Examples of Amoral Behaviors

When a person's behavior contradicts what society as a whole considers good or desirable, that person is said to have conduct contrary to morality. However, if that person has no idea what is expected of them or lacks the perspective to evaluate whether his actions will be accepted or disapproved, it can be said that we are facing a behavior amoral.

It is important not to confuse the terms amoral and immoral, even though they both describe an action contrary to the morality of a human group: immoral behaviors are those that are done knowing that they contradict the moral; while the amoral simply do not understand morality or do not take it into account. The immoral is that which opposes the good traditions and considerations, while the amoral is that which lacks a sense of morality.

Amoral behaviors are those that ignore morality or that are handled on a different plane from it. They are behaviors that do not stop at considerations regarding what is right and what is wrong.

Examples of amoral conduct

Here are some examples of conduct that could be considered amoral:

1. A child innocently says something inappropriate. It is an amoral behavior because the child does not yet have the ability to distinguish the good from the bad. bad or socially acceptable from what is not, so that he says what he says without wanting to break the rules.
2. A scientist develops the atomic theory. This is amoral behavior because the scientist is committed to discovering the functioning of the atoms and not with the uses (good or bad) that can be given to this knowledge, which can also serve to build nuclear power plants and provide electricity to people, or to make atomic bombs that annihilate stocks whole.
3. A foreigner violates the religious customs of another country. It is an amoral behavior to the extent that the foreigner is not familiar with the particular morality of that religion that is alien to him, that is, when he has no idea that he is breaking a rule or hurting the sensibilities of that society. Having other moral values, he is unaware of the morality of the country he is visiting.
4. A person commits a crime during a fit of insanity. It can be amoral behavior, to the extent that the person who committed the crime was at that time unable to understand good and evil, and could not judge their own actions. That is why, in similar cases, people may not receive criminal punishment, but rather psychiatric help.
5. A lawyer defending a confessed murderer. It can be considered amoral behavior in the sense that the lawyer must do his job and defend the murderer, and not judge him himself and take a personal position regarding the crime committed. In this case, the lawyer's amorality has to do with his professional ethics.

What is morality?

The morality can be understood as the set of traditions, customs and rules that a society uses to determine what is good (that is, what is socially acceptable, desirable, or tolerable) from what is bad (that is, what is socially condemnable, reprehensible, or intolerable). Morality can change depending on the sociocultural, religious or political features of the society, and even its historical moment, but it always operates based on objective criteria and concrete.

The terms morals and ethics They are usually used interchangeably, but in a strict sense they refer to different things. The difference lies in the fact that ethics is a discipline that studies human behavior and the ways in that it is judged morally, that is, ethics serves to decide when an action is moral or immoral. Morality, on the other hand, refers to the set of values ​​that express a certain morality. That is why two doctors of different religions may have different moral considerations, for example, but both will adhere to a professional code of ethics that expresses the fair, correct and acceptable way of exercising the medicine.

References:

• "Morality" in Wikipedia.
• "Amoral and immoral" in Fundeu.
• "Amoral" in the Language Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy.
• "Morale" in the Language Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy.

Follow with: