Qualities

• A wide variety of cultures and societies hold several basic moral values in common. These include respect, honesty, courage, love, forgiveness, trust, dignity, kindness, compassion, humor, financial responsibility, law-abiding behavior, sympathy and the avoidance of violence.
  
  

History

• Societies throughout the ages have explored basic morals. Religious books, such as the Bible, provide moral stability for people. A Swiss developmental psychologist, Jean Piaget, offered some of the first psychological explanations for basic morals in 1934. Kohlberg elaborated on Piaget's work by proposing stages of moral development in 1958.
  
  

Theories/Speculation

• Several theories offer explanations for morality, such as doing what the Bible tells you and other theories that are based on fairness and justice, virtue, equal rights for all or respect. The duty theory tells people to do the right thing. Ethical egoism suggests that people should take care of themselves first.