All throughout the history, man struggled with relevant issues between right and wrong, justice and ethics.  Dictionary defines ethics as the general study on the nature of morals and moral choices made by an individual with regards to his or her relationship with others.  In simpler terms, ethics provide the evaluated theories and mechanisms, basing from which action is judged as either right or wrong, or otherwise as a bad deed or a good deed.  Basically, ethics tries to offer answer to the “whys” of certain values in terms of good or bad.

To know more or to dig further about ethics does not necessarily convey that one is expected to always do the right thing or act on what is morally correct all the times.  It does prove that studying the issue at hand makes one more capable of giving explanations to his or her actions, such that, even if you knew this particular something was wrong and yet did it due to inevitable circumstances. 

In the vast field of ethics or otherwise known as moral philosophy, it involves defending, recommending and systemizing the concepts of wrong and right behavior.  Philosophers of this contemporary world generally divide the ethical theories into three subject areas.  These are applied ethics, metaethics, and normative ethics.  Metaethics studies on the origin of ethical principles, as well as their meaning.  Are they just social inventions? Or do they tackle on expressing individual’s emotions?  The metaethical answers to such questions tend to focus closely on the universal truths, ethical terms’ meanings, will of God and the significant role of reasons in ethical judgments. 

Meanwhile, the normative ethics deals more on practical tasks, aiming to come up with sufficient moral standards to regulate between right

and wrong conducts.  This involves articulating good habits that a person should acquire, the possible consequences of one’s behavior towards others, and the duties to follow.  Finally, in applied ethics, it deals on the examination of specified particular issues like animal rights, abortion, capital punishment, infanticide, environmental concerns, nuclear war, or homosexuality.  With the application of the conceptual tools of normative ethics and metaethics, any discussions made in applied ethics try to come up with apropos solutions to such controversial issues. 

Oftentimes, the line in between applied ethics, normative ethics, and metaethics are hazy.  Like for example, the issue on abortion is naturally an applied ethical subject because it deals on a particular controversial behavior.  However, may also rely on other general normative principle like the right to life and self-rule, in which both are litmus tests to determine the morality behind the procedure.  Additionally, the particular issue on abortion may also be classified under metaethical owing to the dangling queries of where the rights came from and what specific kind of beings have such rights?

In reference to the moral absolutism approach, it presumes that the presence of principles and moral values are applicable at any given time and in any place and circumstance, considering the moral quality of the behavior or action as that of the act itself.  This means that whatever is right will always be right, and that wrong will always be wrong, disregarding circumstances that cause the consequences of the act.

On the other hand, ethical relativism approach assumes that the principles and moral values are not wrong or right, but may vary depending on circumstances.  And those moral values may vary with respect to the individual or the culture perceiving a particular behavior or deed.  Ethical relativism is more flexible since it considers the moral quality of the behavior basing on circumstances, instead of the actual action itself.