Ethics vs. Morality

The modern philosophical distinctions - from Spinoza to Habermas - is that ethics deals with right vs wrong while morality deals with good vs evil. The distinctions are blurred with the rather weird English term "moral philosophy" which actually deasl with ethics and not with morality. Ethics is that which we discuss when we compare value systems, ethics is a philosophical disipline dealing with causes and effects of choices made. Morality is rather a THEOLOGICAL exercise, dealing with what is assumed to be a divine wish. Personally I love ethics but couldn't care less about morality (being an amoral but ethical person myself). All the Abrahamic religions are MORALISTIC, while Mazdayasna is a system of ETHICS. The moralist wants to do what God tells him or her to do and force others to do the same (Usama bin-Laden and The Pope are both moralists). The ethicist is engaged in finding WHO HE or SHE IS, as a foundation for making the right decisions in life (we behave according to who we are). Zarathushtra was the first major ETHICIST in human history.

Ushta
Alexander

2011/7/18 osred90

I think the Greek word ethos meant habit or custom (in Greek) the same as Latin mores, but 'ethika' meant the science of behaviour. So maybe ethics is something that implies thought to discern the right action whereas mores is just the customary action.

Osred.

--- In Ushta@yahoogroups.com, Special Kain wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> The more I have studied Zoroastrian philosophy, the more I have concluded that The Ethical Choice is at the very heart of it all.
> The word "ethics" derives from the Greek word "ethos" which means "attitude" and "character" in English, whereas the word "morality" > derives from the Latin word "mores" which means "habits" and "customs" - the way we use to deal with certain things or with certain
> groups of people, the way we use to cook and eat, and what we eat, etc.
> There is no choice in morality. So either you follow orders or you're "morally reprehensible".
> This is Zarathushtra's contribution to mankind: by adopting a certain attitude, your thoughts change, your words change and your
> actions change - and, voilà , you're co-creating a different world. Ethics is much more brutal - intellectually and emotionally - than
> morality.
>
> My two cents,
> Dino