According to the Oxford dictionary, ethics are a set of moral principles. These principles determine a person’s behavior and their senses of right and wrong. It describes what is good and bad for an individual and how one must behave in a society. Since the beginning of civilization, it was necessary to lay down certain rules and regulations that governed how people behaved with each other to avoid chaos and hostility among them. However, according to me, ethics cannot be defined. 

I believe that different people have different beliefs regarding what is acceptable and what is not. Different cultures might look at the same situation in more than one way. Let’s take an example. For instance, American companies consider whistle blowers a natural part of the business. However, the French consider a whistle blower as a person who weakens the unity among coworkers. (Whistle blowers are people who expose illegal or illicit information or activities to a public, private or government organization.) Something that might seem ethical to you might be an unethical practice in the minds of many others. 

The moral conduct of a person depends on the situation they are stuck in. In some cases, there are many options before you but the morally correct option is unclear due to conflicting principles, values, ethical systems and situational perspectives. In such cases, a person goes by their instinct and follows the path that seems to be least destructive and most productive. There are severe laws against murder. However, dangerous criminals are executed and given capital punishments. This is an example of moral ambiguity where human beings choose the option that is best for majority of the people. In such cases, the line between right and wrong becomes blur and what matters is the greater good.

Ethics are subjective in nature. There are no absolute or constant standards of right or wrong. It depends on the person’s consciousness. I may think in a different way than you think in. Both of us might have a good intention but we might carry out different activities based on our thinking pattern. I feel that as long as a person does any activity with a good intention, it is ethical. According to the Indian constitution, every individual is given the right to defend under sections 96 to 126 of the penal code. When a person commits violence for defending oneself or another person, they are not answerable to the law. However, when a person commits violence to harm others, they are punished. Intentions make all the difference.

Ethics change over time. What might have been unacceptable a century ago has gained popularity over the years and has become socially acceptable. Homosexuality was considered a crime in the past and homosexual people were condemned by the society. However, today, the society has advanced and discrimination against homosexuals is socially condemned and ethically wrong. A few years from now, most of the ethical practices that we follow might become unacceptable and may be seen in the wrong light. 

Based on all these arguments, I would like to conclude that ethics cannot be defined. Although human rights, freedom and honesty are agreed upon throughout the world as social ethics, I believe that ethics are more about the perspective of people.
As Joseph Goebbels says, “Today, there is only one absolute thing: relativism.”

By: Arwa S Chanasmawala, Class: 10, St. Paul’s English School
Winner Essay Contest by Dhivi in 2021