Chaitanya AwasthiAIR 37 · CSE 2022 · 232 wordsTheir whole copy
Opening
The above statement aptly encapsulates the essence of Ethics as a moral yardstick which answers the fundamental question - "What ought I/we do?"
Body · continuous prose
Ethics are morals held collectively by society which help guide its actions. Ethics do not concern themselves with what can be, rather what should be. They, thus, provide a superior evaluating mechanism to adjudicate upon one's actions.
Many-a-times we are faced with choices which prima facie stand true to conventional benchmarks like legality and customs but fail to pass the threshold of morality. This is because Morality and Legality are different spheres whose conjunction reflects the ideal state.
As M.L. King said - "Never forget what Hitler did in Germany was legal". Thus one must strive towards ethical foundations in one's actions and follow the Aristotelian dictum - One ought to do what is right not what is established.
For instance the captor of a Prisoner of war may have several course of actions authorised but perhaps the right one ought to be a path of compassion and respectful treatment. As Einstein said - what is right may not always be popular and what is popular may not always be right.
Close · a summary
Hence an individual should strive to do what is morally right as ethics make societies more capable, stable, inclusive, progressive and happy. One must remember that in the Court of Conscience, the Law of Majority has no place.
1 more topper’s answer to this question, part by part, and how they all approached it: open the question.