Great people have great values and great ethics-Jeffrey Gitomer

 

Ethics, also called moral philosophy, the discipline concerned with what is morally good and bad and morally right and wrong. The term is also applied to any system or theory of moral values or principles. 

How should we live?

If we choose happiness, will it be our own or the happiness of all?

Is it right to be dishonest in a good cause? 

Can we justify living in opulence while elsewhere in the world people are starving?

                                                                                                                Ethics deals with such questions at all levels. Its subject consists of the fundamental issues of practical decision-making, and its major concerns include the standards by which human actions can be judged right or wrong.As we go through life, we will encounter moral issues. We will inevitably need to make choices or take stands one way or another. Therefore Ethical theory is tremendously helpful when we form our arguments and conclusions. Whatever approach we take, studying ethics will enhance our thinking, giving us a theoretical conceptual apparatus with practical implications. Thus clarifying the questions and discovering what an adequate answer will look like are the least we can expect from studying philosophy. At its best, it can provide us with new perspectives and a richer understanding of the world and our place in it.

The terms ethics and morality are closely related. It is now common to refer to ethical judgments or to ethical principles. Therefore ethics is equivalent to moral philosophy. Although ethics has always been viewed as a branch of philosophy, its all-embracing practical nature links it with many other areas of study, including anthropology, biology, economics, history, politics, sociology, and theology. Ethics usually divided into three general areas

  1. Meta-ethics

  2. Normative ethics 

  3. Applied ethics

Meta-ethics
Metaethics investigates the origin of our ethical principles and what they imply.
Are Ethics merely social inventions?

Are there moral facts?
Why should we do the “right” thing?

Normative ethics
Normative ethics arrive at moral standards that regulate right and wrong conduct.
How do we decide what is right from wrong?
What good habits should we acquire?
What duty do we have to others? 

Applied Ethics 

Examines specific controversial issues. 

Examples: Abortion, Capital punishment, War, Animal rights

Hedonism

Hedonistic theories of conduct have been held from the earliest times. Hedonism belief that pleasure is the most important thing in life.

Ethical Hedonism

Ethical hedonism is the view that our fundamental moral obligation is to maximize pleasure or happiness. Ethical hedonism is most associated with the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus who taught that our life's goal should be to minimize pain and maximize pleasure. Concerning the nature of pleasure, Epicurus explains that at least some pleasures are rooted in natural and, as a rule, every pain is bad and should be avoided, and every pleasure is good and should be preferred.