The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University in California is dedicated to explaining that ethics is not some esoteric science to be saved for the major exams. The Web site does not offer The Answer to any of the dilemmas. But it includes a host of links to tools people can use to work through their own decisions. And that's the point, Stenger said. It's up to each person to come up with the answers that make sense in his or her own life.
Many religious traditions establish the everyday character of moral and ethical decisions.
It is something that is very close to you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can keep it. Islamic tradition teaches there are no meaningless decisions, said Imam Yusef Kavakci, who leads the Dallas Central Mosque in Richardson, Texas. According to Islamic tradition, two angels are with every person at all times, recording every thought, action or inaction. Buddhism also teaches that everyday situations are filled with ethical choices, said the Rev. Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, a monk and teacher at the Zen Mountain Monastery in New York.