adj. describing a statement about what is or is not desirable (based on accepted standards or norms), as opposed to a statement of what is or is not the case (based on evidence and fact). This distinction between normative and positive statements is of basic importance in medical *ethics.
n. 1. the branch of philosophy concerned with the content of moral judgments (normative ethics) and their nature and meaning (metaethics). See also consequentialism; Kantian ethics; narrative ethics. 2. the principles, values, virtues, or rules of conduct accepted within a particular profession or field of activity. See bioethics; medical ethics.... ethics
n. those values, normative rules, or principles according to which intentions or behaviours are judged to be *good or bad, *right or wrong. Such judgment can arise from cultural, religious, or philosophical beliefs. See ethics.... morality
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