The moral codes that guide a person, group, or profession in its decisions and behaviors.
The term ethics encompasses two meanings: 1) the study and theory of moral principles, and 2) the set of standards and rules promulgated by the various professions and enforced against their members. For example, lawyers are governed by the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the Model Code of Professional Responsibility. Physicians must follow the Code of Ethics of the American Medical Association (AMA), and psychiatrists must follow the American Psychiatric Association Code of Ethics. Members of professions may and do find themselves at odds with the standards they must follow. One can arguably be an ethical person, but also be an unethical lawyer or doctor at the same time, due to behaving, or not behaving, in a particular way. The codes of ethics and standards are merely the accepted behavior for the professionals in light of the responsibility they have by being a member of their profession. It should be remembered that professional ethics are the result of consensus, and as such they are subject to change over time and circumstances.
Within most cultures, care of the sick is seen as entailing special duties, codified as a set of moral standards governing professional practice. Although these duties have been stated and interpreted in differing ways, a common factor is the awareness of an imbalance of power between doctor and patient and an acknowledgement of the vulnerability of the sick person. A function of medical ethics is to counteract this by encouraging doctors to act in the best interests of their patients, refrain from taking advantage of them, and use their skills in a manner which preserves the honour of their profession.
A system of moral principles or standards governing conduct.
The moral principles by which we live and work.