A moral ideal is a process built on the perception of moral requirements through a certain image of a person. It is shaped by a number of characteristics. Further in the article we will analyze in more detail the concept of "moral ideals" (their examples will be given below). What can they be? What are the goals?
General information
Spiritual and moral ideals of the individual serve as a role model. Society imposes on people certain requirements of moral behavior. Its bearer is precisely moral ideals. The image of a morally highly developed personality embodies those positive qualities that serve as a standard for relations and behavior between people. It is these characteristics that make a person in particular and society as a whole improve their moral character, and therefore develop.
Attitude of scientists
Ideals and moral values of different times differed from each other. Many famous thinkers and poets raised this topic in their works. For Aristotle, the moral ideal consisted in self-contemplation, the knowledge of truth and the renunciation ofworldly affairs. According to Kant, inside any person there is a "perfect person". The moral ideal is the instruction for his actions. This is a kind of internal compass that brings a person closer to perfection, but at the same time does not make perfect. Each philosopher, scientist, theologian had his own image and his own understanding of the moral ideal.
Target
Moral ideals undoubtedly contribute to the self-education of the individual. A person, by an effort of will and understanding that the goal must be achieved, strives to achieve and conquer the heights of the moral plane. Moral ideals are the basis on which moral principles and norms are further formed. All this happens on the basis of interests in human life. The life situation in which a person lives is also important. For example, during the war years, moral ideals were focused on the image of a courageous, valiant, noble person who owns weapons, but uses them only to protect his land and his relatives.
Influence on the development of society
Understanding about the moral ideal has spread to the whole society. A person dreams of seeing himself in a society that will be built on humane and fair principles. In this case, the ideal is the image of such a society in which it is possible to express the interests of certain social groups, their concepts of higher justice and the social structure that would be better.
The moral indicators of the social ideal consist of an equitable distribution of life's blessings among members of society, the relationship between human rights and duties. The highly moral elements include the abilities of the individual, his place in life, his contribution to public life and the amount received in return for it. Moral ideals determine positive indicators of life and the ability to achieve a happy existence. In striving for perfection, which is the ultimate goal of all efforts, man and society must use only highly moral means.
Contents
Lenin considered moral ideals to be the "moral highest", combining positive characteristics. In his opinion, they represented everything necessary for people and were a model for society. From the moral properties, evaluated on the highest scale, the content of the ideal is built. Consciousness elevates to a superlative degree those highly moral features, qualities, attitudes of people that are real and real in their essence. Society and the individual strive to realize moral values. Each member of the society should think adequately and correctly, be able to build relationships and interact. The ideal is accompanied by certain positive emotional manifestations. These include, in particular, admiration, approval, the desire to be better. All this is a strong stimulant that makes a person strive for self-education and self-development. There are several types of ideal: regressive and reactionary,real and utopian. The content of moral qualities has changed in the course of history. The ideals of the past, due to their illusory nature and isolation from reality, not aimed at the activity of an individual, remained inaccessible. Even the essence of progressive highly moral indicators was taken as a basis for subjective wishes, without realizing the impartiality of the law and ways to achieve it.
Influence of modern times
During the communist system, moral ideals were called upon to serve the formation and strengthening of the existing system. An indicator of the high morality of modern society is a harmoniously developed personality. It is distinguished by the pursuit of moral perfection. Society imposes certain moral requirements on its members. Together they form a model of a fully developed personality. Constantly enriched, replenished with something new, they reflect the development of the moral practice of socialist society. The society of the times of socialism puts in the first place the culture of the individual, active citizenship, a sense of public duty, non-divergence of word and deed, honesty.
The moral ideals of our time are active and efficient, connected with the needs of society. They acquire real outlines in the socialist interaction of members of society. The moral foundations of modernity are actively operating in the areas of self-improvement, moral education and self-development. Plekhanov said that the more actively a person strives to achieve a social ideal, thehigher he becomes morally. But even in socialist times, highly moral indicators, not coinciding with reality, go one step ahead. They set certain goals for a person, consisting in constant movement, a continuous process of development. Increasing the social activity of the individual, improving social practice and moral education - all this in combination will resolve the contradictions that have arisen between reality and the moral ideal.
