THE PHENOMENON OF THE CATEGORY «MORALITY» IN THE RETROSPECTIVE OF COGNITIVE-ANTHROPOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

The article examines the concept of the ‘predicate of moral law’ in the context of human rights doctrine.

Particular attention is given to the concept of morality as an ethical and legal category.

The author establishes that the transformation of morality occurs throughout the history of mankind, as at each stage of human development there is a certain rethinking of moral values. The author analyzes the impact of moral principles on the legal system. The main thesis of the article is that a modern legal society does not have a common understanding of morality, and legislation often faces the problem of reconciling moral imperatives with legal norms. The article considers the current challenges associated with the transformation of moral values under the influence of emerging technologies.

On the one hand, there is a tendency to expand human rights, and on the other hand, there is a risk of distorting moral postulates that have been developed over the course of human history. The author argues that the predicate of moral law is a key criterion for assessing legislative norms, as any law should be based on the principles of justice and humanism. Special attention is given to the analysis of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, which is

guided by moral imperatives in its practice.

Among the basic predicates of moral law are the prohibitions of murder, torture, slavery, discrimination, forced labor, violation of privacy, and freedom of belief. It is substantiated that moral principles form the foundation of the rule of law, and their ignorance can lead to the loss of legitimacy of legal norms.

The scientific novelty of the article lies in the introduction of the concept of a moral law predicate as a mandatory component of legal doctrine. The article uses philosophical and legal approaches, in particular, analyzing the ideas of ancient thinkers and modern human rights researchers. It is concluded that morality is an integral part of law, and any legal contradictions should be resolved through moral categories.