Why Be Moral or Ethical

"Everyone throws around the labels moral and ethical, often using them redundantly as if to make a stronger case (e.g. 'He behaved both morally and ethically'). If you ask people the difference, most won't have a clue; they've just been repeating the formula because it sounds good. But we can make a distinction between the two that I think is useful. Ethics refers to a theory or system that describes what is good and, by extension, what is evil. Mythology and theology are the oldest sources of ethics, though philosophical systems are often more discussed today. Morals refer to the rules that tell us what to do or not to do. Morality divides actions into right and wrong.

"Morals have to do with your personal life: What is appropriate behavior on a first date. Is taking a ream of paper from your corporate office home to your kids a crime? Ethics are more theoretically focused: How do we judge white-collar crime versus violent crime? How do we allocate transplant organs as long ...