Self-directed Moral Development

Abstract

[from the introduction] Ethical development is a necessary prerequisite, if good character is to become a matter of practical life. Of course, your ethicality begins in childhood and emerges with observation, learning, time, and experience. The etymological ancestor of the word ethics, ethike, is a compound formed from the words ethos and techne.It literally means “the art or skill necessary to produce a showing of characteristic manner or spirit,” complemented by a “bonding attitude” or “sense of comportment toward others.” Interestingly, the notion of competency to act in a particular manner and to work well with others is at the very heart of the original term.