Always choose to be Morally Upright rather than Ethically Correct.

Let me first define the difference between Moral and Ethics.

Moral and Ethics are both concerned with what is right and wrong. The difference is that ethics is about what is the standard and society accepted right and wrong. While Moral is about what is your own interpretation of right and wrong.

We had this discussion in Philosophy and my teacher mentioned the quote, “Always choose to be morally upright rather than ethically correct.” One example that he gave to us to make us understand the difference between morals and ethics better is;

When a person steals money, it is wrong. But when a person steals money to provide for his mother who’s currently sick, it is still wrong in the view of others but for that person it is right.

To make it simpler, we all have different opinions of what is right depending on our experiences. You can judge a person based on ethics, but maybe we should also look into their morals. Let’s look beyond what we can see because our eyes can’t view the whole story.

Choosing morality over ethics means being true to yourself. It is better to follow and prioritize your personal values when making decisions. Our own moral compass should guide our actions rather than the standard rules.

We all had to go through unique paths which shaped our views and opinions about things including what is right and wrong. Ethics doesn’t care about our experiences, it focuses on making us ‘perfect’ in the eyes of the majority which is impossible.

Waking up knowing that you’re making decisions for yourself and not to meet the expectations of others is deeply fulfilling.

Let me clarify something; Choosing to be morally upright rather than ethically correct is subjective. Meaning, that what’s on this blog is based on my personal opinion and I do not intend to go against anyone.

Lastly, I am not encouraging anyone to steal money (please.) But by the example given, we can understand that people have their reasons for doing things and they think it is the right thing even though for others, it may not. It just makes the explanations more understandable. I hope you get me.