The word, "moral," derives from the Latin word "moralitas," meaning character or proper behavior. Morality deals with the issues of integrity, ethics and temperament. Moral knowledge encompasses socially prescribed codes of conduct (ethics), and personal, cultural or religious values such as honor, courage and justice. A moral question is normative in nature: it asks what a person or group ought to do. Non-moral questions ask about the world without employing the normative language of "ought" or "should."
To answer a moral question, a person must gather evidence from a variety of sources. These sources might include ideological narratives couched in religious, political or cultural terms. Many people use subjective factors when attempting to answer a moral questions. Subjective factors are personal experiences or feeling that an individual does not share with anyone else. When asking a non-moral question, however, people rely on more objective sources of information, such as evidence from studies or direct observation. For example, people don't use intuition or personal experience when solving a chemistry problem, but will rely on these when solving a moral problem.
The philosophy of morality includes traditions, such as social philosophy, psychology, natural science and logic. Social philosophy asks how humans can establish and maintain harmonious societies. Philosophers John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau developed critical theories of social philosophy. Immanuel Kant and other ethical philosophers employed psychological and scientific reasoning to buttress their moral theories as well. Philosophers who ask non-moral questions employ the scientific method, logic and other deductive methods.
Many scientists and philosophers attempt to bridge the gap between moral and non-moral questions in their work. According to a May 2007 article in the Huffington Post, "Toward a Science of Morality," American neuroscientist Sam Harris said many intelligent people have moved toward relativism regarding morality. This means they believe there are no universal answers to moral questions. Harris noted, that as science continues to expand its reach into domains, such as human psychology and cultural construction, it may equip people with the empirical knowledge necessary to make universal and correct moral choices. People gain empirical knowledge by direct observation or controlled scientific experimentation.