Relationship between Ethics, Morality, and the Law 2 CPE

Ethics vs morals vs law: Is there a difference? There are significant variations between applying each (ethics vs morals vs law) in decision making. Many people use morals and ethics interchangeably. The concept of law is quite another topic. In order to properly understand ethical concepts, it is important to understand the concepts of morality and the law. The definition of morals will reference ethics in a circular definition; same goes for ethics. But ethics represents an innate knowledge of right/wrong distinctions. Ethics transcends culture, religion, and time.

Morality is defined as having and living per a moral code, or principles of right and wrong.  Basic morality condemns murder, adultery, lying and stealing. Ethics explores the idea of morality and its place in society and addresses questions about morality. The law is based on principles and regulations established in a community by some authority and applicable to its people. 

This course explains the difference between morals and ethics, evaluates these concepts and put them in a business context.

Prerequisites

No Advanced Preparation or Prerequisites are needed for this course, but completion of the instructor's other courses on ethics may be helpful

Learning Objective

• Explore the meaning and examples of ethics vs morality vs the law.
• Recognize the differences between ethics vs morality vs the law.
• Identify distinguishing factors between morality and ethics.
• Explore philosopher’s theories of morality and ethics.
• Discover a case study experiment on ethics vs morality.
• Explore authoritative behavior versus ethics.
• Recognize the realities of ethical authority.
• Explore example cases of ethics vs morality and legal dilemmas.

Last updated/reviewed: March 28, 2024