Ethics and morals help people make good choices.

Different ethical codes provide various standards

for sorting through and settling moral questions. Ethical ideals can come from ancient philosophers,
religious figures, modern scholars and philosophers, and personal beliefs. Though different in each
specific philosophy, each type of ethical code contains important core values.
Ethics and morals direct decision-making and regulate how people should behave in a given culture.
Everyone has a slightly different personal ethical code, derived from spiritual and historical sources
and from individual experience. eople rely on ethical standards to guide them through both routine
and unusual situations. Ethical rules and virtuous business practices rely on moral standards as their
basis. Ethics and morals help keep nations and cultures from descending into anarchy.
Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value. -- !lbert
Einstein


The moral values in life hold great importance from the point of personal, social and spiritual
development. Values, morals and ethics are inextricably tied together. "alues are what we
learn from childhood# the $stuff$ we acquired from our parents and immediate
surroundings. "alues are the motive power behind purposeful action. Moral values are meant
for making the quest to find the higher self an easier. %nfortunately, many amongst us may
find it difficult to follow values such as truthfulness, honesty, forgiveness in our lives because we
have not perceived the subtle gains that come to us by following these values. &r, maybe, we
are careless to reali'e the importance of values in life. Ethics, on the other hand, are how
we actually do behave in the face of difficult situations that test our moral fiber. Ethics
are the code or principles on which one(s character depend. Ethics and character are closely
related. "alues are essential to ethics develop at an early age and can be instrumental to
building character.

The quality of our lives is not determined by the happenstance of genetics or by the influence of
environment# it is not measured in material possessions or in the trappings of youth# it is not
dependent on personality or social acclaim. On the contrary, the intrinsic value of the lives
we lead reflects the strength of a single trait: our ersonal character.

!ussell ". #ough, author of book titled) $haracter %s &estiny, describes the steps to personal
growth from examining our lives to taking responsibility for our actions, from discarding
selfishness to embracing the greater good, from becoming a better role model for our loved
ones to finding the courage to do the right thing naturally and consistently. *y cultivating the
habits of virtue, we will strengthen not only ourselves but, more important, our families and our
world.

+hereas, morals are the intrinsic beliefs developed from the value systems of how we $should$
behave in any given situation. ,oral values are the standards of good and evil, which govern an
individual(s behavior and choices.


The preservation of human life is the ultimate value, a pillar of ethics and the foundation of all
morality. - !uthor %nknown


+e .ndians are very religious and we lavishly spend on religious celebrations and pray for our
well-being. *ut we rarely bother for ethics without which we cannot move even an inch towards
true religion or get any favour from /od. .n daily life, we conveniently forget the real spirit of
religion and work for petty personal gains.

Ethics is a branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to
the rightness and wrongness of our actions and to the decency and wickedness of the motives
and the ends of such actions. Every religion prescribes high ethical standards and values. *ut
few followers pay any heed. +e are deviating from true religion and focusing more on external
rituals.

Ethical conduct is the foundation-stone of every religion. 's er (ikhism there are five basic
elements of ethics. These are) +isdom, Truth, Temperance, 0umility, 1ourage, 2ustice, and
1ontentment. )our of the eightfold ath of *uddhism 3 right speech, right action, right
livelihood and right effort 3are all about ethical conduct. $hater +, of *hagvat
#ita elaborates the 45 values that -ord 6rishna teaches !r7una. These values are
fundamentally necessary for a seeker to prepare the mind for the knowledge of the 8elf. &ne of
these values is Arjavam which means straightness, it means conducting oneself accordance
with one(s ethical standard. Arjavam means an alignment of thought, word and deed. These
are the rudimentary requisites for proper practice of any religion. .ronically our concern for
religion is conveniently oblivious of these elementary requisites.

#uru .anak &e /i, founder of the 8ikh 9aith, was asked over five hundred years ago, as to
which was the greater of the two religions prevalent in .ndia then, 0induism or ,uslim: 0e
replied that without morality both will be losers.
(irituality can help us become better human beings if we follow the general moral codes with
devotion. .t prepares our body and mind, to receive /od$s inspiration. .t also transforms our
thinking, speech, and our actions that form virtuous habits that determine our moral character.
&ne cannot be spiritual with out good character. 1haracter is a combination of qualities that
make an individual ethically admirable.

Those who are false within, and honorable on the outside, are very common in this world. Even
though they may bathe at the sixty-eight sacred shrines of pilgrimage, still, their filth does not
depart. Those who have silk on the inside and rags on the outside, are the good ones in this
world. They embrace love for the !kal urkh, and contemplate beholding .t. -----/uru
;anak in 0'sa &i Vaar1 <8//8, age, =>?-@AB.

eople in the +estern countries may not be very religious, but by and large, they are honest in
daily life. They have a high sense of integrity and they take pride in that. +hereas, in .ndia
ma7ority of us have lost faith in our religious leaders so called professional gurus who are only
after gaining prominence and luxurious living without divine reali'ation. 8hould we lose faith in
ourselves also and be carried away by the stream of unethical practices or stand upright: +e
ought not to forget that unselfishness, honesty and humility are more paying regarding
contentment and spiritual fulfillment. .f we follow this path that represents the true spirit of any
religion, then we can serve our nation in a better way. +hy should we follow professional
gurus, who have lost moral values and are only interested in Cname D fame( and acquiring
assets without any sense of responsibility: *elieve me with adequate integrity, sincerity,
devotion to duty and humility# we can improve our community as well as our quality of life. . can
say that when we live our lives according to moral values that are based on honesty,
compassion, courage, modesty, and forgiveness, then we can also form positive bonds with
other people.

Ethics is the branch of study dealing with what is the proper course of action for man.
It answers the question, "What do I do?" It is the study of right and wrong in human
endeavors. At a more fundamental level, it is the method by which we categorie our
values and pursue them. !o we pursue our own happiness, or do we sacrifice
ourselves to a greater cause? Is that foundation of ethics based on the "ible, or on the
very nature of man himself, or neither?
Why is Ethics important?
Ethics is a requirement for human life. It is our means of deciding a course of action.
Without it, our actions would be random and aimless. #here would be no way to wor$
towards a goal because there would be no way to pic$ between a limitless number of
goals. Even with an ethical standard, we may be unable to pursue our goals with the
possibility of success. #o the degree which a rational ethical standard is ta$en, we are
able to correctly organie our goals and actions to accomplish our most important
values. Any flaw in our ethics will reduce our ability to be successful in our
endeavors.
What are the key elements of a proper Ethics?
A proper foundation of ethics requires a standard of value to which all goals and
actions can be compared to. #his standard is our own lives, and the happiness which
ma$es them livable. #his is our ultimate standard of value, the goal in which an
ethical man must always aim. It is arrived at by an e%amination of man&s nature, and
recogniing his peculiar needs. A system of ethics must further consist of not only
emergency situations, but the day to day choices we ma$e constantly. It must include
our relations to others, and recognie their importance not only to our physical
survival, but to our well'being and happiness. It must recognie that our lives are an
end in themselves, and that sacrifice is not only not necessary, but destructive.
(ife is the process of self'sustaining and self'generating action. (ife requires action,
and action requires values. )hilosophy in general, and ethics in particular, attempt to
answer the questions, "What do I do?" and "Why?" )eople study philosophy so they
can $now how to live their life.
*o that you can live life successfully and happily, you must learn which values to hold
and how to achieve them '' this is your life as your moral standard. All moral
questions +questions of right action, are questions of how to live happily and
successfully, and all moral principles must be measured against how they promote and
benefit your life and happiness. Your life as your moral standard holds all things
promoting your life as the good.
#o every living thing, there is one primary choice, and that is to live or not '' to
engage in the action required to further its own life or to engage in action that destroys
its own life. #he only other alternative is death. -hoosing life as your standard of
value is a pre'moral choice. It cannot be .udged as right or wrong/ but once chosen, it
is the role of morality to help man to live the best life possible.
#he opposite of choosing life is altruism0 the moral doctrine that holds death as its
moral standard. It holds sacrifice as the only good, and all things "selfish" as evil.
According to altruism, it doesn&t matter what you do, as long as it does not further
your life it is considered good. #he more consistently a person is altruistic, the closer
their actions are to suicide. #he consistent altruist will give up every bit of food he
owns to other people because that is what he considers good, and die because of it.
1our life as your standard does not mean 2edonism '' the spur of the moment instant
gratification, doing whatever you feel li$e. 1our life as your standard means acting in
yourrational self'interest. 3ational self'interest ta$es into account the long'term
effects of every action.
1our life as your standard does not mean trampling on other people to get what you
want. #his is not in your rational self'interest. It is in your interest to be benevolent.
4or does your life as your standard mean cheating people to get ahead, even if they
don&t realie it and you never get caught. 5raud is not in your rational self'interest
because you lose your independence and you sacrifice honesty to an unreality that you
have to maintain to perpetrate your fraud. #his is self'destructive in the long run.
In order to $now what is good, which actions are ob.ectively in a person&s self'
interest, we develop virtues which are principles of action.
Morality is a Guide to Living
-hoosing to live is a pre'moral choice, after which, the question becomes "2ow?"
#his is the same as "What do I do?" 6ne can either go about it randomly or with a
methodology designed for success. #hat methodology is called morality.
An e%plicit morality allows one to choose rationally among values. It ma$es the
selection of values rational by providing a method to evaluate them. 7alues are
compared to a moral standard, and prioritied according to how well they promote
that standard. #o ma$e decisions easier, we develop virtues which are moral habits
which tend to help gain values.
2istorically, the concept of morality has often been used negatively as a list of thou
shall not&s in chec$ against ones actions. #he stance ta$en is often that it doesn&t
matter what you do, as long as you don&t violate any moral edicts/ but the source of
these moral edicts is often mystical or arbitrary.
A list of prohibitions, even if founded in reason rather than mysticism, is not a
sufficient outline for success. 8orality should be positive rather than negative.
4ot What shouldn't I do? butWhat should I do?. #he problem with defining morality
negatively is that pretty much anything goes provided one avoids a few problem areas.
#his is not useful because within the sphere ofpretty much anything goes, there is no
methodical way to choose which action is best, whereas positive morality sets forth
habits which lead to the achievement of values and methods for choosing what to
value which is the way to live and thrive.
With ones own life as the standard of value, morality is not a burden to bear, but a
prudent and effective guide which furthers life and success.
Reason is Man's Means of Survival
Man's essential characteristic is his rational faculty. Man's mind is his
basic means of survival--his only means of gaining knowledge...
In order to sustain its life, every living species has to follow a certain
course of action required by its nature. The action required to
sustain human life is primarily intellectual everything man needs
has to be discovered by his mind and produced by his e!ort.
"roduction is the application of reason to the problem of survival.
Ayn Rand, "What is Capitalism?"
2omo *apiens are not particularly fast. #hey don&t have sharp claws or teeth. #hey
don&t have hard shells nor can they digest grass. #hey can&t fly, spit poison, or release
s$un$y stin$ bombs. *o why are there so many of us? "ears should have eaten us all a
long time ago. 4o '' we humans are still around because we&re smarter than the
average bear.
Man's mind is his tool of survival. #he mind is used to gain, use, store, and
recall$nowledge. It is his mind that enables a farmer to $now what to plant, when to
plant it, how to nurture it, when to harvest it, how to prepare food from the result. It is
his mind that enables a hunter to $now what he needs to ma$e a spear, how to ma$e it,
and how to use it. And it is his mind that enables a blac$smith to $now what roc$s
contain ore, how to e%tract the ore, and how to ma$e a forge and tools. In short, it is
the mind that enables a person to $now what to do in order to survive.
8an&s mind allows long'range planning and thin$ing. It enables such long'range
planning as required for farming, hunting, and tool ma$ing. #hese endeavors require
the ability to conceptualie long'term cause and effect chains. "I need to ma$e a spear
tonight so I can hunt tomorrow and have food for the ne%t 9 days." #here may be
some environments where people could survive for a while without long range
planning, but without the results of $nowledge li$e spears, fire, and other
technologies, people would get out'bred by other animals and die out.
8an&s mind is his tool for survival, but li$e all tools, it must be properly used. #he
mind manipulates $nowledge, and $nowledge can only be obtained through reason.
Without reason, there is no $nowledge, and thus no survival.
1ou must recognie reality and act in accordance with it in order to be successful
+reality is absolute,. #o the e%tent that you use reason as your method of .udgment in
$nowledge and action, you will survive and flourish. #o the e%tent that you ignore
or evade reality, you will suffer and die.
It is very important to note that survival by reason requires the freedom to act
according to your reason. #his is why men do not thrive under coercion, and can not
survive when they are sub.ect to the initiation of force by others.