Declining moral values and increasing incidents of rape

Pages: 689-692
Dnyaneshwar Parmesheshwar Pawar (Department of Psychology, Bhonsala Military Collage, Nashik, Maharashtra)

Our sense of right and wrong is one of the distinct advantages human beings carry as a result of evolution. Sigmund Freud stated that superego, the center of morality, is one of the three parts of human mind. The other two being ego and id. Freud believed that its elderly in the family who develop superego among their children by teaching them what is right and wrong in practical life. Sex is often regarded as a basic need besides hunger and thirst. Unquestionably, we share sexual needs, among other primary needs, with lower animals. But as a result of nature’s advantage bestowed upon human beings, their brain is far more developed in important areas of functioning like, decision making, reasoning, selection, problem solving and creativity. In addition to all these higher order mental functions, humans are good in perceiving right from wrong things. This ability is also called moral ability. The present paper discusses the nature of morality from social perspective and its relation with a heinous crime like rape. Some of the ideas of morality given by great thinkers like Durkheim are discussed while the possibility of controlling increasing incidents of rape in India is also discussed.