Ethics are principles that help a person make moral judgements about what is right and what is

wrong. Ethics are important in all aspects of life-- personal, professional, and social. The study of
ethics is important to understand why people behave the way they do or how people determine the
rightness and wrongness of an act.

Ethics is imporant to me as it helps me govern my conduct and shape my behavior in society. We

often wonder if we did the right thing or not in many situations. The only way to determine that is the
reasoning behind our acts. If the reason or intention behind our act is ethical, our guilt is taken care of
and we feel good. But who determines what is ethical and what is not? A person's moral principles
are contextual and may be influenced by religion, culture, or the happenings in the society. Ethics
may differ from person to person and from country to country. But one thing stays common
everywhere-- humanity. I believe hate is not the answer to hate. Compassion, love, and the quality of
being humane are the strongest morals one needs to plant and nurture within oneself.

In today's world of terrorism and corruption, it is imperative that everyone follows moral practices
for the prevalence of peace in their lives and the society. Ethics seperates the good from the bad. You
are what you choose to be. Your actions define you. So it is our choice whether we want to live a
righteous life or die with regrets. Life is precious and what you do with it matters.

Moral standards consists of the rules based on which individual perform actions and based on their
belief they decide what is good or bad and what is right or wrong. The six characteristics of moral
standards are –

-          Moral standards encompass severe wrongs or potential benefits as these deals with matters
which may influence any human being.

-          Moral standards are preferred to other values as they have overriding element of authority and
take precedence over non moral standards considerations.

-          Moral standards are not invented by any authoritative bodies as ideally these evolve over the
period of time while making laws.

-          Moral standards are applied universally to everyone. (It’s like following the golden rule).

-          Moral standards does not assess standards based on anyone’s personal interest rather universal
standpoint is considered

-          Moral standards are aligned and associated with emotions.

Each of these characteristic is essential to differentiate non-moral standards from the moral standards
in general. Also, it helps in moral development needed and at which stage [considering six stages of
moral development, such as, Pre-conventional stages (punishment and obedience orientation;
Instrument and Relativity Orientation); Conventional stages (interpersonal concordance orientation;
law and order orientation); Post –conventional stages (Social contract orientation; universal ethical
principles orientation)]. Hence, consistent moral standards help in appropriate moral reasoning.