Ethics vs morals

Ethics vs Moral

They don't always go hand-in-hand

Let's review

Morals tells us what is right and what is wrong. Ethics tell us why something is right or wrong.

Often times, these are confused.

• The reason for this is because both morals and ethics are related to what is right and what is wrong.

• Usually, when we think we follow rules, we are being moral.

• In fact, both of these are very different from each other.

• In summary, ethics are external, while morals are internal.

Ethics are external

• Ethics are dependant on other people or institutions.
• The word Ethics comes from the Greek ethos, which means "character".
• This means that if you follow the rules, you are a person with a good, acceptable character.

• They are, in essence, codes of conduct.
• They are rules established by society.
• We follow them because others tell us to do so.

Morals are internal

• Morals can change as one grows older.
• The word moral comes from the Greek mos, which means "custom".
• This shows how subjective morals are in real life.

• They are the rules that determine what is right or wrong for an individual.
• Because it's internal, it's quite subjective.
• We are moral when we think something is right or wrong for ourselves.

There are many expamples where morals and ethics are against each other

An example would be gay marriage and homosexuality. The law states it's illegal to discriminate against them. Ethically, people accept this, but for some people, their inner moral values might tell them this is wrong. But for some others, there is nothing morally wrong with homosexuality, and accept them fully.

Another example is this.

Something may not be illegal, but if you do it, people may raise an eyebrow in disapproval. For example, if you don't tip a waiter in Mexico, that's seen as rude and morally wrong. But, if you tip someone in Japan, that is seen as an insult, so ethically you're being a good citizen, but the morality of the situation varies.

This is also seen with laws: we follow them because we don't want to be punished, but we don't necessarily believe in them. This is what happened with people in Germany during the Nazi regime.