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ethics & morality
Hi, I asked a question awhile ago on what the difference between ethics and morality is and I got good feedback on it - much appreciated. However the information given to me is not enough to provide me with the answer to this question: what is the difference between something that is unethical vs. something that is immoral? Basically, if an act can be justified, can it still be considered unethical, and why? I would prefer answers to be short but definite, as in not too vague, because on this topic it is very easy to have something misinterpreted. Thanks in advance - will rate.
P.S. - This is not for a school related work incase you were having second thoughts about answering. :-)
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i was going to answer this question yesturday but it made me think and i just couldnt find an answer. so after i did a little research and mixed in someof my own opinion this is what i came up with:
the definition of ethics is: "ethic >noun a set of moral principles."
and the definitin of morals is: "moral >adjective 1 concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior and the goodness or badness of human character. 2 conforming to accepted standards of behavior."
so ethics are basicly the set of morals. i think that today in this day and age that if something is unethical it is agianst someone's morals and when someone says that something is agianst their ethics then what they are saying is that it is agianst their set of morals or to them it is morally wrong. so basicly... ethics is what you would call someone's morals. but people make them to different things. as in a moral is something that you can find away around or bend to your pleasing. but a ethic is something people might say they wont break. basicly what im trying to say is what the person below me said. im sorry that my answer wasnt short but i had to explain that. well thats my theory i hope i helped.
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If something is ethical, it is right. There is no question about it.
If something is moral, then there are exceptions.
Lying is immoral. Is it good to lie sometimes? Yes.
If it can be justified, then it is moral. If there aren't exceptions, then it is ethical.
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The thing is that the two words are very similar. I will give you a quote from Peter Singer (one of the leading authorties on ethics today):
"(both)... have their roots in a word for customs... morality brings with it a particular, and sometimes inapropriate, resonance today. It suggest a stern set of duties that require us to subordinate our natural desires- our sexual desires get particular emphasis.... often morality is assumed to have a religious basis. These connotations of morality are features of a particular conception of ethics, one linked to the Jewish and Christian traditions" ("Ethics" 1994, Oxford University Press, P.Singer ed)
So, the short answer to your question would be:
Both can be interpreted as meaning the same thing, however using morality rather than ethics might imply a more stern set of beleifs that take root in Religious scriptures rathar than philosophical texts.
Your second question depends very much on your definition of justified. Overall I cant see how an act could be ethical if it isnt justified, because in my mind ethics determines justification.
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