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Levels of Ethics

There are three levels of ethics: metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. Metaethics examines the nature of morality itself and asks questions about the meaning of moral terms and whether morality is objective. Normative ethics establishes moral standards and principles for determining right and wrong behavior. Applied ethics analyzes specific moral issues and controversies in fields like bioethics and business ethics. These levels overlap and inform each other, but distinguishing between them provides clarity in ethical discussions.

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250 views3 pages

Levels of Ethics

There are three levels of ethics: metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. Metaethics examines the nature of morality itself and asks questions about the meaning of moral terms and whether morality is objective. Normative ethics establishes moral standards and principles for determining right and wrong behavior. Applied ethics analyzes specific moral issues and controversies in fields like bioethics and business ethics. These levels overlap and inform each other, but distinguishing between them provides clarity in ethical discussions.

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satyam sk
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The Three Levels of Ethics

It’s hard to come up with a definition of ethics that is both precise and
satisfactory to everyone. But it helps to think about the levels at which
ethical discussion and analysis take place.

Most concrete ethical issues involve questions about what we ought to


do in a given situation. Underlying these questions are more abstract
ones about right and wrong and good and bad more generally. And some
discourse in moral philosophy is even more abstract.
Philosophers divide ethics into into three different levels, which range
from the very abstract to the concrete: metaethics, normative ethics, and
applied ethics. Understanding these levels is a good step toward
grasping the breadth of subject.
Metaethics
Metaethics is the most abstract and philosophical level of ethics. Where
normative and applied ethics seek to determine what is moral,
metaethics concerns itself with the nature of morality itself. It deals with
the following types of questions:

• What does it mean when someone says something is “good” or


“right”?
• What is moral value, and where does it come from?
• Is morality objective and universal, or is it relative to specific
individuals or cultures?
• Do moral facts exists?
These and other metaethical questions are important, but if you’re trying
to figure out if a particular action is right or wrong, you might never get
there pondering them. On the other hand, questions like Why be
ethical? or Why do the right thing? are metaethical questions that are
important for anyone interested in ethics. And they’re not so easy to
answer.
Normative Ethics
Normative Ethics is concerned with the appropriate standards for right
and wrong behavior. Normative ethical theories establish prescriptions –
whether by foundational principles or good character traits – for how
one ought to act or live. The following are prominent normative ethical
approaches:
• Virtue Ethics focuses on a person’s moral character. Virtue
ethicists say we ought to develop virtuous characteristics – such as
generosity, courage, and compassion – and exhibit virtuous
behavior. This is different from other normative theories that
propose more precise principles and rules for conduct.
• Deontological theories emphasize one’s moral duties and
obligations. They focus on the act itself, as either intrinsically good
or bad, regardless of its consequences.
• Consequentialist theories determine whether something is right
or wrong by looking at its consequences. The ethical thing to do is
that which has the best consequences (i.e., results in the most
benefit, happiness, good, etc.) among the alternatives.
Applied Ethics
Applied ethics consists of the analysis of specific moral issues that arise
in public or private life. Whereas normative ethics attempts to develop
general standards for morality, applied ethics is concerned with specific
moral controversies. Abortion, stem cell research, environmental
concerns, and the appropriate treatment of animals are all applied ethics
issues.

Applied ethics can use normative ethical theories, principles or rules


derived from such theories, or analogical reasoning (which analyzes
moral issues by drawing analogies between alike cases). Context-specific
norms or expectations, such as those characterizing a particular
profession (e.g., medicine or journalism), arrangement (e.g., an
agreement between two parties), or relationship (e.g., the parent-child
relationship) are also relevant to applied ethical analysis.

Bioethics, business ethics, legal ethics, environmental ethics, and media


ethics are all applied ethics fields.

The different levels of ethics can overlap and inform one another.
Normative theories, for instance, are based on metaethical assumptions
(or even explicit metaethical propositions), such as the existence or non-
existence of objective and universal notions of right and wrong. And, as
noted above, applied ethics can draw on normative theories to resolve
moral disputes. Metaethical perspectives can also drip into applied
ethical analysis. A moral relativist, for example, may contend that a
practice deemed egregious by his own culture’s standards is truly
morally permissible, or even obligatory, in the culture in which it occurs.
Despite the overlap between the three levels, distinguishing between
them is useful for clarifying one’s own views and analyzing those of
others.

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