The discipline investigating the meaning of ethical systems and whether they are relative or universal is known as:

• A. Normative ethics
• B. Applied ethics
• C. Forensic ethics
• D. Meta-ethics

Answer: (D)

Meta-ethics examines what moral language and moral judgments mean and whether they express objective truths or are relative to cultures or individuals. It asks about the status of ethical claims—are they truth-apt and universal, or do they depend on cultural norms and personal attitudes? This focus on the meaning of ethical terms and the nature of moral truth is exactly what the question describes, distinguishing it from normative ethics (which asks what is right or wrong) and applied ethics (which uses those theories to address real-world issues). For example, meta-ethics would explore whether statements like “stealing is wrong” express a universal truth or merely reflect cultural conventions.