NationStates Jolt Archive

I was thinking, and I was wondering, what exactly IS the difference between Ethics and Morals?

I was thinking, and I was wondering, what exactly IS the difference between Ethics and Morals?
Gaah, that was in a book I was just reading yesterday, but I can't find the page.
:(

I was thinking, and I was wondering, what exactly IS the difference between Ethics and Morals?
Doesn't morality tend to have a divine source and ethics a rational source?

I was thinking, and I was wondering, what exactly IS the difference between Ethics and Morals?
This cannot be answered. It can only be discussed. All types of philosophy is like this.

Gaah, that was in a book I was just reading yesterday, but I can't find the page.
:(
Don't worry, you'll find it ;)

Ethics tend to be based more on humanity, morals on some sort of religious guidelines with no basis in reality.
Examples:

Homosexuality is evil! The Bible says so!
Advanced human reproductive cloning is best avoided at this stage as it could lead to the unnecessary suffering of a human being.


Morality, ethics. The distinction becomes quite clear when applied to examples.

ethics is what you do when no one is looking.

morals is what other people tell you to do.

Ethics tend to be based more on humanity, morals on some sort of religious guidelines with no basis in reality.
Examples:

Homosexuality is evil! The Bible says so!
Advanced human reproductive cloning is best avoided at this stage as it could lead to the unnecessary suffering of a human being.


Morality, ethics. The distinction becomes quite clear when applied to examples.
I see..... :hmm:

morals are the ethics of your personal life
ethics are situation dependant. so you have political ethics, business ethics, etc

Morals are personal, they are the rules you set for yourself, that you give as advice to those whose well being that you care about, and that you have no good reason to expect others to adhere to.

Ethics are rules that you can expect everyone to adhere to.

Moral = I dont think short skirts are appropriate, so I dont wear them, and if my friends ask my opinion, I suggest that they dont either, however I have no right to pass judgement on those who do wear short skirts, it's simply not my business.

Ethic = No one should steal from others, if someone does steal society has a right to pass judgement on the perpetrator of the act.

I dont believe that anyone has any right to force their morals on anyone, but I do believe that ethics are necessary to have functional societies.

This cannot be answered. It can only be discussed. All types of philosophy is like this.

The definition of ethics vs. morals isn't a matter of philosophy at all - it's a matter of linguistics, and should have a relatively clear answer if the words are to make a useful distinction.

I've always understood that Ethics refers to standards of behaviour relating to specifically how you act. A system of ethics allows you to decide what the appropriate action is in a given situation.

Morals are very similar. As I understand them, though, they extend beyond how you act to how you think. You can have an immoral thought, but I don't think you can have an unethical thought - only unethical actions.

Also, morals tend to be less situation dependent. A moral prescription might be that shouldn't steal ever, while a system of ethics would probably allow that stealing can be ethical in the right situation. Of course, this second distinction gets blurred a lot.

Morals are codes of conduct we exhibit towards our fellow humans. Is it moral to loan someone money at crippling interest? Is it moral to cut in line? Most people have a feel for what is and isn't moral.


Ethics are esoteric reasonings we apply to the world in general. Is it ethical to kill stray dogs when the pound is over capacity? Is it ethical to use oyster netting if it means ripping up the ocean floor? Ethics are discussed by the Intelligentsia over some red wine.


Morality is an emotional human condition, whereas Ethics are philosophical in nature. We discuss ethics from a distance, but we discuss morals when we are in the thick of consequential happenings.

Morality defines what is right and wrong.
Ethics consists of THEORIES ABOUT morality.
The two are obviously related.

According to dictionary.com:

ethic: A set of principles of right conduct.

moral: Of or concerned with the judgment of the goodness or badness of human action and character:



Eh, I tried.

Ethics are formulated through logical consideration of a set of common axioms (such as reciprocity - "do as you would be done by"). Morals are personal "feelings" stemming from upbringing, religion, society, disposition and various other things. Note that the two sometimes coincide, as is usually the case with murder, for instance.

Such is my understanding, at least.

To put it another way: ethics are the things that one can rationally build laws around. Morals aren't.

I was thinking, and I was wondering, what exactly IS the difference between Ethics and Morals?

Get yourself a dictionary.

According to dictionary.com:

ethic: A set of principles of right conduct.

moral: Of or concerned with the judgment of the goodness or badness of human action and character:



Eh, I tried.

These definitions are the closest to what I think of as the distinciton between morality and ethics.

Ethics relates only to conduct/action, Morality is also concerned with the character of the individual and his interenal thoughts and feelings.

It's also true that ethics tends to be more of a systematically derived thing, but I don't think that that is necessary for the definition.

The actual word ethics comes from a greek word that I think translates to something like actions.

Ethics are formulated through logical consideration of a set of common axioms (such as reciprocity - "do as you would be done by"). Morals are personal "feelings" stemming from upbringing, religion, society, disposition and various other things. Note that the two sometimes coincide, as is usually the case with murder, for instance.

Such is my understanding, at least.

To put it another way: ethics are the things that one can rationally build laws around. Morals aren't.
Impeccable.