what is meant by ethics

What is Meant by Ethics?

What is meant by ethics – Whizmates, have you often heard the word ethics in school, at home, or in the community? Indeed you are already familiar with this word because ethics are inherent in our daily lives.

In a home or school environment, you are expected to behave well and have good manners towards older people or peers so that your presence is liked and accepted in the social environment.

It would be best to instill this from an early age to respect and tolerate each other. However, many people still do not understand ethics itself. So, what is the definition of ethics? What are the goals and types of ethics themselves? Let's take a look at the following article's explanation!

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What is Meant by Ethics?

According to the Gramedia, the word ethics has been around since Greek philosophy, where Aristotle used this word to refer to moral philosophy. Linguistically, 'ethics' comes from the Greek word ethos which means character, nature, morality, and customary practices.

According to the Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian Dictionary),ethics is the science of good and bad regarding moral rights and obligations, a collection of ethical principles, and the correct or incorrect values adopted in society.

Ethics itself relates to the behavior of individuals as well as groups. Therefore, ethics is the foundation of how an individual or group behaves in society, including science.

According to experts cited from the Gramedia, some definitions of ethics are as follows.

1. Aristotle

Aristotle believed that ethics is divided into Terminus Technicus and Manner and Custom.

Terminus Techniques refer to ethics as a science that studies the problem of individual behavior or actions. At the same time, manners and customs are the studies of ethics related to the manners and customs inherent in the individual and the goodness or badness of behavior.

2. Louis O. Kattsoff

Meanwhile, Kattsoff sees ethics as related to the principles of justification in human behavior.

3. WJS Poerwadar Minta

Wilfridus J. S Poerwadarminta, an Indonesian literary figure, defines ethics as science related to human actions and behavior viewed from the perspective of good and wrong based on human standards.

Ethics is a science that studies values and norms, including etiquette and morality, in everyday life.

Purpose of Ethics

After understanding what ethics means, you must understand the purpose of ethics so that you behave according to the values and norms of society.

Ethics is a means of viewing a reasonable attitude in a diverse social condition and situation. Although measuring this is quite tricky, it is relative and depends on the region's needs from time to time.

However, we need to learn ethics to determine the good and bad of something, especially in behaving within society.

In addition, another purpose of ethics is as a differentiator of what can and cannot be changed, can be used to solve conflicts or problems to the root, and to gain a critical perspective on moral phenomena.

Types of Ethics

Here are four types of ethics that can be understood:

1. Descriptive ethics

Descriptive ethics examines the behavior and attitudes of individuals who want to be taken and what the individual pursues throughout this life on matters that have value.

2. Normative ethics

Normative ethics seeks to determine and establish various ideal behaviors, actions, and attitudes that every individual should possess in this life.

3. Special Ethics

Exceptional ethics are ethics that become an implementation of moral principles or principles in the individual's life specifically.

4. General Ethics

General ethics are defined as ethics that relate to the basic situations and conditions regarding individuals' ethical behavior and actions.

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Ethics are values that are inherent in us to socialize. Ethics become a bridge to creating a desired condition in social life. Therefore, ethics must be instilled and learned early, Whizmates! Hopefully, this article is helpful!

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