This document discusses factors that shape moral decision-making and making informed decisions. It outlines four major ethical theories - utilitarianism, natural law, deontology, and virtue ethics. It discusses questions of what is the right thing to do and why. Moral questions are ones all humans face. Neither laws nor rules can fully answer these questions. Reason has a role to play in addressing moral questions. Ethics guides interactions with society and environment. Culture, society, and history shape individual identity. Major issues in ethical thought include debates around the relationship between ethics and culture and between ethics and religion.