Ethics

I am beginning to see a trend in non-philosophical discourse to try and distinguish between Ethics and Morality. It seems as though they are used synonymously but it could be possible to distinguish between the two. Is there a difference and who is writing on the subject?

Comments

I think "ethics" and "morality" (and their cognates) are often used more or less interchangeably, both in ordinary language and philosophical discussions. However, there are some philosophers, such as Elizabeth Anscombe and Bernard Williams, among others, who draw a fairly sharp distinction between the two. On this view, morality refers to a particularly modern conception of ethics that emphasizes impartiality and juridical or deontic notions such as duty and obligation. By contrast, on this view, ethics focuses on what sort of life the agent should lead. This sort of approach justifies ethical concern from the agent's perspective outward and asks what sort of projects and commitments are worthwhile. Proponents of this conception of ethics often assume that the virtues play a larger or at least different role in ethics than in morality. Those who take this view contrast ethics and morality, defending the former and eschewing the latter. Of course, this contrast rests on substantive and potentially controversial claims, for instance, that you can't justify impartiality from the inside out or that we can have a proper conception of justice without impartial conceptions of duty and obligation.

Read another response by David Brink

Read another response about Ethics