Moral education and moral agency: A Deweyan approach

In this thesis, the desirability of adopting a Deweyan moral framework within which an approach to moral education can be developed is defended. The aim of moral education, it is claimed, is to nurture the growth and development of moral agency. The central idea of this thesis is that Dewey's conception of moral experience and his understanding of the nature and formation of character result in a number of significant consequences for the theory of moral education and moral agency. Its chief objective is to identify these.; Dewey's conception of moral experience is developed against the backdrop of his "metaphysics". In delineating his view, the claim is made that character is an intrinsic constituent of both pre-reflective and reflective experience. It is then argued that in conditioning the structure and quality of pre-reflective experience, affective character thereby also conditions the course and outcome of reflective moral experience.; The pattern of reflective moral inquiry is the distinguishing characteristic of reflective moral experience. The primary, but not exclusive, subject-matter of reflective moral experience, it is claimed, is the character development of the agent involved. In analyzing Dewey's conception of moral inquiry the point is made that it is comprised of two distinguishable, but not separable, phases, viz., the diagnostic and the prescriptive. The task of the former is to articulate the problem inherent in an indeterminate experiential situation eliciting moral inquiry, while the task of the latter is to project and assess ends-in-view.; In light of Dewey's understanding of moral life, the following consequences for the theory of moral education and moral agency are identified: (1) moral education cannot be value-neutral; (2) moral education is character education; (3) feelings must play a greater role in moral education; (4) moral education must unfold within the context of a liberal arts education.; The main conclusion of this thesis is that a Deweyan approach to moral education is an important alternative to values clarification and to Kohlberg's cognitive-developmental approach.