MORAL CODES OF THE PAST: WHAT THEY ARE AND LIST - PHILOSOPHY - 2024

The moral codes of the past are those values, regulations and behaviors that were established in antiquity with the objective of establishing order at the dawn of the first civilizations. In this way, balance was guaranteed within the nascent communities and respect for the properties and assets of the other was guaranteed.

It can be established that moral codes arose when human beings put aside their purely instinctive nature to become part of a community, tribe or family. Faced with this situation, the human being went from being an isolated individual to becoming a social being.

A work representing the Hammurabi code is on display in the Louvre Museum. Source: Louvre Museum

This new step required adjustments in the behavior of each member of society, in order to determine what would be good or beneficial for the common good, as well as what would be bad that could harm the newly established social union. Consequently, codes were established that allowed the collective development of the first civilizations.

The moral codes can vary depending on each society and region; For example, one of the oldest moral codes that is still preserved in the Japanese tradition is that of removing footwear when entering a home; if you do not comply with this practice, you would be committing an immoral act.

However, this custom is not followed by the West, where people can freely enter and leave their homes with their shoes on. However, there are other codes in western regions that must be complied with by those who make up the community, since they guarantee order and well-being within their worldview or episteme.

What are moral codes?

The moral

Morality, from the Latin mōrālis, consists of a set of beliefs, values, customs and norms that are responsible for guiding the conduct of groups of people that make up a society. Morality should not be confused with ethics, since the latter refers to a universal or cross-cultural morality.

The objective of morality is to distinguish which actions are bad and which are good for a certain social group. Morality can also be defined as the knowledge that every human being needs to know in order to preserve social stability.

The codes

Codes can be defined as the language in which people communicate, where there must necessarily be a sender and a receiver, who must use the same code for the transmission of information to be possible.

Consequently, when we speak of moral codes, we refer to the type of language used to transmit or establish the regulations and values ​​of the community. For example, in ancient times hieroglyphs were used to record the political and economic lines of the Egyptians.

The moral codes of antiquity

All societies have established at some point a set of behaviors that form the core of a moral conception shared by the individuals in the group. For example, in the West the moral and religious conceptions of Judaism and Christianity were very important.

On the other hand, in the East, Confucianism and Buddhism were maintained, which were currents that exerted a strong influence on the moral core of Asian civilizations.

Likewise, in Greco-Roman antiquity, numerous texts were elaborated where everything corresponding to the moral codes was addressed, such as the Maxims or the Golden Verses; This shows that the philosophy behind morality has been a subject of interest to human beings since its inception.

List of the most important codes of the past

The Code of Hammurabi

The code of Hammurabi, elaborated approximately in 1692 a. C., was one of the first sets of laws recorded by humanity and is one of the best preserved throughout history.

It is a document from ancient Mesopotamia in which certain regulations are established regarding various topics: from the social organization of Mesopotamian society to certain restrictions and economic regulations.

In this code, the existence of three social groups was recorded: free men, muskenu (servants or subordinates) and slaves. It was also established that justice should be delivered in the courts and it was valid to appeal to the king.

Regarding prices and wages, in the Hammurabi code it was determined that the fees of the doctors would vary depending on whether they cared for a free man or a slave; It was also ruled that the nature of the payments would vary depending on the work performed.

Furthermore, the importance of professional responsibility appears for the first time in this code: for example, if an architect built a house that collapsed and caused the death of its inhabitants, the architect would be sentenced to death.

The ten Commandments

One of the oldest moral codes is that of the ten commandments, a sacred scripture that clothed the Jewish society. According to the Bible, in 1250 a. C. the prophet Moisés received this regulation from the direct hand of God, who with his finger wrote a list of norms that the Israelites had to respect.

In these tables various regulations were determined, such as: you will love God above all things, you will not kill, you will honor your mother and your father, you will not steal, you will not covet the goods of others and you will not tell false testimonies, among others.

Consequently, it can be established that the moral code of the ten commandments not only covers what corresponds to faith, but also corresponds to a way of regulating the way of thinking and living of the Israelites with the aim of maintaining order and peace.

Manu moral code

This code has its origins between 1200 and 800 BC. C. and is considered to be prior to the teachings of Buddha. According to the text, these doctrines were determined by the wise Manu and in these reference is made to funeral customs and other social aspects.

It is a religious book that also deals with matters pertaining to governments and commercial and civil laws, along with the rules of civility. One of the peculiarities of this text is that it reflects a wide degree of social organization for the time.

Some of the most cited laws of Manu are: think well before acting, remember to speak the truth, be careful where you walk and filter the water you have to drink.

Regarding women, the Manu code establishes the following: the father must protect her in childhood, the husband in his youth, and his sons in old age, since the woman should never be granted independence.

Regarding thieves, Manu determines this: the first time someone is caught stealing, two fingers are amputated, the second time a hand and foot are amputated, and the third robbery, the thief will be sentenced to death. If the thief steals during the night, the king must cut off his hands and impale him.

References

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5. SA (2010) Ancient Moral Codes. Retrieved on August 2, 2019 from Ethics Forum: collegeethics.com
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