Perhaps we should be buffing up our moral compasses, since today we’re navigating how the Spanish words ética and ético are used.
Before we get to the nitty-gritty, here is how they are pronounced:
ética:
ético:
The feminine noun ética denotes the set of moral standards and beliefs about right and wrong that govern behaviour (whether in general or in a particular sphere of life), or else the area of philosophy that discusses right and wrong – ethics:
Las circunstancias lo obligan a tomar decisiones que van en contra de su ética.
Circumstances oblige him to take decisions that go against his ethics orethical beliefs.
Es autora de cinco libros influyentes sobre ética.
She is the author of five influential books on ethics.
El Comité de Ética no encontró evidencia de mala conducta.
The Ethics Committee found no evidence of misconduct.
un investigador de ética en inteligencia artificial
a researcher into ethics in artificial intelligence
Sometimes, when it means a very specific guiding principle, ética may correspond to ethic in English:
Era conocido por su ética del trabajo.
He was known for his work ethic.
su deseo de que la sociedad se ordene según la ética cristiana
his desire for society to be ordered according to Christian ethics orthe Christian ethic
As an adjective, ético (together with its inflected forms ética, éticos and éticas) is used to describe things either to do with ethics or else meeting moral and correct standards – ethical:
un exhaustivo examen de los dilemas éticos relacionados con los avances de la medicina
an exhaustive examination of the ethical dilemmas relating to advances in medicine
el comportamiento ético y no ético
ethical and unethical conduct
Hoy día, estos experimentos se consideran poco éticos por una variedad de razones.
Nowadays, these experiments are considered unethical for a variety of reasons.
Returning to noun senses, un ético is a man and una ética a woman specializing in ethics – an ethicist:
un ético deontológico
a deontological ethicist
los naturalistas y los éticos
naturalists and ethicists
QUIZ TIME
Some other Spanish words and expressions are commonly found in the company of ética and ético. There are just a few of these in the examples below. See if you know or can work out the meaning of the underlined ones:
- los estándares éticos definidos en el código de conducta
the ethical ………………..defined in the……………….. - La moralidad no se reduce a una ideología ética.
……………….. cannot be reduced to an ethical ideology. - la enseñanza y transmisión de los valores culturales, éticos, sociales, espirituales y religiosos
the teaching and transmission of cultural, ethical, social and religious ……………….. - las marcas que adoptan prácticas éticas y sostenibles
the brands adopting ethical andsustainable ……………….. - Esto fomenta una cultura de integridad y comportamiento ético dentro de las organizaciones.
This encourages a culture of integrity and ethical……………….. within organizations. - la moda sostenible, también llamada moda ética
sustainable……………….., also called ethical ……………….. - En el campo de la ética aplicada encontramos la ética profesional.
In the field of applied ethics we find……………….. ethics.
ANSWERS
- los estándares éticos definidos en el código de conducta
the ethical standards defined in the code of conduct - La moralidad no se reduce a una ideología ética.
Morality cannot be reduced to an ethical ideology. - la enseñanza y transmisión de los valores culturales, éticos, sociales, espirituales y religiosos
the teaching and transmission of cultural, ethical, social and religious values - las marcas que adoptan prácticas éticas y sostenibles
the brands adopting ethical and sustainable practices - Esto fomenta una cultura de integridad y comportamiento ético dentro de las organizaciones.
This encourages a culture of integrity and ethical behaviour within organizations. - la moda sostenible, también llamada moda ética
sustainable fashion, also called ethical fashion - En el campo de la ética aplicada encontramos la ética profesional.
In the field of applied ethics we find professional ethics.
To examine how some other similar-looking Spanish words are used, come back next week.
