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Introduction
11
Ourunderstandingofethicsinthesocialandpublicdimension
wouldnotbecompletewithoutareflectiononthemostimportantre-
lationshipsthatexistbetweenlawandmorality.Ontheonehand,we
hearadvocatesofabandoninglaw,deprivingethicsofallnormativity,
andconsequentlyoffloadingmoraldecisionsontojudgmentsofthe
conscience,orpreferenceofaparticularvalue.Onetheotherhand,
tendenciescanbeseenaimedatintroducinglegalregulationsintoar-
easwhichhavetraditionallybeendealtwithbyethics.Professional
codesthatarebeingpublishednowadaysareanexcellentexample.
What,then,istherelationshipbetweenethicsandlaw?Cantheybe
usefultoeachother?Whatisthescopeoftheirautonomy?Whatfac-
torsdeterminetheirmutualinterdependence?
Alsothemannerinwhichareasofpublicorsociallifearede-
scribedneedstobediscussedinmoredetail,particularlytheanalysis
ofsocialfacts.Themultiplicityofculturesandtheubiquitousaxiolog-
icalpluralismmakeitimpossibletodescribefactsimpartially,because
theverymannerinwhichtheyarepresentedimpliesavaluatingjudg-
ment.
Alloftheabovetypesofreflection,initiatedbycontemporary
changes,havehadanimmenseinfluenceonnewprogramsandforms
ofschoolingandeducation.Theissuesinvolvedinclude,amongoth-
ers,adifferentunderstandingofauthority,whichhasitsconsequences
insocialspace.Moreandmoreoftennowwehearabouttheneedto
shapethedisciple-masterrelationship.Thequestionis:Whatshouldit
consistin?Howshouldateacher,orsomeothermaster,affectthe
moraldecisionstakenbyyoungpeople?Thereisnodoubt,afterall,
thatbothteachersandeducators,nottomentionparents,participatein
themouldingofthesocialandmoralawarenessofchildrenandyouth.
Towhatextentisthattypeof“intervention”permissible,andhow
shouldweaccomplishit,particularlywe,academicteachers?When
donormsdefinedbythedisciple-teacher,orperhapsdisciple-master
relationshipbecomeaccepted?
Theseandothersimilarquestionsarethesubjectmatterofthis
book,inwhichwewanttoanswerthedifficultquestionconcerning
theroleethicsshouldhavein21stcenturypubliclife.Inurbanized
