Definition Of Ethics

Ethics is a set of rules which is defined by someone other than the one who is applying it. Though it is based on someone else, there is a standard set of right and wrong with regards to rights, what is fair and what is beneficial to the society. The ethical choice is mostly made as a choice of the heart rather than the mind. It can be alternatively defined as the choice made intuitively and reflexively.
The ethical concepts are mostly derived, and dependant on the philosophies, cultures or religion. It typically covers how to live life well, the human responsibilities and rights, the right and wrong, and moral decision making of good and bad.

What is not ethics?
It is essential to know what is defined as ethics and what is not. Telling them apart is necessary as it is often confused and can become risky at times. The following shows you what is not ethics:

• It is not what is commonly accepted: Most people think that what is accepted commonly is termed as ethics — the fact that an action done by a group does not mean that others should also undertake it. Example: Gratuitous violence may be fun and ethical in your group but does not make it ethical to be followed by others. David Hume quotes famously that is ‘is’ not ‘ought’.
• It is not a law: There are no laws that can bind ethical principles. Not every task falls under the legal category but can be of a significant ethical dilemma. A great example is that of mistreatment of animals domestically reared.
• It is not a religion: Ethical principles can bind some religious views, but the converse is not true. It may be taken from a religious context but has to be evaluated independently.

Use of ethics:
Acts as a good map: Some of the most emotional issues like euthanasia or abortion are more of moral issues where the heart rules and the brain accepts it. The philosophers help tackle these issues differently as they provide some principles and rules that provide a better view of the situation and a framework to deal with the difficult circumstances.

Can resolve disputes: Using the ethical framework, you can argue on a moral issue, and even if one does not agree with it on every aspect of it, it can lead to agree broadly on most of it. Ethics can sometimes not be as helpful as they expect it to be but takes away the heat from any argument.

Ethics does not always provide the right answer to all the moral problems. There is not a single answer to an issue which can be quite confusing. It is just a set of rules or standard principles that are applied to specific cases to give some choices. Drawing conclusions are left to the individual’s choice, but it does help to reduce confusion when you need clarification. For some ethics are ambiguous and forces to make decisions rather than fall back on convenient customs.

Each one follows certain ethics and sticks to it, it can be a religious ethic, behavioral ethics, feeling of right or wrong, or the behavior of the society. The correct meaning of the word ethics is difficult to find, but we need to understand what is ethically correct and follow them to shape our future and improve the society on the whole.