PART I: ETHICS AND MORAL CHOICES
The term 'ethics' is derived from the Greek ta ethika which can mean custom or habit and in the plural, character. My old Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, 1956 edition, defines ethics as "1. A treatise on morals; 2. The science of moral values and duties; the study of ideal human character, actions, and ends; 3. Moral principles, quality, or practice." Ethika is also related to the word ethos, a word I'm sure some of you have heard. The latter refers to the distinguishing character or dispositions of a community or a group. On the other hand the term 'moral' is related to the Latin term moralis, meaning manner, custom, habit. Again, turning to the dictionary of my youth, moral is defined as "1.Characterized by excellence in what pertains to practice or conduct; right and proper; 2. Dealing or concerned with establishing principles of right and wrong in behavior; ethical; as, moral philosophy."
All this is a bit confusing, largely because it would appear to be correct to use the two terms interchangeably, and many people do. Both terms overlap in their derivation by connoting custom and habit, both relate to actions and principles. In order to avoid confusion, a course entitled "Ethics" (such as the one offered here at Mercer) entails the study of the principles underlying our moral judgments. This course, "Moral Choices" indicates specific choices we make in specific situations. A simplified way of saying this is that ethics relates to theory while moral choices relates to practice.
The subject areas of ethics and morals are intimately related. For the longest time, philosophers were largely focused on ethical theory and why not since philosophy itself is somewhat abstract and theoretical. It was not until the 1960's that perhaps a change began to occur (because of the many moral issues that began to emerge, including those surrounding Viet Nam) with the introduction at many colleges of a course dealing with "situational ethics." Some philosophers believed that philosophy had something to contribute to certain issues that were being debated nationally. It was no accident that the journal, Philosophy and Public Affairs was born not too far from Mercer's campus at Princeton University.