Final answer:
Ethics is the study of moral standards and judgements, encompassing metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. Normative ethics develops moral theories to guide behavior, and metaethics explores the foundations of moral reasoning.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding the Study of Ethics
The study referred to in the question is one of the core domains of philosophy known as ethics, which addresses the study of standards of conduct and moral judgement, as well as the establishment of the standards of correct conduct. In ethics, there are three main areas of inquiry: metaethics, which explores the foundations of moral values and reasoning; normative ethics, which is concerned with establishing norms and moral theories to guide human behavior; and applied ethics, which involves the application of ethical principles to real-world scenarios and issues. Normative ethics comprises three primary approaches: consequentialist, which evaluates the moral worth of actions based on their results; deontological, which bases morality on rules and duties; and virtue ethics, which considers the character and virtues of the moral agent.
For instance, when considering the ethical implications of actions at a gas station, one might apply consequentialist reasoning to determine the most environmentally-friendly option, or a deontological framework to follow established company policies on safety and customer service, regardless of the consequences. This practice of evaluating and applying ethical principles is essential in establishing a universally valid code of conduct and in addressing the diverse ethical challenges present in various cultural and social contexts.