Özet:

The aim of the research is to reveal perceptions of individuals in Turkish society about morality concept through metaphors and reach relationships between several variables and these metaphor categories. A form containing the phrase “Morality is like/similar, because...” and questions about some variables was applied. The obtained data were evaluated with content analysis. The data obtained within the scope of the study were placed in the categories determined with the help of both the data of the studies related to morality in the literature and the opinions of the field experts. The metaphors, presented for the morality concept by 108 participants, were divided into categories in terms of their common features. According to findings obtained, 95 different metaphors related to the morality concept were produced by those. These metaphors were evaluated in terms of their common features and 11 categories were created. The research population consists of individuals between the ages of 18 and 28 in the Faculty of Literature of Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University; the sample consists of 108 university students who voluntarily participated in the study. Number of female students participating in the research is higher than male students; nearly half of the participants have resided in city centers; most of the participants perceive themselves at intermediate socio-economic level. It was determined they presented metaphors that participants’ 15 were ‘limiting’, 14 for ‘guiding’, 12 for ‘protective’, 11 for ‘reflective’ and ‘needing’, 10 for ‘unifying’, 9 for ‘diversity’ and ‘healing’, 6 for ‘developing’, 4 for ‘valuation’ and 7 for ‘other’. In the study, morality was perceived as more restrictive by both females and males. Additionally, females mostly referred to guiding aspect of morality and the males to unifying aspect of morality. While the group aged 21 and under emphasized healing aspect of morality more, the 22-year-old group perceives morality as protective more. It has been determined those residing in the city centers make guiding references to morality more, those residing in district center are protective and those residing in village/town make restrictive references. Those residing in the Central Anatolia region perceived morality as guiding more, while those living in the Mediterranean region perceived it as limiting more. The following results were obtained regarding the relationships between the created categories from the metaphors that developed for morality and some variables related to the sampling: While female students presented more metaphors about the ‘limiting’ and ‘guiding’ aspects of morality, male students created more about the ‘limiting’ and ‘unifying’. The student group aged 21 and under emphasized the ‘healing’ aspect of morality the most, while the 22-year-old group emphasized ‘protective’ the most. Students residing in the city centers referred ‘guiding’ aspect of morality the most, those in the district center ‘protective’ the most, and those in the village/town the most ‘restrictive’ the most. Students living in the Central Anatolian region emphasized ‘guiding’ aspect of morality the most, while those living in the Mediterranean region referred ‘restrictive’ the most. Students who perceive their socio-economic level as ‘intermediate’ pointed out ‘limiting’ and ‘reflective’ aspects of morality the most, while those perceiving it as ‘high’ emphasized the ‘protective’ and ‘unifying’ the most. While the students, thinking the most important factor affecting the moral attitude as ‘mother’, pointed out their thoughts on the ‘guiding’ aspect of morality the most, while the students thinking as ‘father’ emphasized ‘limiting’ the most. Although the students answering ‘poor’ to the question about the social morality level underlined morality’s ‘restrictive’ role, those answering ‘normal’ pointed to the ‘guiding’ and ’reflective’ the most. Students, answering as ‘family’ to the question of what the most influential factor on morality is, produced more metaphors for ‘guiding’ aspect of morality, while those answering as ‘society’ produced more metaphors for the ‘reflective’ aspect. The students answering as “I disagree” to the idea that “Turkey is one of the most moral countries in the world.” pointed to the ‘guiding’ and ‘needing’ aspects of morality, even though the students answering as “I agree” referred their thoughts on ‘limiting’ the most.

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