Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The science of right conduct and character; the science which treats of the nature and grounds of moral obligation and of the rules which ought to determine conduct in accordance with this obligation; the doctrine of man's duty in respect to himself and the rights of others.
  • noun The whole of the moral sciences; natural jurisprudence.
  • noun A particular system of principles and rules concerning moral obligations and regard for the rights of others, whether true or false; rules of practice in respect to a single class of human actions and duties: as, social ethics; medical ethics.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The science of human duty; the body of rules of duty drawn from this science; a particular system of principles and rules concerting duty, whether true or false; rules of practice in respect to a single class of human actions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun philosophy The study of principles relating to right and wrong conduct.
  • noun Morality.
  • noun The standards that govern the conduct of a person, especially a member of a profession.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun motivation based on ideas of right and wrong
  • noun the philosophical study of moral values and rules

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French ethique, from Late Latin ethica, from Ancient Greek ἠθική (ēthike), from ἠθικός (ēthikos, "of or for morals, moral, expressing character"), from ἦθος (ēthos, "character, moral nature").

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Examples

  • Matthew, who happens to be a bit lacking in ethics, is a key executive for a major pharmaceutical company.

    All Things Girl » All Things Girl » Blog Archive » Book Talk: The Cure for Modern Life by Lisa Tucker 2008

  • The term ethics is the most ancient, as dating from Aristotle himself; ēthos, radically related to ethos, from the root ezō, “to set” and

    Christian Ethics. Volume I.���History of Ethics. 1819-1870 1873

  • It is evident at once that according to these definitions ethics is something entirely other than what is usually understood thereby in the scientific world; and it involves not a little courage to undertake to justify the applying of the term ethics to this extensive field.

    Christian Ethics. Volume I.���History of Ethics. 1819-1870 1873

  • "Copernican revolution in philosophy", as he termed it: the most fundamental revolution in the whole history of epistemology; and his ethics is the most important one since Aristotle's.

    New Releases 2009

  • "Copernican revolution in philosophy", as he termed it: the most fundamental revolution in the whole history of epistemology; and his ethics is the most important one since Aristotle's.

    Religion 2009

  • "Copernican revolution in philosophy", as he termed it: the most fundamental revolution in the whole history of epistemology; and his ethics is the most important one since Aristotle's.

    Books 2009

  • "Copernican revolution in philosophy", as he termed it: the most fundamental revolution in the whole history of epistemology; and his ethics is the most important one since Aristotle's.

    Introducing Kant 2009

  • "Copernican revolution in philosophy", as he termed it: the most fundamental revolution in the whole history of epistemology; and his ethics is the most important one since Aristotle's.

    Philosophy 2009

  • "Copernican revolution in philosophy", as he termed it: the most fundamental revolution in the whole history of epistemology; and his ethics is the most important one since Aristotle's.

    Insight Scoop | The Ignatius Press Blog: 2009

  • "Copernican revolution in philosophy", as he termed it: the most fundamental revolution in the whole history of epistemology; and his ethics is the most important one since Aristotle's.

    Ignatius Press 2009

  • Suffering-focused ethics is a broad term for ethical philosophies that, like Samuel’s antinatalism, are primarily or exclusively focused on the prevention of suffering.

    This man is suing his parents for giving birth to him Kelsey Piper 2019

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