Ethics Edit Meaning

1.

Moralitywith loopholes.

Everyone agreed that the Congressman's conduct was morally repugnant and his excuses were intellectually dishonest, but the facts did not support an ethics violation.

See morality, moral, morals

2.

A philosophical area of investigation where the same people who argue that there is no reason to believe in god seem to think that there is a set of universally binding principles that define just actions from unjust actions.

Professor: Utilitarianism is a great ethical theory.

Student: What reason do we have to believe that there is a such thing as ethics?

Professor: Utilitarianism is a great ethical theory.

3.

The best way to ensure that your business endeavors will never turn a profit.

The company stressed ethics over growth, so the government refused to bail them out.

See morals, business, profit, responsibility, bailout

4.

Plural of ethic.

The sum of a set of moral beliefs.

etiquette; morality; values

That criminal has a really bad sense of ethics.