Students understand that the concepts of character and ethics refer to principles that establish standards of right and wrong; these standards define morality and prescribe how a good person should behave. They understand that: 1) There is a difference between universal ethical values (beliefs about virtue and morality consistent across time and cultures) and personal ethical values (personal beliefs about right and wrong, often based on political or religious convictions that are not universal because people of character disagree on whether they establish ethical duties for everyone.15 2) Ethical duties and moral obligations are different from, and sometimes more demanding and important than, legal duties. For example, civil disobedience (the deliberate and open violation of unjust laws) is an expression of an ethical duty. 3) “Ethics” and “values” are not interchangeable terms. Ethics concerns what is right and wrong, whereas values are simply what matters to us (e.g., health and wealth). A person of good character has deeply held ethical values.
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