What is the definition of ethics?

Answer 1

The term ethics describes the topic, idea, study, analysis, and discussion, of the hypothetical criteria for assessing the appropriateness of behaviors, decisions, actions, and/or intellectual positions. Some commonly cited ethical criteria might include culture, religion, philosophy, reason, logic, science, or nature.

ANOTHER ANSWER

In it's simplest form, ethics are the actions we take to accomplish the greater good. What is the greater good? In it's simplest form, it is the greatest good to the greatest amount. It is what constitutes the greatest good to the greatest amount that can become complicated. First of all we all operate on different levels of awareness and the greater good looks differently to people on each level of awareness. Secondly we are all to one degree or another compelled by our feelings. There are some who are better than most at mastering and controlling their feelings. It seems that most people to one degree or another are hopelessly trapped inside their swirling emotions making decisions in day to day life based on how they're feeling. The greater good looks differently depending on how your feeling.

If it is true that the greater good looks differently on different levels and looks differently from different emotional viewpoints, then it is possible that the lower our level of awareness, the lower and more morose our emotions the further we get from the greater good. The higher the level of awareness and the higher and more serene our emotions the closer we get towards the greater good. When we look and listen to the wise men and women of today it is clear they are operating on a higher level of awareness than most of us. It is clear that they remain serene and happy consistently and rarely fall past anger in terms of emotional outbursts and when they do show anger it is usually righteous anger intended to improve the emotional states of others. If their higher level of awareness and high emotional state are factors in their wisdom and if their wisdom is a factor in arriving at the greater good then it may theorized that it is important to be wise to optimize arrival at the greater good. It is important to keep raising our level of awareness and to stay emotionally serene or happy, at the very least have mild interest if we are to be wise.

There are ethicists who've found a profession in today's society and you will hear many professionals talk about what is ethical and what is unethical and people who will offer up "ethical dilemmas" in order to show that ethics is folly. These skeptics of ethics, these anti-ethicists can be easily spotted by the audacity of their arguments. Take note how most "ethical dilemmas" presented are hypothetical situations that rarely happen in day to day life. Stranger than fictions scenarios where seemingly any move made is unethical. Of these hypothetical situations, like the three men in a two man boat lost at sea dilemma, most people will never find themselves stuck in such a situation to begin with and even if they did, it is not certain that every move is an unethical one. These "ethical dilemma" arguments appeal to people who are operating on a lower level of awareness and need our help in getting them to understand that we are all more than capable of mastering our emotions and operating on a higher level of awareness.