title: Would someone please explain what it means to be ethical?
abstract: Definitions are offered to distinguish among behavior that is legal, charitable, professional and moral. Moral acts are especially important because that is what people do to bring about the right and the good that is mutually sought by dentists, patients and the community. Ethics is an academic discipline that teaches about appropriate behavior in an indirect fashion - what we say to justify what we do.
authors.affiliation: University of the Pacific, Arthur A Dugoni School of Dentistry, San Francisco, USA. dchambers@pacific.edu
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Chambers
mesh_terms: D002608:Charities; D004990:Ethics, Dental; D006801:Humans; D007603:Jurisprudence; D009014:Morals; D024382:Professional Role; D009626:Terminology as Topic