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What’s the difference between morals and ethics?

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What's the difference between morals and ethics?

Are you facing a moral conundrum? Or is it an ethical query? These terms are very similar but actually have specific distinctions for when you should use them.

Moral ethics, word text written on chalkboard

C ertain pairs of words may appear to be synonymous, but in reality, they have slightly different definitions that make each distinct. Examples include "historic" and "historical," "special" and "unique," and of course the topic at hand: "morals" versus "ethics." Many people use these terms interchangeably, but their definitions offer a more nuanced usage.

The word "moral" dates back to the mid-14th century and comes from the Latin moralis, roughly meaning the "proper behavior of a person in society." As an adjective, "moral" means "concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior." When used as a noun, the singular means "a lesson that can be derived from a story or experience," as in, "The moral of the story was that good prevails over evil." When used in the plural, "morals" shifts to a collective sense of right and wrong. In general, morals are related to the individual compass of each individual, so they're often subjective on a very personal level. One person's morals may be entirely different from those of a peer.

"Ethics," on the other hand, is a term that's usually used to describe right vs. wrong on a societal level. In the plural, it means "moral principles that govern a person's behaviour or the conducting of an activity," and in the singular (still spelled "ethics"), it means "the branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles." The difference between "morals" and "ethics" is an understandably tricky distinction because the word "moral" appears in the definitions for "ethics." Try to think of one being a part of a whole. Whereas morals are individual, ethics are a set of values held by a larger community of like-minded people. These values can dictate the behavior of an individual.

Despite this distinction between the terms, some ethicists and philosophers consider the words to be synonymous and use them interchangeably, so nobody would actually fault you for doing the same. That being said, there is one distinct way in how the terms are used in modern parlance. Concepts of morality are referenced when speaking about topics that have heavy personal judgment, such as religion and philosophy. "Ethics," meanwhile, is more commonly used in reference to business, medical, and legal practices.

While there's no explicit right and wrong for how to use these terms, these general guidelines may make it easier. It makes sense to use "morals" if talking about a set of beliefs that resonate with you on a personal level. In turn, use "ethics" for bigger-picture concepts that affect more than just one individual.

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