How does ethics work?

I use the term ethics to mean a singular body of rules for right behavior. Actually, it's defined as a branch of philosophy that recommends concepts of right and wrong conduct. This goes back to the ancient Greeks and it's derived from a Greek world that means habit or custom.

As with any philosophical concept, ethics has many different versions. You have Meta-ethics, Normative-ethics and Applied-ethics. Meta-ethics tries to understand what right and wrong is. Normative-ethics studies ethical actions, and Applied-ethics is what I intend to discuss, and it applies ethics to real life situations.

There are many ways to approach ethical behavior, but it all comes down to doing the right thing. In other words, when faced with doing one thing or another, always do the right thing. But, what is the right thing? That's where we get into arguments. If we apply moral principles to behavior, the choice is simpler. You simply do the morally right thing.

For example, when you see something like money or jewelry that doesn't belong to you, you should try to locate the owner rather than just take it. However, this is not the way human nature works. Human nature would make you take it without trying to determine to whom it belongs. In order to do the right thing you must go against human nature.

Religion calls doing the wrong thing sin. Basically, sin is doing something against God's commandments. The Biblical idea of original sin is intertwined with this concept of human nature. It seems that Adam and Eve screwed up by eating of the forbidden fruit and condemned all of us to being sinners. I believe that we're so called sinners because of human nature. You can see this in children. Many people consider children to be pure and untainted at birth. Actually, children show all of the tendencies of human nature. They lie, steal, and are selfish and violent not because they learn to do this but rather because they are human. It's the job of parents to train children to do that right thing. I like to think of it as children are born full of the devil and it's the job of parents to beat the devil out of them. Just kidding!

People can learn to behave in an ethical way without religion. It's simply a matter of having the right attitude. One should think of others and not be selfish. One should work for things that one needs and not steal from others. You get the picture.

Etiquette could be considered a negative ethics. Don't do anything to offend or embarrass anyone. Always show good manners toward others. Etiquette is the cornerstone of a civil society, but it's an art that's seldom practiced these days.

Ethics applies to politics, business, biology and medicine, relations, and even the military. Politicians should tell the truth and do what's right for the public. Businesses should sell products that are safe and have fair value. Doctors should heal and not be concerned about wealth. Husbands and wives should exhibit true love. The military should only be used as a last resort and should try to protect civilians and non-combatants.

Ethics applies even to publications. I am especially concerned about science journals because there have been journal articles that were faked. Science should pursue the truth not gain. Truth in science needs proof and verification and how this is obtained should be under proper and ethical means.

If all people practiced ethical behavior what a wonderful world this would be, but alas, that's not going to happen anytime soon. If we can't get along among ourselves how will we ever deal with aliens? I'm just saying.

Thanks for reading.