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[[Image:Ethics-frame_1.jpg|right|"Work on the word ethic/discipline"]]

[[Image:Ethics-frame_1.jpg|right|"Work on the word ethic/discipline"]]

'''Ethics''' (via [[Latin]] from the [[Ancient Greek]] grc [[ἠθική]] [[φιλοσοφία]] "moral philosophy", from the [[adjective]] of [[ἤθος]] ''ēthos'' "custom, habit"), a major branch of philosophy, is the study of [[Value theory|value]]s and [[Custom (law)|custom]]s of a person or group. It covers the [[Philosophical analysis|analysis]] and employment of [[concept]]s such as [[right]] and [[wrong]], [[good and evil]], and [[moral responsibility|responsibility]]. It is divided into three primary areas: ''meta-ethics'' (the study of the concept of ethics), ''normative ethics'' (the study of how to determine ethical values), and ''applied ethics'' (the study of the use of ethical values).

'''Ethics''' (via [[Latin]] from the [[Ancient Greek]] grc [[ἠθική]] [[φιλοσοφία]] "moral philosophy", from the [[adjective]] of [[ἤθος]] ''ēthos'' "custom, habit"), a major branch of philosophy, is the study of [[Value theory|value]]s and [[Custom (law)|custom]]s of a person or group. It covers the [[Philosophical analysis|analysis]] and employment of [[concept]]s such as [[right]] and [[wrong]], [[good and evil]], and [[moral responsibility|responsibility]]. It is divided into three primary areas: ''meta-ethics'' (the study of the concept of ethics), ''normative ethics'' (the study of how to determine ethical values), and ''applied ethics'' (the study of the use of ethical values).

 

==Meta-ethics==

==Meta-ethics==

* [[Ethical code]]s applied by various groups. Some consider aesthetics itself the basis of ethics – and a personal [[moral core]] developed through art and storytelling as very influential in one's later ethical choices.

* [[Ethical code]]s applied by various groups. Some consider aesthetics itself the basis of ethics – and a personal [[moral core]] developed through art and storytelling as very influential in one's later ethical choices.

* Informal theories of [[etiquette]] which tend to be less rigorous and more situational. Some consider etiquette a simple negative ethics, i.e. where can one evade an uncomfortable truth without doing wrong? One notable advocate of this view is [[Judith Martin]] ("Miss Manners"). According to this view, ethics is more a summary of [[common sense]] social decisions.

* Informal theories of [[etiquette]] which tend to be less rigorous and more situational. Some consider etiquette a simple negative ethics, i.e. where can one evade an uncomfortable truth without doing wrong? One notable advocate of this view is [[Judith Martin]] ("Miss Manners"). According to this view, ethics is more a summary of [[common sense]] social decisions.

* Practices in [[arbitration]] and [[law]], e.g. the claim that ethics itself is a matter of balancing "right versus right," i.e. putting priorities on two things that are both right, but which must be traded off carefully in each situation. Many consider{{who?}} this view to have potential to reform ethics as a practice, but it is not as widely held as the 'aesthetic' or 'common sense' views listed above.

* Practices in [[arbitration]] and [[law]], e.g. the claim that ethics itself is a matter of balancing "right versus right," i.e. putting priorities on two things that are both right, but which must be traded off carefully in each situation. Many consider this view to have potential to reform ethics as a practice, but it is not as widely held as the 'aesthetic' or 'common sense' views listed above.

* [[revealed preference|Observed choices]] made by ordinary people, without expert aid or advice, who [[vote]], [[buy]], and decide what is worth valuing. This is a major concern of [[sociology]], [[political science]], and [[economics]].

* [[revealed preference|Observed choices]] made by ordinary people, without expert aid or advice, who [[vote]], [[buy]], and decide what is worth valuing. This is a major concern of [[sociology]], [[political science]], and [[economics]].

===Ethics in politics and economics===

===Ethics in politics and economics===

Ethics has been applied to [[economics]], [[politics]] and [[political science]], leading to several distinct and unrelated fields of applied ethics, including [[business ethics]], [[binary economics]] and [[Marxism]]. American corporate scandals such as the [[Enron scandal]] and [[Global Crossing]] are illustrative of the interplay between ethics and business. Ethical inquiries into the fraud perpetrated by corporate senior executive officers (e.g., Enron's [[Kenneth Lay]]) are a growing trend and the situational ethics of employees, no matter how junior, who follow their unreasonable and/or illegal directives has also come to the fore. It has been argued, based on the legal obligation of corporate executives to maximise shareholder value and the fact that organisations comprise multiple individuals and agendas, that ethical constraints do not apply to corporations.{{Fact|date=August 2007}}

Ethics has been applied to [[economics]], [[politics]] and [[political science]], leading to several distinct and unrelated fields of applied ethics, including [[business ethics]], [[binary economics]] and [[Marxism]]. American corporate scandals such as the [[Enron scandal]] and [[Global Crossing]] are illustrative of the interplay between ethics and business. Ethical inquiries into the fraud perpetrated by corporate senior executive officers (e.g., Enron's [[Kenneth Lay]]) are a growing trend and the situational ethics of employees, no matter how junior, who follow their unreasonable and/or illegal directives has also come to the fore. It has been argued, based on the legal obligation of corporate executives to maximise shareholder value and the fact that organisations comprise multiple individuals and agendas, that ethical constraints do not apply to corporations.

Ethics has been applied to family structure, sexuality, and how society views the roles of individuals; leading to several distinct and unrelated fields of applied ethics, including [[feminism]]. Ethics has been applied to [[war]], particularly to the [[just war|justification of engaging in war]], leading to positions such as [[pacifism]], [[militarism]] and [[nonviolence]]. [[Bernard Crick]] in 1982 offered a socially-centred view, that [[politics]] was the only applied ethics, that it was how cases were really resolved, and that "[[political virtues]]" were in fact necessary in all matters where human morality and interests were destined to clash. The need to redefine and align politics away from ideology and towards [[dispute resolution]] was a motive for Crick's list of political virtues.

Ethics has been applied to family structure, sexuality, and how society views the roles of individuals; leading to several distinct and unrelated fields of applied ethics, including [[feminism]]. Ethics has been applied to [[war]], particularly to the [[just war|justification of engaging in war]], leading to positions such as [[pacifism]], [[militarism]] and [[nonviolence]]. [[Bernard Crick]] in 1982 offered a socially-centred view, that [[politics]] was the only applied ethics, that it was how cases were really resolved, and that "[[political virtues]]" were in fact necessary in all matters where human morality and interests were destined to clash. The need to redefine and align politics away from ideology and towards [[dispute resolution]] was a motive for Crick's list of political virtues.

On the other side of the evolutionary fence, [[Phil Roberts, Jr.]] has offered a view in which [[morality]], and particularly the capacity for [[guilt]], is viewed as a maladaptive byproduct of the [[evolution]] of [[rationality]]:

On the other side of the evolutionary fence, [[Phil Roberts, Jr.]] has offered a view in which [[morality]], and particularly the capacity for [[guilt]], is viewed as a maladaptive byproduct of the [[evolution]] of [[rationality]]:

"Guilt is a maladaptive manifestation of our need to justify our existence, in this case by conforming to a shared subconscious theory of rationality in which 'being rational' is simply a matter of 'being objective', as exemplified in the moral maxim, 'Love (intrinsically value) your neighbor as you love (intrinsically value) yourself'. Although none of us can actually measure up to this standard, we nonetheless come to experience feelings of worthlessness (guilt) along with a corresponding reduction in the will to survive (depression) when we deviate from the standard to an unreasonable degree. In other words, the capacity to experience guilt (having a conscience) is a part of the price we humans have had to pay for having become a little too objective for our own good." [http://www.rationology.net]

"Guilt is a maladaptive manifestation of our need to justify our existence, in this case by conforming to a shared subconscious theory of rationality in which 'being rational' is simply a matter of 'being objective', as exemplified in the moral maxim, 'Love (intrinsically value) your neighbor as you love (intrinsically value) yourself'. Although none of us can actually measure up to this standard, we nonetheless come to experience feelings of worthlessness (guilt) along with a corresponding reduction in the will to survive (depression) when we deviate from the standard to an unreasonable degree. In other words, the capacity to experience guilt (having a conscience) is a part of the price we humans have had to pay for having become a little too objective for our own good." [https://www.rationology.net]

===Legal ethics===

===Legal ethics===

==Further reading==

==Further reading==

* The [http://www.ucl.ac.uk/philosophy/LPSG/ London Philosophy Study Guide] offers many suggestions on what to read, depending on the student's familiarity with the subject:  [http://www.ucl.ac.uk/philosophy/LPSG/Ethics.htm Ethics]

* The [https://www.ucl.ac.uk/philosophy/LPSG/ London Philosophy Study Guide] offers many suggestions on what to read, depending on the student's familiarity with the subject:  [https://www.ucl.ac.uk/philosophy/LPSG/Ethics.htm Ethics]

* {{cite web| authorlink = Stephen Perle | last = Perle| first = Stephen| url = http://www.chiroweb.com/archives/22/06/16.html | title = Morality and Ethics: An Introduction | date = [[March 11]] [[2004]] | accessdate = 2007-02-13}}, Butchvarov, Panayot. Skepticism in Ethics (1989).

*[https://www.chiroweb.com/archives/22/06/16.html Morality and Ethics: An Introduction]

* [[Dietrich Bonhoeffer]]'s book ''Ethics'', discusses an individual's ethical responsibility in the face of evil.

* [[Dietrich Bonhoeffer]]'s book ''Ethics'', discusses an individual's ethical responsibility in the face of evil.

== External links ==

== External links ==

* [http://www.galilean-library.org/int11.html An Introduction to Ethics] by Paul Newall, aimed at beginners.

* [https://www.galilean-library.org/int11.html An Introduction to Ethics] by Paul Newall, aimed at beginners.

* ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'':

* ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'':

** [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-ancient/ Ancient Ethics]

** [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-ancient/ Ancient Ethics]

** [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-environmental/ Environmental Ethics]

** [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-environmental/ Environmental Ethics]

** [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-ethics/ Feminist Ethics]

** [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-ethics/ Feminist Ethics]

** [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/natural-law-ethics/ Natural Law Tradition in Ethics]

** [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/natural-law-ethics/ Natural Law Tradition in Ethics]

** [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-virtue/ Virtue Ethics]

** [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-virtue/ Virtue Ethics]

* [http://www.ditext.com/broad/ftet/ftet.html C. D. Broad, ''Five Types of Ethical Theory'' (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1930).]

* [https://www.ditext.com/broad/ftet/ftet.html C. D. Broad, ''Five Types of Ethical Theory'' (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1930).]

* [http://www.ditext.com/cornman/corn6.html James Cornman, "Chapter Six: The Problem of Justifying an Ethical Standard,"] in Philosophical Problems and Arguments — An Introduction, 3d ed., Indianapolis: Hackett, 1982.

* [https://www.ditext.com/cornman/corn6.html James Cornman, "Chapter Six: The Problem of Justifying an Ethical Standard,"] in Philosophical Problems and Arguments — An Introduction, 3d ed., Indianapolis: Hackett, 1982.

* [http://www.ditext.com/frankena/ethics.html William Frankena, ''Ethics'', 2d ed., 1973.]

* [https://www.ditext.com/frankena/ethics.html William Frankena, ''Ethics'', 2d ed., 1973.]

* [http://www.ditext.com/ross/right.html W. D. Ross, ''The Right and the Good'' (1930)]

* [https://www.ditext.com/ross/right.html W. D. Ross, ''The Right and the Good'' (1930)]

[[Category: General Reference]]

[[Category: General Reference]]

[[Category: Philosophy]]

[[Category: Philosophy]]