The 6 differences between ethics and morals

These two concepts so often used in philosophy and psychology are related but not synonymous.

In everyday speech we normally use the words "ethics" and "morals" as synonyms; however, there are important differences between the two terms, or at least this has been the case throughout history.

Although they are closely related, there are at least 6 differences between ethics and morality. 6 differences between ethics and moralsThese differences refer to multiple characteristics, both in terms of ethics and morality, and it is important not to confuse these concepts. These refer to multiple characteristics, both conceptual and epistemological.

Definition of ethics

Ethics is a branch of philosophy that studies and systematizes the concepts of good and evil, as well as other related concepts. This discipline aims to rationally define what constitutes a good or virtuous act, regardless of the culture in which it is framed.

Ethical systems, consisting of prescriptions regarding the patterns of behavior that people should follow, have traditionally been proposed from philosophy and religion.

It is considered that ethics originated in the time of Ancient GreecePlato's and Aristotle's philosophy, as well as Stoicism and Epicureanism, are some of the first manifestations of the use of this term.

During the Middle Ages, Christian ethics predominated in the Western world, later spreading to a large part of the world. Later, philosophers such as Descartes, Hume or Kant would recover ideas from the Greek masters and would contribute in a key way to the conception of ethics in the following centuries.

Definition of morality

Morality is defined as the set of norms that govern the behavior of people who are part of a given society, so that they can contribute to the maintenance of stability and social structure. maintenance of stability and social structure..

The concept of morality is usually related to conformity with the implicit and explicit laws of a social group, which are transmitted to individuals within the socialization process to which they are subjected throughout their development. In this sense, morality traditions and values of the context in which we are raised. in which we are raised.

Morality most likely arose as a natural consequence of the organization of human beings into groups. As societies became more complex, the norms of interaction that structured them were progressively transformed into moral rules and explicit laws, especially with the appearance of writing.

Religions have had a great historical weight in the establishment of moral codes. While in the Western world Judaism and Christianity have largely determined social norms, in Asia Buddhism and Confucianism have done so mainly.

Differences between ethics and morality

Many people are of the opinion that today the concepts 'morality' and 'ethics' mean basically the same thing, at least from the point of view of colloquial language.

However, from a theoretical and historical point of view we can find several differences between these two terms.

1. Object of interest

Morality is concerned with determining which behaviors are appropriate and which are not in a given context, while ethics refers to the general principles that define which behaviors are beneficial for all people.

Ethics is a normative discipline and morality is descriptive.Thus, ethics differs from morality in that it seeks to define the correct behaviors, rather than those that are accepted by a society.

In other words, while ethics is a rather static element that serves as a reference for understanding the type of behavior that regulates the functioning of society in a given context, morality is of an applied nature, taking into account everything that is involved in the decision to act in one way or another.

2. Scope of application

Ethics is at the level of theory, trying to find general principles that favor harmony between people. Morality, on the other hand tries to apply the norms determined by ethics to a large number of to a large number of concrete situations, according to the description of what happens in each case.

Therefore, ethics has a theoretical, abstract and rational character, while morality refers to the practical, telling us how we should behave in our daily lives through more or less explicit rules and statements.

3. Origin and development

Ethical norms are developed by individuals through reflection and evaluation of what is understood by human nature. Subsequently such individuals will apply the norms to their conduct.

In some cases individual ethics can influence a large number of people, even become a tradition; this has often been the case in theThis has often happened in the case of religions, systematizations of the ideas of their prophets. Once this point has been reached, we would go on to speak of morality to refer to the intergenerational transmission of such an ethical system.

In summary, we can say that ethics has an individual originMorality, on the other hand, is derived from the norms of our social group, which are in turn determined by a prior ethical system. Morality is the generalization of those kinds of descriptions of what is good and what is bad, its way of forming an abstraction of what is to be done and what is to be avoided.

4. Capacity for choice

As we have said, ethics is based on individual reflection, while morality has a more imposing and coercive nature. is more imposing and coercive in natureIf a person does not comply with social norms, he or she is likely to be punished, either socially or legally, since morality cannot be created by a single person, but has to do with shared ideas of what is good to do and what is bad, or even what should be punished.

Ethics is based on the intellectual and rational value that individuals give to their attitudes and beliefs, unlike morality, which is determined by culture and is therefore rather irrational and intuitive. We cannot choose morality, only accept or reject it; therefore, it has to do with conformity to the norms of our social group.

5. Mode of influence

Moral norms act on us from the outside or from the unconscious, in the sense that we internalize them non-voluntarily as we develop within a given social group. We cannot remain aloof from them; we always take them into account, either to defend them or to reject them.

Ethics depends on voluntary and conscious choicesThis concept defines the identification and following of certain rules in order to act in a way that seems right from a personal point of view. In addition, being rather individual in scope, it gives a certain margin to reflect on whether something is right or wrong, depending on the circumstances.

6. Degree of universality

Ethics has the pretension of being universal, that is, of being able to be applied in any context, since ideally it is based on the guided use of thought, not on blind obedience to rigid rules. This discipline seeks, therefore, to establish absolute truths that remain as such regardless of the context in which they are applied, as long as the person has the capacity to act rationally. Kant, for example, tried to establish objective ethical principles, above culture or religion.

On the other hand, morality varies according to society; behaviors that may be accepted in some social groups, such as gender violence or child exploitation, would be considered immoral by people in other societies, as well as from an ethical point of view. In this sense, we can say that morality is largely influenced by cultural relativism.