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Ethics vs. Morals

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Ethics and morals relate to “right” and

“wrong” conduct. While they are
sometimes used interchangeably, they are
different: ethics refer to rules provided by
an external source, e.g., codes of conduct
in workplaces or principles in religions.
Morals refer to an individual’s own
principles regarding right and wrong.

Comparison chart
Ethics Morals

What are they?

The rules of Principles or habits

conduct recognized with respect to right
in respect to a or wrong conduct.
particular class of While morals also

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 human actions or a prescribe dos and
particular group or don'ts, morality is
culture. ultimately a
personal compass
of right and wrong.

Where do they come from?

Social system - Individual - Internal

External

Why we do it?
Because society Because we believe
says it is the right in something being
thing to do. right or wrong.

Flexibility

Ethics are Usually consistent,

dependent on although can
others for definition. change if an
They tend to be individual’s beliefs
consistent within a change.
certain context, but
can vary between
contexts.

The "Gray"
A person strictly A Moral Person
following Ethical although perhaps
Principles may not bound by a higher
have any Morals at covenant, may
all. Likewise, one choose to follow a
could violate Ethical code of ethics as it
Principles within a would apply to a
given system of system. "Make it fit"
rules in order to
maintain Moral

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 integrity.

Origin

Greek word "ethos" Latin word "mos"

meaning"character" meaning "custom"

Acceptability

Ethics are governed Morality transcends

by professional and cultural norms
legal guidelines
within a particular
time and place

Detailed comparison continued below.

Contents: Ethics vs Morals

1 Source of Principles

2 Consistency and Flexibility

3 Conflicts Between Ethics and Morals

4 Origins

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 5 Videos Explaining the Differences

6 References

Source of Principles
Ethics are external standards that are
provided by institutions, groups, or culture
to which an individual belongs. For
example, lawyers, policemen, and doctors
all have to follow an ethical code laid
down by their profession, regardless of
their own feelings or preferences. Ethics
can also be considered a social system or
a framework for acceptable behavior.
Morals are also influenced by culture or
society, but they are personal principles
created and upheld by individuals
themselves.

Consistency and Flexibility

Ethics are very consistent within a certain
context, but can vary greatly between
contexts. For example, the ethics of the
medical profession in the 21st century are
generally consistent and do not change
from hospital to hospital, but they are
different from the ethics of the 21st
century legal profession.
An individual’s moral code is usually
unchanging and consistent across all
contexts, but it is also possible for certain
events to radically change an individual's
personal beliefs and values.

Conflicts Between Ethics

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 and Morals
One professional example of
ethics conflicting with morals
is the work of a defense attorney. A
lawyer’s morals may tell her that murder is
reprehensible and that murderers should
be punished, but her ethics as a
professional lawyer, require her to defend
her client to the best of her abilities, even
if she knows that the client is guilty.
Another example can be found in the
medical field. In most parts of the world, a
doctor may not euthanize a patient, even
at the patient's request, as per ethical
standards for health professionals.
However, the same doctor may personally
believe in a patient's right to die, as per
the doctor's own morality.

Origins
Much of the confusion between these two
words can be traced back to their origins.
For example, the word "ethic" comes from
Old French (etique), Late Latin (ethica),
and Greek (ethos) and referred to
customs or moral philosophies. "Morals"
comes from Late Latin's moralis, which
referred to appropriate behavior and
manners in society. So, the two have very
similar, if not synonymous, meanings
originally.
Morality and ethics of the individual have
been philosophically studied for well over
a thousand years. The idea of ethics
being principles that are set and applied

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 to a group (not necessarily focused on the
individual) is relatively new, though,
primarily dating back to the 1600s. The
distinction between ethics and morals is
particularly important for philosophical
ethicists.

Videos Explaining the

Differences
The following video explains how ethics
are objective, while morals are subjective.

PHI - 384 Ethics …

References
The Definition of Morality - Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Ethics Definition - Dictionary.com
Ethic Origins - Online Etymology
Dictionary
Moral Origins - Wiktionary
Morals Definition - Dictionary.com

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 Subjective vs. Objective

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Avenge vs. Revenge

Principal vs. Principle

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 ___

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01:21 01:24 01:07

Related Categories:
English Language Words

Comments: Ethics vs
Morals
92 Comments Sort by Top

Add a comment...

Dezmohnd C-zar
Ethics ==== outside
Morality ===within
Like · Reply · Mark as spam · 2w

Michael Eneyo
Let me come back to the issue again. Now
hear the difference between Ethics and
Morality.

1. Ethics can be personal, societal

(different from society to society). It can
me governmental, organisational,

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 me governmental, organisational,
collective, etc. In other words, ethics is
purely subjective. Medical ethics is
different from societal ethics. While
morality is universal. Any attempt to make
morality a subjective concept, makes it
becomes an ethical concept.

2. Ethics can be given by the society or

introduce by an individual in order to
attend some existential needs. While
morality is not personalistic: it's a universal
p… See More
Like · Reply · Mark as spam · 4w

Antonio P. Patalinghog
like
Like · Reply · Mark as spam · 14w

Eli Elisha
Really these are more of identical twin
words which needs a critical trace to be
understood and differentiated
thanks
Like · Reply · Mark as spam · 38w

Ev Drew
Actually, morals are concepts of right and
wrong, and ethics (aka 'moral philosophy')
is the STUDY of morality.
Like · Reply · Mark as spam · 1 · 43w

Fanuel J. Makweta
ethics is subjective right of yours is wrong
to another
Like · Reply · Mark as spam · 43w

Abraham Handebo
thanks
Like · Reply · Mark as spam · 44w

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 Like · Reply · Mark as spam · 44w

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Anonymous comments (5)

October 23, 2013, 2:02pm

The Greek and Latin origins
seem to indicate that the
definitions are reversed.
However, I think that the
definitions are correct for how
the terms are used. For
example, Olympic athletes
have a code of ethics to which
they must adhere; and people
are often given the advice to
"follow their moral compass"
— 72.✗.✗.224

10

May 30, 2013, 11:41pm

I think the distinction drawn
here is backwards. If you listen
to how these words are used
idiomatically, moral tends to
relate to codified societal
beliefs that are received on an
unquestioned basis (the 1960's
use of the term "moral majority"
for instance.) On the other
hand ethics implies a

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 philosophical and hence
reasoned set of values that the
individual thinks through (going
back to Aristotle's Ethics).
— 173.✗.✗.75

June 25, 2012, 6:43pm

WOW!!! Neat website... I love
it! :D

— 70.✗.✗.68

November 15, 2013, 8:17pm

Part of being an educated
person is that you know how to
find the field that studies the
thing you are interested in.
Philosophy is the field that
studies ethics. Philosophers
use the terms "ethical" and
"moral" more or less
interchangeably, and tend not
to use the term "morals".

The content here is of very very

poor quality, and looks like it
was simply made up by
someone.
If you want to learn about this,
a good starting point is the

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 Stanford Internet Encyclopedia
of Philosophy. That is a very
high quality source, with
several entries on ethics.
— 75.✗.✗.251

-15

November 28, 2012, 6:02am

why the religious biased video
in this otherwise educational
site. ruins the message.

— 69.✗.✗.59

-18

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