Introduction to ethics.

It is important to note that there are several different kinds of normative, or behavioral, codes that are recognized within communities and we need to distinguish them from one another, even though they are related. First of all, there is the law. A legal code represents the minimum acceptable behavior of a particular group. Members of a society who are unwilling to abide by the law are sanctioned by the community as a whole (though sanctions vary in severity based on the perceived harm to the community). Secondly, there is the moral code. The moral code represents a much broader set of normative controls and is identifiable by the inverse proportion to the severity of the sanctions associated with the legal code. That is, societies tend to be more tolerant of moral violations than of violations of the law. We don't use economic sanctions or restrictions of liberty or life for those who act immorally. Thirdly, there is etiquette which represents the broadest possible set of behavioral expectations of a society. Those who violate the etiquette codes suffer the least serious sanctions of all. While one might insult a host or bring disgrace to Miss Manners, violations of politeness are not treated as harshly as either violations of the law or the moral code. What each of these codes have in common is their attempt to control the behavior of individuals within society. The distinction between each code seems to be located in the severity of the punishments associated with each kind of violation.