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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.

==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 [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]

* {{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).

*[http://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.