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Ethics vs Virtue - What's the difference?

ethics | virtue |

As nouns the difference between ethics and virtue

is that ethics is the study of principles relating to right and wrong conduct while virtue is the inherent power of a god, or other supernatural being.

ethics

English

(wikipedia ethics)

Noun

(-)
  • (philosophy) The study of principles relating to right and wrong conduct.
  • Morality.
  • The standards that govern the conduct of a person, especially a member of a profession.
  • Usage notes

    * Although the terms ethics'' and ''morality'' may sometimes be used interchangeably, philosophical ethicists often distinguish them, using ''ethics'' to refer to theories and conceptual studies relating to good and evil and right and wrong, and using ''morality'' and its related terms to refer to actual, real-world beliefs and practices concerning proper conduct. In this vein, the American philosopher , ed., ''The Philosophy of Brand Blanshard , Library of Living Philosophers, ISBN 0875483496, "Autobiography", p. 85. * In particular, in general usage ethical'' is used to describe standards of behavior between individuals, while ''moral'' or ''immoral can describe any behavior. You can call lying unethical or immoral, for example, because it involves the behavior of one person and how it affects another, but violating dietary prohibitions in a holy text would be described as immoral.

    Synonyms

    * moral philosophy

    Derived terms

    * applied ethics * bioethics * business ethics * comparative ethics * descriptive ethics * environmental ethics * ethicist * medical ethics * metaethics * normative ethics * situational ethics

    See also

    * aretaics

    References

    Anagrams

    *

    virtue

    English

    (wikipedia virtue)

    Alternative forms

    * vertue (archaic)

    Noun

  • (obsolete) The inherent power of a god, or other supernatural being.
  • The inherent power or efficacy of something (now only in phrases).
  • * 2011 , "The autumn of the patriarchs", The Economist , 17 Feb 2011:
  • many Egyptians still worry that the Brotherhood, by virtue of discipline and experience, would hold an unfair advantage if elections were held too soon.
  • (uncountable) Accordance with moral principles; conformity of behaviour or thought with the strictures of morality; good moral conduct.
  • * 1749 , Henry Fielding, Tom Jones , XV.1:
  • There are a set of religious, or rather moral, writers, who teach that virtue is the certain road to happiness, and vice to misery, in this world.
  • A particular manifestation of moral excellence in a person; an admirable quality.
  • * 1766 , Laurence Sterne, Sermon XLIV:
  • Some men are modest, and seem to take pains to hide their virtues ; and, from a natural distance and reserve in their tempers, scarce suffer their good qualities to be known [...].
  • Specifically, each of several qualities held to be particularly important, including the four cardinal virtues, the three theological virtues, or the seven virtues opposed to the seven deadly sins.
  • * 1813 , John Fleetwood, The Life of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ :
  • The divine virtues of truth and equity are the only bands of friendship, the only supports of society.
  • An inherently advantageous or excellent quality of something or someone; a favourable point, an advantage.
  • * 1719 , :
  • There were divers other plants, which I had no notion of or understanding about, that might, perhaps, have virtues of their own, which I could not find out.
  • * 2011 , The Guardian , Letter, 14 Mar 2011
  • One virtue of the present coalition government's attack on access to education could be to reopen the questions raised so pertinently by Robinson in the 1960s [...].
  • A creature embodying divine power, specifically one of the orders of heavenly beings, traditionally ranked above angels and below archangels.
  • * 1667 , John Milton, Paradise Lost , Book X:
  • Thrones, Dominations, Princedoms, Virtues , Powers; / For in possession such, not only of right, / I call ye, and declare ye now [...].
  • (uncountable) Specifically, moral conduct in sexual behaviour, especially of women; chastity.
  • * 1813 , Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice :
  • though she did not suppose Lydia to be deliberately engaging in an elopement without the intention of marriage, she had no difficulty in believing that neither her virtue nor her understanding would preserve her from falling an easy prey.

    Synonyms

    *

    Antonyms

    * (excellence in morals) vice * foible

    Derived terms

    * virtuous * make a virtue of necessity * patience is a virtue * in virtue of, by virtue of

    See also

    * aretaic * paragon