Induction and Analogy in Applied Ethicsin Socio-Educational Projects

Abstract

The objective is to highlight the advantages of articulating induction and analogy with appliedethics in socio-educational projects. The review of articles shows that principlist ethics underpinnedby deductive logic predominate in social projects, but some studies reveal dialogic and criticalapplied ethics structured with induction and analogy. Theoretical positions on the status of applied ethics are examined, confirming that induction and analogy are present both in the casuistry that culminates in the construction of maxims or prudential criteria, and in procedures that requirethe participation of those involved in each concrete case, and in the circle of critical hermeneuticswith its dialectics. Using an analytical-synthetic procedure, 12 socio-educational projects carried out in a non-formal modality are examined. As a result, four combinations are distinguished: 1)prescriptive ethics and deductive logic; 2) ethics of recognition and alternate logics; 3) dialogicethics and logic of discovery; and 4) prudential ethics of critical hermeneutics and dialectical logic.It is concluded that, by including induction and analogy in the ethics applied in socio-educational projects, a contribution is made to the improvement of learning and the production of behavioral patterns and moral convictions in accordance with the respective context.