In The Significance of Ethics and Ethics Education in Daily Life, Michael D. Burroughs talks about the implications of ethics on everyday life and the importance of developing skills necessary to make ethical decisions. Burroughs challenges the differences between theoretical ethical values and principles and the way we act in practical situations when presented by ethical dilemmas big and small. For example, the general belief in the need for action against climate change does not stop most people from driving cars and flying on airplanes due to the necessity for travel. He points out that when presented with various ethical decisions, we might react in different ways, but the most important takeaway is learning to recognize and cultivate the right responses.
Citing a study, he mentions that most young people lack the skills necessary to make these decisions due to the lack of ethics education at school. Burroughs challenges the idea of subjective ethics, pointing out that there are several ethical issues that are universally wrong, such as terrorism, sexual assault, and racism. Therefore, a unified ethical code is necessary for the community to act on these issues. He emphasizes the need for an ethical education to form an ethical base that can drive societal change.
Since we live in a society, it is vital to adhere to a set of explicit and implicit laws for it to be functional. Ethics, which are implicit laws, form a base for most explicit laws that we have – for example, the ethical consideration for people’s lives and wellbeing lies behind laws against murder and torture. Understanding and respecting the widely accepted ethical norms is vital for the upkeeping of order, efficiency, and overall quality of life in a society. Hence, I agree with Burroughs that ethics should be taught at school while also encouraging children to defend their personal views and to think for themselves. Although there are several complications that might occur with the curriculum creation since there are only a handful of universal ethical rules, teaching a base level of understanding to young children would be beneficial.