Those engaged in ethical reasoning must understand that ethics are not the same as that which is accepted by society as a whole. Ethics can vary from culture to culture. Certain ethical concepts transcend cultures, such as ethics regarding the proper treatment of living creatures. For example, international society considers slavery and torture universally wrong.
People have a tendency to engage in self-deception, self-justification and egotism. These forms of reasoning lead to people engaging in ethical reasoning that benefits them. For example, a man might say that all friends should lend money to other friends when in need, but then refuses to lend money to other friends, only expecting to receive loans.
Some people believe there is no set standard of moral absolutes. Instead, cultures and even people form ethical conclusions that other groups can disagree with. None of the ethical positions have primacy over the others. These people see everyone as having a morally correct perspective and tend not to judge others from a moral perspective.
Some religious people hold that ethics is not possible without religion and that people need a deterrence to discourage them from engaging in unethical acts. For example, many religions hold that people go to "Hell" when they engage in acts prohibited by the religion. Others who follow the "Divine Command Theory" believe that a certain behavior is wrong because a deity said it is.
Nihilists believe there are no morals and that every moral assertion lacks a basis. Therefore, when someone makes a moral argument, the nihilist rejects the validity of the moral argument and holds that no one should be held to any moral standards. Nihilists have no loyalties to ethics.
Moral absolutism is the belief that certain actions are right or wrong, regardless of the circumstances. In this form of reasoning, someone's behavior is considered wrong or right as soon as someone defines the action. For example, when someone takes something without permission, that action is defined as stealing and that action is considered immoral, even when the object was broken and the person taking the object was planning to fix it and return it.
Some forms of ethics seek to explore them impartially. Other forms of ethics, such as normative ethics, seek to help people make moral decisions. Normative ethics are sets of rules that people can follow to help them make decisions. For example, when someone must choose between two actions that will cause people harm, they should pick the action that will cause the least harm.