Rev. Educação e Fronteiras, Dourados, v. 13, n. 00, e023021, 2023. e-ISSN:2237-258X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30612/eduf.v13i00.17156 7
Morality and ethics are sometimes used as synonyms: a set of principles or
standards of conduct. Ethics can also mean the Philosophy of Morality, which
is, therefore, a reflective thought on the values and norms that govern human
behavior. In another sense, ethics may refer to a set of principles and norms
that a group establishes for its professional practice (for example, the codes of
ethics of physicians, lawyers, psychologists, etc.). In another sense, it may
refer to a distinction between principles that guide thinking without, a priori,
prescribing precise forms of conduct (ethics) and precise and closed rules
(morality). Finally, attention should be drawn to the fact that the word
"morality" has, for many, acquired a pejorative sense, associated with
"moralism." Thus, many prefer to associate the word ethics with the values
and rules they cherish, thus wanting to mark differences with "moralists"
(Brasil, 1997, p. 49, our translation).
The Office of the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU), through the Citizenship
Education course - Ethics, citizenship, and the fight against corruption, states the following:
According to the Philosopher Marilena Chauí, to exercise ethical conduct, it
is necessary for the subject's action to be conscious, to be able to discern
between "good and evil, right and wrong, permitted and prohibited, virtue and
vice." Thus, the individual is endowed with a moral conscience that, in
addition to knowing such differences, is also capable of judging the value of
actions and behaviors and acting in accordance with the social and moral
values established by the society in which one lives (Brasil, 2020a, n.p., our
translation).
The Citizenship Education course - Ethics, Citizenship, and the Fight against Corruption
defines education as "[...] the process of socialization of individuals. It is the fundamental means
by which habits, customs, behaviors, values, and knowledge are transferred from generation to
generation, materializing in intellectual, emotional, social, and cultural changes in these
individuals" (Brasil, 2020a, n.p., our translation).
The etymological origin of the word ethics comes from the Greek ethos, meaning related
to the way of being, customs, or habits:
The definition of "being ethical" is given through certain attributes acquired
from birth to the formation of one's identity. As a historical and social subject,
each individual results from this set of social relations and commitments
assumed throughout life (Brasil, 2020a, n.p., our translation).
The National Common Curricular Base points out some of the ethical competencies to
be developed: