How to Distinguish Between Morality and Ethics

Rate: (2 Ratings)

While in many senses the two terms "ethics" and "morality" are interchangeable in referring to proper conduct, I'd like to draw a distinction between them that might be a bit idiosyncratic, but nevertheless useful for a variety of applications. This distinction isn't entirely rootless, at it represents something of a melding of the understanding of the sub-discipline of ethics (within the discipline of philosophy) with Friedrich Nietzsche's understanding of morality as slavishness and an inheritance from the Judeo-Christian-Platonic tradition. Also I'm influenced by French existentialists such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir (please see "Resources" at the bottom of this page).

Flag Article

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

A mind

Step1

Think of morality and morals as static and inherited, as absolute rules written on tablets or on parchment. These are the allegedly unchanging principles that allegedly apply to all peoples and all individuals in all places at all times--the "thou shalts" and the "thou shalt nots."

Step2

Think of ethics as dynamic and debated. As mentioned in the Introduction, ethics is a field of inquiry in itself. It's not merely a name for a set beliefs regarding conduct. As such, the ethical positions derived from ethical inquiry are subject to change. They don't necessarily lay claims to being absolute and/or somehow ultimately derived from God.

Ethics are process-oriented, interactive and active, whereas morality tends to follow a sadomasochistic model of being imposed upon and then imposing upon. In other words, ethics are developed through discourse and applied to concrete human dilemmas; morality is received and meted-out.

Step3

Learn how to distinguish between morality and ethics in practical affairs. If a generalized rule is said to be true because God declared it, or because it's in the Bible, or because it's "the way it's always been", chances are that this rule is a rule of morality rather than a rule of ethics.

If a specific recommendation of conduct or refraining from a conduct is offered with arguments (other than arguments from authority) backing it up, chances are that we're now operating at least somewhat in the realm of ethics, regardless of the strength or weakness of the position being defended.

Step4

Liberate your ethical potential! Ethics is not only about doing the right thing, it's about having good reasons for considering one action right and another wrong. Sometimes it's even about recognizing the ambiguity of life and acknowledging that there isn't always a right or wrong path but that, in the language of philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, we must "create"!

Tips & Warnings

Lawrence Kohlberg's "Stages of Morality" may be helpful, and I've linked it below under "Resources". While Kohlberg uses the term "morality," his stages reflect some transformation from what I've called morality to what I've called ethics (Stage 5 in particular).
Don't get the idea that my discussion of ethics lapses into a futile relativism or nihilism, rather it places such import on conduct that it becomes the province of each and every person rather than merely that of "the priests" (broadly understood).