CHAPTER ONE

UNDERSTANDING CIVICS AND ETHICS

1.1.Defining Civics, Ethics and Morality
1.1.1. Civic Education
The subject assumed different names and purposes depending on countries’ ideologies and thus
the definition of the discipline vary across States. Terms such as Right Education (in South
Africa), Citizenship Education (in United States of America and Germany), Citizenship and
Character Education (in Singapore), Civics and Ethical Education (in Ethiopia) are just a few
examples that can be found in the literature.

Though the most cited definition of civic education is an education that studies about the rights
and responsibilities of citizens of a politically organized group of people, different writers define
it in many ways. For instance, Patrick (1986) defines civic education as the knowledge of the
constitutions, the principles, values, history and application to contemporary life. Citizenship
education can be understood as the knowledge, means, and activities designed to encourage
students to participate actively in democratic life, accepting and exercising their rights and
responsibilities. United Nations Development Program (UNDP, 2004) defines civic education as
a way of learning for effective participation in a democratic and development process. On his
part, Aggarwal (1982) linked civic education to the development of ideas, habits, behaviors and
useful attitudes in the individual which enables him to be a useful member of the society. Still
the subject matter can be also defined as the process of helping young people acquire and learn
to use the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that will prepare them to be competent and responsible
citizens throughout their lives.

1.1.2. The Definition and Nature of Ethics and Morality

A. What is Ethics?
Ethics is a branch of philosophy that attempts to understand people’s moral beliefs and actions.
Ethics, or moral philosophy, considers theories about what human beings are capable of doing,
alongside accounts of what they ought to do if they are to live an ethically good life. Ethics also
explores the meaning and the ranking of different ethical values, such as honesty, autonomy,

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equality and justice, and it considers ethical quandaries that human beings face in the course of
living their own independent but, also, socially interdependent lives.

Ethics or moral philosophy: considers theories about what human beings are capable of doing,
alongside accounts of what they ought to do if they are to live an ethically good life. Ethics may
share common ground with the law, religious belief, popular opinion, professional codes and the
dictates of authority figures, but it is also broader than all of these and offers a set of tools and
values against which their appropriateness can be evaluated.

Invariably all ethical questions involve a decision about what one should do in a specific
instance. Ethical questions are not concerned with what one would do (an essentially
psychological concern) but what one ought to do. Judgments about such decisions are generally
expressed with words like right and wrong, should and ought, or obligation and duty.

In dealing with human conduct from the perspective of obligation and value, ethics investigates a
variety of related concerns. Among them are whether a standard of morality exists that applies to
all people at all times everywhere, the precise nature of moral responsibility, the conditions
under which one is morally accountable or responsible, and the proper end of law. When
ethicists use word like “good” or “right” to describe a person or action they generally means that
the person or action conforms to some standard. Generally, Ethics is:
 The critical examination and evaluation of what is good, evil, right and wrong in human
conduct.
 A specific set of principles, values and guidelines for a particular group or organization.
 Ethics is the study of goodness, right action and moral responsibility, it asks what choices
and ends we ought to pursue and what moral principles should govern our pursuits and
choices.
B. What is Morality?
Morality from a dictionary definition (from Latin moralitas “manner, character, proper
behavior”) refers to the concept of human action which pertains to matters of right and wrong –
also referred to as “good and evil”. It can be used to mean the generally accepted code of
conduct in a society, or within a subgroup of society.

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 Terms such as morality and ethics are often used interchangeably in everyday speech as referring
to justified or proper conduct. But ethics is usually associated with a certain conduct within a
profession, for example, the code of ethics for the teaching profession. Morality is a more
general term referring to the character of individuals and community. In other words, Morality is
used to refer to what we would call moral conduct while ethics is used to refer to the formal
study of moral conduct. It can be claimed that morality is related to praxis, but ethics is related to
theory. Generally, Morality is:
 Those principles and values that actually guide, for better or worse, an individual’s personal
conduct.
 Morality is the informal system of rational beings by which they govern their behavior in
order to lesson harm or evil and do good, this system, although informal, enjoys amazing
agreement across time and cultures concerning moral rules, moral ideas and moral virtues.
Ethics Morality
 Is philosophical study of the code, standards  Refers to the code of conduct one follows
or norm of human conduct and it is more while ethics is the study of moral conduct or 
theoretical and general one. the study of the code that one follows.

 Ethics establish the standards, norms, or  Is the conformity of human behavior to the
codes to be followed by human beings are established code of conduct .If an action
the study of morality, moral principles, and conform to the established code, it is called
moral decision making. moral ,if not immoral.

 It is the development of reasonable standards  Refers to the effort to guide one’s conduct by
and procedures for ethical decision-making. reason while giving equal weight to the
interests of each individual who will be
affected by one’s conduct

 Is a set of normative rules of conduct, a  Has to do with what one should do, all things
code, a standards that govern what one ought considered, not what, in fact, any of us will
to do when the well-being, or duties to so in a particular instance.
oneself, others or institutions is at stake.

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1.2. Ethics and Law
Laws are norms, formally approved by state, power or national or international political bodies.
Many laws are instituted in order to promote well-being, resolve conflicts of interest, and
promote social harmony. However, there are several reasons why ethics is not law. First, some
actions that are illegal may not be unethical. Speeding is illegal, but one might have an ethical
obligation to break the speed limit in order to transport someone to a hospital in an emergency.
Second, some actions that are unethical may not be illegal. Most people would agree that lying is
unethical but lying is only illegal under certain conditions, e.g. lying on an income tax return,
lying when giving sworn testimony, etc. Third, laws can be unethical or immoral. The United
States had laws permitting slavery in the 1800s but most people today would say that those laws
were unethical or immoral. Although we have moral and ethical obligations to obey the law, civil
disobedience can be justified when immoral or unethical laws exist.

Since we can appeal to morality and ethics to justify or criticize laws, many writers maintain that
the main function of a legal system is to enforce a society’s moral and ethical consensus. Fourth,
we use different kinds of mechanisms to express, teach, inculcate, and enforce laws and ethics.
Laws are expressed publicly in statutes, penal codes, court rulings, government regulations, and
so forth. Although ethics and morals are sometimes made explicit in religious texts, professional
codes of conduct, or philosophical writings, many ethical and moral standards are implicit.
Finally, we use the coercive power of government to enforce laws. People who break certain
laws can be fined, imprisoned, or executed. People who violate ethical or moral standards do not
face these kinds of punishments unless their actions also violate laws. Often we “punish” people
who disobey moral or ethical obligations by simply expressing our disapproval or by
condemning the behavior.

1.3. The Importance/Goal of Moral and Civic Education

Delivering the course moral and civics emanates from:
1. The need to instill citizens about their rights and duties: The two phrases rights and duties
co-exist with each other (they are termed as the two sides of the same coin) that regulate the
values and behavioral patterns of an individual. For instance, the State has the obligation to
provide health care services because citizens have the right to access that service. However,

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 the State will be unable to ensure that citizens led a healthy life unless citizens themselves act
responsibly with respect to their own health, in terms of a healthy diet, exercise, and the
consumption of liquor and tobacco.
There are four issues to look into the interplay between rights and duties. First, one's right
implies the other's duty. This means every right of an individual automatically imposes a
duty on others. For example, the right to freedom of movement imposes a duty on others not
to interfere with the right of movement of any body, except regulated by law. Second, one's
right implies one's duty to recognize similar rights of others. This implies that every exercise
of right is subject to restrictions. For example, one has the freedom of speech and expression,
but, at the same time, the practitioner has to bear in mind that the exercise of free speech and
expression in no way affects the rights of others. Third, one should exercise his rights for the
promotion of social good. If any person tries to misuse the rights, which affect the rights of
others or of the society or state, the Government has a duty to take appropriate legal action to
prevent such acts. For example, if a person tries to abuse his right to freedom of speech and
expression, the State can take legal action. Any such action by the State is justified. Fourth,
the State being a nucleus organ needs to take care of the social and legal interests of all its
individuals. From this point of view, the State has the obligation to discharge duties towards
its citizens. As the State guarantees and protects the rights of everybody, one has a duty to
support the State in its legal endeavors. Therefore, there is no doubt that there must be a
balance between citizenship rights and obligations. For this reason, civics and ethics course
provides to citizens to ensure that each individual become an informed citizen capable of
thinking effectively as well as responsibly in carrying out their duties and observing rights.
2. The Need for Participant Political Culture: According to the International Encyclopedia of
the Social Sciences (1961) political culture is the set of attitudes, beliefs, and sentiments
which give order and meaning to a political process and which provide the underlying
assumptions and rules that govern behavior in the political system. Political culture shapes
what people expect of their political system, what they see as possibilities for their own
action, and what rights and responsibilities the various actors are perceived to have.
Generally, political culture defines the roles which an individual may play in the political
process.

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3. The Need for Relevant Knowledge, Skills and Positive Attitudes: Relevant knowledge is a
type of knowledge which is useful in dealing with a particular problem at a period of time.
However, knowledge would remain inert knowledge unless it is functional or put into
practice to achieve a certain goal. Still knowledge would remain infirm if the person is not
equipped with right attitudes and requisite skills which are basic to enable him/her perform
his/her role as a credible member of a society. Hence, the State in question will do better in
its bid for development if most of her citizens are skillful in one field or the other and also
demonstrate positive attitudes at the work place. Right attitudes are very essential ingredients
needed to ensure harmony and peaceful co-existence among people. It is reasonable to claim
that skillful manpower is a pre-requisite for every nation that wishes to develop but a skillful
manpower without positive attitudes to work is likely to result in counter production because
vices like corruption, bribery, abuse of power, lateness to and work absenteeism among
others will pop their ugly heads. For this reason, civics and ethics is acknowledged as an
essential subject from the perception that it can be a useful cure for the ‘social ills’ often
associated with young people: that is, tendencies for anti-social behavior and political apathy
among young people, or, what Osler and Starkey (2006: 437) describe as ‘youth deficit’. At
the local community level, it is assumed that social and environmental problems can best be
resolved through an understanding of what it means to be a citizen.
4. The issue of fostering intercultural societies: The recognition of cultural diversity is
certainly meritorious, but civics and ethics education could move a step forward by appealing
to the notion of inter-culturalism, which explicitly asserts the need for relationship, dialogue,
reciprocity and interdependence. Beyond differences of semantics, civics and ethics
education is a useful instrument not only towards tolerating or celebrating each other, but
also about nurturing dynamic exchanges based on interaction, openness and effective
solidarity. The subject helps to integrate the best traditions of multicultural and intercultural
education to develop political and pedagogical strategies that contribute to overcome
discrimination and to nurture genuine, inclusive dialogue among cultural groups.
5. The issue of peace-building: in an environment characterized by increasing militarization,
terrorism, civil wars and genocidal acts, it is urgent for citizenship education to advance
pedagogical strategies to promote cooperation, dialogue, and a sustainable peace that is based
on justice. It is obvious that civics and ethics alone cannot bring peace to our planet, yet it

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 can make a valuable contribution to create the subjective conditions for more peaceful
situations. This includes the development of competencies for peacemaking, conflict
resolution, healing, reconciliation and reconstruction. It also includes an understanding of
nonviolent civil disobedience philosophies, strategies and skills. A peace-oriented citizenship
education can foster the development of values, attitudes and skills to nurture peace within
ourselves and in our personal relationships, and to create the conditions for peace in our own
communities and in the global community.
The aim of moral/ethical and civic education is to provide people to make decisions by their
free wills. You can teach norms easily, but you cannot teach easily to obey these rules unless
you teach ethics. Therefore, teaching ethics has an important and necessary place in
education. Students who graduated from universities may be well educated persons in their
professions but it is not enough. Aristotle also says, “Educating the mind without educating
the heart is no education at all.”

Moral and Civics Education is based on and seeks to promote in students core moral, ethical,
democratic, and educational values, such as:
 Respect for life
 Respect for reasoning
 Fairness
 Concern for the welfare of others
 Respect for diversity
 Peaceful resolution of conflict

In sum the goals of teaching Moral and civics at any level of educational institutions is to
produce competent, high moral standard society and responsible citizens who can ask and use
their rights and fulfill their obligations in accordance with the laws of their respective country.