We show you examples of ethical principles and moral acts that will help you better understand what ethics and morality are, and how they differ.
Examples of ethics and morals
Ethics and morals are two philosophical concepts that refer to the behavior of people. They differ in that ethics is expressed with abstract ideas while morality is expressed with actions in everyday life.
Ethics is a discipline that reflects on human behavior, while morality is a set of norms and values that vary according to each society and is the object of study of ethics.
Below is a comparative table between examples of ethical principles and examples of moral acts to better understand both concepts:
| Ethical principle | moral act |
|---|---|
| Compassion | Help those who need it. |
| Empathy | Understand what the other is feeling. |
| Willpower | Having the intention and impulse to act despite adversity. |
| Strength | Resist physically or emotionally in difficult situations. |
| Honesty | Speak sincerely. |
| Justice | Recognize that all beings are worthy of rights. |
| Loyalty | Relate with dedication and commitment to a person, idea or cause. |
| I respect | Value the other as they are. |
| Solidarity | Give to others without expecting something in return. |
| Temperance | Maintain self-control in difficult situations. |
| Equality | Treat everyone else equally, without establishing differences. |
| Virtue | Act based on truth, justice and kindness. |
| Peace | Maintain harmony and stability, both in one's own emotions and in dealing with others. |
| Sorority | Recognize sisterhood and solidarity between women. |
| Resilience | Knowing how to adapt and recover integrity after going through a trauma or tragedy. |
| Goodness | Act in a benevolent manner with others, trying to do good to others. |
| Responsibility | Be aware of obligations and your own decisions. |
| Love | Manifest the supreme value of life towards oneself, others and the environment. |
| Equity | Recognize the disadvantages between people to establish equal conditions. |
| Commitment | Become aware of the importance of fulfilling our responsibilities. |
Examples of ethics
Among the most important examples of ethical principles we can highlight the following:
1. Compassion
Compassion is the virtue of perceiving and understanding suffering, both our own and that of others. Being self-compassionate about one's pain means that one accepts and does not blame or get angry with oneself. Compassion differs from empathy in that it also includes the action of helping to remedy or appease suffering.
2. Empathy
Empathy is the quality of recognizing the feelings and emotions of others, both people and animals of other species. It has to do with generating a link of identification or similarity.
3. Will
Will is the courage to determine and organize one's interests and make decisions for oneself to achieve one's aspirations or personal fulfillment.
4. Strength
Strength is the virtue of experiencing resistance and resilience, both physical and spiritual, in the face of adverse or stressful situations. It has to do with facing fears, moments of tension, avoiding vices and excesses.
5. Honesty
Honesty is the value of demonstrating sincerity and transparency to the right extent or with a certain tact so as not to hurt others. It is the basis of trust in social relationships.
6. Justice
Justice is the virtue of acting of one's own free will according to the rules and laws. It has to do with recognizing the rights that correspond to oneself and others.
7. Loyalty
Loyalty is the value of being faithful, trustworthy, and supportive over time. It has to do with prioritizing the interests and well-being of others, a cause, an institution or a belief and contributes to a sense of belonging.
8. Respect
Respect is the quality of honoring and valuing another or something for its intrinsic condition and not for a particular interest. It can occur due to identification or similarity with someone or due to acquired customs.
9. Solidarity
Solidarity is the quality of helping, promoting happiness or accompanying another in whatever they need, without expecting to receive something in return. It has to do with an act that occurs genuinely or spontaneously, and not out of obligation.
10. Temperance
Temperance is the quality of exercising self-control and moderation in one's actions and attitudes, to refrain from doing something that may be harmful or negative. It has to do with the strength and convictions of the individual.
11. Equality
Equality is the quality of treating others fairly, without establishing differences based on their condition, appearance or ideology. It involves recognizing that we all have the same opportunities and rights.
12. Virtue
Virtue is the quality of acting according to ideals that are oriented toward the good, such as justice and truth, consistently over time. It has to do with a habit and not just an isolated action.
13. Peace
Peace is the value of achieving balance, both internally (with emotions and thoughts) and externally (to live harmoniously with others).
14. Sorority
Sisterhood is the quality of respecting the sisterhood and solidarity between women in relation to the defense of their rights. It involves compassion, justice and freedom to counteract the discrimination that can occur towards and between women.
15. Resilience
Resilience is the quality of adapting to regain balance and integrity after going through an adverse situation, trauma or tragedy.
16. Kindness
Kindness is the quality of acting with the desire to do good to others, from compassion and leaving the ego aside. It has to do with the will to act from morality.
17. Responsibility
Responsibility is the value of being aware of one's obligations and decisions, and taking responsibility for the consequences. It is a quality that usually becomes more acute as the person acquires maturity.
18. Love
Love is the supreme or maximum value of life and has to do with accepting, respecting and caring for another, oneself and the world around us. It is the basis for forging healthy and honest bonds, and for manifesting all ethical and spiritual action.
19. Equity
Equity is the quality of recognizing the disadvantages that may exist in a group of people and acting in a way that equal conditions are achieved.
20. Commitment
Commitment is the value of fulfilling obligations in a timely manner, which allows the tasks and one's word to be enforced. Establishes a bond of trust and respect between the involved parties.
Examples of morality
Some examples of moral acts are:
- Help those in need (compassion). A person finds a malnourished and sick dog on the street, and decides to help it. She takes him to the vet and takes care of him until he recovers and can give him up for responsible adoption.
- Understand what the other is feeling (empathy). A person recognizes the anguish of his coworker who has just received bad news and gives him a hug.
- Having the intention and impulse to act despite adversity to meet your goals or aspirations (will). An athlete trains with discipline and perseverance, despite the obstacles she faces to enter professional leagues. She is convinced that with effort, dedication and perseverance she will achieve her goal.
- Resist physically or emotionally in difficult situations (strength). A person loses their home due to a natural disaster. However, with a hopeful attitude, intense work and collaboration of people who choose to help her, she manages to move forward and have her home again.
- Speak sincerely (honesty). A friend returns a borrowed book to us and confesses that he accidentally broke the cover and taped it back together.
- Recognize that all beings are worthy of rights (justice). A merchant decides to hire a front-of-house employee for his or her ability, friendliness, and experience, rather than going by appearance alone.
- Be dedicated and committed (loyalty). A friend who remains attentive, provides unconditional support and understanding, both in good times and in difficult times.
- Value others as they are (respect). A person is very attentive to the people around him in all the areas in which he works, he always greets with a smile and is interested in knowing how the other person is doing.
- Giving to others without expecting something in return (solidarity). A person decides to spend time with the elderly who live in a nursing home, to listen to them, read texts or news to them, or simply contemplate the moment together.
- Maintain self-control in difficult situations (temperance). A person chooses not to try cigarettes because they know that it is extremely harmful to their health and that, over time, it becomes a difficult habit to quit.
- Treat others equally (equality). A father distributes a slice of cake equally to each of his children, so that they do not fight over who has the largest slice.
- Act based on truth, justice and goodness (virtue). A political representative who assumes power and performs in a responsible and honest manner can be re-elected democratically by the will of the population.
- Maintain harmony and stability, both in one's own emotions and in dealing with others (peace). A person witnesses an argument between neighbors and decides to intervene to prevent the argument from becoming more intense and helps them find a respectful and peaceful way to resolve the conflict.
- Recognize sisterhood and solidarity between women (sorority). A student watches how some girls make fun of another for the clothes she wears and decides to defend her.
- Knowing how to adapt and recover integrity after going through a trauma or tragedy (resilience). A single mother works as a baker for years and, when her children are older, she begins to study. Over the years she becomes a doctor in psychology and becomes a recognized writer.
- Act in a benevolent manner towards others, seeking to do good to others (kindness). A young man on the bus notices that a standing person looks exhausted and feels empathy for her, so he decides to give her the seat.
- Be aware of your obligations and your own decisions (responsibility). A person chooses to buy products that demonstrate their traceability: that is, how they are produced, with what raw materials and under what working conditions. You are making good use of your freedom as a consumer.
- Manifest the supreme value of life towards oneself, others and the environment (love). A student who suffers bullying is defended by other classmates, who expose the aggressors and alert school authorities about what is happening.
- Recognize the disadvantages between people in order to establish conditions of equality (equity). A cafeteria is attended by people with hearing disabilities. This initiative favors, on the one hand, their insertion into the work environment and, on the other, it allows other people with hearing disabilities to order a coffee using sign language.
- Become aware of the importance of fulfilling our responsibilities (commitment). A student who during the entire semester did not present practical work on the dates specified by the teacher must present a more complex final practical work to demonstrate that he is capable of committing to the subject and his learning process.
References
- Azcarate, DP (1942). Moral; the great morality; morals to Eudemus. Austral Collection. Espasa-calpe SA
- Plato (1941). The Republic or the State. Austral Collection. Espasa-calpe SA
- Jung, C. G. (1966). The man and his symbols. Luis de Caralt Editor SA
- Parra, MB and Benaim, V. (2020). Women Authors: 45 Women Who Inspired Real Women. Fera.
- Muñoz Pérez, E. (2010). The role of love in the construction of a phenomenological ethics. Veritas. https://www.scielo.cl/
