Hegel (1770-1831) assessed culture as a natural development, the gradual revelation of the creative power of the “world mind” existing outside of man, identified with God.
The great thinker N.K. Roerich interpreted the word “culture” as a fusion of two foundations: cult - veneration and ur - light. He believed that “only the introduction of Light destroys darkness.” This is precisely the main aspect of culture, i.e. bringing Light into all spheres of human life and activity, including education. N.K. Roerich stated: “There is no place for frivolity in culture. It is culture that is conscious cognition, spiritual sophistication and persuasiveness.”
In modern domestic and foreign literature the term “culture” is used as a process of humanization, cultivating the natural world and man himself; the result of the process of cultivation; means of cultivation.
Thus, it can be argued that culture is the process and result of education and upbringing, since it implies improvement, ennoblement of the physical, and, mainly, spiritual powers of man and society, i.e. cultivation of the spirit.
This approach can also be seen in V.I.’s definition of culture. Dahlem: "Culture - processing and care, cultivation, education, mental and moral".
This position is also confirmed by the German philosopher L. Feuerbach (1804-1872). He said that “it is not the flesh, but the spirit that makes a person a person.”
Thus, it should be noted that the Latin term "culture" in relation to man is also cultivation, improvement and formation.
Currently, there are several hundred definitions of culture. Culture is a historically determined level of development of society, creative powers and abilities of a person, expressed in the types and forms of organization of people’s lives and activities, in their relationships, as well as in the material and spiritual values they create /
Culture is a specific way of organizing and developing human activity, represented in the products of material and spiritual labor, in spiritual values, in the totality of people’s relationships with nature and among themselves.
Culture in education is a meaningful component, a source of knowledge about nature, society, methods of activity, a person’s emotional-volitional and value-based attitude towards people around him, work, communication, etc. .
Taking these definitions into account, we will understand culture as the process, means and result of education and upbringing.
The concept of moral culture is also closely related to the terms “morality” and “morality”, which are essentially synonymous.
The etymological meaning of the concept of “morality” is associated with the explanation of the Latin word “moralis”, which means “moral” as a system of principles and norms of behavior that determine the relationships of people to each other, to society and individual classes, and as rules of moral behavior /
However, the obvious discrepancy between the normative-value, ideal side of morality and real moral relations has given rise to some researchers (A.A. Guseinov, A.K. Zvejnieks, etc.) to fill these concepts with different semantic content. As a rule, attempts to distinguish between the concepts of “morality” and “morality” come down to the relationship between what is and what should be, where the sphere of morality appears as a set of norms, principles and values, and morality, in turn, is characterized as the relative embodiment of moral consciousness in real relationships and activities.
For the first time, a theoretical justification for the separation of the concepts of morality and morality was proposed by Hegel, who believed that they should describe various phenomena of spiritual life. By morality he understood the subjective significance of human behavior, and morality is a practical relationship embodied in the historical experience of the family, civil society and the state.
According to A.A. Guseinov, the following arguments can be considered in favor of separating these terms. Firstly, the individual is included in the moral definition directly, morality is sanctified by tradition, morality as an expression of inner conviction is evidence of the spirit. Secondly, morality coincides with actually practiced forms of behavior; morality is a subjective obligation. Thirdly, morality expresses the point of view of the community (family, state, society), and morality is an expression of individual will.
Teachers I.F. Kharlamov, B.T. Likhachev, V.A. Slastenin believe that such a division, although somewhat artificial, has its own logic. However, in this work we will consider the concepts of morality and ethics as synonyms. The synonymy of “morality” and “morality” has deeper roots, and linguistic practice testifies to their equivalence.
Interest in personality, in the problem of its formation in the history of human thought, has always been great and has intensified even more in turning points development of society, when there was a need to find ways out of the crisis.
Although the concept of moral culture appeared in the mid-20th century, the roots of this concept go back to ancient times. Already in antiquity, questions of morality, moral behavior, moral ideal, and moral person arose.
So Socrates (469-399 BC) absolutizes morality and considers it the foundation a decent life, the basis of culture. For him best way self-realization of a person - his moral activity. Emphasizing the importance of moral self-improvement of the individual, Socrates argued that only a moral person can be happy.
The ethical concept of Plato (427-347 BC) contains the doctrine of the intellectual and moral improvement of man. The philosopher does not imagine the morality of an individual apart from his connection with society, i.e. the content of individual existence must be socially significant.
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC) first spoke about a special practical science of morality, the purpose of which is to teach a person how to become virtuous (happy). Unlike Plato, Aristotle denies the innate nature of virtues, which gives him the opportunity to talk about the problem moral education. For him moral person- one who is guided by reason coupled with virtues. He argued the following: “If we move forward in the field of knowledge and not morality, then we are moving not forward, but backward.” Aristotle's thought is still relevant today, when our society is concerned about the moral character of the younger generation.
The Middle Ages is characterized by the fact that the basis for the interpretation of morality is not reason, but religious faith. Against the background of the idea of love, it receives its expression “ Golden Rule morality": "And so in everything, as you want people to do to you, so do you to them...".
During the Renaissance, it acquired great value human personality. Renaissance Man - bright personality who acts as the creator of her life and destiny. The Renaissance is also distinguished by its appeal to social, civic themes, the role of which in the moral culture of society during the Middle Ages was small.
Thus, N. Machiavelli (1469-1527) denies the leading role of religion in the formation of a morally perfect personality, arguing that this is the prerogative of the strong centralized state.
Thomas More (1478-1533) believed that the priority social task is the education of morality, i.e. fostering feelings of justice, selflessness, humanity and honesty. Thus, a person should be educated in the spirit of morality, which is in the interests of society.
The subject of study in the era of New Time is the surrounding nature, hence the reduction of morality from heaven to earth; thinkers are faced with questions of substantiating the moral worth of the individual.
Already Spinoza (1635-1677) speaks of the enormous importance of knowledge in the moral improvement of the individual.
French educators consider moral standards to be directly dependent on civil rights and responsibilities of individuals, i.e. everything is extremely socialized. So for John Locke (1632-1704) a moral man is a citizen, a gentleman who “should be useful to his country.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), considering man weak in his rational knowledge, elevated him in moral dignity. He saw the goal of education in the formation of not an official, not a soldier, but a person. He believed that: “in the sphere of moral ideas one must advance as slowly as possible; the lessons of morality should lie in actions, not in speeches. According to Zh.Zh. Rousseau, only in the period from 15 years to adulthood (25 years) does the formation of moral character take place young man. During these years, he becomes acquainted with the customs of societies.
A distinctive feature of Russian philosophers of the late 19th century is their boundless faith in the spiritual and moral development of man. They did not consider morality abstractly, only from the point of view of the ideal of human spirituality, but put into this concept the real actions of the individual.
A moral person, according to S.N. Trubetskoy, cannot be cut off from other people and live only by his own interests for himself alone. “A moral principle is alive only when it truly inspires a person and is embodied in his actions.”
I. Kant proceeded from the fact that morality is possible only if a person fulfills his duty, therefore the culture of morality will consist in its perfect fulfillment. The culture of morality itself largely depends on the internal motivation of human activity. Only an action that follows from a sense of duty can be moral. Motivation for activity significantly determines the moral culture of an individual.
Franz Baader, German romantic XIX century, believed that the goal of moral culture is purification, enlightenment, and sharpening of the inner vision of the individual. It lies in the constant striving for the miracle of spiritual improvement. If it does not manifest itself either in public or in individual life, then this means that “man and people are corrupt and alien to the spirit.”
Having considered the points of view of two authors, we can notice that, when talking about the concept of moral culture, they place the main emphasis on the internal, motivational side of an individual’s morality. The fundamental characteristic of moral culture is the orientation towards spiritual improvement. The emphasis on this aspect of moral culture is extremely important, but it seems possible to include other significant characteristics spiritual world of the individual, which are described by this concept.
The trends in the development of philosophical thought that emerged at the end of the 19th century are also developing in the 20th century. In Western Europe, such movements as positivism, pragmatism, existentialism and others appear.
Thus, an adherent of pragmatism, Charles Pierce (1839-1914), criticized irrationalism and dogmatism, which absolutize moral values as eternal and unchangeable.
J. Dewey (1859-1952) noted that a person gradually solves specific problems to achieve goals that meet his volitional impulses. The role of reason in this case is to choose adequate means leading to achieving the goals. These means and actions will be moral.
Pragmatism views morality as a source of internal discontent, as a means of achieving mental comfort and satisfaction with life; addressing the problems of moral existence and civil status of the individual in society has become more relevant.
The process of moral education of the individual and the formation of moral culture has become the subject of research by many foreign and domestic scientists and teachers.
Huge contribution Soviet teacher V.A. contributed to the development of moral education of the younger generation. Sukhomlinsky (1918-1970). He presented the algorithm for the formation of moral culture as the relationship of the following components: awareness and acceptance of the norms of universal morality; education of feelings; formation of moral habits; managing your desires; formation of motives (motives) for moral actions.
Thus, the goal and main result of organizing the process of moral education, the main indicator of its effectiveness is the formation of a moral culture of the individual.
According to V.A. Sukhomlinsky, the moral culture of an individual is a facet, a moment of a person’s social essence, reflecting the moral potential of an individual, which lies in the awareness of a socially significant connection with the world and other people, as well as in specific ways of mastering and reproducing moral relations.
Importance practical activities N.I. also emphasizes Boldyrev He believed that the inclusion of personality in various types of activities creates the opportunity to form moral consciousness, develop moral feelings, develop skills and habits of demonstrating moral qualities. He also paid special attention to the purposeful acquisition of knowledge by students moral standards and principles.
Famous teacher I.F. Kharlamov focuses on the formation of moral qualities of the individual. In his opinion, an important role is played by a system of explaining the significance of a specific moral norm for an individual, organizing appropriate activities and exercises to develop skills, abilities and habits of moral behavior.
Revealing the essence and content of the modern concept of “personal moral culture” requires an analysis of existing views on the problem.
Some authors (L.M. Arkhangelsky, V. Vichev, V.M. Sokolov, V. Blyumkin and others) consider moral culture as unity, as the connection and interaction of consciousness and behavior, as the harmony of the culture of moral consciousness and moral aspects of behavior. A.S. Zubra identifies moral culture with the moral maturity of the individual, with the degree of assimilation of moral norms. I.I. Kazimirskaya, N.E. Shchurkov reduce moral culture to “moral activity”, including in its content moral relations, moral consciousness and moral behavior.
In other words, in the content aspect, there is basically no difference between the above theses about the place of moral consciousness and realized moral behavior as the main content of moral culture. At the same time, some of the authors mentioned above do not include moral skills, traditions, customs, and feelings in moral culture. Thus, the content of the concept is narrowed to a certain extent. And here it is important to emphasize that without a developed culture of moral feelings, without formed moral skills and habits, ethical knowledge “does not work.” Therefore, finding more precise definition the essence of moral culture requires consideration of the individual as a whole.
The views of R. Zimaitis and L. Greenberg are different in this regard. Thus, R. Zhimaitis emphasizes that at the empirical level the concept of “moral culture” is an indicator of a unique area of moral values and, at the same time, a way of realizing these values in people’s behavior.
In continuation of these thoughts, L. Greenberg notes that moral culture could be considered as the degree of acquired progressive moral values and mastery of the skills for their implementation in spiritual activity and moral practice. Therefore, it necessarily includes a component of personal self-esteem and moral reflex. L.M. Arkhangelsky interprets moral culture as the unity and interaction of consciousness and behavior, as the process of transforming objectively existing cultural values into personal culture.
Other authors (Yu.M. Smolentsev, V.A. Bachinin and others) consider moral culture as an indicator of an individual’s morality, reflecting the achieved level of human development. So, according to A.S. Laptenka, the moral culture of a person is a qualitative characteristic moral development personality. It reflects the degree to which an individual has mastered the moral experience of society, and the extent to which this experience is embodied in behavior and relationships with other people.
According to the Bulgarian scientist E. Rangelova, the moral culture of an individual is the totality of acquired knowledge and formed beliefs, norms and principles of life, experienced moral feelings, emotions (positive and negative), acquired moral skills, attitudes and relationships with people and society, formed moral qualities and ideals, ability and moral creativity and the fight against immoral, inhumane phenomena.
A.S. Zubra considers the moral culture of an individual as a unity of moral feelings and intellect. Elements of the sensory level of moral consciousness are one of the specific forms of moral attitude towards the world, people, and work. Rational elements appear in the form of principles, ideals, categories, norms, ideas about what is proper and just, personal and social; they more clearly express the degree of moral culture of the individual.
If we turn to the dictionary on ethics, then we will find the following definition of a person’s moral culture: the moral culture of a person is the degree to which an individual perceives the moral consciousness and culture of society, an indicator of how deeply and organically the requirements of morality are embodied in a person’s actions thanks to the formative influence of society and self-education.
Thus, the moral culture of an individual is a complex program that includes the mastered experience of humanity, which helps to act morally in traditional situations, as well as creative elements of consciousness - moral reason, intuition, which contribute to making a moral decision in problematic situations.
When determining the main components and corresponding elements of a unified structure of moral culture, some authors (V.M. Sokolov) are guided by the disclosure of the essence of the cognitive process and the features of its implementation in the development of the individual. They reveal the structure of moral culture in the following order: ethical knowledge; moral qualities, principles and beliefs; skills and abilities to exercise moral action; everyday active moral manifestations of the individual.
Other authors (V.A. Blyumkin, V. Vichev, N.B. Krylova) analyze moral culture as a structure with two main components - moral behavior and consciousness or with three components (L.M. Arkhangelsky, R. Zhimaitis) - moral consciousness, moral relations, moral activity. There is no significant difference here. Rather, it depends on which component (consciousness or behavior) is given first place in the structure and why.
The third group of authors (I.I. Kazimirskaya, A.S. Laptenok, B.T. Likhachev, E.N. Rangelova) recognizes three main components of moral culture - a culture of moral consciousness, a culture of moral feelings, and a culture of behavior. But both in theoretical and practical terms, it is difficult to separate moral feelings from moral consciousness. In addition to views on moral and immoral behavior, moral consciousness includes moral values, goals, ideals and moral feelings.
An analysis of the presented theoretical positions gives grounds to conclude that each of the mentioned authors contributed to the explanation of the essence of the concept of “moral culture”. What they have in common is an understanding of the moral culture of the individual as a whole. Its individual components and elements are necessary characteristics and can only be revealed in the holistic structure of the phenomenon.
Thus, in our work, by the moral culture of an individual we will understand the implementation of a culture of moral consciousness and moral feelings in activity, which leads to the formation of a culture of moral behavior (Fig. 1.1)
The problem of moral culture lies on the border of ethics and cultural theory. Study of philosophical and pedagogical literature showed that there are two approaches to revealing the essence of the concept of “moral culture”. The first begins with revealing the essence of the generic concept - “culture”, and the second approach - the specific one - “morality”.
Culture is a specific way of organizing and developing human activity, represented in the products of material and spiritual labor, in spiritual values, in the totality of people’s relationships with nature and among themselves.
Morality is a specific type of regulation of human relations; it is a set of norms of behavior, communication and relationships accepted in a particular society.
As for “moral (moral) culture,” it characterizes what has become part of life practice, shows the level of perception in the public consciousness and the degree of embodiment of values.
Moral culture characterizes morality, which is limited by the historical conditions of its real embodiment, as N.N. Krutova, “morality in action.” It shows the real level of inclusion of moral values in the practice of human relations.
Currently, there is no single point of view on the definition of the concept of “personal moral culture.” Moral culture of a person is:
Unity, connection and interaction of consciousness and behavior, harmony of culture of moral consciousness and moral aspects of behavior (L.M. Arkhangelsky, V. Vichev, etc.);
The degree of acquired moral values and mastery of skills for their implementation in spiritual activity and moral practice (L. Greenberg, R. Zhimaitis);
An indicator of an individual’s morality, reflecting the achieved level of human development (V.A. Bachinin, A.S. Laptenok, etc.).
1. Moral consciousness, moral activity, moral relations (L.M. Arkhangelsky).
2. Moral consciousness and behavior (V.A. Blyumkin).
3. Ethical thinking, moral feelings, moral behavior (A.S. Laptenok).
From the presented positions in considering the structure of moral culture, we can conclude that the moral culture of an individual is a single structure and it is impossible to talk about its formation in the absence of at least one of the elements.
Moral culture is a synthesizing characteristic of a person’s spiritual qualities. It covers all spheres of a person, both spiritual and volitional, all his behavioral manifestations, being an integral characteristic of the personality; determines the existence and functioning of a person in accordance with a system of moral values, principles, norms, ideals, needs and abilities. Thus, the proposed options for the structure of moral culture can be used when solving problems at the personal level modern teenager.
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This type of culture is one of the main foundations of the spiritual life of society. Along with law, the sphere of morality acts as the main mechanism for regulating human behavior, creating examples of “unwritten”, spontaneously formed (unlike law) norms and rules of behavior.
There is a moral culture practical implementation morality - a special form of social consciousness that regulates relations between people using a system of norms, principles, ideals and values.
Moral norms are rules of behavior, the violation of which, in the opinion of society (group), is evil. They are formulated as specific rules of action: give up your seat to elders, say hello when you meet, don’t offend younger people, don’t be late, don’t use obscene language, wear a burqa, don’t kill, don’t steal.
Moral (moral) principles (egoism, altruism, humanism, collectivism, individualism, asceticism, dedication, exactingness) set the direction of moral activity.
Moral (moral) ideals create an image of a morally perfect person and express the ultimate goal of actions. Thus, the Christian moral ideal is embodied in the image of Christ - the teacher of justice and the great martyr.
The highest moral (moral) values act as personal guidelines for life, the extremely general goals of the moral activity of each person. It's about about such values as happiness, the meaning of life, freedom. It is the highest moral values that are the supreme regulator of moral behavior, feelings and thoughts.
Moral culture, based on morality as a form of social consciousness, realizes itself in ideas, feelings and actions. Morality functions at the level of theoretical justification of moral norms, values, ideals, as well as in the form of a person’s subjective understanding of moral values, assessments, and motives of behavior.
Moral culture is a historical phenomenon. Each era and each nation creates its own ideas about good and evil and its own mechanisms for the functioning of morality. Thus, in traditional societies, moral norms and values are considered unchangeable, and their acceptance occurs virtually without personal choice (there is no alternative). IN modern society moral values often appear to be created by man himself, without the participation of others, i.e. they are in the nature of individual choice. However, in both the first and second cases, the system of moral ideals and norms has a stable core, which consists of universal human moral norms and values.
Moral culture functions at the level of society as a whole, various subcultural formations and the individual. The moral culture of an individual reflects the degree to which a person has mastered the moral experience of society, the ability to consistently implement moral values and principles in actions, and readiness for self-improvement. Externally, a culture of moral behavior is manifested in the compliance of actions and words with the norms that society has developed. But they will be strictly moral only if they are committed on the basis of moral motivation and in accordance with moral principles, i.e. when ethical knowledge coincides with moral motives and actions. It is possible to say that moral culture has become an internal component of the individual only when the moral norms and values of society turn into beliefs. The moral culture of an individual presupposes a person’s ability to understand the feelings and motives of his actions, the ability to relate them to the interests of other people.
Formation of moral culture society includes the consolidation of spontaneously formed norms of behavior and ideals in their theoretical justification, corresponding to the spirit of the times. A necessary component of the process of forming a moral culture is the dissemination and implementation of existing moral knowledge and requirements into the consciousness of people through training, education, traditions, customs, organization of mass forms of communication, etc. In the process of forming a moral culture, each society creates certain mechanisms for the reproduction of moral values through public opinion, various shapes control, example, etc.
Regulation and management of moral processes in society is carried out through the system moral education, which today is not uniform in content, because in a socially differentiated society, on the basis of generally accepted morality, there are different types of morality: secular, religious, philistine, professional.
Moral education is carried out in several directions:
- forming a connection with society, coordinating personal behavior with its norms;
- familiarization with moral ideals and the norms of society;
- assimilation of external culture of behavior;
- formation of socially acceptable moral habits;
- formation of stable moral feelings (conscience, duty, dignity, shame) and qualities (honesty, integrity);
- transformation of knowledge into moral beliefs.
To achieve these tasks, we use various methods. Basic methods of moral education: conviction, positive example, approval (from gesture and tone to declared gratitude), condemnation, organization of morally positive activities, self-education.
Formation of moral culture in modern Belarusian society has its own characteristics. The social transformations that took place during the years of “perestroika” and after it led to the destruction of previous spiritual foundations, moral norms and principles. This situation was a source of moral nihilism, disregard for moral standards.
It should be noted that the weakening of the mechanisms of moral regulation is generally due to the characteristics of modern culture. The cult of technology in the 20th century led to the increasing development of technocratic thinking, in which moral orientations fade into the background.
Urbanization processes have led to an increase in the anonymity of life. IN big city mechanisms of social control (condemnation of immoral behavior, boycott, public opinion, etc.) are increasingly weakened, and legal regulation of relations between people comes to the fore.
All these factors have led to the fact that the task of spiritual revival has become urgent in modern Belarusian society. Its solution is associated both with a return to universal human values, including humanism, Christian morality, etc., and with the development of historically formed moral principles of Belarusian society, based on mutual assistance, conscientiousness, decency, reliability, awareness of one’s duty to society, honesty and goodwill. These qualities are included in the structure of mentality Belarusian people, I think, can act as a spiritual and moral basis for the creation of a strong and prosperous Belarus.
The world of culture is traditions and rituals, these are norms and values, these are creations and things - everything that can be called the existence of culture. The personality as a creator and bearer of culture is extremely multifaceted. It can be characterized from the point of view of its moral and aesthetic culture, the measure of its psychological maturity and intellectual development, and from its ideological positions. But in all the richness of an individual’s culture, one can single out its system-forming axis, which is the moral structure of the individual. Morality is the core of spiritual culture. The structure of a person’s moral culture includes the culture of human consciousness and the culture of everyday behavior. The culture of moral consciousness and behavior should be considered as an integral system of elements, expressing the objective social need for the consistent formation of a culture of moral consciousness that would be adequately embodied in behavior. In turn, the culture of moral behavior is a form of objectified culture of moral consciousness. This feature of moral culture is explained by its single “goal”, “mission”, which is to form the “moral reliability” of the individual. The unity of the culture of moral consciousness and behavior ensures that the individual masters the moral culture of society and the practical implementation of this culture.
The process of moral formation of an individual includes such elements of purposeful influence on it as ethical education - the formation of individual knowledge in the field of moral activity; ethical training - the formation of skills in the field of moral activity; moral education and self-education - the formation of moral attitudes, value orientations personalities, etc.
It is on the basis of the unity of these factors that the formation of a person’s moral culture is formed and his moral wisdom is formed as the unity and harmony of knowledge of moral requirements - and their embodiment in actions, the ability to find the optimal noble solution, and a heartfelt moral sense, unique personal experience life, and the main wealth of the moral culture of society.
In the culture of human consciousness, one can distinguish such elements as a culture of ethical thinking and a culture of moral feelings. The starting point in ethical thinking is knowledge about simple rules morality, norms and principles of morality, ideal. Indeed, in any case, before accepting the requirements of a given moral system or culture as a whole, you need to know them. Moral knowledge expands the scope moral choice and make the choice itself more reasonable. Based on a person’s existing moral knowledge and comparing it with reality, he develops certain moral orientations, which represent a person’s “own” characterization of good and evil, justice, the meaning of life, happiness, moral ideal, his “personal” assessment of facts, relationships, people, themselves from the point of view of moral values. The role and importance of values in life and society cannot be overestimated. In this regard, we can agree with the famous Russian scientist P. Sorokin, who rightly noted that without human assessments, “devoid of their significant aspects, all phenomena of human interaction become simply biophysical phenomena” and it is value that serves as the foundation of any culture. The criteria for an individual’s ethical thinking are, first of all, the optimal resolution of moral conflicts and the ability to choose means to achieve a certain moral goal.
Let us turn to the second component of an individual’s moral culture - the culture of his moral feelings, the emotional side of individual morality. The range of these feelings can be very wide: from a situational reaction to a personal insult to high civil sorrows and joys. They can be directed inward (feelings of shame, remorse, remorse, etc.) and outward (feelings of compassion, hatred, indifference, etc.).
Moral emotions and feelings play a special role in human communication. Here they are the highest value and goal. Communication devoid of emotional warmth cannot satisfy one of the highest, fundamentally humanistic, human needs for the “luxury of human communication” (Exupery). However, the role of moral feelings in the structure of personality should not be absolutized, because they are not a panacea for all moral errors and immoralism.
Beliefs are the dialectical unity, the fusion of rational and rational levels in the moral structure of the individual. A guarantee of the moral reliability of an individual is given by the confidence that a person, under any difficult or unfavorable circumstances, will not give up his principles. The content of moral beliefs depends on what ideas, knowledge and views are perceived by the individual.
The culture of everyday behavior of an individual is made up of a culture of action and etiquette. Etiquette represents ritualized forms of human relationships in a particular environment, which have class, national and historical overtones. Despite all the variety of etiquette forms, one can find in them something stable, representing an enduring universal significance, namely: politeness, tact, modesty, accuracy, simplicity.
The culture of a person’s actions has a much more complex characteristic. The whole variety of human activity can serve as a way to manifest a certain moral position of an individual: facial expressions, gestures, speech, silence, clothing, etc. an act in the moral sphere is not identical to a physical action: an act can be a verbal action or simply an evasion from action. There is always a motive in an action. Any action is mediated by a person’s moral attitude towards another person.
The moral culture of an individual is a characteristic of the moral development of an individual, which reflects the degree to which he or she has mastered the moral experience of society, the ability to consistently implement values, norms and principles in behavior and relationships with other people, and readiness for constant self-improvement. His morality is determined by his way of thinking. A person accumulates in his consciousness and behavior the achievements of the moral culture of society. The task of forming a moral culture of an individual is to achieve an optimal combination of traditions and innovations, to combine the specific experience of an individual and the entire wealth of public morality.
Elements of a person’s moral culture are a culture of ethical thinking, a culture of feelings, a culture of behavior and etiquette.
The evolution of modern man continues to this day, since the socio-biological environment as an agent of selection is constantly changing. The main forms of selection operate in society: stabilizing, destructive, balanced and directing. The transformation of biological prerequisites during human evolution into a form dependent on the social process does not eliminate the natural foundations of man.
The formation of a future personality begins with early childhood and is determined by the most complex and interaction of circumstances that can not only promote its development, but also actively hinder natural and organic formation, predetermining the tragedy of the individual’s existence.
The games that parents impose on children are considered a means for their social development and actualize the problem - “games that the child chooses and games that the child chooses.”
The activity of a cultural creator - artist, writer, musician, etc. - is aimed not at the material, but at reality, the reality of life, at some event. Their works were created so that a person, through their work, could understand the harsh reality or the beautiful unreality of our life, enrich their inner world and thereby become more cultural.
In my opinion, the main component of moral culture is cultural thinking, let’s talk about this in more detail.
The culture of thinking as a certain level of a person’s mental abilities largely depends on the extent to which a person’s mental activity complies with the laws and requirements of logic. It should be emphasized that perfect mastery of the laws and requirements of logic is something without which a culture of thinking is generally impossible.
Culture of thinking - highest level and the quality of human thinking, determined by the individual’s conscious development of his own ways of thinking that meet the requirements of human culture. K. m. involves its organization, optimization and improvement. It represents the ability to optimally use intellectual knowledge, scientific achievements of mankind, the logical sequence of thinking, its focus on solving current problems and tasks. K. m. involves the connection by the subject of the abilities of understanding, interpretation, explanation, evidence (argumentation), reflection and dialogue. To develop a culture of thinking, a person needs constant intellectual work, activities to overcome spontaneous, situational, stereotypical ways of thinking.
A special way of carrying out the thought process as a cultural one is reflection, which combines organization, criticism and consistent construction of the content of mental activity.
The question arises: is knowledge of a special theory necessary in order to think correctly? You can reason logically without knowing any theory, like small children who speak a language without knowing its grammar.
(The great German idealist philosopher Hegel ironically noted that it is possible to digest food without knowing physiology.)
Indeed, many people follow logical laws involuntarily, instinctively, without even thinking, without even knowing about these laws. At the same time, they follow natural logic, for example, to eat and breathe, which gives them the illusion that thinking also does not need analysis and control. But if the task of a physiologist is to “teach a person how to eat, breathe correctly, how to work and rest correctly in order to live longer,” then the task of logic is to teach a person to think correctly logically, not to make his own logical mistakes and to find them in the reasoning of others.
From these judgments we found out that logic is, for the most part, a culture of thinking. It follows from this that the culture of thinking, in turn, teaches a person moral culture.
Personal culture can also be characterized from the point of view of aesthetic culture. This can be considered using the example of the central link in a person’s aesthetic consciousness - aesthetic taste. Taste usually refers to a person’s ability to intuitively comprehend and emotionally evaluate aesthetic and artistic values. There are two prerequisites for the formation aesthetic taste: psychological and sociocultural. The first includes the developed basic mental abilities of a person: emotionality, intelligence, imagination, fantasy, intuition. The underdevelopment of any of these prerequisites causes a distortion of taste. Aesthetic taste arises when a person is included in the context of human culture and aesthetic relations.
Therefore, a very important substantive side of taste is the standards acquired by the individual and the cultural experience of society. The values acquired by people turn into unique prototypes and criteria of perception for each person, which are called aesthetic standards. An objective criterion of taste is the ratio of personal aesthetic experience to the experience of society: the more fully an individual has assimilated the experience of society, the more developed it is. In the aesthetic experience of society, there is both classics, tradition, and current experience with its innovation, therefore, developed aesthetic taste is characterized by the mastery of both. Undeveloped taste is when a person absolutizes certain aesthetic or artistic values, their level, form and content, thereby impoverishing, excluding spiritual richness and diversity of aesthetic values.
The functional side of the state of taste is aesthetic needs.
There are three levels of development of aesthetic needs:
- 1. Initial - “dormant taste”, that is, the aesthetic need is in its infancy, so often a push is needed to develop needs;
- 2. Average, “normal”, that is, a person’s stable desire to perceive and experience the aesthetic or artistic values known to him;
- 3. Creative - the need to create something new aesthetic world. Creative taste is the highest level of development of aesthetic taste, the ability to see a new, previously unknown meaning through the various forms of the world.
Another relatively independent part characterizing the cultural appearance of a person is the degree of development of his intellect. The intelligence of every person is a rather complex formation. It is necessary to distinguish between reason and reason. F. Engels noted that the mind operates according to a strictly defined scheme, an algorithm, without awareness of the method itself, its boundaries and capabilities, while the mind strives to go beyond the boundaries of the existing system, to push its boundaries.
Isolating the rational and rational side allows for a deeper understanding character traits rational sphere of human consciousness. The “duet” of the voices of reason and reason is a very important quality of a person’s thinking; the level of his intellectual culture largely depends on their relationships. Thus, the main components of a person’s culture are: moral and aesthetic culture, as well as the intellectual development of the person. All of them are interconnected and directly affect the development of personality.
culture personality taste
Formation of moral behavior.
Morality is a special spiritual-practical, value-based way of exploring the world; activities determined by worldview. A person’s worldview is formed primarily by society; in this regard, the origins of morality should be sought in relations between people. Man is a social being. The joint life of people requires in various ways regulation of their behavior, which was the reason for the emergence and development of religion, law, etc. Morality is one of these regulations that determines people’s behavior using ideas about what is valuable (ideals, principles, norms, etc.) and what is proper (duties, responsibilities, etc.). This is an internal self-regulator of human behavior, tuned to the principles of humanity.
Moral consciousness is realized in two forms: social and individual.
Social consciousness is an element of social life. It accumulates and systematizes the moral experience of numerous generations, which makes it possible to influence the ideas and behavior of an individual and to educate a full-fledged personality.
Individual moral consciousness reflexively, refers to the inner world of a person and consists of several components:
a) rational component͵ ᴛ.ᴇ. a system of certain concepts in which a person’s worldview and certain moral ideas are expressed. Basic element this system is a requirement (norm). In addition to it, the rational structure of individual moral consciousness includes perceived as personal ideals, assessments, principles, attitudes, ideas about moral qualities, about good and evil, etc.;
b) emotional component͵ ᴛ.ᴇ. the totality of a person's moral experiences. It should be noted that any feeling is a complex emotional reaction caused by the process of socialization. Hence the altruistic nature of moral experiences (responsiveness, compassion, etc.), and their focus on self-restraint of the individual. Special controlling experiences - conscience and shame - act as a socio-psychological mechanism of self-control. An important role in moral life a person is played by a sense of dignity (honor), reflecting the moral self-worth of the individual;
c) the volitional component, thanks to which the subjective moral motive is realized in action, often despite the pressure of objective circumstances.
Moral relations can be classified:
2) by the nature of the demand (imperativeness);
3) by the nature of the connection.
Moral attitudes are reflected in the concepts of moral consciousness, thereby influencing human behavior. However, the structure “moral consciousness - moral action - moral attitude” forms a single whole, and its elements are intercorrelated.
Basic properties of morality:
1. Imperativeness. Moral norms are always formulated in the imperative mood (for example, “don’t lie,” “don’t kill,” etc.).
2. Versatility. The requirements of morality are unchanged in any sphere of human existence and are not localized either situationally or in time.
3. General significance. Moral precepts apply to all people without exception.
4. Antinomy. For example, the inconsistency of statements about the extreme importance of doing good, because it is beneficial (expedient), and that good should be selfless; or the requirement “thou shalt not kill” and at the same time the idea of military duty. There are many reasons for the antinomy of morality. The main thing is essentially that morality, reflecting the dynamics of human existence, develops itself, and this development is a complex dialectical process that includes both archaic ideas about what should be and completely new, promising, specific requirements common sense and ethical maxims.
5. Extra-institutional. Morality, unlike other forms of social consciousness, is not socially structured. Its norms are not recorded in special documents, are not provided by coercive measures with the help of a special apparatus, and are not controlled by officials in special institutions. Moral norms are supported by the strength of public opinion or a person’s personal conviction and are unofficial.
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Their violation is not punished, but leads to the application of moral sanction in the form of condemnation, and this can be done by any person or society as a whole.
The main functions of morality:
1) Regulatory function. Morality, through a value-based approach to human activity, harmonizes and optimizes relationships between people on the basis of common ideals, principles of behavior, etc.
2) Cognitive function. By entering into moral relations, a person becomes acquainted with all the diversity of cultural experience accumulated by humanity and receives special moral knowledge.
3) Educational function. Moral knowledge is an important condition formation of personality, introducing it to the highest values. Outside the moral field, a person should not be a full-fledged artist, scientist, entrepreneur, etc. Morality gives any specific activity a universal meaning.
4) Value-orienting function. Based on moral ideas, a person constantly compares the real with the ideal, the existing with the should. This allows him to correct his behavior and determine the vector of his spiritual development.
In addition to these functions, one can also distinguish humanizing (ᴛ.ᴇ. raising a person above everyday life, revealing to him the true meaning of life), ideological, communicative, etc.
In general, all these functions are closely interconnected and determine the richness and content of a person’s spiritual life5.
Moral culture of the individual - concept and types. Classification and features of the category “Moral culture of the individual” 2017, 2018.
Moral culture is one of the main foundations of the spiritual life of society. Along with law, the sphere of morality acts as the main mechanism for regulating human behavior, creating examples of “unwritten”, spontaneously formed (unlike law) norms and ideals of behavior. The principles of morality have the nature of an obligation and are presented as a universal requirement, even if in reality they are inherent only in a certain social group.
Morality as a form of regulation of behavior is a constitutive element of human culture. At the time of its appearance, it was closely associated with religious beliefs. The first prohibitions and norms of communication with ancestors and fellow tribesmen made it possible for society to exist as a system of precisely culturally defined relationships. In other words, morality creates a spiritual space within which human existence unfolds precisely as human.
The regulatory function of morality is embodied in the creation of a whole system of norms, principles, ideals and values.
Moral standards- proper behavior, the violation of which, in the opinion of the group, brings harm to it. They are formulated as specific rules of action: give up your seat to elders, say hello when you meet, don’t offend younger people, don’t be late, don’t use obscene language, wear a burqa, don’t kill, don’t steal.
Moral principles(egoism, altruism, humanism, collectivism, individualism, asceticism, selflessness, exactingness) set the direction of moral activity.
Moral Ideals create an image of a morally perfect person and express the ultimate goal of actions. Thus, the Christian moral ideal is embodied in the image of Christ - the teacher of justice and the great martyr. This ideal is associated with self-restraint, humility, patience, compassion and love for one's neighbor. It must be borne in mind that the moral ideal is only an endlessly receding horizon, a line of behavior, a process of achievement, and therefore it cannot be embodied in reality.
Highest moral values act as personal guidelines for life, extremely general goals of the moral activity of each person. We are talking about such values as happiness, the meaning of life, freedom. It is the highest moral values that are the supreme regulator of moral behavior, feelings and thoughts.
Moral culture realizes itself in the sphere of consciousness, feelings and actions. Moral consciousness functions at the level of theoretical justification of moral norms, values, ideals, as well as in the form of a person’s subjective understanding of moral values, assessments, and motives of behavior. Morality also presupposes the presence of moral feelings (shame, guilt, conscience). Moral practice acts as a sphere of moral relations realized in actions. A person who does not act practically cannot be considered moral.
Moral culture is a historical phenomenon. Each era and each nation creates its own ideas about good and evil and its own mechanisms for the functioning of morality. Thus, in traditional societies, moral norms and values are considered unchangeable, and their acceptance occurs virtually without personal choice (there is no alternative). Individual actions are strictly subordinate to more significant supra-individual processes. Here the center of human existence, the criteria of his will and judgments, the highest values are located outside of man - in some Whole,
to which he belongs along with others. In modern European culture, human behavior rests on the consciousness of the power contained within him, generated by his will, constant reflection and self-reflection. Therefore, moral values appear in his eyes as created by himself without the involvement of others, i.e. are of the nature of individual choice.
Nevertheless, we have the right to talk about the existence of universal moral norms and values.
Moral culture functions at the level of society as a whole, various subcultural formations, and the individual. Let's take a closer look at the latter. The moral culture of an individual reflects the degree to which a person has mastered the moral experience of society, the ability to consistently implement moral values and principles in actions, and readiness for self-improvement. Here, the synthesis of social norms and personal moral experience plays an important role. Externally, a culture of moral behavior is manifested in the compliance of actions and words with the norms that society has developed. But they will be strictly moral only if they are committed on the basis of moral motivation and in accordance with moral principles, i.e. when ethical knowledge coincides with moral motives and actions. It is possible to say that moral culture has become an internal component of the individual only when the moral norms and values of society turn into beliefs. The moral culture of an individual presupposes a person’s ability to understand the feelings and motives of his actions, the ability to relate them to the interests of other people.
Formation of moral culture society includes the fixation of spontaneously formed norms of behavior and ideals, which takes the form of myths, religious commandments, and at a later stage acts as a theoretical justification for moral ideals that correspond to the spirit of the times. A necessary component of the process of forming a moral culture is the dissemination and implementation of existing moral knowledge and requirements into the consciousness of people through training, education, traditions, customs, organization of mass forms of communication, etc. In the process of forming a moral culture, each society creates certain mechanisms for the reproduction of moral values through public opinion, various forms of control, example, etc.
Regulation and management of moral processes in society is carried out through the system moral education, which today is not uniform in content, because in a socially differentiated society, on the basis of generally accepted morality, there are different types of morality: secular, religious, philistine, professional. Therefore, in modern culture there cannot be a universal program and methods of education. These are just general guidelines.
Moral education is the process of transforming moral knowledge into internal attitudes, habits, and beliefs. In modern culture, education is viewed as managing the process of personality development (rather than managing the personality). Therefore, it is carried out through dialogical communication, a joint search for truth, the creation of educational situations, and creative activity.
Moral education involves several directions:
Forming a connection with society, coordinating personal behavior with its norms.
Familiarization with the moral ideals and norms of society.
Assimilation of external culture of behavior.
Formation of moral habits necessary for society.
Formation of stable moral feelings (conscience, duty, dignity, shame) and qualities (honesty, integrity).
Transforming knowledge into beliefs.
To implement these tasks, various forms and methods are used. The most important forms of moral education are tasks and instructions, individual conversations, work with activists, mass information and organizational events (meetings, reports, lectures, conferences, theme evenings), effective and practical forms (propaganda teams, counselors, help groups, etc.). Basic methods of moral education: persuasion, exercise, positive example, approval (from gesture and tone to declared gratitude), condemnation, organization of morally positive activities, self-education. Already in adolescence, the development of moral habits should be carried out in conditions of pronounced independent activity, in a situation of high responsibility for oneself.
Formation of moral culture in modern Belarusian society is associated with a number of problems. Criticism of the Soviet system led to the destruction of old spiritual foundations, moral norms and principles. Rightly reproaching socialist morality for being abstract and double standard, in the process of criticism, many universal human values were actually discredited. New ideals for a long time were absent. This situation gave rise to extremely moral nihilism, open disregard for moral norms, and a turn towards selfishness and individualism. Society was faced with the task of forming a new type of morality, the main guidelines of which were universal human values, humanism, and Christian morality. There is also a tendency to build a system of moral education based on the ideology of the middle class, when professionalism and related moral qualities– decency, reliability, duty, honesty, demanding of oneself and others, responsibility, discipline, etc.
It must be said that the weakening of the mechanisms of moral regulation is also due to the characteristics of modern culture. The cult of technology in the 20th century led to the increasing development of technocratic thinking, for which moral orientations, especially towards extremely generalized moral principles, are of secondary importance. Urbanization processes have led to an increase in the anonymity of life. In a big city, the mechanisms of control over moral behavior (condemnation, boycott, public opinion) are increasingly weakened, and legal regulation of relations between people comes to the fore. Therefore, even in prosperous Western society, problems of moral culture are very acute today.
Finally, an important problem is the insufficient development of detailed methods for educating various moral habits, feelings and norms of behavior. Today, more and more such studies are appearing. Moreover, they can be effective only if they combine knowledge in the fields of ethics, psychology and pedagogy.
