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Moral vs non-moral standards

Those standards that either benefits or harm someone, either give happiness or unhappiness to someone etc, comes under the concern of moral standards.

What falls outside the sphere of moral concern is termed as non-moral. For example your new sports car will top out at 120 or 130 m/h , is strictly a non-moral question. But whether you should top out it on the main road at 1pm or not, is strictly a moral question. Some violations do not concern with serious threat to human well being.

Moral standards are different because they concern behavior, that is of serious consequences to human welfare, that can profoundly harm or benefit people. The conventional norms against lying, steeling, and murdering deal with actions that can hurt people.
Whether products are good or bad, working conditions safe or danger, personal procedure fair or biased, such things seriously effect well being. The standards that govern our conduct in these matters is moral

Characteristics of Moral standards


1. Moral standards are different because they concern such behaviors that are of serious consequence to human welfare. 2. Moral standards are prior to other standards including self interest. 3. Soundness of moral standards depends on the adequacy of the reason, that support or justify them. 4. There is no particular authority, body or organization to make moral standards. But in non-moral standards, there are particular bodies that make standards. Moral standards are not made by such bodies but the adequacy of moral standards is dependent on reason.

Some people confuse morality with etiquette, religion and law. Are they inter-related? Lets see
Etiquettes and morality Etiquettes refers to any special code of behavior or courtesy. E.g to use obsence language in public, to chew with open mouth. Etiquette is common place to judge peoples actions as good or bad. Such judgments are about manners not ethics. Etiquettes are socially acceptable behaviors. If you want to be thought well by others, then you should observe common rules of etiquettes.

If you violate the rules of etiquettes you are considered as indecent, ill-mannered, uncivilized, or impolite but not necessarily immoral. Rules of etiquettes are non-moral in character. Say congrats to the groom but best wishes to the bride, pushing your chair after leaving dining table are etiquettes. But voilations of etiquettes can have moral implications. E.g when a male boss calls his lady secretary as honey or doll etc.
Scrupulous observance of etiquettes does not make any one moral.

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