"Ethics" is often understood to be the same thing as "morality" ( = right versus wrong). But if Professor Jacobs is to be believed, ethics can really be defined in two overlapping ways:

1. Ethics is a series of abstract principles of "right" and "wrong" shared by a society or culture.

2. Ethics is a series of behaviors (beliefs and practices) appropriate to a particular society or culture.

We can examine specific ethical precepts from either perspective. For instance, the biblical prohibition on murder ("Thou shalt not kill"):

According to definition #1, you shouldn't murder because it is abstractly "wrong" or "bad."

According to definition #2, you shouldn't murder because our particular society deems murder out of bounds.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are often described as "ethical monotheisms," i.e., the belief in a single God makes certain principles, practices, and beliefs obligatory in these three religions. But less clear, to many, is the degree to which that obligation stems from #1--God teaches what is abstractly right and good--or from #2--God gives each groups certain required behaviors. One good example that presents this challenge is a dietary regulation from the Torah (Deut 14:21):

"You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the alien who is within your towns, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a people holy to YHWH your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk."

This is a behavior prescribed by God for Jews. Apart from deciphering its practical application ("dies of itself"? "in its mother's milk"?) what is the basis for this ethical precept: an abstract principle of right and wrong? division of "Jews" from "non-Jews" by behavior?

Most scholars would say both definitions of "ethics" are operative in the three monotheistic traditions: abstract morality and distinctive customs.

With these overlapping definitions in mind, construct an ethics of Religious Studies 7. Consider both:

1. What abstract principles apply in this course?

2. What distinctive behaviors characterize the students, TAs, and professor of this course?

3. How are these ethics enforced for students, TAs, and professor? Punishment/reward?