Define Ethics ?

 The term ethics is derived from Greek word 'Ethikos', meaning habit or custom . Also related with Greek word 'Ethos', meaning character or habit .

The term 'Ethikos' is an adjective cognate with 'Ethios' i.e., having the same origin.

Ethics is a branch of moral philosophy. The term philosophy originated from two Greek root words -- 'Philo ' meaning love or attraction and 'sophos' meaning knowledge  or wisdom .    Moral philosophy deals with study and inquiry of moral theories, questions and claims.

Ethics, being a branch of moral philosophy, deals with values which have societal / organisation sanction ( not personal sanctions ).
In restricted sense it can be termed as science ( not  a pure science ) which aims at rational inquiry and justification of fundamental questions of what is good, what is bad , what is right and what is wrong, from the society or organisation perspective.

Ethics is not individualistic rather it is societal in nature.

Ethics can be defined as 'morality in action'.  As Ethics aims at establishing a system of rules or codes to regulate individual  , organisational or societal behaviours and actions.    

Constitutional Morality

Constitutional morality means adherence to the core principles of the constitutional democracy. The scope of constitutional morality is not limited only to following the constitutional provisions literally but it is so broad that it includes commitment to inclusive and democratic political process in which both individual and collective interests are satisfied.


In Grote’s rendition, ‘constitutional morality’ had a meaning different from two meanings commonly attributed to the phrase. In contemporary usage, constitutional morality has come to refer to the substantive content of a constitution. To be governed by a constitutional morality is, on this view, to be governed by the substantive moral entailment any constitution carries. For instance, the principle of non-discrimination is often taken to be an element of our modern constitutional morality. In this sense, constitutional morality is the morality of a constitution.


For Grote, the central elements of constitutional morality were freedom and self-restraint. Self-restraint was a precondition for maintaining freedom under properly constitutional government. The most political expression of a lack of self-restraint was revolution. Indeed constitutional morality was successful only in so far as it warded off revolution. 


The  constitutional morality may seem to emphasize the formal elements: self-restraint, respect for plurality, deference to processes, scepticism about authoritative claims to popular sovereignty, and the concern for an open culture of criticism that remains at the core of constitutional forms. 

Gandhi and Ethics

Gandhi’s leadership was a running ethical lesson to his followers as well as his opponents on ‘how to live’. An outline of the basic ethical tenets of Gandhian leadership, proceeding from the eternal verities towards the more applied principles of conduct are given below:

1. Truth
2. Nonviolence
3. Right Means and Right Ends
4. Primacy of Duties over Right
5. The Deed, not the Doer
6. True Religion (Universality and Brotherhood)
7. Aparigraha or Non-possession (voluntary Poverty)
8. Yajna (Sacrifice and Service)
9. Satyagraha or Nonviolent Conflict Resolution