Ethical living is primarily concerned with the interpersonal dimension of our behaviour. How do we treat animals, individually and in groups…and with other species and the environment at large? The key point here is that ethics brings us into contact with others and asks us to reflect on the quality of that contact.

We begin to ask ourselves ‘Is this the way I should treat others’? ‘Is this the way someone else should treat me?’ Because we have the ability to reflect on our interpersonal behaviour and our interactions with animals, we have the ability to develop codes and norms to guide this behaviour and interaction. When we talk about ethics, we mean the set of virtuous character traits, as well as the ethical norms and codes that underlie them.

Ethics involves questions about the way we should act in relationships and the way we should live with one another. Ethics asks us to consider whether our actions are right or wrong. It also asks us how the character traits that help humans flourish (such as integrity, honesty, integrity, and compassion) play a role in our everyday lives. Ethical norms and principles have evolved over time and across cultures, as have the way reasonable people of goodness regard human relationships and the way humans behave when they are at their best.

Ethical reflection must take place every day before we can effectively deal with larger ethical questions. The person who seeks to provide moral leadership on global issues must take special responsibility for what goes on inside him—inside his consciousness—lest the act of leadership do more harm than good. We can all be leaders for good; it is our choice.