Durkheim Moral Education Thought Research

Emile Durkheim started as a philosophy teacher and taught philosophy and pedagogy in many places.His moral education thoughts are mainly developed around two aspects: what is morality and how to carry out moral education,which reveals many essential issues of moral education.Durkheim's moral education thought was the product of the time.In the face of social crisis,Durkheim paid attention to moral education and found a new development path for French society.At the same time,Durkheim's moral education thought was deeply supported by sociology,philosophy,political science and other disciplines.It was formed on the basis of thinking,borrowing and criticizing the thoughts and theories of predecessors,including the in-depth exploration of Comte and others' positivism,the interpretation of Montesquieu's “Law”and the social contract theory and other French social theories during the Enlightenment period,and the criticism of traditional moral theories such as Kant's moral thoughts,utilitarianism and self-interest.The three moral elements including discipline,attachment to social groups,autonomy or consciousness are the core content of Durkheim's moral education thought.Individual socialization is the goal of his moral education,and ultimately it must achieve a good integration of individuals and society.Durkheim also discussed the cultivation of various elements of morality.It is necessary to use children's habits and susceptible nature to cultivate discipline spirit,to use empathy and altruistic nature to form group attachment,and to cultivate moral autonomy through correct punishment.Born out of social moral anomie,Durkheim's moral education thought is unique.Comparing with the related thoughts of others,it can be seen that Durkheim's moral principles based on reality are different from those of early philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle.Its social-based educational purpose is different from the religious-based theory represented by Comenius,the individual-based theory represented by Mencius,Rousseau,and Taylor,and the aimless theory of education represented by Dewey.Its moral autonomy based on human standards is also different from Kant's transcendental principles.Durkheim puts moral education into rational practice,attaches importance to moral autonomy,and internalizes social norms in individuals through education,so as to cultivate intellectual citizens in modern society and organically integrate individual freedom and collective unity.However,the thoughts of characters in a certain period inevitably have their limitations.Durkheim's moral education thought has caused theoretical controversies such as overemphasizing collective interests and authority,exaggerating what is true,and ignoring what should be.Nevertheless,Durkheim's moral education thought played an important role in the evolution of French social moral thought at that time.Combining with our country's current reality and learning from it,the essence of Durkheim's moral education thought is of great value to our country's establishment of an ethical system that meets the development needs of the new era.It enlightens us to better solve ethical issues and promote ethical practice by actively resisting moral hazard,using nature to carry out moral education,and emphasizing the cultivation of moral autonomy.