Virtues and Duties in Concepción Arenal's Ethica Misericordis and its Approach to Social Work in the 21st Century
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_ais/accioninvestigsoc.2022437426Keywords:
Social Work, Concepción Arenal, virtue ethics, ethics of dutyAbstract
The ethical commitment of professionals in Spain’s Social Services is one of their basic characteristics. Nevertheless, there is still a difference between their words and actions. Faced with the inconsistency between intended morality and experienced morality, Concepción Arenal raises compassion as an argument to call for the cultivation of good character. She bases our moral obligation on respect for human dignity and compassion for the most vulnerable members of society, with ethical virtues and moral duties thereby constituting the cornerstone of her Ethica Misericordis. Hence, this study aims to offer a brief explanation of such work and approximate it to social work. In line with the afore-mentiooned proposal we have carried out a further anlysis of primary and secondary sources. First and foremost, we have reviewed books and articles by the author to learn first-hand about her original contributions. We have also examined certain references from international sources on both professional ethics and ethics in social work, enabling us to better outline the connections that exist between their proposals and those espoused by the author herself. The contribution made by Concepción Arenal to social work lies in the compassionate style of social intervention she proposes. This derives from the consideration that she harbours of the person as an end in themself, vulnerable and therefore perfectible, enabling a horizontal relationship between professional and user to be established and built on respect for dignity, empathy and understanding.
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