Ethical living is concerned primarily with the interpersonal dimension of our behavior. How do we treat one another individually and in groups --- and increasingly, other species and the environment? The key here is that morality brings us into contact with others and asks us to consider the quality of that contact. We start asking ourselves: 'Is that the way I should treat someone else?' 'Is that the way someone else should treat me?' Because we have the ability to be critical of our interpersonal behavior and our interaction with animals, we have the ability to develop codes and norms to guide that behavior and interaction. Those moral norms and codes, in addition to a set of virtuous character traits, are what we mean when we talk about ethics.

Ethics poses questions about how we ought to act in relationships and how we should live with one another. Ethics asks us to consider whether our actions are right or wrong. It also asks us how those character traits that help humans flourish (such as integrity, honest, faithfulness and compassion) play out in everyday living. Ethical norms and principles have developed over time and across cultures, as rational people of goodwill consider human relationships and how human beings act when they are at their best.

This everyday ethical reflection must occur before we can effectively confront the larger moral questions. A person who wants to take moral leadership in global issues must take special responsibility for what is going on inside his or her own self-inside his or her own consciousness lest the act of leadership create more harm than good. All of us can be leaders for good; the choice is ours.