What is the difference between ethics and moral
The words ethics and morals may seem the same but they are not. There are nuances that indicate that ethics and morality are two terms that complement each other, but whose meaning is very different. In the following article we show you with examples and definitions the real meaning of each one to determine what is the difference between ethics and morals .
Then we will explain it in detail, but we can say that the difference between ethics and morals is that morality is the series of values, principles and norms that govern our behavior, while ethics is the abstract and theoretical study of these behaviors .
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In general terms, the difference between ethics and morals should be sought in that the first is a philosophical and scientific study while the moral is purely practical; that is to say, ethics speaks from reason and philosophical reflection but moral refers to the acts we carry out day by day during our life.
If we analyze both words etymologically we find that both have the same original meaning:
- "moral" comes from the Latin "mos" (custom)
- "ethics" comes from the Greek "ethos" (custom)
But now, with the evolution of the language, both meanings have been bifurcated to end with two completely different. Next, we will analyze them in detail to understand what the base difference is.
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We begin to analyze what is moral to understand its initial difference with ethics. It is a series of principles, values or norms that govern our behavior. Morality is what determines our actions and what sets us the limits that we do not want to go through. Currently, morality is also known as "having principles" and refers to precisely that framework of our own rules that we follow in our day to day to act as we believe is correct.
At a sociological level, morality can also determine the culture and way of life of a society or a group of people. Some norms or principles are transmitted between different generations of the same group of people who establish, thus, moral principles on which to create their society.
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Now we will focus on the meaning of ethics . It is about reflecting on the principles that will later form our moral and, therefore, it is the philosophical part that will determine the behavior to which we will have to submit to live in society in a peaceful way. That is, it is the previous thought, the reflective part that make up our actions.
For example, vegetarians are a type of person who defends that by their principles (by their own ethics) they will not eat meat (moral); these "principles" have arisen from a previous reflection on the situation, resulting in the final conclusion: not eating meat.
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So, as we have seen, the difference between ethics and morals is that the first is the reflection on a concrete fact of life and that this will mark the subsequent moral practice; From the conclusions of the reflection, the moral behavior that will mark your life will be extracted.
It is also worth pointing out that ethics have a totally personal and individual basis, since from the reflection of a person some conclusions can be drawn that can be carried out on a personal level (like the previous example of not eating meat) but can also lead to social norms that involve to a greater number of people (such as not eating pork, something that all Muslims do).
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The question about what is ethics and what is moral has worried many thinkers and philosophers. These have reflected on the matter and have drawn their own definitions and conclusions, and one of those that has made more fortune is that of Fernando Savater. According to Fernando Savater ethics is the "philosophical and scientific study of morality and is theoretical while morality is practical ". That is to say, the difference between ethics and morality is that morality is something practical, the way in which we act, while ethics is theoretical, the study of that morality and the way of behaving.
