What are values values are the field of ethics, also called moral philosophy, which involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general subject areas metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. metaethics investigates where our ethical principles come from, and what they mean. are they merely social inventions do they involve more than expressions of our individual emotions metaethical answers to these questions focus on the issues of universal truths, the will of god, the role of reason in ethical judgments, and the meaning of ethical terms themselves. normative ethics takes on a more practical task, which is to arrive at moral standards that regulate right and wrong conduct. this may involve articulating the good habits that we should acquire, the duties that we should follow, or the consequences of our behavior on others. finally, applied ethics involves examining specif...