INTRODUCTION

A proper understanding of philosophy requires engagement with the foundational

texts that have shaped the development of the discipline and which have an abiding
relevance to contemporary discussion. This seems to be the reason while Aristotle
in his treatise Nicomachean Ethics stated that Ethics must be learned by any
serious student, “Though not necessarily accepted.” But in the minds of most
philosophers and historians of philosophy, the idea of Ethics which connotes the
idea the summum bonum (highest good) comes embedded in a question: what is
Ethics? This field of ethics, also called moral philosophy, involves systematizing,
defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behaviour. Some
Philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general subject areas:
meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics; while some of the philosophers
will divide the ethical theories into four subjects by including the descriptive
Ethics to the formals as stated by some philosophers. In other not deviate from my 
focus, I shall make an attempt to follow thisformat stipulated below. A definition
of Ethics, a critical exposition of the discourse, discussing the four branches of
Ethics, Evaluation cum conclusion.
WHAT IS ETHICS?
As a word, ethics is derived from the Greek word „ethos‟, which means
habit or custom. The Latin equivalent is “mores”. According to Richard T.
Garner, ethics is the branch of philosophy in which man attempts to evaluate
and decide upon particular courses on moral action or general theory of conduct. In
his own position, A. T. Radoslav states that ethics is the branch of philosophy that
deals with the value of human life in a systematic and scientific manner. It is
concerned with the type of conduct or character that is approved of or disapproved

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of in terms of right or wrong or good or bad; ethics seeks a critical grasp of the
principles and standards that guides a man in making morally right choices in his
daily activities. Like philosophy itself, ethics has no univocal definition. It can be
and has been, defined in various ways. It can be defined as a branch philosophy
which deals with the morality of human actions; the branch of philosophy which
studies the norms of human behaviour.
This word is also commonly used interchangeably with “morality” to mean
the subject matter of the study; and sometimes it is used more narrowly to
mean the moral principles of a particular tradition, group, or individual.
In other words, it can be seen as the study of the fundamental principles of moral
law or as a normative science of human conduct. To say that ethics is a normative
science, one might think that it a science and one might also think that it is not a
science. Example of this is that of Albert Schweitzer who postulated that ethics is
not a science, while William Lillie states that ethics is a science. We all are
familiar with the term science but for a clearer notion, it can be used in a narrow or
wide sense. In a wide sense, science is the study of anything according to intrinsic
principles; any study carried out in this way is a scientific study, and knowledge
acquired through such a study is known as scientific knowledge. But in the narrow
sense, the term is restricted to the positive or empirical sciences, such as physics,
biology, etc. But notwithstanding, it is in the wide sense of the world that ethics is
a science.
A CRITICAL EXPOSITION OF THE FOUR BRANCHES OF ETHICS
The four branches of Ethics consist of Meta-ethics, normative ethics, applied ethics
and Descriptive ethics. Meta-Ethics investigates where our ethical principles come
from, and what they mean. Are they merely social inventions? Do they involve
more than expressions of our individual emotions? Meta-ethical answers to these

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questions focus on the issues of universal truths, the will of God, the role of reason
in ethical judgments, and the meaning of ethical terms themselves. Normative
ethics involves a more practical task, which is to arrive at moral standards that
regulate right and wrong conduct. Should I borrow my roommate's car without first
asking him? Should I steal food to support my starving family? Ideally, these
moral questions could be immediately answered by consulting the moral guidelines
provided by normative theories. Applied ethics involves examining specific
controversial issues, such as abortion, infanticide, animal rights, environmental
concerns, homosexuality, capital punishment, or nuclear war. Finally Descriptive
ethics as it is called by its term is self-explained. Descriptive ethics on the other
hand make no rules for behaviour.
This is especially concerned when one is talking about one’s own moral
views; but it is nevertheless vital to distinguish the moral judgment. By using
the conceptual tools of meta-ethics and normative ethics, discussions in descriptive
ethics and applied ethics try to resolve these controversial issues. The lines of
distinction between Meta ethics, normative ethics, applied ethics and descriptive et
hics are often blurry. For example, the issue of abortion is an applied ethical topic
since it involves a specific type of controversial behaviour. But it also depends on
more general normative principles, such as the right of self-rule and the right to
life, which are litmus tests for determining the morality of that procedure. The
issue also rests on meta-ethical issues such as, "where do rights come from?" and
"what kind of beings has rights?"
META-ETHICS
 Meta-ethics is the aspect of ethics which deals with the analysis of ethical
terms, such as “good”, “evil”, “obligation”, “duty”, “principle”, “moral”, or
“immoral” etc.

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The term "meta" means after or beyond, and, consequently, the notion of meta-
ethics involves a removed, or bird's eye view of theentire project of ethics. We may
define meta-ethics as the study of the origin and meaning of ethical concepts.
When compared to normative ethics, descriptive ethics and applied ethics, the field
of meta-ethics is the least precisely defined area of moral philosophy. The central
problem of meta-ethics is the problem as to what precisely we mean when we say
that an action is good or bad. How do we define good actions? In this context,
meta-ethics subdivides into naturalism and anti-naturalism. The naturalists theories
states that in meta-ethics are those theories that explains and define moral
goodness in terms of natural objects or properties, while anti naturalists theories
maintains that moral goodness is not a natural property that can be described or
defined in naturalistic terms.
One might also ask why there are two problems in meta-ethics. But it is enough to
know that there are three issues, though, are prominent. They are as follows (1) me
taphysical issues concerning whether morality existsindependently of humans; (2)
psychological issues concerning what motivates us to be moral; and (3)linguistic
issues concerning the meaning of key ethical terms.
Metaphysical Issues in Meta-ethics
“Metaphysics" is the study of the kinds of things that exist in the universe. Some
things in the universe are made of physical stuff, such as rocks, and perhaps other
things are nonphysical in nature, such as thoughts, spirits, and gods. The
metaphysical component of meta-ethics involves discovering specifically whether
moral values are eternal truths that exist in a spirit-like realm, or simply human
conventions. Moral realism is the view that moral principles have an objective
foundation, and are not based on subjective human convention. There are two main 
types of moral realism. The first iscommonly associated with Plato and is inspired

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by the field of mathematics. Example of this is1+1=2. They seem to be timeless
concepts that never change, and apply everywhere in the universe. Humans do not
invent numbers, and human cannot alter them. Plato explained the eternal character
of mathematics by stating that they are abstract entities that exist in a spirit-like
realm. He noted that moral values also are absolute truths and thus are also
abstract, spirit-like entities. In this sense, for Plato, moral values as spiritual
objects. Medieval philosophers would group all moral principles together under the
heading of eternal law which frequently is considered as spirit-like objects.
Meanwhile in 17th century, A British philosopher by name Samuel Clarke
described them as spirit-like relationships rather than spirit-like objects. In essence,
they exist in spirit-like realm. Another thing we are to take note of is that moral
realism are moral values which are divine commands issuing from God’s will.
 Three theories which are as follows; (1) virtue theory, (2) deontological theory,
and (3) consequentialist theories.
Virtue Theory
Many philosophers believe that morality consists of following precisely defined
rules of conduct, such as "don't kill," or "don't steal." Therefore, one must learn
these rules, and then make sure that each of his/her actions live up to the rules. In
 Deontological (Duty) Theory,
Many persons feel that there are clear obligations we have as human beings, such
as to care for our children, and to not commit murder. Meanwhile, this theory base
morality on specific, foundational principles of obligation. The concept
deontological is from the Greek word deon, which means duty, given the
foundational nature of our duty or obligation.
Consequentialist Theories,

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It is common for one to determine one’s moral responsibility by weighing
the consequences of one’s sanctions. According to consequentialist theory, to
correct moral conduct is determined solely by a cost- benefit analysis of
an action's consequences. Hence, an action is morally right if the consequences of
that action are more favourable than unfavourable. Therefore, for the
Consequentialist, normative principles require that one should first tally both the g
ood and bad consequences of an action, which will then aid one to determine
whether the total good consequences outweigh the total bad consequences. If the
good consequences are greater, then the action is morally proper, and if there verse
is the case, then it is improper.
APPLIED ETHICS
Applied ethics is the branch of ethics that consists of the analysis of specific,
controversial moral issues such as abortion, animal rights, and euthanasia.
 Applied ethics is often inter-used with Descriptive ethics which refers specifically
to the ethics or code of conduct of the various professions. When we talk of
Applied ethics, it is enough to note that it consist of Medical ethics, which focuses
on a range of issues that arise in clinical health care settings. Hence, health care
workers are in an unusual position of continually dealing with life and death situati
ons. It is not surprising, then, that medical ethics issues are more extreme and
diverse than other areas of applied ethics. Prenatal issues arise about the morality
of surrogate mothering, genetic manipulation of fetuses, the status of unused frozen
embryos, and abortion. Other issues arise about patient rights and physician's
responsibilities, such as the confidentiality of the patient's records and the
physician's responsibility to tell the truth to dying patients. As the case of
euthanasia, theoretical issues in ethics and practical dilemmas that people face are
intimately intertwined. Practical problems give rise to theoretical questions, and

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theoretical solutions must be tested against the all too human issues that ordinary
people face every day. In this case, the philosophers, as we have seen, attempts to
formulate systematic and coherent sets of principles that not only will deepen
one’s understanding of the issues at stake but will allow for the justification or
rationale of certain sorts of actions.
In applied ethics, it is something that has to do with the studies, ideas and theories
from the general studies of goodness and right actions are applied to particular
circumstances and problems of some profession or occupation, and standard
philosophical techniques are used to define, clarify, and organise the ethical issues
found in its domain.
DESCRIPTIVE ETHICS
In discussing descriptive ethics, we are bound to note that some writers have
proceeded directly from descriptive ethical premises to moral (normative ethical)
conclusions. For example, the Greek Hedonist Eudoxus argued that since everyone
thought pleasure to be the good, it must be the good.
The commonest way, however, in which it has been sought to bring descriptive
ethics to bear on moral questions, is not directly but indirectly. Just as stated
earlier, descriptive ethics is often times inter-woven with applied ethics. Hence, it
pays particular attention to the codes of behaviour of the various professions as a
result of which we have medical ethics, management ethics, business ethics, and
code of conduct for engineers, professional ethics for journalists, etc. The
descriptive ethics on the other hand make no rule for behaviour. They make no
laws, give no injunctions and give no commands. Descriptive ethics simply
describes what is happening in the moral world, and account for what people does
and what people say should be done. As goal, descriptive ethics tries to understand
human behaviour through descriptions and analysis. Descriptive ethics is a brand o

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f analytic philosophy, which analysis the real function of philosophical
preoccupation. Hence, descriptive ethics attempts to bring clarity and reduces the
confusion in the use of ethical language and practical moral behaviour.
CONCLUSION
Having attempted to delve into the philosophical exposition of the four branches of
Ethics, it is one this same note that I wish to express that the question which
usually comes in some persons mind on the best ethical theory to practise, that they
are of equal. Hence, this is to state that they are concerned with the type of conduct
or character that is approved of or disapproved of in terms of right or wrong or
good or bad. Therefore, one might say that ethics seeks a critical grasp of the
principles and standards that guides a man in making morally right choices in his
daily activities. And when we talk of making morally right choice, we bound to
note that all are focused on the four branches of ethics.