UNIT ONE
ETHICAL VALUES
Introduction
What is citizenship education?
Citizenship Education is a branch of social science that focuses on developing learners’ knowledge, skills and values to become competent, responsible, and active citizens.
Knowledge- about their rights, duties, laws, democracy,
Skills - critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making skills
Values - respect, tolerance, justice, equality
Some of the Aims of Citizenship Education are;
Fostering good character and ethical values
Raising citizens’ awareness of their rights and responsibilities
Promoting a culture of active participation and discouraging passivity
Encouraging the responsible and ethical use of digital technology.
Promoting democratic values such as equality, freedom, justice, and the rule of law.
Encouraging peaceful coexistence, tolerance, mutual respect, and social harmony
Enhancing citizens’ critical-thinking and problem-solving skills
Improving citizens’ awareness of Ethiopia’s foreign relations and regional cooperation.
1.1. The Meaning of Ethics
What is Ethics?
The distinction between ethics and morality is not always clear in everyday language.
The two terms are closely related and are sometimes used interchangeably but they are slightly different.
Ethics
Historically, the term ‘ethics’ comes from Greek ‘ethos’ which means the customs, habits and mores of people.
Ethics is a discipline that deals with morality and moral principles.
It is concerned with determining what is right or wrong, good or bad, and acceptable or unacceptable in based on morality.
Ethics oblige people to refrain from unethical acts such as stealing, murder, assault, fraud, slander, and defamation.
It is a discipline that teaches us to follow the right way, to do the right thing such as honesty, compassion and loyalty, equality, justice etc.
From a theoretical (descriptive) point of view, ethics is concerned in the nature and origin of moral judgments.
From a practical or prescriptive point of view, ethics is concerned with the particular norms, principles that ought to be used to arrive at proper moral judgments.
Morality refers to the standards and principles used to determine the behaviors, decisions or actions of individuals as right or wrong, good or bad, acceptable or unacceptable.
The Difference between Morality and Ethics
Morality is the code of conduct itself, while ethics is the study of that code of conduct.
Morality tells us what is right or wrong; ethics examines and justifies why it is right or wrong.
In short: Morality is a part of ethics, but ethics is morality + justification.
1.2. Major ethical values
Values are specific principles, beliefs, and standards or ideals that one holds as important and right.
It is what people consider important and use to guide their decisions and behavior.
Values are the rules by which one makes decisions about right and wrong.
It gives us a moral compass or direction.
The major ethical values are integrity, promise keeping, loyalty, concern for others, respect for others and etc.
- Integrity
• Integrity is the highest ethical value of good citizens
• It is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.
• Devotion to moral and ethical principles regarding our decisions and actions in our daily life.
• Integrity is when our behavior matches our beliefs.
• A person with integrity is trustworthy, honest, and kind.
Attributes of a Person with True Integrity:
A. They respect humanity
They respect human being regardless of any considerations such as race, ethnicity, language, religion, place of birth, etc.
B. They walk their talk:
They are characterized by suiting their actions with their words.
They have moral courage and determination to do what they say.
C. They are honest:
They do not have unethical behaviors such as lying, stealing, cheating, corruption, etc.
D. They take responsibility for their actions:
They take responsibility for their actions.
Taking responsibility is not a loss, rather it is a kind of ladder to success.
E. They are kind:
People with integrity are benevolent or kind hearted.
They are also happy with the change and success of others.
They are free from abnormal jealousy that can harm others
They do not take the advantages of others
F. They know well their strengths and weaknesses:
They know their strengths and learn from their shortcomings for further self-improvements.
G. They are hard workers
They believe as working hard is the way to relief from poverty and hardships
H. They are free from addiction or misuse of substance such as alcohol, smoking cigarette, chewing khat and drugs and non-substance like gambling, etc.
The advantages of having integrity for an individual;
It enables individuals to live a happy life because they are free from guilt.
It enables individuals to gain the trust of others.
It helps individuals earn the respect of their community.
It encourages individuals to become hard working and resilient citizens.
It enables individuals to develop self-confidence
Effects of Losing Integrity on Oneself;
It creates distrust among individuals.
It may lead to corruption.
It can contribute to a lack of peace and security.
It erodes social respect.
It creates extremely selfish citizens
It can lead to a lack of self-confidence
Ways of enhancing your integrity:
Make (nama Namusa garrii qabu tahuuf waada ofiif galuu) and keep commitments to yourself (waada kees eegachuu)
Know your values and sticke to them
Be open, open your mind, heart and ears
Be honest in your words and actions.
Take responsibility for your decisions and actions
2. Promise keeping
Promise keeping refers to keeping a verbal commitment to do something for someone else.
It requires us to limit our own wants in order to fulfill our commitments to others.
Why is promise keeping important?
It strength trust, love, and strong friendships.
It promotes smooth and respectful relationships with others.
While promising something for someone, be careful, don’t make promises you can’t keep or beyond your ability
Think before you promise, and once you promise, do your best to keep it.
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Loyality is the attribute of being truthful/ honest to an individual, a society, institution or acountry
It is needed at work place, between friends, between a husband and a wife etc.
Public leaders and administrators should be loyal to their people.
Employees and professionals should be loyal to their institutions and to the societies they serve.
So, as good citizens we should be faithful to our family, neighborhood, community, friends, workplace, and country. -
Concern for others means supporting others in times of difficulty or hardship
It is refers to the habits of having a place for, listening to or consider the needs and feelings of others.
As citizens, it is our moral responsibility to be concerned for;
Peoples with disabilities
Children, elders and women
Peoples with HIV/AIDS.
In our society there are good cultures of helping each other in time of;
• Wedding ceremonies.
• Birth.
• Mourning.
• Natural and man-made disasters.
• Serious sickness.
• Economic difficulties and etc.
Traditional cooperative systems such as Debo/Jigi show concern for others -
Respect for others
It is a well-known moral value in our families and communities
Respect means having positive feelings toward others and treating them with dignity regardless of ethnicity, religion, language
We have to respect each other for the mere reason that we are being human not for any other reason
We have to respect our parents, elders, teachers, friends, neighbors and significant others
Ways of Showing Respect:
Using kind or polite words even when we are upset
Using manners like sharing, waiting our turn, saying please and thank you
Accept differences or disagree using kind and respectful words.
Being careful not to damage places or things
Use a quiet voice and calm behavior in public places.
What are the impacts of not respecting others?
A person who does not respect others may;
Face exclusion from other people
Not get respect from other people
Not have love of other people and good friendship
Not get support in time of hardships -
Abiding by the law
It is refers to our willingness, commitment and responsibility to obey or follow the rules and regulations.
It means obeying the rules and laws of society and accepting responsibility for our actions.
Acting according to the law is the responsibility of every one
Rule: are prescribed standards or guides for our conduct in society or an organization, such as a school.
Examples of school rules:
Do not steal.
Do not commit corruption.
Respect the rights of others.
Respect teachers.
Do not cheat in exam
So, if you fail to respect these rules, you will be punished.
Laws and regulations are written standards of action endorsed by authority (usually by HPR)
• They are binding and you will be punished if you break them.
Why do we need to abide by the law?
To ensures justice, order, and security in society.
To prevents criminal acts such as corruption and stealing.
To protects the rights and well-being of others.
To promotes responsibility among citizens.
To maintains peace and stability in society
What are the consequences of not abiding by the laws?
When we do not abide by the law, there will be chaos, insecurity or absence of peace, mob justice, anarchy, prevalence of corruption, under development, etc. -
Commitment to excellence (Waan gaarii bira gahuuf of kenninee hojjechuu)
Commitment refers to one’s dedication to do something
Excellence means continuously building our inner strength and to facing challenges and achieve the best
The journey of our life is not always smooth and luxurious.
Rather it is full of ups and downs or hardships.
The path that takes us to excellence is not short and easy, it requires commitment, responsibility, and perseverance, resilience, patience, courage, determination, positive attitude
It is challenging and painful.
Our commitment to face these hardships helps us become excellent and resilient citizens.
Commitment to excellence means taking full responsibility for our behaviors, decisions, actions, and endeavors in every situation to achieve great things.
Inner strength: Self-confidence, perseverance, resilience (recovering from failure) patience courage,determination, positive attitude
1.3. The Importance of Ethical Values of Citizens
Ethical values help citizens save themselves and generations from several problems
In today’s life, there is erosions of moral integrity and values of citizens in our country
Morality and integrity are important characteristics for every citizen to demonstrate
Ethics is the single factor that determines our real value in this world
Ethics is character builder.
No society can survive without an ethical code of conduct.
Some of the importances of ethical values of citizens are;
Ethical values makes society peaceful and harmonious by guiding their behavior
It plays a very critical role for the existence of a democratic, stable, and prosperous society.
It strengthens mutual trust and reduces social conflicts.
It helps people to keep their words, fight injustices and corruption, prevent crimes and lawlessness and other unethical behaviors.
If a country possesses highly ethical citizens, there are;
Sustainable peace
Strong social harmony
Rapid socio-economic transformations
Absence of corruption
Prevalence of rule of law, justice and equality
Strong national unity
Respect for others and etc
So, as citizens it is a must to develop and practice those important traits to curb the current serious crises we are facing as a countryActvity 1.8.
What kinds of problems or crises can occur in your family, community, and school when people do not possess ethical values?
- In the family
Lack of respect and trust
Dishonesty and lying
Family conflicts and disputes
Violence and abuse
Disobedience and lack of cooperation - In the community
Crime and lawlessness
Corruption and injustice
Conflict and social disorder
Discrimination and lack of equality
Theft, fraud, and dishonesty - In the school:
Cheating examination
Disrespect
Theft and destruction of school property
Lying and dishonesty
Fighting and conflicts among students
Failure to follow school rules
Lack of cooperation amng students
Poor academic performance
1.4. The meaning of applied ethics
• A branch of ethics that deals with moral dilemmas in real-life situations.
• It is the art or science of reflecting on moral dilemmas or problems in different social contexts.
• Ethical dilemma is a difficult situation involving competing choices, making it challenging to determine what is morally right.
• It is interdisciplinary field dealing with ethical problems in different areas of society.
• It includes;
Social and political ethics(Equal treatment vs. special support to promote fairness)
Computer ethics (Privacy vs. right to information)
Medical ethics (Patient choice vs. saving life)
Bioethics (Scientific research vs. protection of human life, cloning vs human rights)
Environmental ethics (Economic development vs. deforestation or pollution)
Business ethics (Maximize profit vs. well-being of workers & consumers)
Professional ethics (Loyalty vs. reporting unethical conduct).
From the perspective of ethics, applied ethics is a specialization in one area of ethics.
From a social practice perspective, applying ethics means considering the ethical aspects and consequences or implication of a particular practice
1.4.1. Professional ethics
Profession: is an occupation, job, or vocation that requires advanced skills, knowledge and training to serve the public, such as teaching, medicine, piloting, and engineering.
Professional: A person who has specialized knowledge, skills, and training in a particular occupation such as teacher, doctor, nurse, engineer, pilot etc.
Professional ethics refers to the ethical norms, values, principles, moral obligations, rules, and responsibilities that guide professionals in providing professional services.
It guides professionals’ behaviour, responsibility, and commitment in their professional activities.
Professionals are governed by codes of ethics and are committed to competence, integrity, altruism, and the public good within their domain.
Professionals are accountable to those they serve and to society
Professional ethics includes important attributes such as:
Honesty
Integrity
Transparency
Confidentiality
Impartiality
Punctuality
Respectfulness
Obedience to the law
1.4.2. Environmental ethics
Environment is the surrounding natural world which contains both living and non living things such as land, animals, plants, water, air, etc.
Environment is the foundation and the source of the survival of all living things.
Environmental ethics refers to the moral obligations expected from human beings to protect and maintain the well-being of their environment.
It studies about the established values, principles and set of beliefs between human beings and the surrounding environment.
There is a direct relationship between the life of human beings and the environment
When the environment is safe and healthy, we are leading good and healthy life.
When the environment is damaged, our life is also directly affected.
Currently our world is found under a serious threat of climate change and environmental degradation.
This problem is changing from worse to the worst level from time to time.
Human life depends on finite earth’s resources
So, giving a great focus to the environment is not a matter of choice, rather it is a matter of survival.
.1. Environmental Ethics
• Environment: The surrounding natural world consisting of living and non-living things, such as land, animals, plants, water and air.
• It is the foundation and source of survival for all living things.
• Environmental Ethics: The study of moral obligations, values and principles that guide human beings in protecting and maintaining the well-being of their environment.
Relationship Between Human Beings and the Environment
• Human life directly depends on the environment and the Earth’s finite natural resources.
• A safe and healthy environment promotes human well-being, while environmental damage negatively affects human life.
• Currently, the world faces increasing threats from climate change and environmental degradation.
• Therefore, protecting the environment is not a matter of choice, but a matter of survival. From this text provided, prepare 40 multiple choice questions or me.
Suggested Outline for Your 40 Questions
Sample Questions to Model After: