The Code

"If a code proves to be generally effective in governing life it will only be because of character in the people governed—character that expresses itself in virtues such as benevolence, honor and integrity; and it will be from these virtues and not from the code, that people act. Indeed, one never acts from a code. A code by its very nature never addresses the question of motivation. If you knew someone had kept the code, you would have no idea of whether or not they were ethical, or morally good, people, or of what they would choose to do if they were sure they would never be found out and hence were not known to have broken the code.

Most so-called "professional ethics" today is restricted to codes and have nothing to do with character, and that is one reason why they have such little power over behavior. They are basically telling us how to stay out of trouble with clients, the law, and our fellow professionals. They have nothing to say about our moral identity, about who we are as a doctor, lawyer, engineer, professor, etc. etc."

- from Dallas Willard's Why it Matters if You're Moral