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“Morals refer to the conduct or rule of conduct by which people live.” (http://vclass.mtsac.edu:940/cmcgruder/ethicsdefinitions.htm) Besides, morals mean “related to conduct or character from the point of view of right and wrong.” (http://www.petalk.com/humanist/behavior-morality.html) Unlike ethics, “ethics refer to the study of moral conduct or of the code that one follows.” (http://vclass.mtsac.edu:940/cmcgruder/ethicsdefinitions.htm) “The terms morals and ethics come from Latin and Greek, respectively (mores and ethos), deriving their meaning from the idea of custom.” (http://www.ut.ee/flfi/Sutrop/ARTH_02_039_eng/Lecture1.ppt) The differences between morals and ethics are that morals are rules while ethics are rules, which people should abide in order to live well with others in the society. Therefore, we can say that being moral or ethical means doing what is good or right and being immoral or unethical means doing what is bad or wrong. “Morality derives from the Latin moralis meaning customs or manners.” (http://attorneyronanderson.com/Chapter%20One%20Study%20Guide.pdf) “Morality is the study of what is right, what one should do” (http://www.geocities.com/inescapableennui/p17.html) Another word, behaviours can be characterized as right or wrong through the study of morality. Good behaviour can be motivated by rewards, recognition or fear of punishment. However, bad behaviour has its benefits and adherents. For example, when you decide to rob a bank instead of working in one, you can make a lot of money very quickly, but you are doing something against the law and there are risks involved. “Why should human beings do what is right? This is due to “tradition and law, enlightened self interest and shared human needs, goals, desires and objectives.” (http://attorneyronanderson.com/Chapter%20One%20Study%20Guide.pdf) By doing something right or good, he or she will feel better off. Besides, being moral is not against the law and the tradition says so. Moreover, good behaviours enable human beings to share and achieve the same goals and interests. There are two approaches to the study of morality. “The scientific or descriptive approach emphasizes the observation of human behaviour and the positing of conclusions based on those observations.” (http://attorneyronanderson.com/Chapter%20One%20Study%20Guide.pdf) For example, human beings are often selfish. This is considered a descriptive statement as it is “value free” making no judgements about the rightness or wrongness of the behaviour. “The second approach is more properly philosophical and has two parts. The first part is normative or prescriptive. (http://attorneyronanderson.com/Chapter%20One%20Study%20Guide.pdf) The normative or prescriptive approach is concerned with what should be or what people ought to do. For example, people should respect their elders. The second part of the philosophical approach is value judgements. “Value judgements are the personal or communal judgements of what things are “better” or more important than other things and activities.” (http://www.geocities.com/inescapableennui/p17.html) Thus, people will do what they consider as valuable.
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