A moralist is who?

What does the word "moralist" mean? Is it a kind person or an evil person ? What does he preach and fight for? You will learn all this from the article.

Meaning of the word

It is logical to assume that the word "moralist" came from the word "morality". Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language under the editorship of Efremova TF. Defines the given word as certain norms and principles of behavior by which people are guided in relation to other people in particular or to society as a whole. Synonyms of the word - morality, ethics, goodwill, virtue. Hence, a moralist is a champion of morality, one who professes ethical norms of behavior, principles of morality and decency in relation to others.

The definition given above seems to give an unambiguous answer to the question of who is a moralist and leaves no doubt that this person deserves respect. But let's understand further.

Shades and thin

A true moralist is one who professes the principles of behavior in which he himself believes faithfully and who observes always and everywhere. Often such people are compared with philosophers, implying that moralists comprehend life orientations and motives of actions, singling out among values only those that are comparable with conscientiousness, honor, mercy. These preachers of morality draw a clear line between good and evil, white and black, they do not have half-tones and "lies in the name of good."

However, not always a moralist is a positive credo. Very often there are people who like to teach others, tell how to live in justice and do good in the name of good. In fact, they are cruel, self-centered, selfish, enjoying the process of moralizing themselves, not caring how much their words correspond to the truth. Such hunters make an impression ironically also called "moralists", emphasizing their insincerity and ostentatious bombast. In this case, the "bigot" and "bore" are the appropriate synonyms for this word.

"All your speeches - dust in your eyes, just a sound, though loud, but random ..." - is a good epithet for false moralists.

Now you can tell, the moralist - who it is.

Do society need moralists?

Francis Fukuyama - a modern philosopher - says that morality is "social capital", it determines how much society is able to resist cruelty, injustice and false ideals. Therefore, true moralists need people, as teachers and guides to the truth. The main thing is not to allow the substitution of concepts and not to believe the false preachers.