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Philosophy vocabulary · Ethics and Moral Philosophy

Ethics

Meaning in philosophy, with examples

/ˈeθɪks/nounCore term

In philosophy, ethics means: The branch of philosophy that studies right and wrong, good and bad, and how we ought to live and treat one another.

In Turkish: etik, ahlak felsefesi

How it is used

As the name of a branch it takes a singular verb (ethics is). It is usually divided into normative ethics, applied ethics and metaethics. The same word also means the rules of a profession (medical ethics), and in that sense it can take a plural verb.

Example sentences

  1. Ethics asks not only what we do, but what we ought to do.

  2. This week's applied ethics seminar is on research with animals.

Common collocations

  • normative ethics
  • applied ethics
  • virtue ethics
  • environmental ethics
  • professional ethics
  • moralityThe principles about right and wrong behavior that people or societies accept, or the quality of an action being morally right or wrong.
  • metaethicsThe branch of ethics that asks what moral claims mean, whether they can be true or false and how we could know them, rather than which actions are right.
  • normativeConcerned with how things ought to be, or with what is good, right or reasonable, rather than with describing how things actually are.
  • utilitarianismAn ethical theory holding that the right action is the one that produces the greatest overall happiness or well-being for everyone affected.
  • deontologyA family of ethical theories holding that some actions are right or wrong in themselves, because of duties or rules, whatever their consequences.

More terms: Ethics and Moral Philosophy

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