The differences between ethics and morality: some reflection

• Main Author: Ali, Mohd Mumtaz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institute of Social Sciences and Development, Karachi 2023
• Subjects: BJ Ethics; BJ1188 Religious ethics
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/106286/1/106286_The%20differences%20between%20ethics%20and%20morality.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/106286/
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

Most philosophers and scholars have used ethics and morality interchangeably considering morality as the subject matter of ethics. However, it is realized based on an in-depth examination that this kind of use defeats the purpose of ethics as a separate discipline. Ethics cannot deal with morals alone. Its subject matter is whole life, especially metaphysical dimensions. Based on the method of content analysis it is claimed here that the scope and subject matter of ethics pervades whole life and the world. Hence, based on literature review it is established that both ethics and Islamic ethics are currently dealing with morals. Ethics as rational search must be based on knowledge instead of metaphysical speculation and philosophical conjecture. It is also contended that at the very outset the role of ethics is to conduct search for its knowledge-based foundation. It is claimed that the dominant view of ethics must be liberated from its conjectural and speculative foundation and be replaced by the foundation of knowledge - True, Authentic, and Universal Knowledge [TAUK].