It isn't really complicated at all. White hat and black hat are just new, fancy terms for something that's been around for a long time. One has integrity, the other doesn't. One reaches its goals by honest means, the other uses sleazy tricks to try and get ahead. Keyword stuffing, comment spam, link stuffing... That's black hat. It pisses people off. You get a lot of black hats on places like WarriorForum, which can be a real cesspool sometimes.
White hatters are people who need to make a living, but don't feel like stooping to the desperate level of black hatters to make that living. They posts blog posts that genuinely try to provide value or new information to the reader, post thoughtful comments, etc.
Overall, I think the "white hat" approach is the one to take if you want peace of mind and self-satisfaction. Your long-term gains will probably be greater, as well.