Talking about ethics necessarily implies addressing the question of morality, terms that, moreover, in common language normally mean the same thing. In everyday language there is no difference between the terms “moral” and “ethics”, using both without distinction to refer to norms, conduct and behaviors of human beings. However, from a technical-philosophical point of view, the two terms do not have the same meaning, and with this Psychology-Online article we will see together what the difference is between ethics and morality, also pointing out the difference between ethics and morality according to Savater .
What is ethics
The ethics (from the Greek ethos, which means custom, way of being and thinking) has emerged in philosophical language with Aristotle to indicate that part of philosophy that studies human behavior, the criteria based on which behaviors are evaluated and the options.
- When this part of philosophy is limited to describing moral behavior and the criteria that guide it, we speak of descriptive ethics.
- While when indications are given about what criteria and values must be respected by whoever acts, we speak of normative ethics.
Ethics is, therefore, science that studies man’s behavior and asks if what he does corresponds to what he should do, while the adjective “ethical” defines, qualifying, a certain way of behaving. Ethics is the science that should tell us the good that must be pursued. But what is good? According to Aristotle’s classic definition, “good is everything that is the object of desire”, from which we can deduce the following metaphysical postulates of ethics:
- There is only good, evil is nothing more than the absence of good.
- Except the Absolute Good, all goods existing in nature have something good and bad.
- Man always seeks the good.
- When evil is chosen it is done because it is considered good.
- Choosing is only possible when we are faced with relative goods.
What is morality
The term moral It derives etymologically from the Latin mos-moris, which means custom, and therefore indicates the conduct of life, the norms of behavior, the principles, the values, referring specifically to daily human actions and the individual’s options with respect to one’s own life. life.
Morality is essentially constituted by principles, or norms, relative to good and evil, which allow defining or judging human actions, universal laws that apply to all human beings and determine their behavior. It is, for example, the respect due to the human being as such, the obligation to treat individuals equitably, the total condemnation of suffering inflicted without cause. Moral coercion occurs in the fact that the violation of rules provokes disturbance of conscience, disapproval or negative moral judgment rather than a public sanction imposed by organized bodies.
The specific formulation of the moral rules that guide our behaviors is in part the inheritance of a series of historical experiences that we have made, a moral relationship with the world that comes from the overlap of numerous moral traditions that still inform the way we value reality. and actions.
6 Differences between ethics and morals
What is the difference between morality and ethics? The two terms are often used interchangeably, but their meaning is different: ethics is commonly referred to to indicate general aspects, while morality is commonly referred to to indicate more personal aspects. Below we will see the differences between ethics and morality with examples.
- Ethics is reflection and morality is conduct.. Morality can be defined as the set of behaviors and norms that are normally accepted as valid; But ethics would be the reflection on why those behaviors and norms are considered valid, in comparison with other morals or moralities that different people have.
- Ethics asks and morality answers. Morality, unlike ethics, prescribes to each man the action that he must perform at a given moment, so that it allows us to say what is well done or not, what is good and bad, what is right and what is just. Therefore, where morality provides answers, ethics raises questions, questions: ethics tries to construct a discourse that explains the reason for moral norms.
- Ethics is the most objective part and the moral part is the most subjective.. It could be said with Hegel that morality means the subjective aspect of behavior, what is the inner disposition, the intention of the subject, while ethics indicates the most objective aspect of behavior, the set of values that have really been realized in the history.
- A more articulated distinction of the two concepts (Russ, 1997) is that which defines ethics more theoretical than morality and more oriented towards a reflection on the principles. Ethics is not like morality, a set of rules of a culture, but rather it is placed beyond morality: it is a “meta-morality”, as a reasoned theory of good and evil, of values and moral judgments.
- Ethics is more universal. Although etymologically the term “ethics” refers to the same meaning as morality, it is often associated with a universal, trans-moral vision, unlike the term “morality” which generally assumes a purely religious connotation or referring to particular cultural belongings. For this reason, the term ethical is often used to indicate a progressive, new and open morality, capable of generalizing and dialoguing. (De Leo, Pierlorenzi, Scribano, 2000).
- Morality is more individual. In his book Ethics for a Son (2007), Savater defines morality as the set of behaviors and norms that I, you, and some of those around us consider valid; Ethics, on the other hand, is the reflection on why we consider them valid, and the comparison with other morals of different people.
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Bibliography
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- De Leo, G., Pierlorenzi, C., Scribano, M.G. (2000). Psychology, ethics and deontology. Nodi and problems of professional training. Rome: Carocci Editore.
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- Savater, F. (2007). Ethics for a figlio. Rome: Editori Laterza.
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