While Ethics and values are sometimes used synonymously, they are different. Ethics are codes of conduct, established by a group or culture , that decide what is wrong and what is right in a particular circumstance whereas Values refer to the beliefs for which a person has an enduring preference and which mould a person’s behavior all his life.
Key Differences Between Ethics and Values
• Ethics refers to the guidelines for conduct. Values help in making the judgement of what is more important.
• Ethics is a system of moral principles. In contrast, values is the stimuli of our thinking.
• Values strongly influence the emotional state of mind. Therefore it acts as a motivator. On the other hand, ethics compels to follow a particular course of action.
• Ethics are consistent, whereas values are different for different persons, i.e. what is important for one person, may not be important for another person.
• Values tell us what we want to do or achieve in our life, whereas ethics helps us in deciding what is morally correct or incorrect, in the given situation.
