Moral Development

2021 ◽  
pp. 153-190
Author(s):  
Philip Kitcher

One traditionally important part of education, broadly conceived, is to foster moral development. Drawing on the long history of moral life, and using examples of moral progress, the chapter elaborates an approach to moral decision-making. It argues that the method used must be collective. No individual, whether sage, priest, prophet, philosopher, or professional ethicist, has the final authoritative word. Rather, moral reform should emerge from the style of deliberation identified in Chapter 4. This perspective is used to suggest ways of helping the moral growth of children, adolescents, and adults. Chapters 3–5 thus combine in a synthetic picture of how two of the main goals of education—personal fulfillment and morally responsible citizenship—might be achieved together.

2021 ◽  
pp. 0957154X2110100
Author(s):  
Enrico Berti

From the perspective of the Aristotelian notion of ‘Form’, the author explores the history of the concepts of mind and soul focusing on their ontologized version, as entertained by conventional science. He concludes that current neuroscience lacks the conceptual wherewithal required to deal with the meaning of mind and soul and with agential consequences such as free will and moral decision making. [GEB]


1987 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 135-149
Author(s):  
Desmond M. Clarke

We have inherited from the history of moral philosophy two very different proposals about how we ought to behave. According to one view, we are required to do what is morally right; on the alternative formulation, we are required to do what we believe to be morally right. Unless these twin demands on our moral decision-making can be made to coincide by definition, it is inevitable that in some cases our beliefs about what is morally right may be mistaken. In such cases, it is not clear what we are morally required to do. Are we obliged to follow our conscience in every situation, i.e. to act according to our moral beliefs, or is it sometimes permissible not to act according to our own moral beliefs?


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1753-1764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahnaz Khatiban ◽  
Seyede Nayereh Falahan ◽  
Roya Amini ◽  
Afshin Farahanchi ◽  
Alireza Soltanian

Background: Moral reasoning is a vital skill in the nursing profession. Teaching moral reasoning to students is necessary toward promoting nursing ethics. Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of problem-based learning and lecture-based methods in ethics education in improving (1) moral decision-making, (2) moral reasoning, (3) moral development, and (4) practical reasoning among nursing students. Research design: This is a repeated measurement quasi-experimental study. Participants and research context: The participants were nursing students in a University of Medical Sciences in west of Iran who were randomly assigned to the lecture-based (n = 33) or the problem-based learning (n = 33) groups. The subjects were provided nursing ethics education in four 2-h sessions. The educational content was similar, but the training methods were different. The subjects completed the Nursing Dilemma Test before, immediately after, and 1 month after the training. The data were analyzed and compared using the SPSS-16 software. Ethical considerations: The program was explained to the students, all of whom signed an informed consent form at the baseline. Findings: The two groups were similar in personal characteristics (p > 0.05). A significant improvement was observed in the mean scores on moral development in the problem-based learning compared with the lecture-based group (p < 0.05). Although the mean scores on moral reasoning improved in both the problem-based learning and the lecture-based groups immediately after the training and 1 month later, the change was significant only in the problem-based learning group (p < 0.05). The mean scores on moral decision-making, practical considerations, and familiarity with dilemmas were relatively similar for the two groups. Conclusion: The use of the problem-based learning method in ethics education enhances moral development among nursing students. However, further studies are needed to determine whether such method improves moral decision-making, moral reasoning, practical considerations, and familiarity with the ethical issues among nursing students.


2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-280
Author(s):  
Lucy Bolton

Reading the moral philosophy of Iris Murdoch alongside film enables us to see Murdoch's notions of practical moral good in action. For Murdoch, moral philosophy can be seen as “a more systematic and reflective extension of what ordinary moral agents are continually doing”. Murdoch can help us further by her consideration of the value of a moral fable: does a morally important fable always imply universal rules? And how do we decide whether a fable is morally important? By bringing Murdoch and Margaret (Kenneth Lonergan, 2011) together in an exploration of the moral decision making of the film's protagonist and our assessment of her choices, we can learn more about the idea of film as a morally important fable rather than a fable that is purely decorative.


2018 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 80-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverley Garrigan ◽  
Anna L.R. Adlam ◽  
Peter E. Langdon

1987 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 135-149
Author(s):  
Desmond M. Clarke

We have inherited from the history of moral philosophy two very different proposals about how we ought to behave. According to one view, we are required to do what is morally right; on the alternative formulation, we are required to do what we believe to be morally right. Unless these twin demands on our moral decision-making can be made to coincide by definition, it is inevitable that in some cases our beliefs about what is morally right may be mistaken. In such cases, it is not clear what we are morally required to do. Are we obliged to follow our conscience in every situation, i.e. to act according to our moral beliefs, or is it sometimes permissible not to act according to our own moral beliefs?


2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marike Hettinga ◽  
Betty Collis

Ethics education can vary considerably in its instructional strategies based on differences in the theoretical positions underlying the approach to moral development being stressed. Two such approaches are the 'justice' approach as exemplified by Kohlberg's six stages of moral development, and the 'care ethic' approach as exemplified by Gilligan's work on empathy as a base for moral decision-making. Each of these approaches can be demonstrated through different instructional strategies in the ethics education course, but each strategy is often difficult to execute in practice, given time and resource constraints.DOI:10.1080/0968776940020202


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