--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ethics is [...] the philosophic branch of…" description: "\"“Ethics is [...] the philosophic branch of inquiry which talks about right and wrong, which talks about our moral obligations, which inquires into our ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f0/michael-surge-140290_ethics_ethics-is-the-philosophic-branch-of-inqu_128304.jpg" --- # Ethics is \[...\] the philosophic branch of inquiry which… ![“Ethics is [...] the philosophic branch of inquiry which talks about right and wrong, which talks about our moral obligations, which inquires into our certainty of what we ought and ought not to do. Ethics asks, "What is it to be a human being, and to engage in actions that are appropriate to a…” quote by Michael Surge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f0/michael-surge-140290_ethics_ethics-is-the-philosophic-branch-of-inqu_128304.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f0/michael-surge-140290_ethics_ethics-is-the-philosophic-branch-of-inqu_128304.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f0/michael-surge-140290_ethics_ethics-is-the-philosophic-branch-of-inqu_128304.jpg) > ““Ethics is \[...\] the philosophic branch of inquiry which talks about right and wrong, which talks about our moral obligations, which inquires into our certainty of what we ought and ought not to do. Ethics asks, "What is it to be a human being, and to engage in actions that are appropriate to a human being? \[...\] investigates the part of human beings that are not animals, that are not specifically, completely, part of nature.It investigates the element in human beings which make choices, which are free, which, in the ancient intellectual tradition, "have souls.”” [Michael Surge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-surge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ethics explores human moral obligations, free choice, and what it means to be human beyond animal nature. **In simple terms:** Ethics studies moral duties, free will, and human essence. Key Takeaway Reflect on moral responsibilities. Themes ethics philosophy human nature Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type Ethics:1 Ethics-and-moral-philosophy:1 Moral:1 Morality:1 Philosophy:1 Right and wrong:1 Study:0 Ethics Philosophic:0 Ethics Asks:0 Ought Ethics:0 When to use this quote - academic study - personal reflection - policy formation - spiritual practice Key Concepts morality free will Questions to Reflect On - What defines a moral action? - How do free choices shape humanity? A Different Perspective Ethical conclusions can be culturally relative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Ethics Asks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics-asks-1477870/) [Ethics Philosophic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics-philosophic-1477869/) [Ethics-and-moral-philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics-and-moral-philosophy/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Ought Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought-ethics-1477871/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Right and wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-and-wrong/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) ## Related quotes > [“You do not need commandments to tell you what is right and wrong, you need reason. YOU NEED TO THINK. What are the consequences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kassandra-dick/you-do-not-need-commandments-to-tell-you-what-is-right-and-wrong-you/) [Kassandra Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kassandra-dick/) > [“The currents and eddies of right and wrong, which you find such plain sailing, I can't navigate. I'm no voyager. But in the thickets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bolt/the-currents-and-eddies-of-right-and-wrong-which-you-find-such-plain/) [Robert Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bolt/) > [“Ethics Are Negotiable; Morality Is Absolute”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monk-of-yhvh/ethics-are-negotiable-morality-is-absolute/) [monk of YHVH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monk-of-yhvh/) > [“In the simple moral maxim the Marine Corps teaches — do the right thing, for the right reason — no exception exists that says:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-rushing/in-the-simple-moral-maxim-the-marine-corps-teaches-do-the-right-thing/) [Josh Rushing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-rushing/) > [“What if our better nature wasn't better after all? But was instead, well, just nature?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-dutton/what-if-our-better-nature-wasn-t-better-after-all-but-was-instead/) [Kevin Dutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-dutton/) > [“Professionalism is not just about making money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/professionalism-is-not-just-about-making-money/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [“Don't promote negativity online and expect people to treat you with positivity in person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/don-t-promote-negativity-online-and-expect-people-to-treat-you-with/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [“There's no room for hate and violence in this world. We must learn to be more kind, compassionate, empathetic, and sympathetic to humanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/there-s-no-room-for-hate-and-violence-in-this-world-we-must-learn-to/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [“What you post online speaks VOLUME about who you really are. POST with intention. REPOST with caution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/what-you-post-online-speaks-volume-about-who-you-really-are-post-with/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [“There has to be a cut-off somewhere between the freedom of expression and a graphically explicit free-for-all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-has-to-be-a-cut-off-somewhere-between-the-freedom-of-expression/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Is it objectively wrong to torture innocent babies, just for fun? Is morality relative?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-bozzino/is-it-objectively-wrong-to-torture-innocent-babies-just-for-fun-is/) [Vincent Bozzino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-bozzino/) > [“A species that becomes extinct because of ethics, disappears. A species that survives because of function can rediscover ethics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanya-m-g/a-species-that-becomes-extinct-because-of-ethics-disappears-a-species/) [Vanya M.G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanya-m-g/) > [“I got tired of constantly watching shrewd little bullies like you walk around like you mean something, like you’re better than the people that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-rankin/i-got-tired-of-constantly-watching-shrewd-little-bullies-like-you/) [Christopher Rankin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-rankin/) > [“But what they find most amazing and despicable is the insanity of those who all but worship the rich, to whom they owe nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/but-what-they-find-most-amazing-and-despicable-is-the-insanity-of/) [Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/) > [“It's the love of right lures men to wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/it-s-the-love-of-right-lures-men-to-wrong/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) ## More Ethics quotes > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) [Rabelaise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabelaise/) > [He who mistrusts most should be trusted least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theognis-of-megara/he-who-mistrusts-most-should-be-trusted-least/) [Theognis of Megara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theognis-of-megara/) > [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [Ethics is the activity of man directed to secure the inner perfection of his own personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/ethics-is-the-activity-of-man-directed-to-secure-the-inner-perfection/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) > [Records, radio, television, movies, magazines-all are monopolized by the money managers who are guided by one ethic, the words wealth and power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/records-radio-television-movies-magazines-all-are-monopolized-by-the/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Let us be thankful for health and competence, and, above all, for a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/let-us-be-thankful-for-health-and-competence-and-above-all-for-a/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/) [Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/) > [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/there-is-no-perfect-justice-just-as-there-is-no-absolute-in-ethics/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [I think the ethics and morals of genetic engineering are very complicated. It intrigues me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spottiswoode/i-think-the-ethics-and-morals-of-genetic-engineering-are-very/) [Roger Spottiswoode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spottiswoode/) > [What our species needs, above all else, is a generally accepted ethical system that is compatible with the scientific knowledge we now possess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-our-species-needs-above-all-else-is-a-generally-accepted-ethical/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ethics is not definable, is not implementable, because it is not conscious; it involves not only our thinking, but also our feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valdemar-w-setzer/ethics-is-not-definable-is-not-implementable-because-it-is-not/) [Valdemar W Setzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valdemar-w-setzer/) > [Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-hayes/any-time-you-give-a-man-something-he-doesn-t-earn-you-cheapen-him-our/) [Woody Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-hayes/) [Browse all 4,548 Ethics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Ethics is [...] the philosophic branch of inquiry which talks about right and wrong, which talks about our moral obligations, which inquires into our certainty of what we ought and ought not to do. Ethics asks, \"What is it to be a human being, and to engage in actions that are appropriate to a human being? 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