Discusses Ethics as a science that investigates ethical or ethical responses
In discussing Ethics as a science that investigates moral or ethical responses, that is the same as speaking morally (mores). Humans are called ethical, are humans as a whole and overall capable of fulfilling the necessities of life in the framework of the principle of balance between personal interests with other parties, between spiritual with physical, and between being a self-conscious creature and its creator. Including discussing values or norms related to ethics, there are two types of ethics, as follows.
a. Descriptive Ethics
Descriptive ethics is ethics that seeks critically and rationally to attitudes and patterns of human behavior and what is pursued by humans in life as something of value (Rahmaniyah, on Literature Journal Studies).
This descriptive ethics belongs to the field of empirical science and is closely related to the study of sociology. Associated with the field of sociology, descriptive ethics tries to find and explain awareness, beliefs, and moral experience in a particular culture.
Descriptive ethics may be a branch of sociology, but the science is important if we study ethics to know what is considered good and what is considered not good (Zubair, 1995: 93).
Ethical rules that are commonly raised in descriptive ethics are habits, assumptions about good and bad, actions that are allowed or not allowed. According to Keraf, descriptive ethics are:
Ethics that examine critically and rationally about human attitudes and behavior, as well as what is pursued by everyone in his life as something of value.
This means that descriptive ethics talks about facts as they really are, namely about human values and behavior as a fact that is related to the situation and entrenched reality. It can be concluded that the reality of appreciation of values or no value in a society that is associated with certain conditions allows humans to act ethically (1991: 23).
Descriptive ethics can be divided into two parts, moral history and moral phenomenology. Moral history is a part of descriptive ethics whose task is to examine the ideals, rules and moral norms that have been applied in human life at a certain time and place or in a large environment that includes nations.
While moral phenomenology is a descriptive ethic that seeks to find meaning and the meaning of morality from various existing moral phenomena. Moral phenomenology has no component in providing moral instructions or boundaries that need to be held by humans. Moral phenomenology does not discuss what is meant by what is right and what is meant by what is wrong (Haris, 2007: 7).
b. Normative Ethics
Normative ethics is the most important part of ethics and the field in which the most interesting discussions take place on moral issues (Bertens, 2011: 19). Normative ethics is ethics that refers to moral norms or standards that are expected to influence behavior, policy, decisions, individual character, and social structure (Rahmaniyah, 2010: 67). This normative ethics is often referred to as moral philosophy or commonly called philosophical ethics. According to Keraf, normative ethics are:
Ethics that determine a variety of attitudes and behaviors that are ideal and should be owned by humans or what should be carried out by humans and what actions are valuable in life. So Normative Ethics are norms that can guide people to act well and avoid bad things, according to the rules or norms that are agreed upon and applicable in society (Keraf: 1991: 23)
Normative ethics can be divided into two parts. First, normative ethics related to value theories which question the nature of goodness. Second, normative ethics relating to theories of necessity that address the issue of behavior (Haris, 2007: 8).
In short it can be said, normative ethics aims to formulate ethical principles that can be accounted for in a rational manner and can be used in practice. The rules that often appear in normative ethics, namely conscience, freedom and responsibility, values and norms, as well as rights and obligations.
From various discussions on the definition of ethics above can be classified into three types of definitions, namely: The first type, ethics is seen as a branch of philosophy that specifically discusses the good and bad values of human behavior.
The second type, ethics is seen as a science that discusses the pros and cons of human behavior in living together. The definition does not see the fact that there are diversity of norms, because of the unequal time and place, finally ethics becomes a descriptive and more sociological science.
The third type, ethics is seen as a normative and evaluative science which only gives bad value to human behavior. In this case it is not necessary to show the facts, enough information, advocate and reflect. Definition of ethics is more informative, directive and reflective.