ethics

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The science of right conduct and character; the science which treats of the nature and grounds of moral obligation and of the rules which ought to determine conduct in accordance with this obligation; the doctrine of man's duty in respect to himself and the rights of others. Kant distinguishes between pure morals, or the science of the necessary moral laws of a free will, and ethics properly so called, which considers those laws as under the influence of sentiments, inclinations, and passions to which all human beings are more or less subject.
2. n. The whole of the moral sciences; natural jurisprudence. In this application ethics includes moral philosophy, international law, public or political law, civil law, and history, profane, civil, and political.
3. n. A particular system of principles and rules concerning moral obligations and regard for the rights of others, whether true or false; rules of practice in respect to a single class of human actions and duties: as, social ethics; medical ethics.

Wiktionary

1. n. The study of principles relating to right and wrong conduct.
2. n. Morality.
3. n. The standards that govern the conduct of a person, especially a member of a profession.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The science of human duty; the body of rules of duty drawn from this science; a particular system of principles and rules concerting duty, whether true or false; rules of practice in respect to a single class of human actions

WordNet 3.0

1. n. motivation based on ideas of right and wrong
2. n. the philosophical study of moral values and rules