I want to explain how the terms Ethics, ethics, and Morality are used here. Ethics & Morality (with capital letters) are proper nouns that refer to the branch(s) of Philosophy dealing with how one defines “right and wrong.”
There is a very important distinction to be made between Ethics and Morality. Ethics are guidelines for behavior generated by the individual looking for a normative framework to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong. With Ethics, authority to decide right and wrong resides in the mind of the thinker in relation to their world, and is derived from the autonomy inherent in being a person. This places the responsibility on the individual to discover and understand a logically consistent basis of ideas of right and wrong that can be applied to their actions.
Morality is determined by something outside the individual. A person cedes their autonomy to others, who make rules, guidelines, and principles for individuals to follow. Usually a religion/cult, government, tribe, clan, family, Etc.
In the case of ethics with a lower case “e,” these are formally constructed codes of behavior created for specific groups or disciplines to be applied in the execution of their profession or activity. Examples would be medical ethics, legal ethics, professional standards of conduct, the rules of private clubs, Etc.
