VERITAS UNIVERSITY, ABUJA

DIRECTORATE OF GENERAL STUDIES

1ST SEMESTER, 2023/2024 ACADEMIC SESSION

Course Code: GST 171 Course Title: ETHICS

MEANING, NATURE AND SCOPE OF ETHICS

Meaning of Ethics:

What does the word "Ethics" mean? Ethics is etymologically derived from Greek "ethikos"
which means 'relating or pertaining to one's character', which itself comes from the Greek
word, "ethos" meaning 'character or moral nature'. The word "moral" has a Latin root in "mor
/ mos" which means custom. The etymology of the word, Ethics, is a strong indication to its
definition. Hence Ethics has been defined by the Concise Oxford English Dictionary (1964)
as 'The science of morals...moral principles rules of conduct.' Among other definitions, the
Online Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Ethics as i) "rules of behavior based on ideas
about what is morally good and bad" ii) "the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and
with moral duty and obligation" iii) "a set of moral principles: a theory or system of moral
values" iv) "a guiding philosophy" v) "a consciousness of moral importance". Ethics,
essentially, is all that has been put forward in these definitions from different perspectives
and levels. May (1993), describes Ethics from the viewpoint of its function as "a path of
studying morality which permits decisions to be made when individuals face specific cases of
moral dilemma."

Nature of Ethics:

From the definitions of Ethics, we can venture to describe its nature or character. What the
basic component parts are. Ethics applies to human beings in their concrete life situations as
they are faced with choices and decisions to be made. It follows that the human will is
involved as well as certain fundamental rights and freedom. Ethics can rightly be qualified as
more of a science than art since it is a systematic knowledge and study of morals, conduct
and human behavior.

Ethics is a normative science because it involves engaging and application of rules and
regulations, laws, and moral standards that regulate right and wrong, good and bad, what is
permissible and what is impermissible.

Ethics is also a descriptive science because it investigates and explains the causes of
human actions. On this basis, it can justify right and just actions that can help to achieve the
set goals.

Ethics is a science of values inasmuch as helps to reveal the forms of conduct and behavior
patterns which have the character of moral obligation. "Ethics deals with phenomena and it
observes, classifies and explains them by moral values. It distinguishes moral judgement
from logical judgements and aesthetic judgements and reduces them to a system"
(GKTODAY Current Affairs /General Studies: https://www.gktoday).

Ethics helps individuals and the society in general to make the right choice of doing good
and avoiding what is bad. It is capable of distinguishing between what is morally just and
what is immoral. Ethics can help to determine between fair and unfair, proper and improper
human acts.

Scope of Ethics:

The scope of Ethics concerns the domain and range of the subject matter of Ethics. As a
systematic knowledge and a normative science, Ethics covers the whole gamut of questions
bordering on the moral ideal and how human conduct can lead to that ideal. Even though
Ethics is a normative scientific field and has its proper domain and sphere of operation, it is
not totally divorced from other areas of study. It relates to other fields such as Psychology,
Philosophy, Sociology, Politics and Religion. Ethics is concerned with problems that ensue
from these areas and addresses them.

Psychology:- Ethics must probe into the origin of human actions, the motives and intentions
underlying those actions to enable it to arrive at a sound and balanced moral judgement and
uphold the moral ideal or standard. It is also within the scope of Ethics to determine the
relation between desire and pleasure.

Philosophy:- Ethics understands that human actions have either merit or demerit and
discusses the criteria that make an action to be meritorious or to lack merit. Here, Ethics
employs reason as a tool to do this analysis. It further grapples with the philosophical
problems of human personality, immortality of the soul, the existence and perfection of God,
and also, the moral governance of the universe under the sovereignty of God.

Sociology:- Ethics recognizes the freedom of human will and that human beings are
responsible for their actions. Hence, Ethics probes into the nature of responsibility. If
criminals and those who run afoul of the Law deserve punishment, Ethics offers the moral
justification for such punishments as a consequence of the crimes committed.

Politics:- Ethics is firmly established to underline the relation of the individual to the state,
the moral functions of the state, and of international morality within the international arena or
of one state to the other in the comity of nations. Laws should be enacted and enforced
primarily for the well being of the people. The Economy should be propelled by ethical
values so that production, distribution and consumption of the commonwealth should be
based on justice and equity for the promotion of peace and harmony in the society.

Education:- Ethics can help in the field of education to identify and promote impulses and
dispositions that are strengths and what should be jettisoned in the students. Ethics can play
the role of elevating education to a level where it becomes a fulcrum of a holistic character
formation.
Religion:- Ethics must of necessity relate and interact with religion. Religion must have a
foundation in Ethics and Ethics must inform Religion. Religion without Ethics can degenerate
into superstition, magic or voodoo.

Politics:- Ethics establishes and ascertains the nature and types of rights, duties and virtues
required by the ultimate moral standard. Therefore, rights, duties and dereliction of duty,
virtues and vices all fall within the scope of Ethics.

In conclusion, Ethics ultimately seeks to answer the fundamental question, 'what is the
summum bonum or what is the Greatest Good?' Ethics is at the service of the society
and entire mankind through the various fields and endeavours named above in order to
promote the Greatest Good and entrench Peace and Harmony.

ETHICS AS CHARACTER FORMATION

Having looked at the meaning of Ethics, considering nature and its scope, we can now
underline its import as an integral part of that wholistic formation. If we remain committed to
the ethos of that Catholic education which is attuned to the international standards that
presupposes character and learning as the core and essence of education, ethics must form
the bedrock of our intellectual sojourn.

Truth is the object and goal of our motto in Veritas University. It is the pursuit of truth through
learning and scientific research informed and inspired by Faith in God. The ultimate objective
is to prepare ourselves for the onerous task of making appreciable contribution to nation
building and for the good of humanity. Our intellectual quest for the truth, therefore, becomes
a project that must be pursued with sincerity of purpose, value based and value driven. It
requires on the part of all a certain level of preparedness, total commitment, hard work,
passion, re-orientation, and a general positive disposition.

The infusion of Ethics into our holistic formation to foster and promote character and learning
is of absolute necessity. It has become recognized internationally as an integral part of
tertiary education. It is deemed to be a good source of equipping young people, especially,
students and young workers, to be credible stake holders and contributors in society
building. The well known axiom: nemo dat quod non habet (non one gives what one does
not have) is ever true and always relevant. Due emphasis is put today on Ethics as an
integral part of tertiary education. The hitherto total absence of Ethics in tertiary education
curriculum is decried and has come to be seen as a gapping deficiency. It is an unnecessary
lacuna that is a disservice to the cause of education in its traditional role of forming students
in character and learning. If we profess to be committed to training students to full maturity in
character and learning, we must equip them by providing an adequate curriculum that
comprises an integral ethical formation.

Some social scientists and opinion leaders of international repute have identified the lack or
dearth of Ethics in the socio-political space as the cause of poor leadership and the
attendant reverberating social ills in the society. Examples of leaders who are supposedly
educated but have an abysmally deficient output in terms of leadership qualities abound
around us. One may have to agree with the opinion of these social scientists and
commentators that ethics as an integral part of socio-political life is a condition sine qua non
for a veritable development of society in a harmonious and peaceful environment.

Now is the right and opportune time to prepare and equip ourselves for the present and
future task of nation building by imbibing those ethical values that will help us offer credible
service to the nation and humanity.

IDENTIFYING VALUES FOR INTERNALISATION

Identifying values to Internalise them and make them like the compass of our life will help us
realise our goal in life; to be formed in character and learning. There are different types of
categories of values. There are universal values, socio-cultural values, ethical/moral values,
and spiritual/religious values,among others.
The Functions of Values
Values are stable and confirmed beliefs that something is good or bad, desirable or
undesirable. It helps in the process of decision making that something is preferable to its
opposite. Values serve both the individual human person and the society in general.

Based on this, the values are useful for:

- Prioritising what is really important and what is not so important.

- Decision making on the most appropriate behaviour among multiple options.

- Acting in accordance with our ideas and principles.

- Taking a position on conflicting or difficult issues.

Universal values

They are the set of norms needed to promote coexistence that are valid, accepted by a
community at a certain time, but also shared by the vast majority of people around the world.
They are the basic principles around which the basic rules of respect, acceptance and good
behaviour of human beings are established. Among these universal values are:

- Truth : Agreement between what is thought, what is said, what is felt and what is done.

- Responsibility : It is the ability to respond not react. It is a moral obligation to be

accountable for our actions, without any constraint or anyone obliging us.

- Justice : Know and accept which part is right and give it by right to whom it is due. Justice
is reckoned to serve peace. Indeed, Justice is and ought to be at the service of peace.

- Freedom : A fundamental principle and an inalienable human right to be able to act and to
think according to our own criterion and will, without nothing or nobody to curtail us within the
confines of the law. Freedom and Responsibility are supposed to be mutually inclusive.
- Goodness : Inherent quality to the person whereby the good prevails over any other bad
or negative feelings.

- Honesty : Honesty, the old axiom goes, is the best policy. It is that human quality that
makes the acts of your life to mirror integrity, truth, and justice.

- Friendship : it is a value that serves conviviality and harmony among people. It is a

feeling of affection and closeness between people who share a certain affinity and
oftentimes a common vision and mission.

- Respect : Acceptance, consideration and sensibility in the treatment and interaction

with people, animals, and the environment, thanks to the recognition of their rights,
qualities or merits. Respect ought to be reciprocal among people in their interaction.

- Solidarity : It is the moral commitment that people acquire to help themselves and
support one another and to commit themselves to common causes. Solidarity should
not be misunderstood as support for others in pursuit of ignoble cause. It is commonplace
today to find people blindly supporting evil rather than condemn it in the name of solidarity.
The cause must be identified as good and ethically sound.

- Understanding : The ability of an individual to put himself in another's place and to

understand his point of view. Understanding is needed as a basis for Sympathy and
Empathy. Without understanding, human relationships will tend to be strained and
frictions will prevail thus creating unwarranted tensions and disharmony.

These universal values, fundamental principles for coexistence, are assumed and applied by
people in different fields, so that, depending on the case, they acquire other names such as
human, personal or family values.

Socio-Cultural Values

Socio-Cultural values are the set of beliefs accepted by a society that shares common
codes. Socio-Cultural values serve as adhesives in multicultural societies. They are like
bonding elements that propel peoples of different histories and cultures to pursue a common
goal. Some socio-cultural values are:

- Patriotism : It is the belief in one's country. It behoves one to uphold the ethos and
foundation upon which the nation is founded, to uphold the tenets of the nation and to
promote her honour.

- Service : A true spirit of patriotism should lead to service of the fatherland. Service as a
socio-cultural value is the practical manifestation of patriotism. The National Youth Service
(NYSC) in Nigeria is a socio-cultural value that was designed to help youths (graduates)
render free service to their fatherland in different communities across the country in order to
further entrench the value of patriotism. Service can either be rendered freely or required by
statutes.
Ethical/Moral values
Moral values serve to make decisions that are framed within ethics. Morality tells us how to
act in specific situations, and allows us to respond to the question "what should we do?" In
the face of each situation. Moral values seek happiness and self-realization through other
values like love, kindness, and honesty as acts of the human will but with the
preponderance of freedom directed or aided by reason. In a sense, all universal values are
ethical values since they have a strong moral burden.

Spiritual and religious values:

They are beliefs that are given by faith or religion and not so much by specific norms or laws
or created by the society to guarantee order or promote peace and harmony.

They are associated with immaterial and intangible aspects, but they can become very
profound and govern the behavior of the human being in the other aspects of his life. Here
we find basically Faith and Holiness.

SOURCES:

* Sakiemi Idoniboye-Obu, ETHICS AND THE ANTI CORRUPTION WAR IN NIGERIA, in

ETHICS IN HIGHER EDUCATION. Foundation For Sustainable Development. Obiora,
F.I./ Chidiebere, O. (Eds.), Published in Globethics.net No. 2, Geneva, Switzerland, 2018.

* Clement Majawa, ETHICAL EDUCATION FOR TRANSFORMATION OF SCHOOLS AND

UNIVERSITIES. Paradigm of Dual-Intellectual Heritage in Africa. In Mainstreaming Ethics In
Higher Education (Research Ethics in Administrative, Finance, Education Environment and
Law). Obiora, F.I./ Chidiebere, O. (Eds.), Published in Globethics.net No. 4, Vol. 1, Geneva,
Switzerland, 2018.

* John M. Theuri, THE INDISPENSABLE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ETHICS AND

EDUCATION IN THE PROCESS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING. In Mainstreaming Ethics
In Higher Education (Research Ethics in Administrative, Finance, Education, Environment
and Law). Obiora, F.I./ Chidiebere, O. (Eds.), Published in Globethics.net No. 4, Vol. 1,
Geneva, Switzerland, 2018.

* Ejikemeuwa J.O. Ndubisi, RELIGION AND MORAL EDUCATION: TOWARDS A CRITICAL

ETHICAL INTELLIGENCE in ETHICS IN HIGHER EDUCATION. Foundation For
Sustainable Development. Obiora, F.I./ Chidiebere, O. (Eds.), Published in Globethics.net
No. 3, Geneva, Switzerland, 2018.

* Value (Axiology). Retrieved from es.wikipedia.org.