Ethics Education: Can Ethical Principles Be Effectively Taught?

This essay explores the fundamental question of whether ethics can be taught, examining the nature of ethics as a learned behavior influenced by personal development, societal factors, and cultural contexts. It discusses the importance of ethics in various settings, including business and education, and explores different ethical theories such as deontological, teleological, and virtue ethics. The essay also delves into the stages of moral development as proposed by Kohlberg, highlighting how individuals progress in their ability to make ethical judgments. It emphasizes the need for integrating ethics into curricula and the role of leaders in promoting ethical practices. The conclusion underscores that ethical principles and practices can be effectively imparted through structured learning and sustained reinforcement.

Running head: CAN ETHICS BE TAUGHT?
CAN ETHICS BE TAUGHT?
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Authors Note:

1CAN ETHICS BE TAUGHT?
Ethics is generally the study of an individual behavior in ascertaining the true perception
for what is wrong or right. It is an inherent quality of an individual and is learnt as a personality
development process (Blay et al., 2016). It showcases the true attitude of a person that is how
they react and relates to a particular incident. In other words, a person learns the important values
of life naturally as a crucial part of growing up. Ethical behaviors in the form of instructions are
also taught as a part of curriculum. Value system hence predetermines the individual’s ethical
behavior. A person’s behavioral responses are usually dependent on various external factors that
involve the person’s religious beliefs, regional influences and their very own culture (Jeffrey &
Downie, 2016). Moreover, the community and the system also play a very significant role in the
nurturing of ethical judgment and attributes in an individual. As the individuals actually learns to
a great extent the ethical values that are imparted by their families and society at large.
A person usually learns about life’s basic concept in a very contrasting milieu of one’s
own observation and tutoring. Moreover, the family of the individual set down their own
traditional behavior. These influences further set down the required tone for the ground rules of
existing rights and wrong. The teaching of ethics is regarded as a doctrinated subject that has to
cross various layers of the already set ideas in the learner’s mind (Michaelson et al., 2014).
Besides the change in the previous lifestyle from simplistic approach to holistic, the present
high-tech and complex life also demands new life value system. Therefore, understanding and
concern becomes the vital keywords required for ethics.
A systematic approach is required by an individual in making effective ethical decisions.
The person should always take the decision in the form of practical and logical persuasion and
arguments rather than taking opinions. The procedures related to the moral reasoning include
critical thinking, moral context and philosophical foundations related to the moral

2CAN ETHICS BE TAUGHT?
theory(Schrier, 2015). It is vital for a person to clearly understand the ethical dilemmas, facts,
issue principles and values for the situations. Socrates commented that virtues can be ascertained
and practiced by a person. To practice virtue, a person only needs to take initiative for the
emotional stamina, great determination and critical reflection. According to Plato, ethical or
moral conducts should completely be based on the knowledge and experience of the world (Chell
et al., 2016). This involves great courage and moderate behavior so that the ethical judgment can
be easily achieved. On the other hand, Aristotle came up with the Golden Mean theory, which
involves that virtue, lies within the extremes of deficiency and access.
There are three major normative ethics, which includes deontological ethics, teleological
ethics and virtue ethics. The deontological theory has been arrived from the Greek word ‘deon’,
which means duty or obligation (Strobel, Tumasjan & Welpe, 2015). This theory mostly focuses
on taking ethical decision considering the individual’s right and duties for other. It was started as
Kant theory and concerns only with rightful duties and moral obligations. Teleological theory
relates to the best consequences that are derived from the actions. It is a famous utilitarian theory
and ‘telos’ here means purpose. Virtue ethics lastly relates with virtues that involves moral
values, quality of goodness in an individual, wisdom, courage and fairness. Virtue can easily be
achieved through proper discipline and training of a person.
Human beings are born with the ability to desire as well as also possess the ability to
control these desire by learning moral virtues. Each and every average individual is mentally
balanced with proper consciousness and internally knows the right and wrong in situations. The
inner knowledge is present within the individual and is deeply ingrained naturally without any
attempt to manipulation or rationalization. Ethics and moral are therefore carried in the inside of
a person inherently before it came out as ‘written’ codes of ethical conduct. However, various

3CAN ETHICS BE TAUGHT?
individuals still believe the fact that moral codes and ethics are forcefully imposed on them
(Wang & Calvano, 2015). Before the constructions of identity, gender, and the social being,
each individual are born with own ethical beliefs and well determined set of principles.
A person social upbringing, standard of living and level of literacy plays a crucial role in
influencing the ethical learning process. The blending of operational values with the professed
values determines the moral sensitivity of an individual from daily activities to complex issues
related to one’s occupation. Technology only leads to manipulate the nature of well beings for
the humans. Universities and the places of learning are in the recent times very apprehensive
about the immediate spurt of knowledge explosion. It has out spaced the common understanding
of the general people as they had to reap the consequences and benefits affecting the knowledge
of living (Swanson & Frederick, 2016). Therefore, ethical teachings and practices should be
effectively followed by the common man as it is a high time.
It is highly significant to integrate ethics throughout the curriculum of a student. The
success of an organization or the nation is only possible if ethical practices are followed at each
and every level. All the business school should encourage their students to develop a clear
understanding for the vast challenges that surrounds the corporate governance and corporate
responsibility. It helps in providing them with a tool for determining and responding to the
ethical issues. This helps the individual to grow both at a personal and professional level. They
start analyzing both the positive and negative situations responsible for day-to day ethical
behavior in the organization.
Kohlberg discovered that an individual’s ability that links to moral issues is not created
all at once. As there are stages for the physical development or growth of an individual, in the

4CAN ETHICS BE TAUGHT?
same manner ethics is also not developed all at once. The ability of an individual to think
morally is also developed in various stages. The earliest level or the pre conventional level for
moral development is during the childhood stage (Fryer, 2016). The individual during the pre-
conventional level can only determine the right or wrong in a situation as per the authority
figures. They depend on the outcome of the situation on the authorities, like what rewards they
will obtain and also the punishments.
The second level for the development of ethical behavior or morality in an individual is
during adolescent. This level is called as the conventional level by Kohlberg (Martinov-Bennie
& Mladenovic, 2015). For such individuals, the theory of ethics or right and wrong is completely
based on loyalties towards their groups. The group consists of friends, family and one’s nation.
Most of the individual remains at this level and define what is right or wrong on the basis of the
family and society’s beliefs as well as the law’s regulations. Lastly, according to Kohlberg is the
post conventional level. The individual at this stage continues to morally develop themselves.
The person at this stage stopsdefining the situations in relation to group loyalties or norms.
Rather, the person at this point generates his own principles and ideas that are truly right or
wrong from the universal viewpoint.
Ethics involves defending, systemizing and recommending concepts that leads to wrong
and right behavior. They are considered to be the moral philosophy.According to Ladkin(2018)
ethical considerations should be woven in every aspect of life to succeed. The ethical decision
making procedure is very integral for business considerations. Ethical courses can lead to better
decision making process for any individual. In the recent times the students prefers to discuss
ethical business situations rather than a lecture that is very philosophical in nature (Drumwright,
Prentice & Biasucci, 2015). The significance of ethics instructions is deemed to be a fundamental

5CAN ETHICS BE TAUGHT?
element both for the instructor and the students. It is vital in order to increase the realism and
also impact the growth of the student. This will eventually influence the development of
professional ethics in future. Student becomes employees, executive and leader, who are in
charge of revising and upholding the business codes (May, Luth & Schwoerer, 2014).
While considering the facts, it can be concluded that ethics is viewed as a process of
communication, which allows the individual a new way for commitments and understanding
towards their social life.It is crucial to address ethical issues in meetings and discussions
regularly by the leaders. Moreover, a leader plays an important role in communicating the
effectiveness of ethics in the organization. They should take an active part in reinforcing the
communication regularly not just as one-time event. They are actually the ones ultimately
responsible for conveying the message in a positive light. This leads to the growth of the ethical
workplace due to team’s commitment and understanding. Henceforth, ethical principles and
practices can be taught to the individuals through right method of learning and sustaining them
with a very strong plan.

6CAN ETHICS BE TAUGHT?
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7CAN ETHICS BE TAUGHT?
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