Each society forms a set of rules that establishes the boundaries of generally accepted behavior.These rules are often expressed in statements about how people should behave,and and they fit together to form the moral code by which a society lives.Unfortunately,the different rules often have contradictions,and you can be uncertain bout which rule to follow.For instance,if you witness a friend copy someone else answer while taking an exam,you might be caught in a conflict between loyalty to your friend and the value of telling the truth.Sometimes,the rules do not seem to cover new situations,and you must determine how to apply the existing rules or develop new ones.You may strongly support personal privacy,but in a time when employers track employee e-mail and Internet usage,what rules do you think are acceptable to govern the appropriate use of company resources?
The term morality refers to social conventions about right and wrong that are so widely shared that they become the basis for an established consensus.However,one's view of what is moral may vary by age,cultural group,ethnic background,religion,and gender.There is widespread agreement on the immorality of murder,theft,and arson,but other behaviors that are accepted in one culture might be unacceptable in another.For example,in the United States it is perfectly acceptable to place one's elderly parents in a managed care facility in their declining years.I most Middle Eastern countries,however,elderly parents would never be placed in such a facility;they remain at home and are cared for by other family members.
Another example concerns attitudes toward the illegal copying of software
(piracy),which range from strong opposition to acceptances a standard approach to business.In 2003,36 percent of all software in circulation worldwide was pirated,at a cost of $29 billion to software vendors.The highest piracy rates were in Vietnam and China,where 92 percent of the software was pirated.In the United States,the piracy rate was 22 percent.
Even within the same society,people can have strong disagreement over important moral issues-in the United States,for example,issues suchb as abortion,the death penalty,and gun control are continuously debated,and both sides feel their arguments are on solid moral ground.
