For some of us, ‘ethics’ (here read as equivalent to ‘morality’) is an answer to the question “What should I do (or want)?”, which is equivalent to “What do I have most reason to do (or want)?”. If you care about the answers to questions like “Should I order a hamburger or a hot dog?” and “Should I drink this bottle of drain cleaner?” and “Should I put myself first?” then you care about ethics.
If I offer you a bottle of drain cleaner to drink and you refuse it, and I ask you, “What reason did you have for refusing it?” and you give me any answer, then you’re not an ethical nihilist; you think there is something to ethical questions.
Of course, some would not cast such a broad net in their definition of ‘ethics’, but I don’t tend to find such theories of ethics very useful.
For some of us, ‘ethics’ (here read as equivalent to ‘morality’) is an answer to the question “What should I do (or want)?”, which is equivalent to “What do I have most reason to do (or want)?”. If you care about the answers to questions like “Should I order a hamburger or a hot dog?” and “Should I drink this bottle of drain cleaner?” and “Should I put myself first?” then you care about ethics.
If I offer you a bottle of drain cleaner to drink and you refuse it, and I ask you, “What reason did you have for refusing it?” and you give me any answer, then you’re not an ethical nihilist; you think there is something to ethical questions.
Of course, some would not cast such a broad net in their definition of ‘ethics’, but I don’t tend to find such theories of ethics very useful.