The meaning of ethical formation in the university

Abstract

Can today’s university students, qualified future professionals, dispense with ethics in their formation? In the complex and ever–changing world where they will exercise their professions, common ethical intuitions are no longer enough, if they ever were, to answer the second Kantian question:”What should we do?”, “How valuable is this formation?”, “How can one go about dealing with this in the university?” Professionals have to make decisions that take into account serving society while exercising a profession. Professors, researchers, people working in the university including academic authorities, all must always bear in mind this ethical component in their decisions. As part of their formation, it is necessary for students to develop ethical skills –reflexive and practical– for exercising their professions, and we believe that this has to be done in the university. In the current crisis, society as well expects this of university education. The intent of this editorial is to reflect upon the teaching and learning of ethics in the university because, although conscious of the difficulties inherent in this task, we also realise that this formation is urgent and therefore more necessary than ever before. The editorial begins by contemplating the possibility of this formation, as well as its relevance in the university. We go on to outline the contents and methodological options of teaching ethics in the university