I don't think the formal study of ethics is productive either. An ethical system is either descriptive or normative. Does philosophy produce theories that accurately describe human behavior? Psychology and sociology and economics do a much better job of building predictive models.
Does ethical philosophy build normative models that describe what ought to be? Sure. Do these models influence actual human behavior? Not a bit. So why bother building castles in the sky?
Does ethical philosophy build normative models that describe what ought to be? Sure. Do these models influence actual human behavior? Not a bit. So why bother building castles in the sky?