Essay On Ethics And Morality

As I was researching ethics for this essay, I realized that there is a significant distinction between ethics and morality. These were two things that I had considered one and the same. However, ethics is “the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation” (Merriam-Webster.com, n.d.). Morality is “conformity to ideals of right human conduct” (Merrian-Webster.com, n.d.). Utilizing the word conformity to define morality seems to present an opposition to ethics, in that what is accepted as the norm is not always ethically right. As Leo Tolstoy stated, wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it. We often conform to the ideals and actions of the majority as part of a deep human need to be accepted by society. Ethics, differing from morality, allows for the consideration of diverse perspectives beyond societal norms. By not allowing for the consideration of diverse perspectives, societal conformity can conflict with ethics. …show more content…
As a high school teacher for the past seven years, one training on how to connect with our students stands out. The instructor asked us to consider the meaning of fairness. Is fairness the act of offering a Band-Aid to every student that has an injury? They’d all receive the exact same thing. Would it still be a fair policy if one student had a paper cut and the other student had a broken arm? The paper cut and broken arm are symbolic of the way students enter our classrooms. Every students enters class with a deficit of knowledge and ability, but some students enter with a much bigger deficit than others. Yet, schools operate on set rules and policies. Is it ethical and fair to alter certain rules and policies depending on circumstances? In effect, we have to consider the ethical question of how standards and policies should apply to each