Moral Education

1. Moral Education Possible lines of Enquiry: • What is the role of RMPS in the delivery of Moral Ed.? • What is the relationship between Moral Ed. and citizenship? • Moral Ed. components in existing RMPS courses • Why moral Ed? • How far can a school influence a pupils morality? • Moral Ed. in the Curriculum for Excellence • The development of Moral Ed. in Scottish Ed. • etc,etc,etc

2. Moral Education Theory of Moral Development Practice Philosophical PerspectiveWhat is Morality? The above……………plus the above………leads to the above

3. Moral Education Meno: Is virtue gained through practice, learning or nature? Socrates: You must think I am blessed indeed to know how virtue is gained. Far from knowing whether it is learned or inherited, I have no idea of what virtue is. Philosophical Perspective What is Morality? • Write down something you consider to be wrong and say why it is wrong? • On the basis of your response decide what defines a moral action? • Now develop your response into a definition of morality? • What would you consider to be the goal of Moral Ed.? • Hear from everybody else.

4. Moral Education Religious Authority/Theological Moral Realism – God says what’s right and wrong – particularly associated with the Semitic religious traditions, sruti in Hinduism Consequentialism –The rightness and wrongness of an action is determined by its consequences – particularly associated with Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. Buddhist ethics goal orientated. Deontology – Actions are intrinsically right or wrong in themselves – particularly associated with Immanuel Kant also the nishkama karma of the Bhagavad-Gita Virtue theory – Morality relates to a set of virtues – particularly associated with Aristotle. Recently revised by Alisdair MacIntyre Moral Relativism – Right and wrong are relative to the individual or culture Philosophical Perspective Ethical Theories Emotivism – Since the rightness and wrongness of an act can’t be empirically observed, ideas of rightness and wrongness are projected onto actions by observers. Moral utterances are expressions of emotion – particularly associated with David Hume and A.J. Ayer

5. Moral Education Practice Ethical Theory Given that Moral Education is the process whereby we encourage children to be moral, what strategies for the achievement of this goal might be indicated by these ethical theories?

6. Moral Education Practice Ethical Theory JGK’s response JGK’s response

7. Moral Education Practice Ethical Theory Why I support consequentialism?: Apart from the problems associated with other normative theories it supplies a simple model for a Moral Ed. programme. Actions are right and wrong in so far as the contribute to or diminish the goal of human fulfilment.

8. Moral Education Practice Identify the nature of “human fulfilment” Identify actions that promote or diminish this Reflect on the consequence of actions Reflect on interconnectedness Ethical Theory Actions are right and wrong in so far as they contribute to or diminish the goal of human fulfilment.

9. Moral Education Theory of Moral Development Practice Philosophical PerspectiveWhat is Morality? The above……………plus the above………leads to the above

10. Moral Education Theory of Moral Development What are the factors which make for a morally mature adult?

11. Moral Education Theory of Moral Development What are the factors which make for a morally mature adult? Evolves through a process of emotional and cognitive development.

12. Moral Education Theory of Moral Development Emotional development - develops through social interaction “Moral emotions contribute to the long-term development of moral values. Children naturally experience many moral feelings in the course of their social engagements. As children reflect on these moral feelings, they question and redefine the values that gave rise to the feelings. Sooner or later the redefined values are tested through conduct, all of which gives rise to new feelings, new reflections and further redefinition of the child s moral code.” Page 13, Damon

13. Moral Education Emotional development Empathy and Guilt Theory of Moral Development • Empathy develops in infancy under normal circumstances. Twin studies suggest that there may be genetic element to its development but the pattern of attachment and bonding with the mother seems to be very significant to its successful development. • We tend to think of guilt as a neurotic response. Some guilt is unhealthy but it is interpersonal guilt that is significant in the acquisition of a prosocial disposition. Interpersonal guilt can be seen as closely linked with empathy. Like empathy interpersonal guilt is a feeling of discomfort at another’s distress and that you have somehow caused this.

14. Moral Education Theory of Moral Development Cognitive development: Jean Piaget Believed there was a movement from heteronomy to autonomy, from external regulation to self regulation. Move from seeing rules as external, sacred, transcendent and inviolable to seeing rules as being decided through agreement among participants and binding insofar as they are based on mutual consent Move from a concrete to an abstract conception of morality

15. Moral Education Theory of Moral Development Cognitive development: Lawrence Kohlberg Moral development takes place through discernable stages: A Preconventional level – right and wrong interpreted in terms of reward and punishment B Conventional level – conforming to the expectations of family and nation is seen as valuable C Post conventional level – Defining values and principles in universal terms that go beyond family or individual society

16. Moral Education Theory of Moral Development Practice Philosophical PerspectiveWhat is Morality? The above……………plus the above………leads to the above

17. Moral Education • Key points: • There are crucial emotions at play in the moral domain. We need to nurture empathy. How do we compensate for damaged attachment? • Morality arises from day to day social interactions • These interactions arouse emotions • By reflecting on and modulating these feelings moral values develop • Because of this, attempts to artificially impose moral values create a very ephemeral morality (e.g. through conditioning) • The medium will therefore very much become the message. How you teach will communicate as much as what you teach • So there has to be a congruence between content and practice • There may be a cognitive dimension to moral development – movement from concrete to abstract. from obedience to autonomy • According to Damon moral development is best nurtured in a controlled democratic environment

18. Moral Education Possible activities: State which moral theory you favour and why and on that basis explain how would you teach the importance of honesty to an S1 class?