The increase in topics marked as 'ethical' in public debates and a general embedding of ethics in social professions indicate a need for reflection that makes the significance and scope of the term a subject of critical examination. The contributions in this volume provide definitions of ethics and morality that also, and above all, open critical perspectives on the practices of moralizing society as a whole, as well as on the training and professional practices of social work. In addition to discussions on theoretical foundations and the positioning of the ethics discourse within social work, the tasks and challenges of ethical thinking and acting in social work are also addressed.