h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

While Principles (with a capital P) provide absolute solutions to ethical dilemmas, they frequently fail to provide the solutions we want. And furthermore, having a principle dictating, say, chocolate consumption would be a bit silly.

Guidelines are principles stripped of their absolutist nature. They don't end arguments: they provide a jumping-off point. Say you're choosing how much to drink on a certain night. While Moderation is a principle that would result in greatly diminished enjoyment of a stag party, the guideline of moderation leads naturally to the happy solution of "moderation in moderation," leaving plenty of wiggle room for an enjoyable night.

While an appeal to principles trumps all other arguments, guidelines are vulnerable to handy conditional statements.
Some examples:
"...unless it's REALLY good chocolate."
"...unless it's been a bad day."
For the less ethical of us, there's also:
"...unless she's really hot"
"...unless no one is looking."

So for those of us who don't aspire to be the next Budda, Ghandi or Martin Luther King Jr., I suggest Guidelines as a substitute. They're just as helpful as principles, and a lot more flexible.

Hear, Hear! This does seem to take into account that man is human, after all, subject to the foibles of choice and free will. Having Principles in this mad world will likely drive you starkers, and besides, they're often very expensive to maintain. Guidelines seem much, much more do-able.