Morality
What is said to be right and wrong β by nature, by God, or by edict. To some, dynamic or even a reason to destroy.
How We Say It
mΙΒ·ralΒ·iΒ·tee
Where It Comes From
Latin moralitas β moral character, manner. From moralis β relating to morals. From mos (plural mores) β custom, character. Cicero coined the Latin term as a translation of the Greek ethikos. Originally about custom and character before being narrowed to questions of right and wrong.
How It's Been Used
Distinguished by some philosophers from ethics β morality as the actual norms a culture holds, ethics as the philosophical reflection on them. Moral psychology, including Jonathan Haidt's work on moral foundations, has mapped how moral intuitions vary across cultures and political orientations. The relativism-versus-universalism debate runs through anthropology and theology.