What’s the Difference Between Morality and Ethics?

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ClintBarton
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What’s the Difference Between Morality and Ethics?

Post by ClintBarton »

Hi,

Generally, the terms ethics and morality are used interchangeably, although a few different communities (academic, legal, or religious, for example) will occasionally make a distinction. In fact, Britannica’s article on ethics considers the terms to be the same as moral philosophy. While understanding that most ethicists (that is, philosophers who study ethics) consider the terms interchangeable, let’s go ahead and dive into these distinctions.
Both morality and ethics loosely have to do with distinguishing the difference between “good and bad” or “right and wrong.” Many people think of morality as something that’s personal and normative, whereas ethics is the standards of “good and bad” distinguished by a certain community or social setting. For example, your local community may think adultery is immoral, and you personally may agree with that. However, the distinction can be useful if your local community has no strong feelings about adultery, but you consider adultery immoral on a personal level. By these definitions of the terms, your morality would contradict the ethics of your community. In popular discourse, however, we’ll often use the terms moral and immoral when talking about issues like adultery regardless of whether it’s being discussed in a personal or in a community-based situation. As you can see, the distinction can get a bit tricky.

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Belindi
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Re: What’s the Difference Between Morality and Ethics?

Post by Belindi »

This being a philosophy forum it's best to distinguish between the two. I favour using 'morality' in the sociological or social anthropological sense.
Ethics are criteria for evaluating good and may themselves be discarded according to other overarching ethics.
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Re: What’s the Difference Between Morality and Ethics?

Post by Dissimulation »

Morality is generally applied to social dynamics in various contingencies. Ethics will likely have various interepratations . I understand ethics as self identical absent opposing duality. An implicit methodology determining actions in immediate contingicies. moral judgements are relational and understood in recollection as judgement of offensive or desirable.
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Iraunn
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Re: What’s the Difference Between Morality and Ethics?

Post by Iraunn »

I don't think the two words are interchangeable, but I'm
not sure of the difference. Does "moral" apply mainly to
personal interactions, and does "ethical" apply more to
social life?
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Re: What’s the Difference Between Morality and Ethics?

Post by Alias »

Morality is the basis of determining right and wrong. That is, the philosophical framework according to which value-judgments are made. Belief-system; credo; ethos. The reasoning behind which class of volition/decision/act is virtuous and which is reprehensible.

Ethics is the code of behaviour based on a morality. The rules of engagement and conduct; the framework of law; the generally accepted social standard of what behaviour is praised or punished.

Thus a philosophy lays out the Why; an ethic builds up the What; a legal code establishes the How.
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LuckyR
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Re: What’s the Difference Between Morality and Ethics?

Post by LuckyR »

Iraunn wrote: July 13th, 2018, 11:18 am I don't think the two words are interchangeable, but I'm
not sure of the difference. Does "moral" apply mainly to
personal interactions, and does "ethical" apply more to
social life?
The OP sums it up quite nicely, actually.
"As usual... it depends."
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Arjen
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Re: What’s the Difference Between Morality and Ethics?

Post by Arjen »

The OP does sum it up nicely, but it is not very clear.
I hope this can help.

Ethics is everything that has to do with right or wrong behavior in the sense of doing good or bad to others. However, it is often used as meaning right behavior. The question then is: what is deemed right behavior? A list of good behavior like the 10 commandments comes to mind.
Morality has to do with behavior in a group: that behavior of which a person can at the same time want all others to behave as. because if you can't want everyone else to behave in the same way, it means that you know it is not right to treat people that way.
It doesn't mean that a person that acts morally is in the right. It just means that it is the best that person knows to do. When a person learns that maybe he could do better, his behavior will change and what he wants others to behave as will also change. It leaves space for growth.
The saying that what is true in theory is not always true in practice, means that the theory is wrong!
~Immanuel Kant
Belindi
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Re: What’s the Difference Between Morality and Ethics?

Post by Belindi »

Arjen wrote: January 23rd, 2019, 6:56 pm The OP does sum it up nicely, but it is not very clear.
I hope this can help.

Ethics is everything that has to do with right or wrong behavior in the sense of doing good or bad to others. However, it is often used as meaning right behavior. The question then is: what is deemed right behavior? A list of good behavior like the 10 commandments comes to mind.
Morality has to do with behavior in a group: that behavior of which a person can at the same time want all others to behave as. because if you can't want everyone else to behave in the same way, it means that you know it is not right to treat people that way.
It doesn't mean that a person that acts morally is in the right. It just means that it is the best that person knows to do. When a person learns that maybe he could do better, his behavior will change and what he wants others to behave as will also change. It leaves space for growth.
Each of the Ten Commandments is an ethic. Moses seems to have aimed for his people all to subscribe to a moral system endorsed by the myth of Jahweh, and to obey that moral system's particular ethics. Apparently there was in that society the possibility for moral evolution as is shown by the more sophisticated moral system of the OT prophets.

There are always moral criteria in any viable society. "In the right" can apply either to acting lawfully according to religious or secular law, or alternatively it can apply to the beliefs of an individual who aims to think apart from the law. Individualism of this sort is of comparatively recent date. In the past and in most societies even today people are neither required nor expected to think and believe as individuals.
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Arjen
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Re: What’s the Difference Between Morality and Ethics?

Post by Arjen »

Belindi wrote: January 24th, 2019, 11:09 am Each of the Ten Commandments is an ethic. Moses seems to have aimed for his people all to subscribe to a moral system endorsed by the myth of Jahweh, and to obey that moral system's particular ethics. Apparently there was in that society the possibility for moral evolution as is shown by the more sophisticated moral system of the OT prophets.

There are always moral criteria in any viable society. "In the right" can apply either to acting lawfully according to religious or secular law, or alternatively it can apply to the beliefs of an individual who aims to think apart from the law. Individualism of this sort is of comparatively recent date. In the past and in most societies even today people are neither required nor expected to think and believe as individuals.
No, most systems are in place so that people do not have to think. Dumbing down, some call it.

Anyway, I meant the difference between teleology (rulebase/goals) and deontology (duty towards the moral law) ofcourse.
The saying that what is true in theory is not always true in practice, means that the theory is wrong!
~Immanuel Kant
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