Differences Between Law and Ethics

Ethics are values that we imbibe as kids. They are the morals and the indeed, the very pillars of our “self ”. In fact, ethics are an inherent trait that stems from the human desire to socialize and get along well with other humans. They are not enforced and come from “withi n”. Laws, on the other hand, are a set of rules that are framed by a governing body that are meant to be accepted by everyone, whether they like it or not.

Ethics can be viewed as the foundation for making laws. Without ethics, there are no laws. In fact, ethics serve as a guiding principle for laws. It is based on these ethics that laws are created by the governments to serve as a framework to mediate the relationships between one another. They are made in order to protect the citizens. Three bodies – judiciary, legislature, and the public officials are the main bodies that create the laws. The laws have to be approved before they are enforced by the police and the military to ensure that they are followed by the general public.

While violations of the law are punishable, the same does not hold good for ethics. In ethics, everything depends on the person’s conscience and self-worth. For instance, driving carefully and within the speed limit because you don’t want to hurt someone is ethical, but if you drive slowly because you see a police car behind you, this suggests your fear of breaking the law and being punished for it. Ethics comes from within a person’s moral sense and desire to preserve his self-respect. Laws are codifications of certain ethical values meant to help regulate society, and punishments for breaking them can be harsh and sometimes even break ethical standards.

In conclusion, laws and ethics go hand-in-hand and are one without the other in today’s modern society. It is important for people to have their ethics, because people should aware of the chaos that might be prevalent if there are no laws and also that without their ethics, following laws would not be