Medial moraine of Gornergletscher (Gorner Glacier) in the Pennine Alps near Zer¬ matt, Switz.
JEROME WYCKOFF
moral psychology In psychology, study of the development of the moral sense—i.e., of the capacity for forming judgments about what is morally right or wrong, good or bad. The U.S. psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg hypothesized that people’s development of moral standards passes through several levels. At the early level, that of preconventional moral reasoning, the child uses external and physical events (such as pleasure or pain) as the source for moral decisions; his standards are based strictly on what will avoid punishment or bring pleasure. At the interme¬ diate level, that of conventional moral reasoning, the child or adolescent views moral standards as a way of maintaining the approval of authority figures, chiefly his parents, and acts in accordance with their precepts. At the third level, that of postconventional moral reasoning, the adult bases his moral standards on principles that he himself has evaluated and accepts as inherently valid, regardless of society’s opinion. Beginning in the 1970s Kohlberg’s work was criticized by psychologists and philosophers influenced by feminism. According to Carol Gilligan, Kohlberg’s stages are inherently sexist, because they equate moral maturity with an orien¬ tation toward moral problems that is socially instilled in males but not in females. Whereas the male “ethic of rights and justice” treats morality in terms of abstract principles and conceives of moral agents as essentially autonomous, acting independently of their social situations according to general rules, the female “ethic of care” treats morality in terms of con¬ crete bonds to particular individuals based on feelings of care and respon¬
sibility and conceives of moral agents as connected and interdependent through their feelings of care and responsibility for each other.
Morales \mo-'ra-las\ / Luis de (b. c. 1509, Badajoz, Spain—d. May 9, 1586, Badajoz) Spanish painter. He lived all his life in Badajoz, leaving only for occasional commissions. He is considered Spain’s greatest Man¬ nerist painter and is known especially for his emotional religious paintings.
He always worked on panels, often depicting such subjects as the Ecce Homo, the Pieta, and the Virgin and Child. His paintings show the influ¬ ence of Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael and are marked by detailed execu¬ tion and the anguished asceticism of 16th-century Spain.
morality play Allegorical drama of 15th-16th-century Europe. The plays’ characters personified moral qualities (such as charity or vice) or abstractions (such as death or youth).
One of the main types of vernacular drama of its time, it provided a tran¬ sition from liturgical drama to profes¬ sional secular drama. The plays were short works, usually performed by semiprofessional acting troupes that relied on public support. Everyman (c. 1495), featuring Everyman’s summons by Death and his journey to the grave, is considered the greatest morality play. See also miracle play; MYSTERY PLAY.
Morandi Xmo-'ran-deV Giorgio (b. July 20, 1890, Bologna, Italy—d. June 18, 1964, Bologna) Italian painter and etcher. He first exhibited his paintings with the Futurists and was closely associated with the Metaphysi¬ cal painters, but he is identified with neither school. He repeatedly returned to the subject matter of simple, geometric still lifes of bottles, jars, and boxes; by returning to the same subject matter, he was able to move past content to an exploration of pure form (i.e., line, colour, shape). His con¬ templative approach gave his landscapes and still lifes a delicacy of tone and subtlety of design. As instructor of etching at Bologna’s Academy of Fine Arts (1930-56), he had a profound influence on Italian graphic artists.
Morava River \'mo-ra-va\ German March \'mark\ River, eastern Czech Republic. It rises in mountains and flows south to enter the Danube River just above Bratislava, Slovakia, after a course of 227 mi (365 km). In its lower course it first divides the Czech Republic from Slovakia and then divides Slovakia from Austria. It gives its name to Moravia, the area around it.
Morava River River, Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro. Formed by the confluence of the South (Juzna) Morava and West (Zapadna) Morava riv¬ ers, it flows north to enter the Danube River, after a course of 137 mi (221 km). The total area of the Morava River basin is 14,457 sq mi (37,444 sq km), corresponding almost to the political definition of Serbia.
Moravia \ma-'ra-ve-9\ Region, central Europe. Bounded by Bohemia, Silesia, Slovakia, and northeastern Austria and crossed by the Morava River, it was inhabited from the 4th century bc. It was dominated by the Avars in the 6th and 7th centuries ad and later settled by Slavic tribes, and in the 9th century it became the state of Great Moravia and included Bohemia as well as parts of modem Poland and Hungary. It was destroyed by the Magyars in 906. In 1526 it came under Habsburg rule. After the Revolution of 1848 Moravia became an Austrian crown land with its capital at Brno. In 1918 it was incorporated into the new state of Czecho¬ slovakia. Germany annexed parts of it in 1938; after World War II they were restored to Czechoslovakia. It was included in the Czech Socialist Republic created in 1968 and in the Czech Republic in 1993.
Moravia Vmo-'rav-yaV Alberto orig. Alberto Pincherle (b. Nov. 28, 1907, Rome, Italy—d. Sept. 26, 1990, Rome) Italian journalist, nov¬ elist, and short-story writer. He worked as a journalist in Turin and as a foreign correspondent in London. Time of Indifference (1929), his first novel, is a scathing study of middle-class moral corruption. His works were censored by Benito Mussolini’s fascists and placed on the Index ubrorum pro-
Bull moose (Alces alces) in velvet
© LEONARD LEE RUE lll-PHOTO RESEARCHERS, INC.
"The Virgin and Child," panel by Luis de Morales; in the National Gallery, London
COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON; PHOTOGRAPH, A.C. COOPER
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Moravian Church ► Morgan I 1293
hibitorum. Later important novels, many of them portrayals of social alien¬ ation and loveless sexuality, include The Conformist (1951; film, 1971), Two Women (1957; film, 1961), and The Empty Canvas (1960). His books of short stories include Roman Tales (1954) and More Roman Tales (1959). He was married to the writer Elsa Morante (1918-85).
Moravian Church Protestant denomination founded in the 18th cen¬ tury. It traces its origins to the Unity of Brethren, a 15th-century Hussite movement in Bohemia and Moravia. The original Brethren movement was eroded by persecution, but it was renewed in 1722 at Hermhut, a theo¬ cratic community established in Saxony. In America the Moravians founded Bethlehem, Pa. (1740), and several other settlements, and carried out missionary work among the Indians. The Moravians ordain bishops but are governed by synods of elected representatives; they are guided by the Bible as their only rule of faith and worship.
moray Vmo-'ra, 'm6r-,a\ Any of about 80 species (family Muraenidae) of shallow-water eels inhabiting all tropical and subtropical seas. They live among reefs and rocks and hide in crevices. Their skin is thick, smooth, scaleless, and usually viv¬ idly marked or coloured. Most spe¬ cies lack pectoral fins. Morays have a wide mouth and strong, sharp teeth for seizing and holding prey (chiefly other fishes). They attack humans only when disturbed. Most species are less than 5 ft (1.5 m) long, but Thyrsoidea macrurus, of the Pacific Ocean, may grow to more than 11 ft (3.5 m). Morays are sometimes eaten, but their flesh may be toxic and can cause illness or death if consumed.
Moray Firth Vmsr-eV Inlet of the North Sea, northeastern Scotland. It extends inland for 39 mi (63 km) and is 16 mi (29 km) wide at its widest point. Its inner reaches are divided by a peninsula, the Black Isle, into two smaller inlets, Cromarty Firth and the Firth of Inverness; the city of Inverness lies there.