Sunday Musings - July 31, 2022
Ethics vs morals
Many of us may find ourselves becoming confused over the fact that many individuals seem to be able to have two sets of ethical or moral rules which allow them to alternately behave in ways which seems contradictory. They may, for example, claim to be members of a particular religious faith and, yet seemingly comfortable supporting behavior which is contradictory to the tenants of their religious faith.
Are some of comfortable separating the moral rules which guide us in our personal life from the ethical rules we use to make business or political decisions? Are we confusing ethical principles or rules with core moral beliefs?
The terms ethics and moral are frequently used interchangeably but dictionary.com, as well as many other such resources, clearly distinguishes between the two. Dictionary.com posits that “moral refers mainly to guiding principles and ethics refers to specific rules and actions or behavior.
A moral precept is an idea or opinion that’s driven by a desire to be good. An ethical code is a set of rules that defines allowable actions or correct behavior.”
I consider the term moral to refer to behavior I believe from my spiritual perspective is right or wrong. For example, I believe it is wrong for me to judge another person, to deliberately hurt another person, or to treat one person or group as superior to another. For me the term ethics refers to rules such as those dictated by organizations such as professional organizations to which I belong. These rules may or may not coincide with my moral beliefs. If there is a conflict my moral code takes precedence.
Some of us may consider ourselves to be devout members of a religious body but feel compelled to obey the principles or rules of the organization to which we also owe allegiance. For example, the ethical rules of the political organization to which we owe allegiance may require that the gaining or maintenance of power be the primary goal. This principle or rule may dictate the organization enact laws or influence behavior which is inconsistent with the moral values of some or most of its members.
For some people who consider their behavior to be based in the basic teachings of a religious leader such as Jesus, Mohammed or even the Buddha, certain behavior is so basically immoral that it is imperative that they gain power by any means necessary to ensure their moral beliefs are the law of the land/country/body politic. Thus, for examples, some Christian might believe that homosexuality, bisexuality, transsexuality, abortion, “the browning of the population”, violation of the property “rights” of others and some other behavior is so wrong in hierarchy of morals that it is ethical to prevent such behavior by any means necessary. Any means necessary can include and has included killing, torture, and imprisonment.
In a recent book The Paradox of Democracy the authors Sean Elling and Zac Gerhberg, suggest that power is the guiding ethical principle for a certain segment of the body politic (my interpretation). Confusing morality and ethics is not a new phenomenon. One might recall, for example, during the reign of the Third Reich a licensed physician signed the death certificate of every person who’s was murdered in the gas chambers. Physicians who had taken the Hippocratic Oath said that the patient had become the state and gassing “undesirable or sick members of the body politic” was no different than amputating a limb of an individual. Throughout history one finds the “creative” use of language to justify what would otherwise be immoral behavior. Outright lies or the accusation of fake news is one of our modern ways of altering reality so that we can convince ourselves that we are being morally consistent,
It is important to understand how easy it is for us humans to creatively confuse morality and ethics. If we do not understand this, we will continue to self-righteously attack “the others” instead of correctly diagnosing and addressing the issues. All of us are familiar with playing the shell game with morals and ethics. We need to quit pretending as if we do not understand this game and explore how all of us manage to convince ourselves our small moral compromises” disguised as ethics do not matter until, of course, they do matter.
Written July 31, 2022
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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