Ethical values indicate how an individual should act.
Ethical values are guides that dictate how people should act. The idea is linked to the concept of moral values , which refers to those principles that constitute the individual as a human being. The two notions, however, are often confused and even combined according to the author.
In the field of ethics , values are considered as properties that belong to objects, whether abstract or physical. These properties allow us to rate the importance of each object according to how close it is to what is considered correct or good.
Types of ethical values
If the ethical value of the object is high , it means that the action in question is good and therefore should be performed or experienced. On the other hand, if the ethical value is low , it is a negative issue that should be avoided.
Ethical values can be relative (they depend on the individual perspective of the person or their culture ) or absolute (they are not linked to the individual or the culture, but remain constant since they have value in themselves).
Ethical values can be high or low.
Rights and obligations
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.
It is often said that there are four great ethical values on which human education has been and must continue to be based: responsibility, truth, justice and freedom .
Responsibility is the ability that man must have to recognize his failures and assume the consequences that this entails. In the same way, this also includes proceeding to comply with the obligations you have contracted.
Truth , on the other hand, is the ethical value of being honest and sincere, of not deceiving or falsifying. The truth is so important that there are already legendary phrases like " the truth will set us free."
Another 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 well-being.
Freedom , finally, is also often mentioned as a key ethical value. Acts intended to restrict the freedom of subjects are unethical; 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 undermine justice, for example.
The subject Ethical Values
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.