What is ethics?

According to the Canadian Oxford dictionary (2001) [1], ethics is:
“1. (usu. treated as sing.) the science of morals in human conduct: moral philosophy. 2. a (treated as pl.) moral principles; rules of conduct [emphasis added]. b (often treated as pl.) a set of these (medical ethics). 3. (treated as pl.) moral correctness (the ethics of his decision are doubtful) “ (p. 478). 

In his book, Ethics: A Very Short Introduction, Blackburn (2003) [2] asserts that, “Human beings are ethical animals.” ( p. 4).  However, he also states that being an ethical animal does not mean that we are inherently good or will necessarily follow established standards or rules of conduct.

Rather, Blackburn proposes that we are constantly seeking information about and measuring our interpretations of what we know and how we feel against those of a larger group. By doing so we are able to assess the prevailing “ethical climate” (p. 3) and determine whether our ways (and those of others) fit-in with the ethical principles of the day.

"Ethics is two things. First, ethics refers to well based standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues. Ethics, for example, refers to those standards that impose the reasonable obligations to refrain from rape, stealing, murder, assault, slander, and fraud. Ethical standards also include those that enjoin virtues of honesty, compassion, and loyalty. And, ethical standards include standards relating to rights, such as the right to life, the right to freedom from injury, and the right to privacy. Such standards are adequate standards of ethics because they are supported by consistent and well founded reasons.

Secondly, ethics refers to the study and development of one's ethical standards...feelings, laws, and social norms can deviate from what is ethical. So it is necessary to constantly examine one's standards to ensure that they are reasonable and well-founded. Ethics also means, then, the continuous effort of studying our own moral beliefs and our moral conduct, and striving to ensure that we, and the institutions we help to shape, live up to standards that are reasonable and solidly-based."