Ethics is defined as the study of the moral value of human behavior. Ethics as a division of philosophy uses the methods of philosophy, not the methods of religion. In other words, it is not faith in the writings of religious figures, which is used to develop ethical positions; it is the application of human reasoning to ethical issues.
Many people have certain questions of ethics such as: What method do we use to determine moral standards? Why be moral at all? Are there moral standards, which are common to all humanity? Is free will a necessary condition for moral praise or blame? Is the language of ethics different from other uses of language?
How do you determine if a rule or act is morally right or wrong? This theory states that the moral goodness or badness is determined by the results or consequences of an act or rule. This theory is sometimes called ‘consequential-ism’ it is similar to some definitions of teleological ethics. Telling a lie is morally wrong because of the damage this lie will cause; both to the liar and to society which depends on honest relationships.
One example of this theory is called ‘utilitarianism’. It was started by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) an Englishman who, in trying to reform some of the unfair laws in England developed his theory that the morally correct rule was the one that provided the greatest good to the greatest number of people. Under this theory you determine if an act or rule is morally right or wrong if it meets a moral standard. This is sometimes called the duty ethics.
It is a universal test to see if a rule could be a universal standard. If a rule can be made universal without contradiction, then it is morally good; if a.......
