In any discussion of ethics, the first issue is always nomenclature. Unfortunately, this is often the topic that receives the least attention. Frequently, those involved in the conversation conduct deep insightful discourses in which there is virtually no understanding exchanged, although the participants will all agree that the quality of the rhetoric was outstanding.
The problem with the words ethics and morals is that they are generally interchangeable. Admittedly there are subtleties in their use and connotation, but generally they both mean a system of standards for good and evil, right and wrong, and the condition of being in harmony or disharmony with them (ethical, unethical, moral, immoral).
In the study of ethics, a common set of definitions is needed so the key ones are summarized below.