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Morality refers to a system of beliefs about right and wrong conduct. It encompasses values, principles, and duties that guide behavior and influence judgments about how one ought to treat others. The word morality comes from the Latin moralis, from mos, meaning custom or manner. Morality is often contrasted with law or religion, though many systems of law and religion claim moral foundations.

Ethics versus morality: The term ethics is used in two related ways: as the study of moral principles (normative ethics, meta-ethics, applied ethics) and as a field that analyzes and justifies moral beliefs. Morality can be seen as the content; ethics as the discipline.

Branches and scope: Normative ethics asks what is right or wrong; meta-ethics concerns the nature of moral properties, truth, and language; applied ethics addresses concrete issues such as medicine, technology, and business. Moral psychology studies how people form moral beliefs, while sociology and anthropology examine how moral norms arise in groups and societies.

Major theories: Utilitarianism emphasizes outcomes and overall well-being; deontology emphasizes duties and rules; virtue ethics focuses on character and flourishing. Other approaches include rights-based theories and care ethics, each offering different criteria for evaluating moral \u2013 and immoral \u2013 conduct.

Moral reasoning and development: Moral judgment relies on reasoning, empathy, and social norms. Moral development research explores how individuals grow in their moral understanding, with theories such as Kohlberg’s stages of moral development contributing to explanations of progress and variation.

Cultural variation and universals: Moral codes vary across cultures, and debates center on universal values versus moral relativism or pluralism.

Practice and application: Morality informs law, professional codes, and personal conduct. Contested topics include abortion, euthanasia, animal rights, and environmental ethics, where principles and context shape judgments.