Final answer:
Enforceable ethical standards are determined by societal norms and rules, such as human laws or professional codes of conduct. Divine laws, however, are considered non-enforceable through human institutions. Normative ethics, including consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics, offer frameworks for understanding suggested or non-enforceable ethical standards.
Step-by-step explanation:
The ethical standards in question relate to the norms and rules that determine whether an action is morally acceptable or not. Thomas Aquinas identified four types of laws: eternal, natural, human, and divine, which can inform ethical standards. Human laws are enforceable standards in society and are driven by collective reasoning and agreement. Standards like professional codes of ethics, although guided by normative ethical theories and possibly societal values, would fall under the category of enforceable standards, particularly when pertaining to professional conduct. Within this context, a professional organization may enforce these ethical standards upon its members. In contrast, divine laws are believed to be given by a deity and are considered non-enforceable through human institutions, as they require divine revelation for understanding and are often upheld through faith or religious devotion.
In considering the different frameworks of normative ethics like consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics, each approach provides distinct methods for evaluating moral behavior, suggesting ethics can simultaneously involve suggested or non-enforceable standards based on individual moral reasoning, virtues, or perceived duties.