WHAT ARE MORAL PRINCIPLES? (WITH EXAMPLES) - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The moral principles are social norms that indicate what people should do or what they should avoid. They also determine which actions should be promoted or recognized and which ones should be criticized or punished.

These types of norms refer to general questions that can be applied in very different cases. They never refer to specific situations, therefore they can be interpreted and applied differently depending on the case.

They come from the construction of human wisdom over time and are spread through time thanks to oral tradition. Therefore, they are not compiled in any book or determined by a specific person.

However, it is common for different religions to record their principles in the sacred scriptures and to be attributed to their prophets. This is the case of the "golden rule", a moral principle that has been spread by various religions and whose creation is attributed to various prophets.

What are moral principles for?

Moral principles constitute a fundamental basis for the construction of societies.

This is because they rely on past events to propose rules that promote the events that are considered positive and avoid those that are considered negative.

Therefore, they can be variable according to the values ​​of each culture or they can be transformed over the years. However, there are some of them that are quite widespread.

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Characteristics of moral principles

Friendship is considered a moral principle. Source: pixabay.com

Each culture builds its own moral principles and each person develops their moral system. However, these have some characteristics in common that run through all societies and all individuals.

They are consistent with each other

Moral principles must be consistent with each other, this means that when fulfilling the demands of a moral principle, one should not attempt against another of them.

For example, if it is accepted that “all human beings are equal” as a moral principle, it is not possible to accept another principle that says that “women are inferior to men and as such must obey them”.

The longer a list of principles, the more difficult the consistency between them. For this reason, moral principles are few and they refer to fundamental questions that are common to different human experiences.

Flexibility

Moral principles are generally stated for a wide range of situations, so they must be flexible. This prevents them from leaving gaps when they are put into practice. In this way it is guaranteed that they are sufficient to cover situations of a very diverse nature.

For example, the "no kill" rule may be insufficient as a moral principle. If correct conduct is determined only by avoiding that action, it could be inferred that other forms of abuse are allowed, such as torture.

Therefore, "do not kill" is not considered a moral principle. In reality, this rule is included within a more flexible moral principle: "do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you."

They have hierarchy

Not all moral principles are of equal importance. It is considered that there are higher principles, those that must always be placed above others in the moment of a moral dilemma.

For example, preserving the life and integrity of people is a higher moral principle. This means that it is above the principle of self-determination.

In other words, the free cultural expression of a people cannot be above life, which implies that human sacrifices should not be made, even if it is traditional.

The relativity of moral principles

Citizens collaborating in the catastrophe produced by an earthquake in Ecuador.

Moral principles are variable according to cultures, religions and the passage of time. On the other hand, the principles are also an individual construction: each person builds them according to the influence of their environment and their own experience.

However, historically there has been a philosophical debate about whether or not universal and invariable moral principles exist.

Thinking that all principles are relative implies accepting all the acts of other cultures because they have different principles. This look would validate behaviors such as torture, cannibalism or pedophilia.

But on the other hand, accepting that there are universal and invariable principles would also be problematic. This would imply, for example, the obligation to censor homosexuality as was done during the Middle Ages.

This debate continues to this day. However, there are some moral principles that are collected by most cultures and religions. For this reason they are considered, to some extent, universal.

Examples of the principles considered universal

1- The golden rule

The golden rule refers to the premise of "do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you." This moral principle is one of those considered universal, because it is shared by different religions.

This principle is applicable to a large number of situations of varying complexity. It can be applied to prevent one child from hitting another in elementary school or to prevent one person from murdering another.

2- The end does not justify the means

This is another moral principle that is promoted in different religions and that can be applied in very different situations.

For example, it can be used to prevent a young person from cheating on a school test to get good grades.

Likewise, it can be applied to prevent a politician from paying bribes in order to pass a law.

3- Freedom and self-determination

Another of the universal moral principles is the freedom of human beings to make their own decisions. This rule is particularly controversial, because it creates a dilemma: if freedom is a higher principle, does this imply the right to pass over other moral principles?

In other words: is it right for one person to torture another as part of the exercise of their freedoms? The answer of most civilizations to this question is NO.

Kant argued that the human being should be able to harmonize moral principles with freedoms.

According to this philosopher, this is only possible if the individual assumes the rules as their own, to fulfill them freely and autonomously, without the need for impositions that come from outside.

You may be interested in 40 Examples of Moral and Social Norms.

References

1. Bishop, A. (2005). Moral principles defined: a decision-making perspective. Recovered from: themoralcompass.co.uk.
2. Encyclopedia of philosophy. (2006). Moral rules and principles. Recovered from: encyclopedia.com.
3. Hoban High School. (SF). 4 universal moral principles: lessons of ages. Recovered from: hoban.org.
4. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2004). Kant's Moral Philosophy. Recovered from: plato.stanford.edu.
5. Zolani. (2014). Moral Principles: Ten Myths You Will Be Happy to Debunk. Recovered from: zolani.es.