Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.

Major branches of ethics include:

• Meta-ethics, about the theoretical meaning and reference of moral propositions and how their truth values (if any) may be determined;
• Normative ethics, about the practical means of determining a moral course of action;
• Applied ethics, about how moral outcomes can be achieved in specific situations;
• Moral psychology, about how moral capacity or moral agency develops and what its nature is;
• Descriptive ethics, about what moral values people actually abide by.

Within each of these branches are many different schools of thought and still further sub-fields of study.

Noun

ethics (uncountable)

1. (philosophy) The study of principles relating to right and wrong conduct.
2. Morality.
3. The standards that govern the conduct of a person, especially a member of a profession.

• Although the terms ethics and morality may sometimes be used interchangeably, philosophical ethicists often distinguish them, using ethics to refer to theories and conceptual studies relating to good and evil and right and wrong, and using morality and its related terms to refer to actual, real-world beliefs and practices concerning proper conduct. In this vein, the American philosopher Brand Blanshard wrote concerning his friend, the eminent British ethicist G. E. Moore: "We often discussed ethics, but seldom morals. . . . He was a master in ethical theory, but did not conceive himself as specially qualified to pass opinions on politics or social issues."

Ethics (from the Ancient Greek "ethikos", meaning "arising from habit"), a major branch of philosophy, is the study of value or quality. It covers the analysis and employment of concepts such as right, wrong, good, evil, justice and responsibility.