Question

What is the difference between Ethics and Morals? Can morality be regarded as an equivalent of the code of conduct?

Answer 1

We greatly encounter moral and ethical issues, in our day to day life. Perhaps, these two defines a personality, attitude, and behavior of a person. The word Morals is derived from a Greek word “Mos” which means custom. On the other hand, if we talk about Ethics, it is also derived from a Greek word “Ethikos” which means character. Many use the two terms as synonyms, but there are slight and subtle differences between morals and ethics

The major differences between Morals and Ethics are as under:

• Morals deal with what is ‘right or wrong’. Ethics deals with what is ‘good or evil’.
• Morals are general guidelines framed by the society E.g. We should speak truth. Conversely, ethics are a response to a particular situation.
• Morals are dictated by society, culture or religion while Ethics are chosen by the person himself which governs his life.
• Morals are concerned with principles of right and wrong. On the contrary, ethics stresses on right and wrong conduct
• As morals are framed and designed by the group, there is no option to think and choose; the individual can either accept or reject. Conversely, the people are free to think and choose the principles of his life in ethics.
• Morals may vary from society to society and culture to culture. As opposed to Ethics, which remains the same regardless of any culture, religion or society
• Morals do not have any applicability to business, whereas Ethics is widely applicable in the business known as business ethics.
• Morals are expressed in the form of statements, but Ethics are not expressed in the form of statements.

Morality and code of conduct
There is a belief that there is no such thing as morality per se, morality is simply any code of conduct adopted by a group but this belief is false and only a misconception, morality shall not be regarded as equivalent to code of conduct. For example Nazi code of conduct was not a moral code. Code of conduct might be thought of as a public codification of morality for a culture, although certain laws in that system, or even the system itself, might be deemed immoral, e.g., apartheid. Code of conduct is not a necessary attribute of morality although morality may well be thought to be a necessary attribute of code of conduct.