essay on ethics and moral values

Essay on Ethics and Values for Students in 1000 Words

In this article, we have published an Essay on Ethics and Values for students. You will also read its definitions, sources, importance and uses in this essay. This essay is written in 1000 Words for school and college children.

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Table of Contents

Importance of Values and Ethics

The human being as a social animal has to follow certain social norms. Truth, non-violence, benevolence, humility, and truthfulness are many qualities in these limits of society. Ethics and values are very crucial for a human being when it comes to personal and professional success .

The ways an individual or any groups discusses with others express their real character because actions always speak louder than words. Those who have strong values and ethical standards of the highest degree are easily remarkable by their actions.

Ethics and values come and develop from the place, family, beliefs, and school; professional values and ethics are bare developments of what one learns prior to joining the personnel. So, the attitude and habits one picks up early in his life follow into the experienced world and show an impact either a positive, or negative over career success.

Definitions of Ethics and Values

1. ethics definition.

The word ethics is derived from an ancient Greek word ethos which means habit, custom or character. That is morality in the real sense. The habits and character of a person talk about the moral values he/she holds. In other words, a person’s moral values define his character. We are all told what is good and what is bad based on moral norms set by society.

Ethics and morality are usually stated in relation to values, as they are the moral and social idealogy and application of one’s values. Professional or personal ethical codes renders the ability to understand what is right, fair, honorable and righteous. Misc. organizations and businesses have established codes of ethics and having an ethics committee also by which they conduct business.

The code of ethics or rules of ethics is the standards to which employees are expected to abide and follow the same.

2. Values Definition

Values are of extreme importance to a person. This is because they determine their behavior, temperament and overall behavior towards life and other people. The decisions we make in our lives are largely based on our values. A value or ethics is, according to Ozment, “an enduring belief or trust that a specific mode of conduct and dealing or end-state of its existence is personally or socially likable to an opposite or converse mode of dealing or end-state of existence”.

Further, we see, a value system is all these beliefs placed and used to precedence, serving as a guide for everything from choice-making to dispute resolution. Skillful values are the same as explained above but in the reference of a company, any organization, or group and what they would want their expected end-state to be.

The efficient value system of group entities is shown in their business practices and habits; from their communication with other companies to how well taken care of the old and new employees are.

Sources of Values and Ethics

The first and important source of professional values and ethics are parents or guardians. Grand p arents and Parents teach their kids right from wrong, not to have false or steal, and may explain them to a particular religion where values are reinforced.

These are the moral rules that stay with someone always; not only does the individual use these social ethics as guidelines in their lives, but they also teach their children the same values. Â Besides moral values, families teach their children to do the job ethic. They provide children with few chores to do, such as cleaning their room, taking out the trash, and generally serving around the home.

If they finish the tasks on time, they will receive money for this service. These regular jobs not only show kids the value of earning money but also show them that hard work with honesty is always rewarded.

After home or parents, another source of values and ethics in the school. Children learn in the school on time, complete their homework, and study hard to earn good grades. Just as with chores and allowances at residence, schoolwork teaches that by studying and working hard, one can get a success good category and get into good schools and colleges.

Being on time for school regularly is the beginning of one’s time on management skills. They should learn the importance of discipline in life and budget them after school activities, parent’s time and homework time teaches one to prioritize what he or she values.

Uses of Ethics and Values in Life

Currently, everyone knows the value of ethics and values. Every individual should have manners and ethical principles to live a life, and in all the areas ethics and values are being used to work smoothly.

A sample of the value as can be seen if one wants to make a friend with another they must have values with them they should be a hard worker and honest with one another and forever be truthful with them.

Also, ethics can be said as if someone has stolen someone’s things so we should help the people whose things have been stolen and not to run away from the situation. Ethics and values are very important and necessary in our lives, and we should always follow them all through our lives.

Expert values and ethics are bare extensions of the values and ethics which a person learned from family, spiritual leaders and teachers. Whatever is taught in school and colleges to value growing up will carry over in the professional world.

Experienced with upstanding values and ethical or moral standards are easy to recognize, as is the company that employs them. Values-based business decisions and ethical guidelines adhered to by all are the benchmarks for success. Those who agree to accept less can have an adverse effect on their company and maybe, the rest of society.

The Final Thought

If we want to evaluate a social community that has a no or very less corruption rate and where all persons can live happily, we all have to look into the social values and the ethics that our carve and religious masters preach.

We should take ownership of making our society and in turn our planet a beautiful world where all persons can live a life with respect and dignity without any fears in their mind. Once we all start following the rules of ethics and values the world will be a great place to live long. I hope you like this Essay on Ethics and Values.

2 thoughts on “Essay on Ethics and Values for Students in 1000 Words”

Great speech btw loved some of the concepts like the sources of ethics: school and home. ????☺️

Essay on Moral Values

500+ words essay on moral values.

Moral values are considered an essential aspect of human life. Moral values determine one’s nature, behaviour and overall attitude towards life and other people. In our lives, our decisions are primarily based on our values. The choices we make in our lives impact us and our society, organisation and nation. It is believed that a person with good values makes wise decisions that benefit everyone. On the contrary, people who have no moral values think only of themselves. They don’t care about others’ needs or society and make choices based solely on their needs. They create an unfriendly and sometimes unsafe environment around themselves.

Importance of Moral Values

The value of a person reflects their personality. Moral values help us understand the difference between right and wrong, good and evil and make the right decisions and judgements. They empower and drive a person to be a better human being and work for the betterment of society. Some moral values a person can inculcate in themselves are: dedication, honesty, optimism, commitment, patience, courtesy, forgiveness, compassion, respect, unity, self-control, cooperation, care and love. A person becomes humble and dependable with good values. Everyone looks up to a person with good values, whether personally or professionally.

If a person has good values, he spreads love, joy, and positive vibes. A person with good values works for the upliftment of society, along with taking care of their life. Such people are always considerate of the needs of others and understand the importance of unity and teamwork. They don’t lose their temper very easily and forgive others. People with good values are an asset to the organisation they work in and the society they live in.

Values Must Be Imbibed

We need to imbibe good values to function as humans and live in a society. Good values include dedication towards work, honesty, respect, commitment, love, helping others, taking responsibility for others’ deeds and acting responsibly. All these values are essential for the positive growth of an individual.

If you want to become a true leader and inspire others, you need to have good values. People always show respect and love to a person with good values. Additionally, they’ll trust and depend on a person of good values because they get proper advice and opinion from such a person.

Ethics Must Be Followed

A person with good values behaves ethically. We often hear of an ethical code of conduct. These are a set of rules or codes an individual is expected to follow. For example, talking politely with others, respecting elders/co-workers, handling difficult situations calmly, maintaining discipline and acting responsibly. Following these ethics helps create a healthy and safe work environment. So, it is essential for everyone to follow the ethical code of conduct.

The Role of Parents and Teachers

Moral values are not just born in a person but must be taught and inculcated right from childhood. When we talk about raising or nurturing children with good values, the credit goes to parents and teachers. It is their responsibility to teach children good values and should make them understand why it’s necessary to follow ethical behaviour. Schools should also take the responsibility to have a separate class dedicated to teaching ethics and moral values from the beginning. They should also train the students so that they imbibe these values.

An individual should imbibe good moral values to do well both in their professional and personal lives. A person with good values is also recognised among the crowd and is always appreciated for his behaviour and attitude towards others. On the contrary, people who lack good values often get into trouble and are not accepted in society. So, we should make sure that we teach our children good values and ethical behaviour from an early age. It is our responsibility to make our future generation learn moral values and ethics. This will help them become good human beings and upstanding citizens of the world. Additionally, it will give them the strength and courage to achieve great things in their lives.

The importance of moral values cannot be overstated. A nation with a high proportion of good values will undoubtedly progress and develop more rapidly than where people lack values. Moral values nurture us individually, build strong character and help create a better world around us.

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Ethics and Morality

Morality, Ethics, Evil, Greed

Reviewed by Psychology Today Staff

To put it simply, ethics represents the moral code that guides a person’s choices and behaviors throughout their life. The idea of a moral code extends beyond the individual to include what is determined to be right, and wrong, for a community or society at large.

Ethics is concerned with rights, responsibilities, use of language, what it means to live an ethical life, and how people make moral decisions. We may think of moralizing as an intellectual exercise, but more frequently it's an attempt to make sense of our gut instincts and reactions. It's a subjective concept, and many people have strong and stubborn beliefs about what's right and wrong that can place them in direct contrast to the moral beliefs of others. Yet even though morals may vary from person to person, religion to religion, and culture to culture, many have been found to be universal, stemming from basic human emotions.

The Science of Being Virtuous
Understanding Amorality
The Stages of Moral Development

Those who are considered morally good are said to be virtuous, holding themselves to high ethical standards, while those viewed as morally bad are thought of as wicked, sinful, or even criminal. Morality was a key concern of Aristotle, who first studied questions such as “What is moral responsibility?” and “What does it take for a human being to be virtuous?”

We used to think that people are born with a blank slate, but research has shown that people have an innate sense of morality . Of course, parents and the greater society can certainly nurture and develop morality and ethics in children.

Humans are ethical and moral regardless of religion and God. People are not fundamentally good nor are they fundamentally evil. However, a Pew study found that atheists are much less likely than theists to believe that there are "absolute standards of right and wrong." In effect, atheism does not undermine morality, but the atheist’s conception of morality may depart from that of the traditional theist.

Animals are like humans—and humans are animals, after all. Many studies have been conducted across animal species, and more than 90 percent of their behavior is what can be identified as “prosocial” or positive. Plus, you won’t find mass warfare in animals as you do in humans. Hence, in a way, you can say that animals are more moral than humans.

The examination of moral psychology involves the study of moral philosophy but the field is more concerned with how a person comes to make a right or wrong decision, rather than what sort of decisions he or she should have made. Character, reasoning, responsibility, and altruism , among other areas, also come into play, as does the development of morality.

The seven deadly sins were first enumerated in the sixth century by Pope Gregory I, and represent the sweep of immoral behavior. Also known as the cardinal sins or seven deadly vices, they are vanity, jealousy , anger , laziness, greed, gluttony, and lust. People who demonstrate these immoral behaviors are often said to be flawed in character. Some modern thinkers suggest that virtue often disguises a hidden vice; it just depends on where we tip the scale .

An amoral person has no sense of, or care for, what is right or wrong. There is no regard for either morality or immorality. Conversely, an immoral person knows the difference, yet he does the wrong thing, regardless. The amoral politician, for example, has no conscience and makes choices based on his own personal needs; he is oblivious to whether his actions are right or wrong.

One could argue that the actions of Wells Fargo, for example, were amoral if the bank had no sense of right or wrong. In the 2016 fraud scandal, the bank created fraudulent savings and checking accounts for millions of clients, unbeknownst to them. Of course, if the bank knew what it was doing all along, then the scandal would be labeled immoral.

Everyone tells white lies to a degree, and often the lie is done for the greater good. But the idea that a small percentage of people tell the lion’s share of lies is the Pareto principle, the law of the vital few. It is 20 percent of the population that accounts for 80 percent of a behavior.

We do know what is right from wrong . If you harm and injure another person, that is wrong. However, what is right for one person, may well be wrong for another. A good example of this dichotomy is the religious conservative who thinks that a woman’s right to her body is morally wrong. In this case, one’s ethics are based on one’s values; and the moral divide between values can be vast.

Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg established his stages of moral development in 1958. This framework has led to current research into moral psychology. Kohlberg's work addresses the process of how we think of right and wrong and is based on Jean Piaget's theory of moral judgment for children. His stages include pre-conventional, conventional, post-conventional, and what we learn in one stage is integrated into the subsequent stages.

The pre-conventional stage is driven by obedience and punishment . This is a child's view of what is right or wrong. Examples of this thinking: “I hit my brother and I received a time-out.” “How can I avoid punishment?” “What's in it for me?”

The conventional stage is when we accept societal views on rights and wrongs. In this stage people follow rules with a good boy and nice girl orientation. An example of this thinking: “Do it for me.” This stage also includes law-and-order morality: “Do your duty.”

The post-conventional stage is more abstract: “Your right and wrong is not my right and wrong.” This stage goes beyond social norms and an individual develops his own moral compass, sticking to personal principles of what is ethical or not.

The film’s carefully mapped-out confusion seems to reflect director Alex Garland’s key point: War, civil or international, ultimately blurs crucial moral distinctions.

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Essay on Human Values and Ethics

Students are often asked to write an essay on Human Values and Ethics in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Human Values and Ethics

Introduction.

Human values and ethics are the principles that guide our actions and decisions. They are learned from our families, cultures, and experiences.

Understanding Human Values

Values are beliefs that we consider important. They shape our character and behavior. Examples include honesty, compassion, and respect.

Understanding Ethics

Ethics are moral principles that govern our behavior. They define what is right and wrong. Ethics can be personal or societal.

Importance of Values and Ethics

Values and ethics guide our actions and interactions. They help maintain harmony in society and build trust.

In conclusion, human values and ethics are essential for a good life and a peaceful society.

250 Words Essay on Human Values and Ethics

Human values and ethics play a fundamental role in shaping society. They are the principles that guide our actions, decisions, and interactions, enabling us to coexist harmoniously.

Human values are innate principles that govern our behavior. They include honesty, respect, responsibility, and compassion, among others. These values are essential for the development of individual character and societal harmony. They foster understanding, tolerance, and mutual respect, which are crucial for peaceful coexistence.

The Role of Ethics

Ethics, on the other hand, are moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity. They guide us in distinguishing between right and wrong. Ethics are not innate but are learned and can vary depending on cultural, societal, or professional contexts.

Interplay of Human Values and Ethics

The interplay between human values and ethics is significant. Values form the basis of our ethical behavior. They influence our perception of what is morally right or wrong. Ethics, in turn, provide a framework through which these values are expressed and applied.

In conclusion, human values and ethics are integral to the fabric of society. They guide our actions, foster mutual respect, and promote societal harmony. Understanding and upholding these principles is crucial in fostering a just and equitable society.

500 Words Essay on Human Values and Ethics

Introduction to human values and ethics.

Human values and ethics are the foundational pillars of society, shaping the way we interact with one another and the world around us. They act as the compass guiding our actions, influencing our decisions, and molding our personalities.

Human values are the principles, standards, or qualities that an individual or group of people hold in high regard. These values are a reflection of what we consider important and worthwhile. They include values like honesty, respect, responsibility, fairness, and compassion. These values are often instilled in us from a young age, influenced by our cultural, social, and familial environments.

Ethics, on the other hand, is the branch of philosophy that studies and determines what is morally right or wrong. Ethics provides a framework for making decisions based on our values. It helps us navigate complex moral dilemmas and make choices that align with our values. Ethics is not static; it evolves over time, reflecting societal changes and advancements.

Human values and ethics are interconnected; they influence and shape each other. Our values guide our ethical decisions, while our ethical understanding can reshape our values. For instance, a person who values honesty will likely make ethical decisions that align with this value, such as telling the truth even when it’s inconvenient.

Importance of Human Values and Ethics

The importance of human values and ethics cannot be overstated. They influence our behavior and attitudes, affecting our relationships and interactions. They form the basis of our judgement and decision-making processes, influencing our actions and reactions. In a broader sense, they contribute to societal cohesion and harmony, fostering mutual respect and understanding.

Challenges to Human Values and Ethics

Despite their importance, human values and ethics face numerous challenges. In an increasingly globalized world, differing cultural values and ethical frameworks can lead to conflicts and misunderstandings. Additionally, rapid technological advancements pose new ethical dilemmas that require us to reassess our values and ethical frameworks.

Conclusion: Upholding Human Values and Ethics

In conclusion, human values and ethics are essential for individuals and society alike. They guide our actions, shape our personalities, and influence our relationships. Despite the challenges they face, it is crucial that we uphold these values and ethical principles, fostering an environment of respect, understanding, and fairness. As we navigate the complexities of the modern world, we must continually reassess our values and ethics, ensuring they remain relevant and effective in guiding our actions and decisions.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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Importance of Moral Values Essay

Moral values are a large concept that researchers have experienced a difficult time defining. Scientists have explained moral values as the fundamental human emotions or reactions and experiences that drive individuals in distinctive ways (Aminin et al., 2018). Some that I think are definitive of a life well lived include respect, honesty, respect for religion, and justice. With this arrangement, an individual can grow mentally and academically, learning every aspect of socialization ranging from society, education, and work.

Respect is a moral value that is taught to children at a young age. It is trained to help them have a fulfilling social life with their peers, people older than them, and their teachers. Respect is an essential moral aspect as, in a way, it assists individuals to avoid trouble and formulate ways to solve conflicts. I ranked it as the first moral value as I feel it positively impacts an individual during their youthful stage.

Honesty is a moral thing always to be honest, but honesty can land one in trouble. There have been cases of innocent people being incarcerated for other people’s wrongdoings. When viewed from a socialization aspect, honesty can help one gain respect from their elders, which guarantees a prosperous life. When one learns this aspect at an early age, it can help acquire good grades in school and help with a job promotion in the work setting.

Religion depicts the type of values individuals hold, and as people grow, they adopt their own beliefs while others divert from their older religion. All people are equal regardless of their religion, and this teaches individuals to respect different religious beliefs, which is morally upright. Over the years, other faiths have risen, and people have created laws that allow a citizen the right to choose their religion.

Justice value was supposed to be incorporated into the list since there would be no law and order without justice. When one speaks up on wrongdoing, a disaster is prevented, enhancing peaceful interactions between different people. With justice, individuals can uphold their moral values, and there are few or no instances of theft and other harmful behaviors. Justice controls harmonious interactions between individuals and their surroundings.

Without proper education on moral values, people develop moral vices that, on many occasions, are not accepted in society. I ranked the vices as follows, fear, arrogance, envy, greed, and bias. When fear is induced in an individual, it can make irrational decisions that eventually get them in danger. Fear is a vice that is unacceptable to society as it can cause damage (Spiegel, 2020). Still, when an individual or organization is fearless, they make rational decisions that enable them to progress. Fear creates failure to act in agreement with our values when faced with harmful circumstances.

Too much pride causes arrogance, and this happens when individuals become so much proud of their achievements. This makes individuals believe that they are better and superior to the rest which can result in their downfall or lead them to dangerous situations. People who tend to be arrogant are often seen as boastful by others, which creates a negative picture in society and, on some occasions, can be left out in development projects.

Individuals who desire what others have are usually termed envious. Persons can end up stealing with envious behaviors, which is why this is one of my top-ranked vices. People should congratulate others for their success, but envious ones tend to be jealous of others’ achievements. This leads them to become dissatisfied with the little they have, leading to unwanted behaviors. Envy is not ranked as a capital sin, but still, it is an unacceptable vice.

Greed makes people add their material possessions, and this can be through unwanted ways. A good example is the politicians who enjoy the privileges that come with the ranks and are unwilling to give up. Greedy leaders take advantage of the subordinate staff or the locals while gaining material possessions, and they are never satisfied with what they have. This is one of the most hated vices in society and has been adopted by many leaders.

Biasness, in many instances, is associated with envy and greed from a different point of view. The unfair preference for one thing over another can be harmful to individuals upholding moral virtues. This occasionally happens in the justice system when the law enforcers are biased toward one race or gender. This is a vice that should be condemned in the judicial systems internationally as it causes wrongful accusations and suffering.

In conclusion, moral values and vices are correlated because if one lacks values, they adopt vices. Caregivers and parents play a major role in determining the morals their kids will adopt in life. I arranged these morals and vices in this order as I felt that they were connected in one way or another in upholding ethics that define a well-lived life.

Aminin, S., Huda, M., Ninsiana, W., & Dacholfany, M. I. (2018). Sustaining civic-based moral values: Insights from language learning and literature. International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology , 9 (4), 157-174.

Spiegel, J. S. (2020). Hypocrisy: Moral fraud and other vices . Wipf and Stock Publishers.

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Envy of Students: Educational Problem
‘Envy at work,’ Tanya Menon and Leigh Thompson
Pride and Arrogance in the "Oedipus the King" by Sophocles
Arrogance of Power
“Roman Fever” by Wharton
Same-Sex Marriages and Equality
Greed as a Useful Instrument for Society
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
"Le Morte Darthur" by Malory, Thomas and "Othello" by Shakespeare
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The Issue of Ethics in Mediation
College Student’s Ethical Problem
“The Silencing of the Death” Article by Gupta
Ethical Considerations During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Ethics in Social Science Study by Laud Humphreys

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9 Ethical Behavior & Moral Values in Everyday Life

Ethical Behavior & Moral Values in Everyday Life

Ethics in Law Enforcement by Steve McCartney and Rick Parent https://opentextbc.ca/ethicsinlawenforcement/

The Importance of Ethical Behavior

For citizens, morality and integrity are important characteristics to demonstrate. We instinctively know that it is good to be moral and act with integrity, but by coming to an understanding of the reasons for morality and integrity, we will be motivated to champion such behavior. Among the reasons to be moral and integral are to:

Make society better. When we help make society better, we are rewarded with also making better own lives and the lives of our families and friends. Without moral conduct, society would be a miserable place.
Treat everyone equally. Equality is a cornerstone of most Western democracies, where all individuals are afforded the same rights. This is not possible without the majority of citizens behaving in a moral manner.
Secure meaningful employment. Often employers will look at a person’ past behavior as a predictor of future behavior. Someone who has a history of immoral behavior will have difficulty securing employment in a meaningful job, as that person may not be trusted.
Succeed at business. If you are employed in an occupation in which there you must rely on others, your moral conduct will determine the degree of goodwill that you receive from others. Businesses that have a checkered moral history are typically viewed with caution and are unlikely to attract new customers through word of mouth, and therefore are unlikely to prosper. This is especially the case where social media makes customer reviews readily accessible.
Lessen stress. When we make immoral decisions, we tend to feel uncomfortable and concerned about our decision making. Making the right moral decision, or taking a principled perspective on an issue, reduces stress.

Ultimately, ethics is important not so that “we can understand” philosophically, but rather so we can “improve how we live” (Lafollette, 2007). By being moral, we enrich our lives and the lives of those around us. It’s especially important to live a moral life when we are young, as it is helpful to exercise and practice these concepts before being confronted with more complex issues. Lafollette (2007) theorizes that ethics is like most everything else that we strive to be good at; it requires practice and effort. Practicing and making an effort to make moral decisions throughout life will pay dividends when we are faced with serious moral dilemmas. Furthermore, having insight into “…historical, political, economic, sociological, and psychological insights…” (Lafollette, 2007, p.7) allows us, as decision makers, to make more informed decisions, which will likely result in moral decisions. In sum, the practice of being moral, allows us to work on these skills, so when we are faced with real situations that impact others, we are ready

Lafollette (2007) also emphasizes the need to understand and develop our virtues. Knowing that we ought to behave in a certain way, yet missing an opportunity to exercise moral behavior, is an indication of the need to “sharpen moral vision.” For example, we know that we ought to stay in good physical shape but often do not. This illustrates the need to be mindful of a virtue (in this case perseverance) that is important and must be developed.

Successful business leaders often say that treating people morally is a very important aspect in obtaining success. A person’s reputation is of key importance for a business leader, and if a person’s reputation is damaged by poor ethical conduct, the business will also suffer. The same is true in all walks of life. Where ethics are taken seriously, and people strive to make ethical decisions and actions, personal and professional success follows.

Critics may argue that this attitude is self-serving and that some individuals act ethically only for their own self-interest to be successful or happy. Critics would add that this is not the right reason to be ethical, and therefore is not being truly ethical. A counter argument may be that the action itself can be regarded as ethical, regardless of the reason for taking the action. This perspective focuses more on the end result rather than the means to the end.

Moral Values in Everyday Life

Ethics & Compliance Initiavive’s Resource Center (2020) identifies the following values as typical values that appear throughout codes of ethics. These are important for us to remember when faced with difficult ethical problems and decisions where we are required to be aware of all the values of each of the vested stakeholders. Consider how the following list of moral values can be used to develop a “moral compass” to help direct actions and decision of everyday life:

Ethics & Compliance Initiative(2020) Definition of values – Free ethics & compliance toolkit . https://www.ethics.org/resources/free-toolkit/definition-values

Lafollette, H. (2007). The practice of ethics. Malden, ME: Blackwell Publishing

Ethical Behavior & Moral Values in Everyday Life Copyright © 2020 by Ethics in Law Enforcement by Steve McCartney and Rick Parent https://opentextbc.ca/ethicsinlawenforcement/ is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Explaining Value: and Other Essays in Moral Philosophy

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Considers the following questions: What accounts for the existence of basic moral disagreements? Why do most people think it is worse to injure someone than to fail to save them from injury? Where does the right of self‐defence come from? Why do many people think it is morally permissible to treat animals in ways we would not treat people? Why are some people moral relativists and others not? What is it to value something and what is it to value something intrinsically? How are a person's values (noun) related to what the person values (verb)? How much of morality can or should be explained in terms of human flourishing or the possession of virtuous character traits? For that matter, are there character traits of the sort we normally suppose there are? How do people come to be moral? Is morality something one learns or does it arise in everyone naturally without instruction?

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Home — Essay Samples — Philosophy — Values of Life — My Personal Values in Life

My Personal Values in Life

Categories: Values of Life

About this sample

Words: 773 |

Published: Jan 31, 2024

Words: 773 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Introduction, body paragraph 1: personal value 1, body paragraph 2: personal value 2, body paragraph 3: personal value 3, counterargument.

Adler, M. J. (2000). The four dimensions of philosophy: Metaphysical, moral, objective, categorical. Routledge.
Miller, W. R., & Thoresen, C. E. (2003). Spirituality, religion, and health: An emerging research field. American Psychologist, 58(1), 24-35.
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Oxford University Press.

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The Variety of Values: Essays on Morality, Meaning, and Love

Susan Wolf, The Variety of Values: Essays on Morality, Meaning, and Love , Oxford University Press, 2015, 263pp., $45.00 (pbk), ISBN 9780195332810.

Reviewed by Sara Protasi, University of Puget Sound

Few essays evoke the same enthusiastic praise for their combination of rigorous reasoning, elegant writing style and influential thesis as Susan Wolf's "Moral Saints." [1] Its placement as the inaugural piece in this collection allows one to see that it is not only chronologically but also conceptually prior to Wolf's subsequent essays. It contains the seeds, in Wolf's own metaphor, from which sprouted an impressively cohesive collection of arguments concerning the forcefulness and inescapability of moral demands, and the significance and resilience of nonmoral values.

In the introduction, with a mixture of humility and pride, Wolf calls attention to the systematic nature of these thirteen articles (only one of which is previously unpublished), and details the connections among them. She highlights central, recurrent ideas and explains how the essays relate to the original themes of "Moral Saints," namely how there is more to value than morality, how moral considerations may be less forceful than moral philosophers have often portrayed them, and how different value reasons can pull us in opposite directions. The first part of the book, "Moral and Nonmoral Values," focuses on the nature and importance of nonmoral values, and their relation to moral ones. The connected topic of the structure and importance of morality is discussed in part 4, "The Concept of Duty." In the middle, part 2 ("Meaning in Life") explores the topic of meaningfulness, and part 3 discusses "Love".

Wolf devotes the final section of the introduction to the cover of the book, which features a still life by Willem Heda, the Dutch painter, depicting the remains of a luscious feast. Wolf tells us that she appreciates the Dutch Golden Age genre because of its rich textures, and one cannot help but think of the rich textures of her philosophical writing. Wolf explains that she is attracted by what she considers these paintings' characteristic "ambivalence and ambiguity" (8): in the Calvinist context where they were produced and sold, sensual pleasures and appreciation of material goods were condemned, and still lifes were allegories of transience, warnings against appreciating things that are doomed to decay. But the paintings themselves are magnificent objects, and their melancholic message is obfuscated, contradicted, and possibly nullified by the very means with which it is conveyed.

Wolf is here pointing to a tension that infuses all the essays, one way or the other: the tension between moral demands ("don't value material goods!") and the demands of beauty, of taste, and, in general, of nonmoral value. She constantly shows us how decent, well-rounded agents cannot, and should not, always wholeheartedly comply with their moral obligations, for two reasons. First, because nonmoral values are intrinsically important, and Wolf convincingly articulates this importance throughout the book, highlighting the shallowness of the dichotomy morality vs. self-interest that was characteristic of moral philosophy when "Moral Saints" was published. Second, because morality cannot keep its irreplaceable role of requiring us to take into account the needs and interests of others, if it is too demanding. When we conceive of morality as overriding every other practical consideration, people will not have "the freedom to live lives that they can find to be good and rewarding" (228) and will be less inclined to respect moral imperatives.

Notwithstanding her commitment to the plurality of values, however, Wolf ends up neglecting some crucial aspects of what is symbolized in her beloved Dutch Golden Age paintings: our embodied, emotional nature, our being subject to impulses and unendorsed habits, our being attuned to and appreciative of simple pleasures, such as the pleasures of the table that are the subject of Heda's still lifes.

To start with this last point: Wolf rarely talks in positive terms about the more mundane kinds of nonmoral values that occupy a central role in most people's lives. For instance, in "Good-for-Nothings" (ch. 5), she rejects a welfarist theory of value, arguing that there can be things that are good independently of the fact that they benefit us: "These things are not good because they benefit us; they benefit us because they are good" (76). Her examples of good things are: reading Middlemarch , watching The Wire , practicing the cello, training for a marathon, appreciating seventeenth century Dutch paintings, and more generally "good art, good philosophy, good science" (73). She explicitly contrasts these activities and pursuits with less valuable counterparts: reading The Da Vinci Code , watching Project Runway , and playing Angry Birds.

Wolf's examples of good things are well-chosen to resonate with her audience of professional philosophers in the Anglophone tradition, in its current demographic make-up. Extending Wolf's point to different cultural and socio-economic contexts seems relatively straightforward. For instance, we could talk of reading the Mahabharata , watching Taiwanese puppetry shows, practicing the djembe. However, this expansion would leave unaltered the most significant feature of Wolf's examples: they are all meant to be expressions of excellence . After saying that art, philosophy, and science are among the "things of immeasurable value" (76) with which the world is replete, and that "we may think of our lives as better, and more fortunate, insofar as we are able to be in appreciative touch with some of the most valuable of these" (76), Wolf goes on to say that "a good human life involves 'enjoyment of the excellent'" (77). But having immeasurable value is not the same as being excellent, and treating them as equivalent has two consequences.

First, it makes one more likely to overlook admittedly less complex sources of values, such as those stemming from appreciation of natural beauty, or from sensual activities such as eating, or having sex, the kind of transient but valuable experiences that were shunned by Dutch Calvinists.

Secondly, it risks restricting the chance of a "better, and more fortunate" life to those who are capable of experiencing excellence. Consider a cognitively disabled person. Her impairment prevents her from intellectual excellence: she cannot read Middlemarch , nor understand The Wire , and she could never distinguish a Rembrandt from a Kinkade. She does, however, watch Project Runway , she can read children books, and she really enjoys eating juicy apples and walking in the park. Her impairment also prevents her from moral excellence. While she may be naturally virtuous, in the Aristotelian sense, she cannot achieve practical wisdom, distinguish between hypothetical and categorical imperatives, or maximize utility. Finally, while she is affectionate to her family members, her loving behavior is often immature and self-centered, comparable to that of a toddler. But even though moral, intellectual, and "interpersonal" excellence are bound to be out of her reach, she is in appreciative touch with some things of immeasurable value, and I hesitate to think that her life is less good and less fortunate than mine.

Another context in which Wolf's view could be enriched by taking into consideration a greater variety of psychological profiles is her discussion of personal love. Love is the main topic of chapters 9, 10 and 11, but also comes up in other essays as an exemplary source of "values . . . that compete both motivationally and normatively with moral values" (5). In "The Importance of Love" (ch. 10), Wolf defines love as "caring, deeply and personally, for a person for her own sake" (191). It is an "orientation in the world" that "gives us reasons to live" (191).

Wolf's account is close to the commonsensical understanding of love, and similar to other influential philosophical accounts, such as Harry Frankfurt's. [2] But specific to her approach is how Wolf envisions the role of love's reasons in practical deliberation. In "Morality and Partiality" (ch. 3), for instance, Wolf defends a conception of morality that incorporates what she calls the Impartialist Insight -- "the claim that all persons are equally deserving of well-being and respect" (33) -- in a "moderate" way, so as to be compatible with the demands of partiality "without apology" (35). Her approach on the one hand acknowledges that friendship and love are valuable in themselves, independently of their contribution to morality, but on the other also embraces the possibility of a radical choice in favor of partiality, even at a grave moral cost: the choice of a woman to hide her criminal son from the police, causing an innocent to be imprisoned in his place. Wolf suggests that the woman's hesitation to act according to morality is not only understandable but "positively reasonable . . . . After all, if the meaning of one's life and one's very identity is bound with someone as deeply as a mother's life is characteristically tied to her son's, why should the dictates of impartial morality be regarded as decisive?" (41). She goes on to say that such a woman might be as worthy of admiration and respect as her counterpart who decides not to shelter her son.

While I am sympathetic with Wolf's picture, I worry that she relies on an all-too-rosy picture of motherhood and maternal love, thus implicitly moralizing love itself. To the extent that Wolf convinces us that partiality can reasonably trump impartiality, she succeeds in doing so by describing the mother as engaging in "tortured deliberations" (42), ready to sacrifice her own well-being for the sake of her son's: "Do to me what you like . . . . Judge me as you will. I will go to hell if I have to, but my son is more important to me than my moral salvation." (41). This mother is a selfless martyr. Some readers might in fact take issue with precisely this quasi-fanatical aspect: perhaps she should worry more about the innocent man who will go to jail in her son's place than about her own moral salvation. But even those who feel the pull of Wolf's example, and I am one of them, should bear in mind that there are darker and less valuable ways in which maternal and filial identity are tied up, than pure maternal altruism. Consider the case of a mother who is affected either by narcissistic or borderline personality disorder, or is just plain selfish. [3] Such mothers will be pained at the prospect of their child's going to jail because of the suffering it would cause to them . The shared sense of identity characterizing these relatively common relations is deeply problematic. To the extent that Wolf succeeds in showing that the mother's choice is respectable, or even admirable, she does so by relying not so much on the value of love itself, but on the value of a moralized picture of love.

Consider also Wolf's example in "'One Thought Too Many': Love, Morality, and the Ordering of Commitment" (ch. 9). The essay examines Bernard Williams' famous discussion of the man who rescues his wife instead of another drowning stranger, and who ought not, according to Williams, be motivated by the thought that she is his wife and it is permissible for him to favor her over a stranger. [4] Wolf reviews different interpretations and consequent responses to Williams' thesis, and concludes that the most common reaction is to agree with Williams that "the thought of moral permissibility would be one thought too many if it is understood to occur at the moment of action" (145, original emphases). This view, according to Wolf, is compatible with finding "nothing wrong with a person wondering, in a cool and reflective moment, under what conditions one may give preference to one's loved ones and under what conditions one may not" (146). But -- she argues -- there is in fact something wrong with the husband who reflects, in cold mind, about whether what he did was morally permissible: it is an unappealing personal ideal of a lover. In the essay she offers an alternative ideal, or rather "glimpses of a psychological profile that could be filled out so as to constitute an ideal" (161): a lover who would not constrain his actions to only those that are morally permissible, and who is unlikely to engage in moral deliberation, even hypothetically, over Williams' scenario. Wolf highlights that this is a personal and not a moral ideal, one she wishes she could realize and that she wishes for her children and friends.

Wolf claims to have sketched a psychological profile, but she does not pause to consider whether the husband depicted by Williams is a psychologically ordinary husband. Wolf is clearly sensitive to the constraints imposed on our moral ideals by nonmoral values. But there are also other constraints, imposed by our psychology.

I myself know that I fall short of being the kind of person that Wolf has in mind. I engage in the post-hoc reflections about what morality requires that Wolf deems as obtrusive, and the reason I do is that I sometimes need morality to nudge me to fulfill the demands of love. [5] Lovers are not always capable of putting their beloveds' interests before their own, for a variety of factors: weakness of the will, egoism, and, more relevant to Williams' scenario, primal instincts and emotions such as the hunger that made fathers fight with their sons over a piece of bread in concentration camps, [6] or the panic that makes a man flee in front of an avalanche instead of protecting his wife and children, [7] or, less dramatically, the sleep deprivation and exhaustion that causes petty fights between parents of a newborn.

One might respond on Wolf's behalf that she is explicit about the ideal nature of her lover, so that we should exclude those psychological facts that count as character flaws. But imagine a case in which our husband is a military rescuer. He has been trained to defeat his survival instinct, so there is no risk of him running for his life in front of an avalanche. However, he has also been trained to save perfect strangers. This is not only a deeply engrained habit, but also a part of his identity. When the avalanche approaches, his wife is at 50 meters from him, but another woman, older and less fit than his wife, is closer. It would be physically possible for him to run faster and save his wife. However, his training and professional identity kick in and he runs to save the stranger. Would a post-hoc reflection be inappropriate in this case? Could this person not be a desirable, even ideal love partner?

Wolf's decent human agents are very decent, but sometimes not quite human enough. Reflecting over less idealized profiles of lovers allows us to see also how the very boundaries between normative and axiological domains are sometimes, maybe often, blurry: in real life situations, it is often difficult to distinguish between different kinds of reasons and values. Whether or not a tired woman wakes her husband when the baby needs to be changed may be a complex deliberative act, and the final decision might be justified by a moral reason (he changed the baby earlier in the night, so it's only fair she lets him sleep), a loving one (he is sleeping so well, poor thing), both, or none (there was no time to think, she just instinctively rushed to the crib). Appreciating the variety of values means also appreciating the variety of value , its own internal miscellaneous messiness.

This remark is of course Wolfian in spirit, and I see it showcased by the essay where we find the most psychologically realistic, and thus highly flawed, examples of human agents: "Loving Attention: Lessons in Love from The Philadelphia Story " (ch. 10). Wolf uses the movie The Philadelphia Story as a case study for understanding Iris Murdoch's notion of loving attention as a moral virtue. Wolf's conclusion is that loving attention can be a moral virtue insofar as it is interpreted as "loving of the world" (177). This conclusion is reached through a detailed analysis of the movie and the loving styles of it characters. This method of inquiry, inherently attuned to the complexity of human psychology, not coincidentally leads Wolf to minimize the differences between the domains of value: personal love is argued to be fundamentally analogous to loving the world, including people who are evil and thus unworthy of love, and to love of the arts, and even, maybe, love of chocolate and basketball (cf. footnote 11, 179).

If I had to summarize the gist of my critical remarks in a slogan, it would be: "more chocolate and basketball, please". But I would not be in the position of making such remarks had it not been for Susan Wolf's ground-breaking articulation of the importance of not being saintly.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For their feedback on this review I thank Aaron Meskin and Shen-yi Liao, and especially Michael Della Rocca and Tyler Doggett for extensive discussions.

[1] Journal of Philosophy 79(8): 419-439 (1982).

[2] It would have been interesting for Wolf to compare her view to Frankfurt's view in The Reasons of Love (Princeton University Press, 2006), especially given their opposite perspectives on the relation between love for others and self-love.

[3] Lydia Davis portrays such a mother in "Selfish" ( The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis , Penguin, 2011, 441-442). The story is chilling because the mother is not depicted as abnormal in a clinical sense, even though of course the distinction between a psychological pathology and a moral flaw may not always be easy to draw.

[4] Bernard Williams, Moral Luck , Cambridge University Press, 1981, 1-19. For simplicity throughout the paper I maintain the husband/wife language, which does not imply endorsing a conventional picture of romantic love, according to which lovers are heterosexual, married, etc.

[5] I do not mean to imply that Wolf is not aware of the existence of conflicts between one's self-interests and the interests of our beloved, as she explicitly talks about these conflicts (see, e.g., the conclusion of ch. 3, p. 46). What I argue here is that the existence of these conflicts should play a larger role in determining what ideals of love are obtainable, and thus desirable.

[6] As recounted by Primo Levi in If This is a Man , Abacus, 2013.

[7] This example is inspired by the movie Force Majeure .

Essay on Ethics for Students and Children

500+ words essay on ethics.

Essay on Ethics – Ethics refers to the concepts of right and wrong conduct. Furthermore, ethics is basically a branch of philosophy dealing with the issue of morality. Moreover, ethics consist of the rules of behavior. It certainly defines how a person should behave in specific situations. The origin of ethics is old and it started from the Stone Age . Most noteworthy, over the centuries many religions and philosophers have made contributions to ethics.

Branches of Ethics

First of all, comes the descriptive branch of ethics. Descriptive ethics involve what people actually believe to be right or wrong. On the basis of this, the law decides whether certain human actions are acceptable or not. Most noteworthy, the moral principles of society keep changing from time to time. Therefore, descriptive ethics are also known as comparative ethics. This is because; it compares the ethics of past and present as well as ethics of one society and another.

Normative ethics is another important branch of ethics. Moreover, Normative ethics deals with certain norms or set of considerations. Furthermore, these norms or set of considerations dictate how one should act. Therefore, normative ethics sets out the rightness or wrongness of actions or behaviours. Another name for normative ethics is prescriptive ethics. This is because; it has principles which determine whether an action is right or wrong.

Meta-ethics consists of the origin of the ethical concepts themselves. Meta-ethics is not concerned whether an action is good or evil. Rather, meta-ethics questions what morality itself is. Therefore, meta-ethics questions the very essence of goodness or rightness. Most noteworthy, it is a highly abstract way of analyzing ethics.

Applied ethics involves philosophical examination or certain private and public life issues. Furthermore, this examination of issues takes place from a moral standpoint. Moreover, this branch of ethics is very essential for professionals. Also, these professionals belong to different walks of life and include doctors , teachers , administrators, rulers.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Applications of Ethics

Bioethicists deal with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, and philosophy. Furthermore, Bioethics refers to the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine .

Ethics also have a significant application in business. Moreover, business ethics examines ethical principles in relation to a business environment.

Military ethics involve the questions regarding the application of ethos of the soldier. Furthermore, military ethics involves the laws of war. Moreover, it also includes the question of justification of initiating military force.

Public sector ethics deals with a set of principles that guide public officials in their service. Furthermore, the public sector involves the morality of decision making. Most noteworthy, it consists of the question of what best serves the public’s interests.

In conclusion, ethics is certainly one of the most important requirements of humanity. Furthermore, without ethics, the world would have been an evil and chaotic place. Also, the advancement of humanity is not possible without ethics. There must be widespread awareness of ethics among the youth of society.

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Essay on Moral Values in 100, 150, 200, 300, 350, & 400 Words

Table of Contents

Essay on Moral Values in 100 Words

Moral values serve as guiding principles that shape our behavior, decisions, and interactions with others. They provide a moral compass and help individuals lead a meaningful and ethical life. In this essay, we will explore the significance and relevance of moral values in our society.

Moral values promote empathy, honesty, respect, and fairness, fostering a harmonious coexistence among individuals. They enhance our character, shaping us into responsible and compassionate human beings. Emphasizing moral values cultivates a sense of integrity and accountability, ensuring that our actions align with our beliefs. Moreover, they provide a foundation for building strong relationships and fostering mutual trust.

Essay on Moral Values in 150 Words

Moral values play a significant role in shaping our lives and society. They serve as guides to help us distinguish between right and wrong, shaping our behavior and decision-making processes. These values act as a compass that directs us towards uprightness, justice, empathy, and respect.

Moral values encompass several aspects, such as honesty, integrity, compassion, and fairness. Honesty cultivates trust and credibility, forming the foundation of healthy relationships. Integrity encourages us to act in accordance with our ethical principles, even when no one is watching. Compassion moves us to understand and help others, promoting harmony and unity. Fairness demands equal treatment and consideration for all, ensuring justice prevails.

By adhering to moral values, we create a society that thrives on righteousness and respect. Our actions become reflections of our character, contributing to a positive and ethical world.

Essay on Moral Values in 200 Words

Moral values play a crucial role in shaping the fabric of society. They are the principles that guide individuals in making ethical decisions and treating others with respect and compassion. In a world filled with diversity and differing belief systems, moral values act as the universal language that transcends cultural boundaries.

At their core, moral values encompass honesty, integrity, empathy, fairness, and kindness. These values serve as the building blocks of strong relationships, fostering trust and understanding among individuals. By adhering to moral values, one can lead a life that is not only morally upright but also contributes positively to the greater good.

Moreover, moral values provide individuals with a sense of direction and purpose. They act as a moral compass, guiding our actions and decisions. In times of confusion and moral dilemmas, these values serve as a reference point to help us differentiate right from wrong.

Moral values are also essential for personal growth and development. They shape our character and define who we are as individuals. Living by these values helps cultivate virtues such as patience, forgiveness, and perseverance, leading to personal fulfillment and happiness.

In conclusion, moral values form the foundation of a just and harmonious society. They foster a sense of unity and shared responsibility among individuals. As we navigate through life, it is crucial to uphold and promote moral values, ensuring a world where compassion, fairness, and integrity prevail.

Essay on Moral Values in 300 Words

Moral values are the foundation of a just and harmonious society. They guide our thoughts, actions, and decisions, shaping our character and defining who we are as individuals. In a world that can often feel chaotic and confusing, developing and upholding strong moral values is crucial for maintaining peace and stability.

At their core, moral values encompass principles such as honesty, integrity, compassion, and respect for others. They teach us to differentiate between right and wrong and to make choices that align with our inner sense of rightness. Moral values provide us with a moral compass, allowing us to navigate through life’s challenges and dilemmas.

One of the key aspects of moral values is the importance placed on empathy and kindness. These values encourage us to understand and share the feelings of others, fostering a sense of unity and compassion among individuals. They remind us to treat others with dignity and respect, regardless of their backgrounds or beliefs.

Another fundamental aspect of moral values is the significance of honesty and integrity. These values promote sincerity, transparency, and accountability in our words and actions. They require us to be truthful and trustworthy, even in the face of adversity or temptation.

Moral values play a vital role in our personal and professional lives. They guide our behavior in relationships, be it with family, friends, colleagues, or strangers. They shape our decision-making process, helping us to make ethical choices that consider the well-being of others.

In conclusion, moral values form the bedrock of a well-functioning society. They provide us with a compass to navigate the complexities of life and guide us toward making ethical choices. By upholding these values, we contribute to the creation of a more equitable, empathetic, and harmonious world. It is essential that we cultivate and foster these values in ourselves and in future generations, ensuring their continued importance in an ever-changing world.

Essay on Moral Values in 350 Words

Moral values: a guiding light in life.

Moral values serve as the compass that guides individuals through their journey in life. These principles act as a moral code that shapes one’s character, behavior, and interactions with others. In today’s fast-paced and interconnected world, the significance of moral values cannot be undermined.

Firstly, moral values play a crucial role in shaping one’s personal character. These values instill qualities such as honesty, integrity, compassion, and empathy. They teach individuals to distinguish between right and wrong and encourage them to make ethical choices. When individuals incorporate moral values into their character, they become more dependable, trustworthy, and responsible.

Secondly, moral values enhance interpersonal relationships. Respect, trust, and kindness towards others are fundamental moral values that foster harmonious connections. When individuals exhibit these values, they create an environment of understanding, love, and acceptance. This promotes healthy communication, cooperation, and collaboration, which in turn leads to better relationships in both the personal and professional spheres.

Moreover, moral values guide individuals in difficult situations and dilemmas. When faced with choices that can impact their integrity or dignity, moral values serve as a beacon of guidance. These values help individuals make decisions that align with their conscience and core beliefs, even if it means facing hardships or sacrifices.

Furthermore, moral values contribute to the betterment of society as a whole. When individuals uphold values such as justice, equality, and tolerance, they contribute to creating a just and inclusive society. These values enable individuals to recognize the importance of social responsibility and motivate them to work towards the welfare of others. A society built on strong moral values is likely to be more peaceful, humane, and progressive.

In conclusion, moral values are the foundation upon which individuals build their character, relationships, and society. They provide a sense of direction and purpose, helping individuals navigate the complexities of life. Embracing moral values not only enriches one’s own life but also establishes a strong ethical framework for the betterment of society as a whole. It is necessary for individuals to reflect upon and strive to incorporate moral values in their daily lives, for they truly serve as a guiding light in the modern world.

Essay on Moral Values in 400 Words

Moral values are guiding principles that dictate the behavior and actions of individuals, communities, and societies as a whole. They serve as a moral compass, helping us distinguish right from wrong and guiding us in making ethically responsible decisions. These values are deeply rooted in our beliefs, upbringing, and cultural traditions, shaping our character and defining who we are as human beings.

One of the most important moral values is honesty. Honesty is the foundation of trust and integrity. Being honest means being truthful, sincere, and genuine in our words and actions. It is about having the courage to always tell the truth, even when it may be difficult or unfavorable. Honesty builds strong relationships and promotes a sense of trust between individuals, which is vital for a harmonious society.

Another key moral value is kindness. Kindness involves showing compassion, empathy, and consideration towards others. It is about being supportive, understanding, and respectful. Kindness can be expressed through small acts of kindness, such as helping someone in need or offering a listening ear to a friend. It promotes a sense of community and fosters a culture of compassion and caring.

Respect is also an essential moral value. Respect involves treating others with dignity, honor, and fairness. It is about valuing the opinions, beliefs, and rights of others, regardless of our differences. Respect allows for open and constructive dialogue, leading to better understanding and cooperation among individuals and communities.

Integrity is another moral value that is crucial for personal and societal growth. Integrity involves having strong moral principles and consistently adhering to them, even when faced with challenging situations. It requires individuals to be honest, trustworthy, and accountable for their actions. Integrity is the backbone of a just and ethical society, promoting fairness, responsibility, and accountability.

Finally, a moral value that cannot be overlooked is empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. It involves putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes and showing compassion and understanding towards their experiences and struggles. Empathy encourages a sense of connection and unity among individuals, fostering a more inclusive and supportive society.

In conclusion, moral values play a crucial role in shaping our character, guiding our behavior, and creating a harmonious society. Honesty, kindness, respect, integrity, and empathy are just a few examples of important moral values that should be cultivated and practiced by individuals. By embracing and promoting these values, we can contribute to a more just, compassionate, and ethical world.

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Essay on Moral Values

List of essays on moral values, essay on moral values – short essay for kids and children (essay 1 – 150 words), essay on moral values – written in english (essay 2 – 250 words), essay on moral values – for school students (class 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 standard) (essay 3 – 300 words), essay on moral values (essay 4 – 400 words), essay on moral values – importance in society and challenges (essay 5 – 500 words), essay on moral values – how to cultivate and inculcate it in human beings (essay 6 – 600 words), essay on moral values (essay 7 – 750 words), essay on moral values – long essay (essay 8 – 1000 words).

Moral values are the key essence of life and it is these values that come along with us through the journey of life. Moral values are basically the principles that guide our life in the righteous path and do not allow us to do any harm to others.

Audience: The below given essays are especially written for kids, children and school students (Class 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 Standard).

Moral values define the humankind. Moral values empower us to stand as the most unique creatures in the whole animal kingdom. These values are the basis to almost every religion. Thousands of years ago, Buddha described the essence of moral values in his sermons and spread it all over the world.

Since our childhood, we are taught about the good habits and their powers by the elders at home and school. Some of the most significant moral values are kindness, honesty, truthfulness, selflessness, compassion, and love.

The things we learn as a child mould us as an adult. That is why it is crucial to inculcate the pious values in the children. For the younger generation to be transformed into citizens with mighty characters, they must possess strong ethical and moral values. Only then, we can dream of making India great and emerge as an ethical leader in the world.

So, from where do we get these moral values?

Moral values are the first thing that every child learns from their homes . What is right and what is wrong is something that we see and learn from our parents as well as from our own experiences. Many religions preach moral values are part of their belief systems.

Importance of Moral Values

Moral values are very important to each and everyone because it is these values that transform us into better human beings.

i. Without knowing and learning moral values, we will not be able to differentiate between good and bad.

ii. Moral values define us and help us to be surrounded by good people.

iii. One who practices moral values will have courage to handle any situation in life.

Role of Parents

Parents of today think that providing all luxuries to their children is their only responsibility. But they miss to offer them the most important wealth – moral values. When parents deny this, they fail in their duty to give a good human being to the society.

Honesty, kindness, truthfulness, forgiveness, respect for others, helping others etc., are some of the moral values that every parent must teach their children.

“It is not what you do for your children , but what you have taught them to do for themselves, that will make them successful human beings” – Ann Landers.

Moral Values are the practices followed by human beings to be good and to live in a society. Moral values or ethics, are taught to us by our parents and teachers. These include being honest, kind, respecting others, helping those in need, being faithful and cooperating with others, to name a few, are good moral values.

What are Moral Values?

The norms of what is right or good and what is wrong or bad, define the moral values which are based on many factors like region, society, religious beliefs, culture etc. These defined norms tell the people how they must act or behave in different situations and expect similar behaviours form others.

Importance of Moral Values:

Moral values give an aim to life. Knowing difference between right and wrong is the foundation to imbibe moral values, which are taught from the birth, and bring out the best in individuals.

Moral Values in Workplace:

In every workplace, people look for individuals with good moral values. For a job interview, the interviewer looks for a candidate with good moral values. Every organization has a defined ethical code of conduct that the people in the organization are expected to follow, in addition to basic societal moral values. Organizations with people having good moral values runs more systematically and efficiently.

Moral Value in coming Generations:

People are not aware or conscious about moral values and have different outlook towards life. Parents and teachers are too busy to inculcate moral values in younger generations.

Conclusion:

Moral values are a type of law defined by the culture, society or other factors, to guide individuals on how to or not to behave in daily life. Sometimes, one may have different views and feel the moral guidelines too harsh or wrong. Such guidelines should be advocated for the good of the society.

Moral values are those characters or values seeded in a person’s mind and behavior towards oneself, others and on the whole. It can be the way a person consider other person’s life and space or the way they value each other’s feelings. The basic moral values like honesty, kindness, respect towards others, helpful mannerism, etc., will be the keys to be noted to judge a person’s character.

Moral values are the main characteristics that define the goodness in a person. These should be taught by the parents and teachers to the kids from their childhood. Moral values will help everyone in taking better decisions in life and attain the heights in an ethical way.

Instead of just thinking about our success and goals, moral values will give us the courage to take into account other’s happiness too. A person with better moral values is motivated and finds all possible ways to spread good vibes in and around them as well. Suppressing the people around you for attaining the goals you desire is the most dangerous violation of moral values.

Importance:

A person without moral values is considered to possess a bad character and the society will start to judge the person due to this behavior. This competitive world of ours has made every moral value in a person to die for their own development and growth. Such inhuman and unethical activities like dishonesty, telling lies for your own benefit, hurting others and even worst things, should be avoided.

Inculcating the importance of moral values in a kid from their growing age will help them in sticking to those values forever. It is a necessity of our society to bear such responsible youths and younger generations with good moral values so that they will help our nation to attain better heights.

This society of ours is filled with immoral people who find every scope to deceive others through their activities. The young ones learn more things by observing their elders and they mimic the way their elders behave. It is the responsibility of elders like parents, teachers, etc., to grow a future generation with more moral values seeded in them by improving their own behavior.

Moral values can be taught to students by making them listen and understand more moral stories and the rewards they will get if they show it to others as well. Such way of teaching will help them grab the importance easily rather than taking mere lectures on moral values.

Introduction:

The society helps individuals to grow in culture and learn through experiences of all aspects of life. Societies instill culture, religion, economy and politics in individual because as people grow up, they tend to pick something from dynamics of life and the societal opinions on certain aspects of life. Moral values are also instilled by a society. The values that a person grows up with are the values that will be displayed in his or her character. Society plays a big role in influencing moral values of individuals. Moral values are a set of principles that enable an individual to distinguish between the proper and improper things or right versus wrong. The moral values that are highly valued in the society are integrity, honesty, loyalty, respect and hard work.

Importance of Moral Values in the Society:

In a society, there is interactions among people and the possession of moral values is important in those interactions. Establishment of good relationships is reliant on good moral values. Values like honesty, trust, faithfulness and loyalty are essential in establishment and sustainability of good relationships. Lack of those values causes strained relationships and misunderstanding among members of the society.

Moral values are important in building the economy. Through determination and hard work, people are able to conduct activities that contribute largely to the economic growth of a society. Also through establishment of good relationships, trade is conducted smoothly and there is teamwork in trade and performance of business transactions. The growth of the economy is important in the life quality in the society.

Moral values also play a role in prevention of conflict and ease in conflict resolution. Good relationships seldom end in conflict and whenever conflict arises, it is minimum and can be resolved easily. In a society that peace thrives, there is growth and development which results in an improved quality of life.

Challenges:

The society is required to thrive in good moral values. Development of moral values is challenged by migration and interactions between different cultures and societies. The interactions dilute the morals of one society through adaption and assimilation of a different culture e.g., westernization in Africa.

Poverty is a challenge to the moral values because it creates vices like theft and deceit among members of the society. In poor economic status, everyone struggles to keep up with the hard times and moral values become a thing of the past due to strive for survival.

Education is both a challenge and promoter for development of moral values. Depending on the environment of education, students pick either good or bad morals. In modern education, students tend to pick immorality because of peer pressure.

Conclusion.

In conclusion, it is evident that moral value are an important consideration in the development of the society. Moral values go a long way in impacting the lives of an individual and the entire society. The development of moral values varies with the environmental exposure in societies. Each society should strive to uphold good moral values.

Moral values cultivated by human beings dignify the worth of human life. The morality existed from time immemorial and sustained among the communities. It amalgamated into the cultures which made the life of human beings secure and advanced. We can observe the ethical integrity in all the aspects of the individual as well as societal discourses. The moral values have been evolving with the inter-personal relationships between human beings as well as intra-personal relationships.

What are the moral values cultivated among us?

Religions have played a vital role in formulating and promoting moral values. The fundamental human values of love, respect, trust, tolerance, compassion, kindness are commonly practiced among people. Love and respect are significant in family relationships.

Love and respects are the cornerstones for the relationship between husband and wife, parents and children, elders and children. The sharing and caring qualities should be encouraged among children to make them compassionate personalities in the future.

The integrity and trust plays a prominent role in maintaining professional relationships. Similarly, kindness and empathy are the two powerful units to measure the gravity of human values. Patience and forgiveness are the right symbols of a human being’s dignity.

The Relevance of Moral Values:

Nowadays, humans tend to be more focused into self-centered life. Whatever happens outside the family roof is least mattered to the modern people. The social commitment of humans towards their community gets ignored for their personal conveniences.

The compassion, brotherhood, and love are hardly found. We do not have time to spend with our parents or even have time to look after our old and sick parents. Husbands leaving their wives and vice versa have become common these days. The increased number of divorces, old age homes, and orphanages clearly show where our compassion and love stay.

The social values like secularism, religious tolerance, and universal fraternity are the most threatened moral values these days. Religious fanatics have made the lives of ordinary people terrible in many places. The violence by the fanatics are the denial of the fundamental rights of people. People do not identify the fellow beings as brothers and sisters instead they seem to recognize others on racial, economic, gender, caste, and religious terms. It affects the balance of our social system.

The increasing terrorism, revolts, violence against children and gender inequalities are the instances of the denial of fundamental rights. The refugees who wander from nations to nations, the war for food and water, robbery, child labor are still prevalent in today’s civilized society. The civilization and culture acquired through education have made our lives more primitive considering the aspect of moral values.

How to inculcate the values among the children?

Although we acquired many information and knowledge, skills and technical knowledge through our education, our curriculum gives less importance to teach human values and moral values to our children. Nowadays, children become addicted to electronic gadgets, social media, and other entertainment modes.

It is our responsibility to teach our children and students human values within our family as well as through the education system. We should help grow moral values like sharing, helping, caring, and being considerate and tolerance in our children and encourage them to practice those at an early age.

Though various cultures have different perspectives towards moral values, the fundamental human values remain the same in every culture. It is relevant to project the human values and cultivate them in our daily lives.

Moral values demand to have conviction, integrity and rational sense to dissect between right and wrong. It is not just a technical understanding of right and wrong. It is more than that. In life, even if things happen against the morale of our best belief, we tend to manage the situation which may be the right decision of the occasion. We can say morally is wrong but it is morally right too, because a concession in the moral standard might have saved a situation here.

Moral values are relative. Standing firm to the moral values should be the motto in everyone’s life. It should satisfy your conscious even if it is disadvantageous. Moral values are subject to change, and it should continue to change upon the progression of society. It should reflect on what we are standing and the kind of impact it can create on others.

Moral values can be said to simply mean the values that are good that our teachers and parents taught us. Some very important moral values include being kind and honest, always trying to help those who are in need, show respect to other people, working with others when there is a need to and faithfulness to a partner or friend. When we imbibe moral values that are good, we are building ourselves to become very good humans. A very good character is synonymous to moral values that are good. Moral values can be basically defined as values that are defined by our society so that they can help in guiding people to live a life that is disciplined. Moral values that are basic like cooperative behaviour, kindness and honesty are most times constant, some other values can change or get modified over time. Other habits that portray good moral values include integrity, helpfulness, love respectfulness, compassion and hard work.

The importance of good moral values in our lives:

Life is full of many different challenges. Each day we live, morals are very necessary in helping us differentiate between things that are wrong and things that are right. Our morals and moral values affect both us and the society around us. Good moral values can help us improve our decision making in life.

Aspects of moral values:

Moral values cut across every area of our lives and even the society at large. For us to be able to have a good society and environment, it is important for each and every one of us to have solid and good moral values. It is important that we respect each other irrespective of the age or social status of the individual we are relating to. This can help in gaining good relations in every aspects and area of life whether it is in the workplace, family or the society. Good moral values can also help us in discovering our true purpose in life.

If it is true that moral values and habits are extremely important and beneficial to us humans, why then do we have a lot of people that do not have any of the moral values and do not follow the rules of morality in this world. Why do we have a lot of crimes happening all around us in the world today? Why is there so much disbelief and distrust among all of us?

The world we live in is an extremely tempting place and there are quick fixes for all of the problems facing us and this eventually turns our attention back to the main problem. Abiding to moral values in this life requires a lot of patience and also sacrifice but eventually, it helps one in analysing the difficulties and problems one faces and help in getting a solution to them.

Overall, someone who is ready and very determined to do their best in following a life that is meaningful in a patient way ends up following moral values without any fear of the person getting judged and such person ends up standing out from among the crowd.

Imbibing and inculcating good moral values:

The best time to imbibe good moral values into a person is when the person is still young and can still learn new characters and habits. Therefore, teachers and parents should endeavour to put in their best efforts into helping students and their children imbibe very solid moral values. Most children are very observant and they copy and learn habits and behaviours of their elder siblings, parents and teachers.

Children are bound to pay solid attention to the manner of action and behaviour of people older than them and they simply do the things they do. Children tend to speak only the truth if they have noticed that the elders around them are always truthful no matter the situation.

Likewise, it is important as elders to not be engaged in any form of bad behaviour as the children tend to assume they can also do these things and that they are not wrong because the elders around them are doing it. We should try to always demonstrate good and solid moral values to children around us. The best way to teach children good and solid moral values is through our own actions and habits.

It is very important for us as human beings to bear good and solid moral values like helping others, honesty , righteousness, decency, and even self-decency. People that have great moral values are very indispensable asset to others and even the society at large.

Moral values are the models of good and bad, which direct a person’s conduct and decisions. A person may adopt moral values from society and government, religion, or self. They are also inherited from the family as well.

In past ages, it was uncommon to see couples who lived respectively without the advantage of legal marriage rules. Of late, couples that set up a family without marriage are about as common as conventional wedded couples. There has been a shift in the moral values from time to time. For instance, in earlier times, the laws and ethics essentially originated from the cultures of a family and society as a whole. As society moved into the advanced time, these have largely disintegrated and people today tend to sue their own morals they want to follow.

Definition:

Moral values, as the name says, implies the significance of the moral qualities in the conduct of the kids, the youth and everyone one in life. Primarily the moral values are the qualities which one gains from life through the journey of life. They also depict the standards of what is right and what is wrong for us which we learn in the schools and in the workplace and from our surroundings as well. The beliefs which we gain from the family and the society that directs us how we lead our lives is what moral values are all about.

Moral Values in India:

India is a country which has been known for its values since the ancient times. We start to learn moral values from our family. In India, children are taught to respect their elders, greet them properly whenever they meet them. This a way of showing respect towards the elders. A child knows that he is supposed to obey whatever is asked by the elders. Such a moral value inculcates obedience in the mind of a child. Moral values are important for all of us in order to make us live a life of a good human being.

Important Moral Values in Life:

Although there are numerous moral values which one should follow in life, there are some of them which should be followed by almost everyone in the world. Firstly, always speaking the truth is one such moral value. We should never speak lies no matter what the circumstance is. Also, we should respect our elders. Our elders have seen and experienced the world better than us. It is always good for their blessings and advice in our important decisions. Loyalty towards our work and integrity are other such moral values which should be practised by one and all.

Examples from History:

There have been many examples from history which have depicted the importance and rightful following of moral values in life. One such example which we all are familiar with is from our epic Ramayana. Lord Ram was asked to go to fourteen years in exile just because his father King Dasaratha had granted a wish to the queen Kaikeyi. He could have refused it as well as it was not he who had granted the wish. But just to keep his father’s words he accepted the exile graciously and went into exile. Not only this, his wife Sita and his younger brother Laxman also followed his footsteps as they believed that it was their prime duty to follow him.

The Scenario Today:

Such was the moral value depicted during that period. But, now things are so different. People seem to have forgotten their moral values and are more focused on modern life. There are a number of instances every day where parents are left alone by their children to live a lonely old life. Many of them even die in isolation and there is no one to look after them during the last years. Apart from this, there are frequent quarrels between families over petty matters which could have been avoided if the people remembered the moral values our ancestors stood for.

Nowadays, people smoking and drinking and that too in front of their parents and children is a common sight. This is so against our moral values. We should not teach our children the evils ,such habits can do harm them in later years of their life.

The Remedy Available:

Since there has been a strong drift in the moral values of the people, the government has initiated to make the students learn about moral values in life and their importance to us. In order to execute this, schools of today teach moral values to the children in a greater sense. This is important as the students are the future of tomorrow. If the schools and the families alike teach the children such values from childhood, they shall turn into good human beings when they grow up.

Moral values depict our character to the outer world. They are of extreme importance in our lives. In earlier times, people were so determined to follow these values inherited from our ancestors. Such was their determination that once committed they never went back on their words. But with modernisation and urbanisation, we have seemed to have lost our moral values somewhere. Children disrespecting their parents are a common sight nowadays.

But, we should not blame the children for this. It is perhaps our own upbringing which has led to such immoral practices all over. It is we who should inculcate the moral values in our life first. Children will follow what they observe around them. If they shall see people living in joint families together and respecting each other, even they shall do so when they grow up. If we speak lies to our children even they shall do so. For the children imbibe the habits they see in their parents, teachers, peers at school and others around them.

So, it is we who have to take the first step forward. The children shall surely follow us. Moral values give us character and strength. If each one us practice some moral values in life, there would be peace and harmony all around. Moreover, we shall have a bright future for our next generations as well.

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Essay on Moral Values | Importance of Moral Values & Ethics in Life

Essay on Moral Values For Children & Students

Introduction

Moral values means set of principles and rules which guide a person to differentiate between right and wrong.

Some of the great moral values include honesty, freedom, charity, courage, respect, care, sincerity and justice. A person’s character is mostly determined by the moral values that he possess.

Meaning of Moral Values

Moral values means personal believes of an individual about what is right and what is wrong. When we face dilemmas or problems then the decisions we make show what moral values we hold.

Sometimes, people face certain situations that it becomes difficult for them to differentiate between appropriate and inappropriate answers. Moral values are something that set a standard for a person to understand what action is right and what is wrong.

Our moral values have been set by our religion. There are certain rules set by every religion according to which a believer should live.

We also get moral values from the cultures or traditions of our society and also from the laws defined by government.

Importance of Moral Values in Life

The way a person prioritizes moral values depends on his up bringing. Parents have the responsibility to teach good manners and values to their children since childhood so that they develop these habits in their later life too.

When a person lives by moral values since childhood, then these values become a part of his life. These values help him to live a righteous life that does not include any wrong act. He can get peace of mind when we he is good in his actions.

When we meet someone in real life, the first thing that they observe is our moral values. When we are confronted with certain situations or circumstances then the decisions, we make during this time shows what values we have learned.

If we do not have moral values, we will not be able to differentiate between what is right and what is wrong. If we have moral values then we will have confidence to deal with any situation calmly and confidently.

Loss of moral values means loss of individual’s personality. Without moral values, he will be of no worth. He must learn to treat others with same values with which he wishes to be treated.A person who lacks moral values is not respected by anyone.

People always give respect to that person who maintains his moral values. They avoid the company of that person who is not good in his manners. On the other hand, a person who knows his moral values is respected by everyone.These values are the key to make a good bond with people.

Moral values play an important role in the progress of a country. People who are honest, loyal, hardworking and disciplined always work with more dedication for the progress of their country.

They are an asset to this society because they are strong enough to deal with any tough situation because they believe in patience.

These moral values define the way a person lives. If a person knows his moral values and then he will get guidance to make a foundation of his life.

Related Post : Self Confidence Essay For Children & Students

These values will keep him away from distractions and negativity. The positive feelings will encourage him to make his own choices and get the privilege to alter his life for a better future.

It is very important to impart importance of moral values in children so that they can become a better citizen.

If we want a society that is free from crimes, lies and dishonesty then we should learn the practice the moral values that are preached by our religion.

Reader Interactions

Ethics, Values, and Morality

Introduction

Rachel Douglas-Jones 8 ,
Maja Hojer Bruun 9 &
Dorthe Brogård Kristensen 10
First Online: 24 March 2022

2628 Accesses

Technologies generate questions. Questions about how to live with them, make them, understand their implications, share their benefits, and limit their harms. Sometimes the questions are specific: what does a new way of doing something mean for those who re-shape their lives around it? At other times, the questions are broader: should this technology exist at all? This section brings together the substantial contributions that anthropologists have made to discussing and analysing the disquiet and awe of technological advance, and the languages—ethics, values, and morality—through which it has been addressed. In this Introduction, we review the anthropology of technology as seen through the lenses of ethics, morality, and values, covering both historical attention to these areas of concern and contemporary work. We then introduce the chapters of this section, situating the seven ethnographies in these broader literatures and narrating their shared concerns. From the embodiment of values in material form to their contestation through conversation, policy, and practice, we make visible the registries of contemporary contestations over technology, and the means by which people struggle to settle normative questions about the form that human futures should take.

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Douglas-Jones, R., Bruun, M.H., Kristensen, D.B. (2022). Ethics, Values, and Morality. In: Bruun, M.H., et al. The Palgrave Handbook of the Anthropology of Technology. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7084-8_26

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Essay on Moral Values in English for Children and Students

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Essay on Moral Values: Moral values are the good values that our taught to us by our parents and teachers. These include being honest and kind, showing respect towards others, extending help to those in need, being faithful to ones partner and cooperating with others to name a few. Imbibing good moral values make a person a good human being. A person who sticks to his moral values is said to bear a good character.

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Here are essays on Moral Values of varying lengths to help you with the topic in your exam. You can choose any Moral Values essay as per your need:

Moral Values Essay 200 words

Moral values are good values such as compassion, generosity, honesty, kindness, integrity, politeness, perseverance, self control and respect. Individuals who possess these qualities are considered to be an asset to the society. They do not only lead a disciplined life but also help in bringing out the best in those around them. Their dedication towards work, sense of self control and helping nature is appreciated by everyone.

Every parent wants his child to bear a good moral character. Many families in India are especially strict when it comes to imbibing moral values. They stress upon its importance and try to help their children inculcate the same from an early age. However, the moral values in the society are degrading with time.

There are two schools of thoughts when it comes to moral values. As per one, a person must bear good moral values even at the cost of his/ her happiness. On the other hand as per the other one a person must not be too strict with oneself and that moral values may be altered to some extent if they become a cause of stress. The youth these days is more inclined towards seeking happiness rather than valuing moral values. This may be attributed to the growing influence of the western culture.

Moral Values Essay 300 words

Moral values include being honest, kind, showing respect to others, helping others, having a sense of self control, treating everyone equally and imbibing other such good qualities. A person possessing such qualities is known to bear a good moral character. On the other hand, those who do not possess such qualities are looked down upon by the society.

It requires conviction to follow good habits and imbibe moral values. Not every individual is as strong willed to follow these habits. However, we must try to imbibe these.

Moral Values in Office Setting

People look forward to individuals with good moral values. One of the things that the interviewer examines during a job interview is whether the prospective employee bears good moral values. Besides the basic moral values, every organization has a defined ethical code of conduct that the employees are expected to follow. An organization with disciplined employees who possess good moral values runs more systematically compared to those where these basics things are not sorted. There is less corruption and everyone gets a fair chance to learn and grow in such an environment. This is the reason why employers give special attention to this quality while selecting an employee.

However, unfortunately, the youth today does not give much importance to the moral values. The growing competition these days is one of the reasons for the degradation of these values. In an attempt to grow professionally, people do not hesitate to lie, deceive and use other unethical and immoral practices. This disturbs the work environment. It is because of this that the deserving employees lead a lifetime on the same position while the ones who employ immoral practices reach on the top.

Our society needs more individuals that possess good moral values in order to grow and develop the right way.

Moral Values Essay 400 words

Moral values are the values defined by the society based on which a person’s character is judged. A person is said to be good or bad on the basis of these values. A person’s choices and decisions in life are dependent to a large extent on the moral values he/she bears.

Why Are Moral Values Important?

Moral values define the norms of right and wrong and good and bad. These defined norms help the people understand as how they must act in the society in order to lead a peaceful life. Decision making becomes easy to some extent as a person knows the repercussions of his behaviour based on the moral principles he has been taught since childhood.

Moral values give us an aim in life. We are grounded in reality and are motivated to do good for those around us if we bear good moral values. Helping others, caring for those around us, taking wise decisions and not hurting others are some of the examples of good moral values. These values help in bringing out the best in us.

Moral Values in Indian Society

The Indian society and culture gives high regard to the moral values. From the childhood itself, individuals are expected to behave in a manner which is morally correct. They are taught what is right and wrong as per the society. Talking with respect with the elders and with patience and love with those who are younger to us is one of the first lessons taught to us. One is also taught to bear a good moral character. Indulging in drinking, smoking and other such notorious activities is almost a taboo in the Indian society, particularly for the women. It is considered to be against the custom and tradition of the Indian society. People in India have been known to have broken family ties with those who tread on the path which is not morally correct.

However, with the changing times and growing attraction towards the western culture many people are defying these set norms of morality. Everyone these days wants freedom to live their life their own way and the strict moral values often hamper their happiness. Many people go against the society to seek freedom and happiness.

While individuals must bear good moral values, sometimes they seem too far-fetched. With the changes in the mindset and the way of living, moral values must also be altered and should not remain too stringent.

Moral Values Essay 500 words

Moral values are the good values taught to help people lead a disciplined life. Moral values include good habits such as honesty, helpfulness, integrity, respectfulness, love, hard work and compassion.

Importance of Moral Values in a Student’s Life

A student’s life is full of challenging. This is a growing age wherein a person learns several lessons each day. The lessons learned during this age stay with us for the rest of our lives. It is thus important to help the students inculcate good moral values. After all, they are the future of the nation. Children with good moral values grow up to become responsible youth. Those who are devoid of good values do not only spoil their lives as they grow older but are also a threat to the society.

Imbibing Good Moral Values in Students

Parents as well as teachers must put in special efforts to help students imbibe good moral values. Children are quite observant. Most of the things they learn in life is by observing their teachers, parents and elder siblings. They pay more heed to the way their elders act and behave and imbibe the same rather than what they are instructed to do. For instance, they will be inspired to speak the truth if they see their elders doing the same. On the other hand, if they are repeatedly asked to speak the truth but see their elders doing otherwise, they too shall be tempted to lie. It is thus the responsibility of the parents and teachers to behave properly to demonstrate good values so that the children inculcate the same. They must inspire the students to be polite, help others, speak the truth, be compassionate and take up responsibilities with pleasure.

Schools must also focus on imparting moral values to the students by way of good moral stories and lessons rather than merely lecturing them on the same. Evil practices and bad habits must be condemned so that the students stay away from them. Inculcating good moral values in students is as important as teaching them other subjects.

Moral Values and Today’s Generation

Times are changing and the mindset of people is changing with time. While it is good to move with the time however moving away from ones roots and moral values is not a good thing. Today’s generation is not as conscious about being morally and ethically correct as the earlier ones.

They have a different outlook towards life. Indulging in frivolous act, lying for their benefit, smoking, drinking and having drugs is a common sight these days. While this was considered a taboo a few decades back, youth these days indulges in the same without any inhibitions. Most of this can be attributed to the influence of the western culture. Besides, parents these days have also become extremely busy in their lives that they hardly get time to spend with their children and teach them what is right and wrong.

A person must bear good moral values such as honesty, helping nature, decency, righteousness and self-discipline. Such a person is an asset to the society.

Moral Values Essay 600 words

Moral values are the values defined by the society to guide individuals to lead a disciplined life. While the basic moral values such as honesty, kindness and cooperative behaviour remain the same some values may change or modify over the time.

Changing Moral Values in the Society

From Joint Family to Nuclear Family System

Moral values differ to some extent based on the society one lives in. They also differ from generation to generation. India is one such country that boasts of its rich moral values and deep rooted culture. Respecting our elders is the first and foremost value taught to us. Our parents emphasize its importance since our childhood. Talking ill to the elders – be it our parents, grandparents, relatives or any other elder is considered offensive. India is known for its joint family system. Children continue to live with their parents and siblings even after their marriage in our country. Until few year back, this was more of a custom. Even if the house was small or there were differences among the family members, people were still expected to stick together and live under one roof.

Sons and daughter in laws were expected to take care of their parents during their old age and anyone who urged to live separately was considered to be disrespectful towards his parents. Such young couples were talked ill about in the neighbourhood and among the relatives. Often, the family disowned their sons because of this reason. However, people these days understand that it is important to give space in relationships in order to nurture them well. Just like the western countries, people in India have also started living in nuclear families these days and the society has slowly and gradually accepted this. It is no longer considered to be morally or ethically wrong.

Arranged Marriages to Love Marriages

People in the west find our arranged marriage system rather weird however in India it is a part of our tradition. While there is a growing trend of love marriages since the last few decades, prior to that having affair and expressing the desire to have a love marriage was considered to be morally wrong. Girls who expressed their wish to marry a boy of their own choice were thrashed severely by their family members and were considered to have low moral values. Young couples in love had to struggle hard to get approval for marriage. It used to get all the more difficult if it was an inter-caste relationship. Many instances of honour killing have also come into limelight in the past owing to this reason.

However, the concept of love marriage has now become quite common in our country and a person’s moral values and character are not judged because of this.

Marriage to Live-in Relationships

Live in relationships are quite common in the western countries however in India these relationships are not considered morally correct. Here, it is advocated that a couple can live together under one roof only when they are married. While live-in relationships were considered a taboo until a few years back, many sections of the society have now begun to accept it. Many young couples these days especially those living in the metropolitan cities have started getting into such relationships. Though, a large section of the society still continues to consider it wrong.

Moral values are thus a type of law defined by the society to dictate an individual on how he should and should not behave. While moral values are important and good for the society some of these are too overrated. These must be inculcated and advocated for the good of the society and not to suffocate the individuals. It is important to alter them from time to time to match the mindset of the newer generation.

Essay on Moral Values FAQs

What are moral values in short notes.

Moral values are principles that guide our behavior, like honesty and kindness.

What is the importance of moral values in a paragraph?

Moral values are crucial in life as they shape our character, help us make ethical choices, and build better relationships with others.

What are moral values in student life?

Moral values in student life include honesty, respect, and responsibility, teaching students to be good citizens.

Why are moral values important in student life?

Moral values are important in student life as they instill integrity, empathy, and strong decision-making skills, preparing students for a better future.

What are moral values in an essay?

Moral values in an essay often highlight virtues like integrity, empathy, and fairness, promoting ethical behavior and social harmony.

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