We explain what the rules are, what types exist and what they are for. Also, differences between rules and regulations.
What are the rules?
One way or another, we all know what the rules are, because our societies they are governed by them at all times. So wherever we are, generally there is a code, a regulation, a set of guidelines to be guided by, and we call that precisely rules or rules, depending on the case.
The word rule comes from Latin regulates, which was the name of an instrument used to to size, just like the rules we use at school. Just as these instruments serve to apply the same criterion of measurement To all things, a rule in society is something regular, that is, it does not change and does not adapt to each case or situation, but cases and situations adapt to it.
So we call all types of norm or ordinance that are applied in this way rules: the rules of a sports game, the rules of a religious ordinance, the rules of coexistence of a building, etc. We even informally call the menstrual period of women "rule", since it occurs regularly and unchanged in monthly cycles.
Behind every rule there is always an authority that issues them, since in an organized society there are institutions who dictate and enforce them. However, many of them, especially in the contexts more informal, they can be modified in certain situations. But in general, the rules are passed down from one generation to another, or can be learned by third parties, when they remain identical to themselves.
Types of rules
There are many types of rules in the world, and many ways to classify them. Next, we will try to do so according to its different contexts of use:
- Gramatical rules. Those that are specific to the language and that regulate the way it is used and how it works, so that it is always the same without depending on the user who speaks it.
- Calculation rules. Those that are applied in a mathematical or measurement system, and that serve to obtain reliable results, since they always operate in the same way.
- Rules of play. Those that belong to a playful field, such as a sport, a board game or of another nature, and that governs the way in which the participants must play, so that there are no misunderstandings or injustices.
- Legal rules. Those that are contemplated in a legal code, that is, in the law, and that govern the activities in a certain sector of social life, to guarantee the Justice and prevent illegality.
- Transit rules. Of a legal nature as well, they are those that regulate the way of circulating in automobiles on the roads of a nation: speed limits, turns of passage, mandatory turns, etc.
What are the rules for?
It is not difficult to notice that life in a community Anyone, of whatever type, is supported by a common body of rules.In other words, wherever we go, we will always find regulations, mandates, prohibitions, codes and a huge variety of regulations whose purpose is to order and make life in community predictable.
The latter may seem trivial, but in reality it is not: without rules we would be all the time at the mercy of the will of the strongest, distrusting others, the coexistence it would be chaotic and thus it is impossible to build a society that works. In fact, the most prosperous societies are those in which there is greater trust in the other and in the system, precisely because the rules are clear and are followed.
So rules serve to make life easier for us, even if at first glance they may be annoying or annoying. But to the extent that everyone complies with them, then everyone will also enjoy the benefits of a more organized society.
Rules and norms
Typically, we use the terms "rules" and "standards" as synonyms, indistinctly. However, there is a degree of differentiation between them that should be understood:
- In general, a norm is the result of social consensus. In other words, it is a "law" of mutual acceptance by those who make up a community, and which has a local scope of application. They are not usually included in legal documents, and for this reason they tend to be more flexible, adaptable and conventional, so that they can vary substantively from one area to another. The House Rules, for example, they apply to a specific building for those who live in it, and can be discussed and rethought in a condominium meeting, or even in less formal occasions still.
- Instead, the rules tend to be more formal and have an authority behind them, that is, a threat of sanction that may well be legal or simply moral. Usually, the rules are born from a norm, for example, from the habit: then they are consecrated, that is, toughening and formalizing, and some even form part of legal codes or laws, thus ensuring their compliance by the Condition.