Ethics or Morals?

The other day I was sitting with some friends at an Afghan restaurant and we got engrossed by a passionate discussion on the ailments of Pakistani society. Somewhere down the road two words were spoken. Ethics and Morals. We finished our dinner, and therefore, the discussion, and went home. Since then I have been thinking about these two words. So I googled them and here are my findings.

The basic difference between ethics and morals is a subtle one. Morals define personal character, while ethics stress a social system in which those morals are applied. In other words, ethics point to standards or codes of behavior expected by the group to which the individual belongs. This could be national ethics, social ethics, company ethics, professional ethics, or even family ethics. So while a person’s moral code is usually unchanging, the ethics he or she practices can be other-dependent.

In society, we are all faced with the butting heads of ethics and morals. In many places abortion is legal and therefore medically ethical, while many people find it personally immoral. Fundamentalists, extremists, and even mainstream theists all have different ideas about morality that impact each of our lives.

In the case of homosexuality, many believe it is morally wrong, yet some of the same people also believe it is unethical to discriminate legally against a group of people by disallowing them the same rights afforded heterosexuals.

And after doing my tiny bit of research on ethics and morals the next question was whether we need to propagate ethics or morals in order to reform Pakistan. And then I thought I should write something about it. My objective here is to give some of my initial thoughts on this and then invite some comments from interested friends on the topic, hoping to have a meaningful discussion. Let's see where I go with this.

What I understand is that Ethics are codes of conduct that pertain to a community, company or a nation. Hence, an individual does not have the ability to change them. On the other hand, morality refers to personal sets of beliefs about what is right and wrong. And therefore, can be altered by an individual as and when he/she has a change of mind, or heart.

Because of this ability of individuals to reshape or redefine them, we often see moral brigades taking law in their own hands, be it the moral police of Lal Masjid "fixing" progressively dressed girls or Punjab assembly legislators discussing a bill to ban music concerts in colleges or the ridiculous Maya Khan and her vigil-aunties.

As a society we need to propagate ethics. Professional ethics that prevent corruption and encourage hard work and commitment. Political ethics that make us respectably accept an election defeat or vote for a legislation that is in the interest of the country, irrespective of our political affiliation and loyalty. Social ethics that keep us from discriminating against a fellow Pakistani based on his race, language, religion or sexual orientation.

The fundamental reason why young Pakistanis do not take religio-political stalwarts like Maulana Fazlurehman seriously is the fact that people like him lack political and professional ethics but preach "their" set of morals, exploiting the religion. Same goes for the "mullah" who lectures us on morality (his list of Dos and Don'ts of Islam) but himself fails to champion social ethics, namely tolerance towards people of differing schools of thought.

We need to encourage building a society that strives to tell the truth, despise corruption, tolerate fellow Pakistanis of all provinces and religions, empower women, uphold justice, educate children, be a good neighbors and a responsible and honest citizens of this country.

Once we as a society are on the course of serious reform vis-a-vis the above, we can then start debating the need for a woman to cover her face with a veil, making alcohol available and letting people make the choice of drinking or not and young people going on a date before wedlock.

This society will be reformed by ethics. Plain, simple and basic ethics.