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Introduction to Ethics. Morals vs. Ethics . Ethics and morals are often used interchangeably, but there’s actually a difference Someone who is ethical behaves morally and someone with a strong sense of morality is ethical. Morals vs. Ethics .
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Morals vs. Ethics • Ethics and morals are often used interchangeably, but there’s actually a difference • Someone who is ethical behaves morally and someone with a strong sense of morality is ethical.
Morals vs. Ethics • Let’s use the Bible in order to see and understand the difference between the two: • For example, while a system of morals based on the Ten Commandments would answer the question, “is it wrong to steal?” the question raised by ethics would be “what is the basis of the system described in the Ten Commandments?” and “why is something considered moral or immoral” • In this view, the difference between ethics and morals is the difference between THEORY andAPPLICATION.
What are the 3 areas of ethics? • Meta-ethics (ME) • “Meta” means above or beyond. • Meta-ethics is the study not of what is right and wrong, but of the sources of concepts like right and wrong. • i.e - Is God the ultimate source of moral guidance? Normative Ethics (NE) This branch of ethics looks at the particular ‘shalls’ and ‘shall nots’ that one needs to guide their life. NE are based on broad ME i.E – What is good person, a good life? MORAL JUDGMENTS Applied Ethics This branch takes theories of morality and examines specific moral issues and dilemmas. i.e Do we have moral obligations to the environment. This is ethics in the “real world”, dealing with particular social and political issues.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. -Saint Ambrose The above quotation is a common bit of wisdom that applies well to travelling. You need to adapt to the local customs, such as when to eat or what to eat, how to catch a bus, how to greet people, or how to act respectfully towards other religions. This is one of the pleasures of travel: experiencing the differences between ‘heres’ and ‘theres’. You don’t want to be offending the locals – after all, it’s their country. Doing as the Romans do” is good advice for getting along in a strange land. It’s a tolerance thing. But is this always good, moral advice?
Things you have to take into consideration: • what happens when these differences extend to our moral values? • are moral values-human rights, for instance – fundamental and basic to all societies, or do they apply only case by case? • For example, if you travelled to a country where slavery was acceptable, would you accept slavery as a quaint local custom and agree that while slavery is not right in Canada, it may be right in the society it is practiced in? Is slavery wrong everywhere, or is it just wrong in places like Canada? How far should the idea of tolerance for other cultural practices extend?
