Ethics or moral philosophy is branch of philosophy that involves

systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and

wrong conduct.[1] The term ethics derives from the Ancient Greek word
ethikos, which is derived from the word ethos (habit,
"custom"). The branch of philosophy axiology comprises the sub-
branches of ethics and aesthetics, each concerned with values.[2]
As a branch of philosophy, ethics investigates the questions "What is
the best way for people to live?" and "What actions are right or wrong
in particular circumstances?" In practice, ethics seeks to resolve
questions of human morality, by defining concepts such asgood and
evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime. As a field of
intellectual enquiry, moral philosophy also is related to the fields
of moral psychology, descriptive ethics, and value theory.
Three major areas of study within ethics recognised today are:[1]

1. Meta-ethics, concerning the theoretical meaning and reference

of moral propositions, and how their truth values (if any) can be
determined
2. Normative ethics, concerning the practical means of determining
a moral course of action
3. Applied ethics, concerning what a person is obligated (or
permitted) to do in a specific situation or a particular domain of
action

Ethics defines the elements essential to human well-being and

proposes principles to be used as guidelines for generating an ethical
culture. Ethics also refers to the specific values, standards, rules, and
agreements people adopt for conducting their lives.
 Ethics, most broadly, is the study of human behavior and its
consequences in the light of what is ideally possible. For example,
ethicists might study a society's mores or morals to determine what
effect they would have on humankind if they were used as universal
standards.

Ethics are not merely social conventions, like table manners. Ethics
define the social conditions necessary for human beings to thrive.
How do we know what is ethical?
Ethical wisdom is the product of a long history of human struggle. By
trial and error societies discover how to create mutually enhancing
relationships. Yet ethics also come from the reality-producing function
of the mind.

In addition to being propelled by events of the past, human beings are

simultaneously drawn forward by their view of the possibilities of the
future. When people act "as if" something can happen, they can
behave so as make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. The challenge is to
understand what conditions lead to human well-being, to envision an
ideal ethical culture, and then derive principles that would create a
good life.

What does it mean to act ethically?

Ethical Culture proposes that the state of spiritual-ethical harmony

would be created whenever people live by these three guidelines taken
together:

Act as a member of an ideal ethical culture with a sense of

interdependence with humanity and nature.
Act so as to achieve your own full and unique potential.
Act so as to elicit the best and most distinctive qualities in others and
thereby in oneself.