General Integrity Concepts

The chapter opens the topic of moral integrity, defining it linguistically and pointing out that in Czech, the term does not actually have a natural equivalent. It describes the Anglo-Saxon moral integrity concepts in philosophy, law, and psychology, with special attention paid to Erik H. Erikson’s transcultural investigations of early development, as well as his concept of Ego Integrity as an objective of the successfully completed life cycle. Mutual interconnectedness of bio-psycho-social aspects of moral integrity evolving within the person’s personality is emphasised in contrast to concepts stressing mere adherence to abstract moral principles.