Which field studies the nature of ethical properties, statements, and judgments?

• A. Meta-Ethics
• B. Descriptive Ethics
• C. Duty
• D. Professional Ethics

Answer: (A)

Meta-ethics examines morality at its most basic level—the status of ethical properties, the meaning and truth-value of ethical statements, and what our moral judgments actually express. It asks questions like whether moral properties are objective features of the world or dependent on attitudes, whether moral claims can be true or false, and what would ground or justify those claims. That focus on the nature and meaning of moral terms and judgments directly corresponds to the phrase “nature of ethical properties, statements, and judgments,” making meta-ethics the best fit.

Descriptive ethics looks at what people actually believe and how they behave—empirical description rather than the underlying nature of morality. Normative ethics (often linked to duties) concerns what we ought to do, providing standards and justifications for action, not the fundamental nature of morality itself. Professional ethics applies ethical guidelines within a particular field, which is a specialized area of applied ethics.