As I mentioned above, I find that understanding the «why» of moral and ethical behavior is just as important as knowing «what» moral behavior is expected. For this reason, I will briefly outline the origins of the ethical principles I have outlined above.
Broadly speaking, ethical and moral philosophy is dominated by two schools of thought. On the one hand sit deontologists. Deontology is the idea that there are certain moral rules to be followed simply because of the nature of sentient life. For example, a strict deontologist, like the great philosopher Immanuel Kant and even great thinkers in the East, argue that being honest at all times is a moral principle to be observed under any and all circumstances. The basic reasoning here is that human beings have value in and of themselves; completely separate from whom they are, what they may do or how they act. This is a recognition of the universal value of sentient life, especially human life, and certain moral rules are established which insist that sentient life is never to be used as a means to an end because, life is an end it itself. As I say, this type of thinking is common in both Western and Eastern moral philosophy. Even ancient Greek «Virtue Ethics» are based on a deontological thinking.