Values, Morals and Ethics: Oh My!

Volumes and volumes of philosophy have been written about the concepts of values, morals, and ethics. These concepts date back thousands of years to Aristotle, Socrates, and Kant. Their wisdom has spread and been internalized by cultures and societies, who passed down their values throughout the generations until today.

Our future consists of continuing this process as long as humans survive. Unlike many aspects of mental or physical wellbeing, values, morals and ethics are not biological or genetic. They are primarily societal, human constructs that keep large groups of people peaceful and safe. Many times, those three words are used interchangeably without regard to any difference between them. However, to study these concepts, and incorporate them into ones behavior, requires an understanding of what each individually is. 

Every person has their own innate virtues. They are unique to each individual person, and describe what they deem to be important in their personal behavior. Virtues are personal judgements that compare possible behaviors with an innate understanding of right and wrong. A virtue typically regards a single or limited theme in the realm of life, and involve the notion of I or me. How should I behave? For instance, “I will only touch another person when they agree to it.” This creates of direct statement to a specific action. Though virtues relate only to an individual, they stem from both the individual, and the larger culture.

Morals look outside the individual at the behavior of others. They are judgements of how others should act in various situations. Humans are programmed to view other humans as kin, and thus created of similar substance.  In essence, morals take personal virtues and place them on the shoulders of others to determine right and wrong. Unlike the concept of a virtue, morals can stem from individuals, cultures or societies. They are often posed as black and white issues with a definitive right and wrong. For instance, “They should not steal what doesn’t belong to them.”

Similar to virtues, morals are a personal viewpoint that are held by that individual, culture or society. Though personal (meaning to the individual, culture, or society), morals are often considered to be universal, and are thus urged onto others.

The broadest concept is that of ethics. Unlike the previous two, ethics are not individual, they are only created by a group, and imposed on members of that group. Ethics constitute a collection of morals that are then turned into principles which govern the behavior for each member of that group. Ethics acknowledge that there is rarely a black and white situation. Instead, there are grey areas that make right and wrong an elusive concept. One aspect which sets ethics apart from the other concepts, is the motivation of protection. Ethical principles typically incorporate morals and virtues to create a set of guiding principles which protect the inhabitants of the group along with the ones they interact with. For a person to be included in the group, they must follow the ethical principles embodied by the group. An example, is a mental health professional must do everything in the best interest of their client. The emphasis switches away from individual statements to broader concepts without exact actions. The participant then relies on their inherent virtues and morals to guide their decisions.