What Does ethical values Mean
In the field of ethics , values are considered as properties that belong to objects, be they abstract or physical. These properties allow to qualify the importance of each object according to how close it is to what is considered correct or good.
If the ethical value of the object is high , it means that the action in question is good and therefore should be done or lived. On the other hand, if the ethical value is low , it is a negative question that should be avoided.
Ethical values can be relative (they depend on the individual perspective of the person or their culture ) or absolute (it is not linked to the individual or the cultural, but remains constant since it has value by itself).
The idea of ethical value is linked to the concept of moral value . Ethical values are guides that dictate how people should act, while moral values constitute the individual as a human being. The two notions, however, are often confused and even combined according to the author.
In the same way, we must not forget that ethical values include what is known as a set of rights and duties that human beings possess.
Specifically, according to scholars in the field, it can be said that four are the great ethical values on which the education of the human being has been sustained and must continue to be sustained. We are referring to responsibility, truth, justice and freedom.
Responsibility becomes the faculty that man must have to recognize his failures and to assume the consequences that this brings. In the same way, it indicates that this also includes proceeding to comply with the obligations that it has contracted.
The truth, on the other hand, is the ethical value of being honest and sincere, not cheating or misrepresenting, because that will make whoever has it the ability to be a person who can be trusted. It is so important that there are already legendary phrases such as "the truth will set us free."
A fundamental ethical value is justice . All people must act fairly so that there is a harmonious and peaceful coexistence in society . Those actions that are far from this ethical value threaten social welfare.
The freedom also often mentioned as an ethical value. The acts destined to restrict the freedom of the subjects are not ethical; In any case, people must take responsibility for their actions since responsibility is another ethical value that governs the functioning of communities. Otherwise, freedom could violate justice, for example.
In the same way, we cannot ignore that within Public Education in Spain there is a subject for ESO (Compulsory Secondary Education) called Ethical Values. As an alternative to the Religion subject, the same is taught in which students study topics such as euthanasia, cloning, the role of the courts of justice, conscientious objection, dignity, equality in interpersonal relationships, justice and politics ...