Explore Ethics

What is Ethics?

People have been interested in the study of ethics since our earliest days. Philosophers dating back to the ancient world have concerned themselves with ethical principles and engaged their imaginations and students' imaginations with questions of ethics. Ethics is just as important today as it was many centuries ago, and some of the principles explored during the times of the ancient Greeks still motivate behavior today. In this way, moral principles and philosophy are as relevant today as ever, even though most of us do not physically stand around the public sphere debating them in the ways that Plato and Socrates did.

Changes in the world since the time of the ancient Greeks have also added some practical applications to ethical theory. Today's citizens must concern themselves with ethical considerations in multiple spheres, including work, academics, social, and political. Ethical theories and our definitions of ethics can and should influence how people treat and interact with the environment, animals, children, and fellow citizens.

Advancements in technology and medicine are constantly providing people with ethical considerations previously unexplored and unthinkable to humankind. Because of this, it is vitally important that both people with decision-making power and average citizens understand how to systematically scrutinize ethical decisions so that our intellect and moral compasses can guide our technology. Learners of ethics can better understand the arguments presented to them and the implications of their decisions, both on themselves and those in the world around them, and in the world to come.