Return to Values, Five Precepts, Moral Precepts, Vows.
Morality is a normative standard, doctrine, or system of conduct. It evaluates actions and character traits using criteria that vary across individuals, societies, social classes, public opinions, cultures, customs, and traditions. Such as, rightness or wrongness, virtues or vices, honesty or cruelty, honor or disgrace, the power of inner beliefs of a person, and propriety or impropriety of relationships between oneself and others. This involves evaluative judgments about agents and actions and assessments of actions as moral or immoral behavior..
Some research suggests that attention to moral sentiments exists in all human societies, and that moral sentiments are part of cultural universals. Some studies further indicate that behaviors related to morality, such as honesty, helpfulness, tolerance, loyalty, responsibility, social justice, equality, family and national security, stability of social order, gratitude, and the like, are part of universal values. That is, these behaviors may be virtues universally recognized by all societies. The ethical position advocating such principles is called moral universalism. However, the philosophy of moral relativism opposes universal moral principles, holding that no universal morality exists.
Immorality is the active opposition to morality (i.e., opposition to that which is moral or immoral), while amorality is variously defined as an unawareness of, indifference toward, or disbelief in any particular set of moral standards or principles.