Can you teach someone ethical behavior?

Answer by  chrisjensd (703)

Yes you can. How we are raised determines our behavior and our concepts of what is right or wrong. We cannot understand what kind of behavior ethical is unless it is taught to us and shown to us by example.

Answer by  TMATM (499)

Ethics is something you are taught. Its not an instinct you are born with. People in different organizations, cultures and countries, have different ethical standards. Not all humans are born with the same ethical beliefs. There are many books written on applying ethics in different cultures and organizations.

Answer by  Zaka (2315)

It is definitely taught. Intentions and inclinations do not substantiate the content of one's actions. The argument could be made that these inclinations may be given the value of ethical or not, but that is a different question altogether.

Answer by  kathryn26 (96)

The greatest spiritual leaders taught ethics so, evidently, ethics can be taught. Leo Tolstoy said that "Thou shalt not kill" applies to all living beings and was inscribed on the human breast long before it was proclaimed from Sinai. If this is so, then we are also born knowing.