Considering historical and etymological rigor, ethics and morals have different origins and meanings.

Ethics comes from the ancient Greek ethos used by mythical poets with the meaning of physical shelter that protected men and animals from the various forces of nature. The Greek ethos is a shelter that welcomes and protects. It evolved with classical Greek philosophy, particularly with Aristotle, acquiring the sense of virtue related to the prudent, thoughtful character of just measure. The concept continued to evolve to become a metaphorical shelter located in human interiority that, with autonomy and freedom, does not want to do to the other what it does not want the other to do to it. Thus, ethics is born within the human being and is the result of a reflective and educational process that establishes values and principles for human coexistence.

Morality comes from the Latin norm and therefore daughter of the Roman culture that is linked to a juridical precept imposed by society. In this way, morality is first and foremost an imposition from the outside in. It is not born in the freedom and autonomy of human beings, it is the imposition of the social group on individuals in the search for the desired social coexistence.

With these considerations that differentiate ethics from morals, it is desired to highlight that the first is in the field of the development of conscience and education, and the second in the field of the improvement of rules, norms and the legal framework.

It is true that we need ethics and morals. It is also certain that morality alone will not be able to achieve the desired results in building a society with more social cohesion, harmony and well-being.

The proposal of security and compliance based exclusively on “complying” and “obeying” the norms and laws is not enough. It lacks an educational approach to a deeper understanding of what must be done, not only by the legal requirement, but by the ethical awareness of doing free and autonomously.

The socio-emotional education that promotes, through educational processes, maturity and wisdom, must go hand in hand with compliance actions to ensure a broader and more appropriate approach to the complexity of the corporate environment.

JOÃO ROBERTO DE ARAÚJO

Founder of 50-50 SEL Solutions Socioemotional Learning (France and Brazil), an organization that creates digital solutions in Socioemotional Education:

• Middle school: “Living Is Exciting!” – Socio-emotional Education course for educators and high school students.
• Training for Educators: “Emotion: Vital Energy”- Basic Course of Socio-emotional Education for educators
• BeNow App: Socioemotional Theory in Practice for Adults, Tweens and Teens.

– Master in Social Psychology (USP)

– Visiting Professor at the University of California (Santa Barbara) in the Department of Educational Change.

– Precursor of Socio-emotional Education in Brazil and France.