Meaning and Scope of Ethics – UPSC Notes

 Meaning of Ethics

1. Etymology

1. The word Ethics is derived from the Greek word “Ethikos” meaning character or custom.

2. Ethics is closely related to “Morality”, but while morality refers to the actual practices and customs of people, ethics is the systematic and philosophical study of those practices.
   
   

2. Definitions
   a. Ethics is a set of standards that guide human actions, choices, and behavior, helping individuals and society decide what is right or wrong.
   b. Ethics is the systematic study of human actions from the perspective of rightness and wrongness, aiming at the highest good (summum bonum).
   c. Ethics is the reflective study of human conduct—what is good or bad in actions for which humans are responsible.
   
   

3. About Ethics

1. Ethics deals with human conduct, not mere biological actions.

2. Human conduct must involve deliberation, free will, and intention (e.g., reading, running, helping, lying).

3. Involuntary actions like sneezing or yawning are not ethical concerns.
   
   

Scope of Ethics

The scope of ethics refers to the range of its subject matter. Being a normative science, ethics does not describe “what is” but prescribes “what ought to be.”

1. Ethics and Human Conduct

1. Conduct = Expression of character.
2. Character = Habitual disposition of the will.
3. Ethics studies motives, intentions, voluntary and involuntary actions, springs of action, and responsibility.

2. Fundamental Problems of Ethics

1. What is the nature of the moral ideal?
2. What is the summum bonum or the highest good?
3. How do we decide between right and wrong actions?
4. Why do we feel a sense of duty or moral obligation?

3. Core Concepts in Ethics

a. Right & Wrong – Actions conforming to the moral ideal are right; those that don’t are wrong.

b. Duty – Right actions are considered duties, and they generate a sense of oughtness.

c. Good – End or value served by moral action. Ethics distinguishes between relative goods (short-term ends) and absolute good (highest end of life).

d. Merit and Demerit – Right actions have merit, wrong actions have demerit. Ethics studies what makes actions praiseworthy or blameworthy.

4. Freedom, Responsibility, and Punishment

1. Ethics assumes humans have freedom of will.

2. Responsibility arises from free action; hence criminals are accountable for their crimes.

3. Ethics provides moral justification for punishment (reformation, deterrence, retribution).

5. Ethics and Rights, Duties, Virtues

1. Ethics defines duties, virtues, rights, and justice based on moral standards.

2. Virtue = moral excellence, Vice = moral defect.

6. Relation with Other Disciplines

1. Psychology – nature of voluntary action, motives, relation between desire and pleasure.

2. Philosophy – human personality, freedom of will, immortality of soul, existence of God, moral order.

3. Sociology & Political Science – relation of individual to society and state, moral functions of the state, and international ethics.

4. Religion – must be grounded in ethics; otherwise degenerates into superstition.

5. Economics – production and distribution of wealth should be just and equitable.

6. Education – ethics determines what impulses should be strengthened or suppressed.

7. Ethics as Theoretical, not Practical Science

1. Ethics is a theory of morality, not merely a set of rules.

2. It criticizes vague social customs, exposes inconsistencies, and purifies moral standards.

3. It provides a rational foundation for practical life (religion, politics, economics, education).

4. Ethics separates essential from non-essential and refines our understanding of right and wrong.

In conclusion that,

1. Ethics is both descriptive (studies conduct) and normative (sets standards).

2. Concerned with right, duty, good, virtue, responsibility, punishment, freedom.

3. Has wide connections with psychology, philosophy, sociology, religion, economics, politics, and education.

4. Theoretical ethics forms the basis of applied ethics (bioethics, business ethics, environmental ethics, etc.).

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FAQs

Q1. What is the meaning of Ethics in simple words?

Ans. Ethics is the study of what is right and wrong in human behavior and what humans ought to do in order to achieve the highest good.

Q2. How is Ethics different from Morality?

Ans. Morality refers to actual customs, traditions, and practices, while Ethics is the philosophical and systematic study of those moral practices.

Q3. Why is Ethics called a Normative Science?

Ans. Because it prescribes standards of right conduct (what ought to be) instead of describing facts of conduct (what is).

Q4. What is the ‘summum bonum’ in Ethics?

Ans. Summum bonum refers to the highest good or ultimate end of human life, which all actions should aim at.

Q5. Does Ethics study involuntary actions like sneezing or yawning?

Ans. No, Ethics only studies deliberate human actions involving free will, intention, and responsibility.

Q6. What is the role of Ethics in punishment?

Ans. Ethics justifies punishment as a moral responsibility to reform offenders, protect society, and uphold justice.

Q7. How is Ethics related to other disciplines?

Ans. Ethics draws insights from psychology (motives), philosophy (soul, free will), sociology (state), religion (moral basis), economics (justice in wealth distribution), and education (character formation).

Q8. Why is Ethics considered a Theoretical Science?

Ans. Ethics provides rational foundations for moral life, critiques wrong social customs, and refines ideas of right and wrong, rather than giving fixed rules.

Q9. What are the fundamental notions of Ethics?

Ans. Right, duty, good, virtue, vice, freedom, responsibility, punishment.

Q10. What is the scope of Ethics in UPSC GS-IV?

Ans. Understanding ethical principles helps in decision-making, public service values, integrity, impartiality, accountability, and professional conduct.