Adama Science and Technology

University
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Unit of Humanities
Course Title:- Introduction to Civics and
Ethics
3cr.hr or 5 ECTS
Course code: LAR 1011
Instructor Name:- Girma Bekele
2013 E.C
 Chapter One
1. Understanding Civics and Ethics
1. 1. Understanding the Meaning of Civics, Ethics and Morality
1.1.1. What is Civics ?
1. Etymological
 The term civics is comes from the Latin Word ‘civis’ and ‘civitas’
that means ‘citizen’ and city-state respectively.
 The two Latin Words combine and gave birth to the subject
“Civics”.
 Civics is a branch of Social Science, deals with the citizens of a
country.
 Today according to the oxford dictionary civics is defined as a
study of the rights and duties of Citizenship.
 Citizenship according to oxford dictionary a position or status
being citizen of a particular country.
1. Rights and Duties of Citizens
a. Rights

Rights is anything privilege or freedom protection from the sate
and respected by others.

Rights are broadly classified into two: Moral and Legal.

Moral rights: they are right which are based on the moral
conscience of community. There is no legal force behind moral
rights.

Legal Rights: These are rights which the state recognizes and
enforces. These rights protected by the sate and anybody who
violates them will be punished by the state.

Legal rights are further classified into:- civil rights and political
rights.
3
 Civil Rights Political Rights
The right to gate social are rights which enable the
services like health care, citizens to participate in the
education, water, electricity, affairs of the state.
housing andPolitical
Civil and other facilities.
Rights These rights are given
Freedom of religion; only to citizens.
Prohibition of discrimination  Right to vote,
Freedom of speech and Right to stand for
expression; elections,
Equality before law ; Freedom of peaceful
Freedom of the press; assembly etc.
Freedom movement.

4
 Characteristics of rights
 Rights are not absolute or not unlimited.
 Right is universal
 Every right comes with responsibility.
 Rights may positive or negative.

5
b. Duties

Duty is an obligation.

It is something that a citizen is bound to do or not to do,
by law.

Thus what is a right in regard to one`s self is a duty in
regard to others.

Without duties there can be no right.

Thus rights and duties are the two sides of the same coin.

Duties are classified into moral duty and legal duty.

A duty discharged by the citizens on the basis of his sense of
morality is called moral duty.

There is no legal sanction behind it. 6
 Legal duty is a duty which is recognized by law.
 An individual is legally bound to perform legal duties.
 Violation of legal duty is always followed by
punishment.
E.g.
 Respect the constitution and other laws of the country
 Respect the rights of others
 Pay tax
 Fight crime like corruption, black market drug trafficking
etc.
 Struggle all crimes against humanities
7
2. “Man is a social animal” Baruch Spinoza (1632 - 1677)
 Man dose not exists alone but he/she always exists with
others in the world.
 Man as a social being. i.e. whose life is closely related to
each other.
 Being social is innate in man.
 We need each other.
 Thus, Civics concern:-
 Understand the relationship of man and his society.
 How they can live harmoniously
 How they can resolve conflicts peacefully
 Promotes cooperation and co-existence with the existence
of different idea, religion, language, culture etc… in
society. 8
3. “Man is a political animal” Aristotle (384 BC - 322
BC)-politics
 In this Aristotle means that man lives in a more “polis”.
 Man becomes man among others, living in a society
governed by laws and customs.
 The man develops his potential and realize its natural end
in a social context.
 No human being can escape from the deeds of politics
 Thus, civics concerned with the study and understanding
of political institutions such as law- making
institutions or legislatives (parliament), executive
bodies, political parties and other various type of
political institutions existing in a country.
 How they organize, what is their powers and functions?
1.2. Origin and Development of Civic and Ethical Education
1. Ancient Greek Civilization: City states of Sparta and
Athena.
 Civitas are considered as citizens with full rights.
 They thought moral education.
2. Roman Civilization: Citizenship education was given by
religious institution due to their bond with state/ government.
3. Renaissance period: Churches fail to shape peoples
activities and behaviors, led to the separation of civic
education from religious education.
 This period resulted in revolution in Europe and America
 These revolutions led to the emergence of modern
democracy and growth of modern secular civic education.
Development of civic Education in Ethiopia

Emperor Hailesilassie- Moral Education to serve the

monarchial system to respect both the emperor and divine
authority.
Military Era- Political Education to feed the young grow up
with socialist view-Marxism-Leninism ideology and dogma.
After 1991 Ethiopia-Civic and ethical education as key subject
to aware citizens know their rights, duties, constitution,
democracy and the government system.
1.3. Goals of Civic and Ethical Education
The general goal of civic and ethical education is to
develop active participation of citizens. The young
generation must learn the practical virtues of citizenship,
which include justice, equality and fairness.
Specifically, it opt to:
A. To enhance the culture of civic responsibilities
 Duties or responsibilities of citizens includes,
 Pay tax;
 Respect the human democratic right of others;
 Help the needy through voluntary service;
 Actively participate in decision making to improve
quality of government functioning;
 To participate in election (either as voter or candidate);
B. To promote the culture of tolerance
 Tolerance is respect, acceptance difference and
appreciation of rich cultural diversity,
 Accommodation of differences.
 Tolerance is mandatory in multi racial, multi
ethnic, multicultural, and multi lingual.
 Cultivation of tolerance and the eradication of
negative stereotypes (and prejudice) and serves
as a guarantee of peace and stability and as an
obstacle to the outbreak of violence, war,
conflict.
C. Open-mindedness:-
 Readiness to enter dialogue, listen to others
idea and change positions if necessary.
 It implies citizen’s readiness to sacrifice their
individual interests and values for the sake of
promoting the collective interests of common
good.
 Loyalty= involves things like keeping promises
or keeping ones word, keeping relationship.
 Virtuousness- citizen’s ability to do right things
at the right time at the right way for the right
purposes.
1.4. Competency of Good Citizen
 This is concerned with the capacity or ability
of citizens to participate effectively in the
political system.
 There are minimum competences that are
required from Citizen. These are:
 Civic knowledge
 Civic skills
 Civic attitudes
 Civic knowledge
 Citizens need to know their country about the social, cultural,
political, environmental, historical, and economic conditions
and realities of the past and the present and also the challenge
and prospects ahead of the country.
 Citizens need to know their country, its people, history, culture,
resources and the like.
 Civic skills
 Refer to the ability that citizens require to put the theory, in to
action being as active member of the community.
 Includes skills of decision making, communication, conflict
resolutions, compromise, persuasions, creativity and the like.
 Analytical and critical thinking skills, Skills of listening and
observing
 Co-operation skills, To be capable to critically examine
information
 Civic attitude
 An attitude is the psychological response to people, society,
objects, events, occurrences and circumstances;  to life itself.
 Thus Civic attitude refers to the character, disposition, commitment,
that citizens possess which is essential to carry out their civic
responsibility.
 Altruistic qualities are required to help the poor and vulnerable one
in the community.
 There are also many civic attitudes that are required from good
citizens such as;
 Tolerance/ Respect
 Civic-mindedness
 Responsibility
 Self-efficacy
 Competence= integrates knowledge + Skill+ Attitude
1.5. Definition of Ethics, Morality and Amorality
1.5.1. What is Ethics?
 Ethics derived from Greek word -ethos
 The term ethos refer “custom”; “character” or “way of
acting”.
 Ethics refers to standards of conduct, standards that
indicate how one should behave based on moral duties
and virtues, which themselves are derived from principles
of right and wrong.
 Ethics ask a practical question like,
o How do human persons ought to act?
o What is a right conduct and a good life?
 This led the study of things like value, principles, beliefs
and norms of the Society.
 Ethics is guided by values that are rationally justified.
 It is not about unquestionable rather it is a matter of
basing ethical values in rational arguments.
 It determined what is good and bad, right and wrong,
virtue and vice, justice, in terms of moral behavior; of
what one ought to do and what one not ought to do.
 Some common examples of ethics include loyalty,
integrity, honesty, and punctuality.
 Disclosing a client’s information without permission,
 Always being late to work,
 giving wrong information to a client, etc. are some
examples of breach of work ethics.
1.5.2. What is Morality?
 Is Latin word- mores/mos

Both implies custom, manner, proper behavior,

character
Principles or standards of human conduct
 Morality can be understood as:-
behavior or activities of individual/groups according to the
standards/rules that enable to distinguish them as good or
bad.
Or a principles on which one’s judgments of right and
wrong are based. They are also social, cultural, or religious
beliefs or values about right or wrong.
The Difference between Ethics and Morality
Ethics Morality
Ethics is generally Morality refer to an
considered standards or individual's own principles
good and bad, right and regarding right and wrong.
wrong that imposed by It is not imposed by
outside group, society or anyone, it is what you think
profession. is good and bad personally.
Subject that study Content in the subject of
morality ethics
Objective Subjectivism
Externalism Internal
Punishment Create sense of guilty
1.5.3. What are the definitions of immoral and amoral?
Immoral means contrary to established moral principles.
Immoral actions are corrupt, unethical, sinful, or wrong.
E.g. Stealing is immoral. 
 Amoral:- can have two meanings:
1.   Neither moral nor immoral, or
2.  Lacking moral sensibility.
1. Amoral neither moral nor immoral means if it lies outside the
realm of right and wrong.
E.g. Color is amoral, Reading Book, drinking a glasses of
water is amoral.
 Neither can have any moral judgment applied to it. Is not a
statement of morality.
2. When a person is called lacking moral sensibility, it means he
or she has no concern about whether an action is right or wrong.
E.g. an infant, unlearned in what is right and wrong, someone who
lacks the mental ability to understand right or wrong due to illness
1.6. Approach to Ethics
 There are three major approach's of Ethics
A. Normative Ethics= Teleological
ethics(consequentialist); Deontological
Ethics(non-quentialist) and Virtue ethics
B. Non-normative Ethics = Met ethics; Ethical
absolutism/objectivism and Ethical relativism,
subjectivism
C. Applied Ethics= Developmental ethics;
Environmental ethics and Professional ethics
1.6.1. Normative Ethics (prescriptive) ethics:
 Normative ethics examines moral standards, rules,
Principles and producers for determining what a
person should do and should not do or that attempt to
define right and wrong conduct.
 The key assumption in normative ethics is that there is
only one ultimate criterion of moral conduct, whether
it is a single rule or a set of principles
A. Teleological ethics(consequentialist)
 The moral rightness or wrongness of an action is
determined by its outcome, consequence or end result.
 They said that “the end justifies the means” meaning the
end result of an action taken as the criteria whether an
action is right or wrong.
There is no act is good or bad in and of itself, rather it is
good or bad only in terms of its consequences.
E.g. lying, killing and theft
 An action is good if its benefits exceeds its harms
 An action is bad if its harms exceed its benefits
 According to consequentialism, correct moral conduct is
determined solely by a cost-benefit analysis of an action’s
consequences.
Consequentialism has three subdivisions:-
Ethical Egoism: Ethical Utilitarianism
Altruism

An action is It is a An action is
morally right, if philosophy of morally right,
the consequences doing things if the
of that action are purely for the consequences
more favorable benefit of of that action
than unfavorable others, without are more
only to the agent expecting to get favorable than
performing the anything out of unfavorable
action. it yourself. to everyone.
 There are two types of utilitarianism
Act utilitarianism Rule utilitarianism

Results or consequences that

consequences of the result of following a rule
single act of conduct
Applies utility principle Based on general rules
to each act.  It is right if it leads to
It is right if it leads to more good than harm as a
more good than harm. rule.
Jeremy Bentham  Johan Stuart Mill
B. Deontological Ethics
Etymologically the word deontology derived from
Greek “deontos”: means what obligation or duty.
Thus, it is sometimes called Kantian Ethics or
non-consequentialist Ethics.
According to Deontologists the rightness or
wrongness of an action is determined by or
measured by the Reasons of Duty, Principle, Rule
based ethics.
Deontological ethics says, some kinds of action are
wrong or right in themselves, regardless of the
consequences.
Under Deontological ethics there are four central

duty theories:
1. Duty to oneself, duty to others, rights theory

2. Categorical imperative duty

3. Prima Facie Duties.

4. Divine based duty ethics

1. Duty to oneself, duty to others, rights theory
a. Duty oneself, has two sorts:
1. Duties of the soul,
2. Duties of the body
b. Concerning our duties towards others
 Avoid wronging others,
 Treat people as equals, and
 Promote the good of others.
C. Rights theory
 John Locke, argued that we should not harm anyone’s life, health, liberty or
possessions. For Locke, these are our natural rights, given to us by God.
 Thomas Jefferson recognizes three foundational rights: life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness.
 Jefferson and others rights theorists realized that, peoples has rights of
property, movement, speech, and religious expression.
2. The Categorical imperative duty
 It tells us what we ought to do.
 Actions done out of good will. An act of good will is done
out of duty. A morally good act is not done for any
other reason, e.g. self-interest, personal preference,
kindness, generosity or compassion.
According to the Categorical imperative, if an action is
right,
1. It is universalizable; in all times and all places.
2. It treats others(peoples) as an end-in-themselves, not just
as a means to an end;
3. It is motivated by a sense of duty defined by the moral
law.
There are two types of Imperative. These are:-
A. Categorical imperative and
B. Hypothetical imperative
Categorical Imperatives Hypothetical Imperatives

Unconditional commands Conditional

Without exceptions With exception
Universal Absolute Relative
Not motivated by need or Motivated by need or desire
desire If you want to get more of Y,
“Do X” then you should do X
Tell the truth If you want to be respected
tell the truth
 Prima facie duties
 When conflict of duties occur or when overlap duties
 Where there is a prima facie duty to do something, there is
at least a fairly strong presumption in favor of doing it.
 A prima facie duty is a duty that is binding (obligatory)
other things equal, that is, unless it is overridden or
trumped by another duty or duties.
An example of a prima facie duty is the duty to keep
promises. "Unless stronger moral considerations override,
one ought to keep a promise made.”
Kant’s theory must often say that lying is wrong, even it
can be beneficial. Ross’s theory can say that a lie may not be
wrong, depending on the benefit (the duty of beneficence
may be more stringent).
 Ross’s list of duties, which he believes reflects our
actual moral convictions:
1. Fidelity: the duty to keep promises
2. Reparation: the duty to compensate others when
we harm them
3. Gratitude: the duty to thank those who help us
4. Justice: the duty to recognize merit
5. Beneficence: the duty to improve the conditions
of others
6. Self-improvement: the duty to improve our virtue
and intelligence
7. Non-maleficence: the duty to not injure others
4. Divine based duty ethics
 Divine law is derived from eternal law
 It appears to human beings as divine commands.
 Acts are right because God commands them.
C. Virtue Ethics
 Virtue ethics is a broad term that emphasize the role of
character rather than either doing one's duty or acting in
order to bring about good consequences.
 i.e. Places less emphasis on learning rules, and instead
stresses the importance of developing good habits of
character, such as benevolence, fairness, justice, fidelity,
no maleficence, gratitude, faithfulness, non-
deceptiveness (truthfulness).
 We should avoid acquiring bad character traits, or vices,
such as cowardice, insensibility, injustice, and vanity.
 Virtuous character attain through habits-practice/
repetitive moral reasoning.
 Virtues found at a mean between the two extreme
character traits Excess and deficiency.
 Plato emphasized four virtues in particular, which were
later called cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage, temperance
and justice.
 Latter Aristotle add other important virtues: fortitude,
generosity, self-respect, good temper, and sincerity.
i. Wisdom (prudence) knowledge of things good and evil
and of what is neither good nor evil
ii. Courage(fortitude):-
 Courage to speak your mind and insist on truth.
 It is the discipline to act on wisely-chosen values rather
than an impulse.
iii. Temperance /Self control/Moderation=
Self-control, not just towards material goods, but self-
control harmony and good discipline always in pleasure or
pain, admiration or dislike, failure or success.
Temperance is guarded against extremes, i.e. the ability
to govern ourselves in the time of happiness or pain
Is the means by which we regulate or 'moderate' our
appetites and emotions.
iv. Justice=Justice means respecting the rights of all persons.
honesty, respect, responsibility, and tolerance.
 After Aristotle, medieval theologians supplemented
Greek lists of virtues with three Christian ones, or
theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity.
1.6.2. Non normative Ethics
a. Meta ethics
b. Ethical absolutism or objectivism
c. Ethical Relativism and Subjectivism
a. Meta ethics (Descriptive):-
 The prefix “meta” is derived from the Greek for “beyond”.
 beyond the topics considered in normative.
 beyond nature.
 Meta ethics asks such questions as:
1. "What is the origin and meaning of ethical terms, such as 'good'
and 'right' and 'should'?"
2. Is ethics is metaphysical issues concerning whether morality exists
independently of humans, and Psychological issues concerning the
underlying mental basis of our moral judgments and conduct.
3. Is moral judgments are universal or relative,
Is morality Objectivism / universalism and Relative/subjectivism?
Objectivism/Universalism Relativism/Subjectivism

Moral statements are Moral statements are

universal/objective Relative/subjective
Moral values are objective in a Moral relativist assumes
sprit-like realm or divine commands. morality is conventionally
i.e. the God wills all moral value constructed by human beings
into existence. and hence varies from society
Morality is Absolute, eternal to society.
i.e. never change, in time and place. Morality is not absolute,
Moral principles exist eternal
independently of cultural context of Morality is changeable
societies.
Moral values and principles are
not culture specific, rather common
to all cultures.
 There are two distinct forms of moral relativism.

i. Individual relativism, which holds that individual

people create their own moral standards.

ii. Cultural relativism which maintains that morality is

grounded in the approval of one’s society and not
simply in the preferences of individual people.
Psychological Issues in Meta ethics:-
 What motivates us to be moral Psychologically ?
 Even if I am aware of basic moral standards, such as
 don’t kill and don’t steal, this does not necessarily mean that I
will be psychologically obliged to act on them.
 “Why be moral?”
 Are to avoid punishment,
 To gain praise,
 To attain happiness,
 To be dignified, or to fit in with society

i. Egoism and Altruism

ii. Emotion and Reason

iii. Male and Female Morality

1.6.3. Issues in Applied Ethics 
 Applied ethics is the branch of ethics which analyze of
specific, moral and controversial issues.
 Issues like abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment,
homosexuality and environmental concerns.
 Controversial/ethical dilemma in the sense that there are
significant groups of people both for and against the issue at
hand or (ethical paradox or moral dilemma) is a problem in
the decision-making process between two possible options,
neither of which is absolutely acceptable from an ethical
perspective. 
 Specifically we can see three applied ethics categories
1. Developmental ethics
2. Environmental Ethics
3. Professional ethics
1. Developmental ethics
 Development’ sounds self-evidently desirable.
 Because, despite economic growth, it is impossible to
minimize the prevalence of poverty, sickness, insecurity and
unhappiness.
 Why did a field of development ethics arise?
 Rise of average incomes does not necessarily benefit
ordinary and especially poor people.
 That assumption neglects issues of equity, security, personal
relationships, natural environment, identity, culture and
meaningfulness.
 Increased carbon emissions, a core feature of modern
development, indirectly eventually damage people in
vulnerable environments around the world.
 Development ethics become relevant because of arguments
that better alternatives are possible compared to what has
happened, and that real choices exist for the future too.
2. Environmental Ethics
 Conservational ethics, practical philosophy
 Environmental ethics is the philosophical discipline that
considers the moral and ethical relationship of human
beings to the environment.
 Environmental ethics define as man's moral and ethical
obligations to the preservation and care of the non-human
environment. 
It make for challenging philosophical debates about man's
interaction with the environment.
Water and air pollution, the depletion of natural resources,
loss of biodiversity, destruction of ecosystems, global climate
change, the morality of animal experimentation, preserving
endangered species, and pollution control are all part of the
environmental ethics debate.
Within the discipline of environmental ethics there are
tough ethical decisions humans must consider. E.g.
i. Is it acceptable for poor farmers cut down forest to make
room for farmland, even if this action harms the
environment?
ii. Is it morally wrong for humans to continue to burn fossil
fuels knowing that this action leads to air pollution and
global climate changes?
iii. Does a mining company have a moral obligation to
restore the natural environment destroyed by their mining
techniques?
3. Profession, professional and Professional Ethics
1. Profession= vocation/job/occupation requiring advanced training
and education. Some features Profession are:-
i. Extensive training
ii. The training must involve significant intellectual component.
iii. Community service: teachers, physicians, engineers and lawyers.
2. Professional= is a person who belongs to a learned profession or
whose occupation requires high level training and proficiency.
3. Professional ethics= is concerned with the moral obligations and
responsibilities expected from professionals.
 Workers/ employees are expected to perform their jobs with a sense
of responsibility and professionalism.
 Business ethics, Engineering ethics, Computer ethics, Media ethics,
Bio-medical ethics, Legal ethics, Research ethics etc
1.7. Ethical principles and values of moral judgments
Why should I act ethically ?
In a society wherein morality is declined, crime, death,
looting, instability, social deviance, suicide, gross human
right violation, corruption and other socio, economic and
political crises will prevail.
On the other hand morality consists of a set of rules, these
rules not restrict our freedom but promote greater freedom
and wellbeing. Following moral rules accomplish the
following social benefits :
a. Keep society from falling apart.
b. Reduce human suffering.
c. Promote human flourishing.
d. Resolve conflicts of interest in just and orderly ways.
e. Assign praise and blame, reward and punishment.
 The End of Chapter one
Thank you for your Attention !