CHAPTER ONE
1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
According to an ancient Greek philosopher Socrates an unexamined life is not with living. This assertion was made following the level of moral decadence in Greek period when Socrates flourished. In an attempt to inculcate a good moral principle on the youths. He advocate for self examination and the impact of one’s action and reasons behind it. This morality of an act is central in philosophical ethics. It deals with what bought not to be done.
Nigeria society is heavily charged with various social vices in our various institution such as secondary schools, the student hardly take time to reflect on the consequence of their action it is against this back ground that philosophical ethics tries to examine this is because it has the basic principle needed to include to inculcate in the minds of the youth. The moral qualities that are needed by every meaningful society. It is the only discipline that can help the student reflect on the consequences and implication of their action. It can eradicate kidnapping, armed robbery, prostitution to mention but a few, if philosophic would be embarrassed by all and sundry.
A personal or cultural value is an absolute or relative ethical value. A value system is a set of consistent values and measures. A principle value is a foundation upon which other values and measures of integrity are based. Those values which are not physiologically determined and normally considered objectives such as a desired to avoid physical pan, seek pleasure, etc are considered subjective and vary across individuals and cultures and in many ways coupled with the belief system. Values can be defined as broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of action or outcomes, as such values reflect a person’s sense of right and wrong or what” ought” to be” equal right for all” excellence deserves admiration and dignity. Values tend to influence attitudes and behaviour.
Therefore, the role of social studies in correcting societal vices and improving social values among the youth is over emphasis by scholars who have written on what is meant by social studies for instance (Mansard 1996) observed that social studies is concerned with more than just cognitive development, it is also concerned with shaping behaviour in the direction of what society considers as desirable for its sustenance and progress. Social studies is the study of man in his environment. It is designed to find out how man influences his environment and how the environments influence him through social studies. The learner is made to identify the realities of his being the problem emanating from his interaction/contact with physical and social environment and funding intelligent ways of solving them from the series of philosophies aims and