

The field of ethics is traditionally divided into three areas: 1.) meta-ethics, which deals with the nature of the right or the good, as well as the nature and justification of ethical claims 2.) normative ethics, which deals with the standards and principles used to determine whether something is right or good 3.) applied ethics, which deals with the actual application of ethical principles to a particular situation. There are many systems of ethics, and numerous ways to think about right and wrong actions or good and bad character. TRADITIONAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE FIELD OF ETHICS : Another way to think about the relationship between ethics and morality is to see ethics as providing a rational basis for morality, that is, ethics provides good reasons for why something is moral.Ģ.
#Overarching notion definition code
Others reserve morality for the state of virtue while seeing ethics as a code that enables morality. Finally, many people use the terms morality and ethics interchangeably. Both law and ethics deal with questions of how we should live together with others, but ethics is sometimes also thought to apply to how individuals act even when others are not involved.

Law may have a difficult time designing or enforcing standards in some important areas, and may be slow to address new problems. A good system of law should be ethical, but the law establishes precedent in trying to dictate universal guidelines, and is thus not able to respond to individual contexts. Religions may also advocate or prohibit certain behaviors which may not be considered the proper domain of ethics, such as dietary restrictions or sexual behaviors.
#Overarching notion definition full
Many religions promote ethical decision-making but do not always address the full range of ethical choices that we face.

In a sense, we can say that ethics is all about making choices, and about providing reasons why we should make these choices.Įthics is sometimes conflated or confused with other ways of making choices, including religion, law or morality. It first provides a summary of the major sources for ethical thinking, and then presents a framework for decision-making.Įthics provides a set of standards for behavior that helps us decide how we ought to act in a range of situations. It recognizes that decisions about “right” and “wrong” can be difficult, and may be related to individual context. This document is designed as an introduction to making ethical decisions. Ethics should concern all levels of life: acting properly as individuals, creating responsible organizations and governments, and making our society as a whole more ethical. MAKING CHOICES: A FRAMEWORK FOR MAKING ETHICAL DECISIONSĭecisions about right and wrong permeate everyday life.
