Moral Education Through the Fostering of Reasoning Skills

The development of reasoning skills is often regarded as a central goal of ethics and philosophy classes in school education. In light of recent studies from the field of moral psychology, however, it could be objected that the promotion of such skills might fail to meet another important objective,...

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Bibliographic Details
Subtitles:"Moral Psychology and the Goals of Moral Education. Issue Editors: Peter Königs, Gregor Hochstetter"
Main Author: Meyer, Kirsten 1974- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer Science + Business Media B. V 2024
In: Ethical theory and moral practice
Year: 2024, Volume: 27, Issue: 1, Pages: 41-55
Further subjects:B Reasoning skills
B School
B Moral discourse
B Teaching philosophy
B critical reflection
B Competences
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Description
Summary:The development of reasoning skills is often regarded as a central goal of ethics and philosophy classes in school education. In light of recent studies from the field of moral psychology, however, it could be objected that the promotion of such skills might fail to meet another important objective, namely the moral education of students. In this paper, I will argue against such pessimism by suggesting that the fostering of reasoning skills can still contribute to the aims of moral education. To do so, I will engage with the concept of moral education, point out different ways in which reasoning skills play an essential role in it, and support these considerations by appealing to further empirical studies. My conclusion will be that the promotion of ethical reasoning skills fulfils two important aims of moral education: First, it enables students to critically reflect on their ethical beliefs. Second, it allows them to explore ethical questions in a joint conversation with others. Lastly, I will refer to education in the field of sustainable development in order to exemplify the importance of these abilities.
ISSN:1572-8447
Contains:Enthalten in: Ethical theory and moral practice
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s10677-023-10367-3