Zena Hitz
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199644384
- eISBN:
- 9780191743344
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199644384.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
It is widely agreed that Aristotle holds that the best moral education involves habituation in the proper pleasures of virtuous action. But it is rarely acknowledged that Aristotle repeatedly ...
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It is widely agreed that Aristotle holds that the best moral education involves habituation in the proper pleasures of virtuous action. But it is rarely acknowledged that Aristotle repeatedly emphasizes the social and political sources of good habits, and strongly suggests that the correct law‐ordained education in proper pleasures is very rare or non‐existent. A careful look at the Nicomachean Ethics along with parallel discussions in the Eudemian Ethics and Politics suggests that Aristotle divided public moral education or law‐ordained habituation into two types. One type is a defective form practiced by the Spartans, producing civic courage and similar defective virtue‐like states motivated by external incentives. By contrast Aristotle endorses the law‐ordained musical education described in Politics 8. The chapter argues that Aristotle considers the well‐habituated state of proper pleasures in virtue to be best cultivated by this kind of musical education; and that this explains both his emphasis on good laws and on their scarcity.Less
It is widely agreed that Aristotle holds that the best moral education involves habituation in the proper pleasures of virtuous action. But it is rarely acknowledged that Aristotle repeatedly emphasizes the social and political sources of good habits, and strongly suggests that the correct law‐ordained education in proper pleasures is very rare or non‐existent. A careful look at the Nicomachean Ethics along with parallel discussions in the Eudemian Ethics and Politics suggests that Aristotle divided public moral education or law‐ordained habituation into two types. One type is a defective form practiced by the Spartans, producing civic courage and similar defective virtue‐like states motivated by external incentives. By contrast Aristotle endorses the law‐ordained musical education described in Politics 8. The chapter argues that Aristotle considers the well‐habituated state of proper pleasures in virtue to be best cultivated by this kind of musical education; and that this explains both his emphasis on good laws and on their scarcity.
Roger Crisp (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198752349
- eISBN:
- 9780191597251
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198752342.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Contains 14 specially commissioned papers on aspects of virtue ethics, and a substantial introduction that also serves as an introduction to virtue ethics. Topics covered include the practical ...
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Contains 14 specially commissioned papers on aspects of virtue ethics, and a substantial introduction that also serves as an introduction to virtue ethics. Topics covered include the practical application of the theory, ancient views, partiality, Kant, utilitarianism, human nature, natural and artificial virtues, virtues and the good, vices, emotions, politics, feminism and moral education, and community.Less
Contains 14 specially commissioned papers on aspects of virtue ethics, and a substantial introduction that also serves as an introduction to virtue ethics. Topics covered include the practical application of the theory, ancient views, partiality, Kant, utilitarianism, human nature, natural and artificial virtues, virtues and the good, vices, emotions, politics, feminism and moral education, and community.
Joel J. Kupperman
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195096545
- eISBN:
- 9780199852918
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195096545.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
We often speak of a person's character—good or bad, strong or weak—and think of it as a guide to how that person will behave in a given situation. Oddly, however, philosophers writing about ethics ...
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We often speak of a person's character—good or bad, strong or weak—and think of it as a guide to how that person will behave in a given situation. Oddly, however, philosophers writing about ethics have had virtually nothing to say about the role of character in ethical behavior. What is character? How does it relate to having a self, or to the process of moral decision? Are we responsible for our characters? This book answers these questions, and goes on to examine the place of character in ethical philosophy. Both the Kantian and utilitarian traditions, this book argues, have largely ignored the ways in which decisions are integrated over time, and instead provide a “snapshot” model of moral decision. The book demonstrates the deficiencies of a number of classic and contemporary ethical theories that do not take account of the idea of character, and offers its own character-based theory. Along the way the book touches on such subjects as personal identity, the importance of happiness, moral education, and the definition of a valuable life.Less
We often speak of a person's character—good or bad, strong or weak—and think of it as a guide to how that person will behave in a given situation. Oddly, however, philosophers writing about ethics have had virtually nothing to say about the role of character in ethical behavior. What is character? How does it relate to having a self, or to the process of moral decision? Are we responsible for our characters? This book answers these questions, and goes on to examine the place of character in ethical philosophy. Both the Kantian and utilitarian traditions, this book argues, have largely ignored the ways in which decisions are integrated over time, and instead provide a “snapshot” model of moral decision. The book demonstrates the deficiencies of a number of classic and contemporary ethical theories that do not take account of the idea of character, and offers its own character-based theory. Along the way the book touches on such subjects as personal identity, the importance of happiness, moral education, and the definition of a valuable life.
Jeremy Waldron
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199253661
- eISBN:
- 9780191601972
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199253668.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Jeremy Waldron’s essay centres around Martha Nussbaum’s ideas on cosmopolitan education: Nussbaum argues that we should make ‘world citizenship, rather than democratic or national citizenship, the ...
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Jeremy Waldron’s essay centres around Martha Nussbaum’s ideas on cosmopolitan education: Nussbaum argues that we should make ‘world citizenship, rather than democratic or national citizenship, the focus for civic education’. The essay provides just a few examples to illustrate the concrete particularity of the world community for which we are urged by Nussbaum to take responsibility, with the aim of refuting the view of those who condemn cosmopolitanism as an abstraction. The arguments for and against Nussbaum’s idea (universalism vs particularism) are presented, and one of the opposing views highlighted: that cosmopolitan moral education is not just an education in moral ideas; it is (or ought to be) an education in the particular ways in which people have inhabited the world (rather than the purely local aspects of their inhabiting particular territories). The different sections of the chapter look at how a society becomes multicultural, the infrastructure of cultural interaction, the identification of citizenship (citizenship in relation to civic responsibility, exclusivity, subjection), the language of citizenship, and its concrete reality and its cosmopolitan dimensions.Less
Jeremy Waldron’s essay centres around Martha Nussbaum’s ideas on cosmopolitan education: Nussbaum argues that we should make ‘world citizenship, rather than democratic or national citizenship, the focus for civic education’. The essay provides just a few examples to illustrate the concrete particularity of the world community for which we are urged by Nussbaum to take responsibility, with the aim of refuting the view of those who condemn cosmopolitanism as an abstraction. The arguments for and against Nussbaum’s idea (universalism vs particularism) are presented, and one of the opposing views highlighted: that cosmopolitan moral education is not just an education in moral ideas; it is (or ought to be) an education in the particular ways in which people have inhabited the world (rather than the purely local aspects of their inhabiting particular territories). The different sections of the chapter look at how a society becomes multicultural, the infrastructure of cultural interaction, the identification of citizenship (citizenship in relation to civic responsibility, exclusivity, subjection), the language of citizenship, and its concrete reality and its cosmopolitan dimensions.
Mike W. Martin
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195304718
- eISBN:
- 9780199786572
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195304713.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Critics have interpreted the therapeutic trend as a replacement of community-oriented morality with self-oriented therapeutic values such as self-esteem, self-fulfilment, and authenticity. They ...
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Critics have interpreted the therapeutic trend as a replacement of community-oriented morality with self-oriented therapeutic values such as self-esteem, self-fulfilment, and authenticity. They charge that exporting therapeutic attitudes from the clinic to the community erodes moral responsibility by fostering moral subjectivity and shallowness, lowering moral aspiration, and encouraging selfishness and a victim mentality. This chapter responds to these charges, including their application to self-help groups and moral education, and argues that the critics identify genuine dangers but exaggerate them. For the most part, the therapeutic trend integrates morality with therapy, albeit with varying degrees of success, rather than abandoning it.Less
Critics have interpreted the therapeutic trend as a replacement of community-oriented morality with self-oriented therapeutic values such as self-esteem, self-fulfilment, and authenticity. They charge that exporting therapeutic attitudes from the clinic to the community erodes moral responsibility by fostering moral subjectivity and shallowness, lowering moral aspiration, and encouraging selfishness and a victim mentality. This chapter responds to these charges, including their application to self-help groups and moral education, and argues that the critics identify genuine dangers but exaggerate them. For the most part, the therapeutic trend integrates morality with therapy, albeit with varying degrees of success, rather than abandoning it.
James Davison Hunter
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199769063
- eISBN:
- 9780199896851
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199769063.003.0010
- Subject:
- Sociology, Economic Sociology
This chapter charts the displacement of the classic discourse of thrift in the moral education of children. Shifting away from older lessons about magnanimity and the importance of avoiding ...
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This chapter charts the displacement of the classic discourse of thrift in the moral education of children. Shifting away from older lessons about magnanimity and the importance of avoiding miserliness, American education in this age became acutely focused on the potential instability of economic life in the new urban centers. As a result, national movements supporting thrift were spawned, creating savings plans at banks, post offices, and even public schools—it was, in the sense of moral exhortation, the golden age of thrift. This moment of triumph would not last long, however. The revolution in productive efficiency in the 1920s quickly began to shift opinion away from the psychology of scarcity that created the thrift ethos and toward a new sense of American prosperity and abundance. Soon, the new economic philosophy of “consumptionism” was dominant, and the individual thrift that proved powerless in response to the Great Depression was on the out. New curricula encouraged parents to take their children on shopping trips and train them to be wise and efficient consumers.Less
This chapter charts the displacement of the classic discourse of thrift in the moral education of children. Shifting away from older lessons about magnanimity and the importance of avoiding miserliness, American education in this age became acutely focused on the potential instability of economic life in the new urban centers. As a result, national movements supporting thrift were spawned, creating savings plans at banks, post offices, and even public schools—it was, in the sense of moral exhortation, the golden age of thrift. This moment of triumph would not last long, however. The revolution in productive efficiency in the 1920s quickly began to shift opinion away from the psychology of scarcity that created the thrift ethos and toward a new sense of American prosperity and abundance. Soon, the new economic philosophy of “consumptionism” was dominant, and the individual thrift that proved powerless in response to the Great Depression was on the out. New curricula encouraged parents to take their children on shopping trips and train them to be wise and efficient consumers.
Katerina Deligiorgi
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199646159
- eISBN:
- 9780191741142
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199646159.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
Chapter 5 returns to some of the issues about motivation discussed in earlier chapters by looking at Schiller’s arguments about the role of emotions in ethics. Re-establishing a link with the ...
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Chapter 5 returns to some of the issues about motivation discussed in earlier chapters by looking at Schiller’s arguments about the role of emotions in ethics. Re-establishing a link with the historical reception of Kant’s ideas is philosophically valuable for a number of reasons: first Schiller’s criticisms of Kant are interesting and subtle and therefore worth considering in some detail; second, this discussion contributes to considerations of ‘scope’ that are directly germane to the defence of autonomy presented here, by bringing to the foreground two divergent conceptions of ethics, one that is intersubjective and one that is self-perfecting; finally, it offers the opportunity to address from within a historical debate certain contemporary concerns about the role of emotions in ethics. It is argued that emotions can be accommodated within an ethic of autonomy, provided they complement the cognitive and motivational components that make up the theory of autonomy defended here.Less
Chapter 5 returns to some of the issues about motivation discussed in earlier chapters by looking at Schiller’s arguments about the role of emotions in ethics. Re-establishing a link with the historical reception of Kant’s ideas is philosophically valuable for a number of reasons: first Schiller’s criticisms of Kant are interesting and subtle and therefore worth considering in some detail; second, this discussion contributes to considerations of ‘scope’ that are directly germane to the defence of autonomy presented here, by bringing to the foreground two divergent conceptions of ethics, one that is intersubjective and one that is self-perfecting; finally, it offers the opportunity to address from within a historical debate certain contemporary concerns about the role of emotions in ethics. It is argued that emotions can be accommodated within an ethic of autonomy, provided they complement the cognitive and motivational components that make up the theory of autonomy defended here.
Warren A. Nord
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199766888
- eISBN:
- 9780199895038
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199766888.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter begins by rehearsing the three-level scheme for thinking about moral education proposed in Chapter 6, drawing out the implications for the role of religion. It goes on to consider ...
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This chapter begins by rehearsing the three-level scheme for thinking about moral education proposed in Chapter 6, drawing out the implications for the role of religion. It goes on to consider whether moral education can be adequately pursued by way of natural inclusion in existing courses, or whether there should be required courses in ethics. As with religion, it argues that a double-prong strategy is required: virtually all courses must be sensitive to moral concerns, but there must also be required courses in ethics or what is referred to as morality and meaning, at both the high school and undergraduate levels. The chapter takes as a case study how schools should address sexuality. It also briefly discusses the environmental crisis and the implications of science and technology for morality.Less
This chapter begins by rehearsing the three-level scheme for thinking about moral education proposed in Chapter 6, drawing out the implications for the role of religion. It goes on to consider whether moral education can be adequately pursued by way of natural inclusion in existing courses, or whether there should be required courses in ethics. As with religion, it argues that a double-prong strategy is required: virtually all courses must be sensitive to moral concerns, but there must also be required courses in ethics or what is referred to as morality and meaning, at both the high school and undergraduate levels. The chapter takes as a case study how schools should address sexuality. It also briefly discusses the environmental crisis and the implications of science and technology for morality.
Norvin Richards
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199731749
- eISBN:
- 9780199866311
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199731749.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter concerns what parents have an obligation to provide their children by way of a moral education. It begins by offering accounts of three traits of character they might instill, together ...
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This chapter concerns what parents have an obligation to provide their children by way of a moral education. It begins by offering accounts of three traits of character they might instill, together with some points from the psychology of human development—empathy, a sense of fairness, and a sense of responsibility—the chapter argues that these are minimal equipment for living in society with others and that parents therefore have an obligation to the society to instill them in their children. It also argues that parents have a further obligation, to the children themselves rather than to the larger society, to instill the traits that make us capable of friendship and of profiting from open discussion with others. Finally, it argues against saying that parents have an obligation to make their children good people in any more specific way.Less
This chapter concerns what parents have an obligation to provide their children by way of a moral education. It begins by offering accounts of three traits of character they might instill, together with some points from the psychology of human development—empathy, a sense of fairness, and a sense of responsibility—the chapter argues that these are minimal equipment for living in society with others and that parents therefore have an obligation to the society to instill them in their children. It also argues that parents have a further obligation, to the children themselves rather than to the larger society, to instill the traits that make us capable of friendship and of profiting from open discussion with others. Finally, it argues against saying that parents have an obligation to make their children good people in any more specific way.
James L. Heft S.M.
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199796656
- eISBN:
- 9780199919352
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199796656.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter explores three issues: first, how the leaders of public schools have largely abandoned the teaching of religion but have worked at moral formation, and the difficulties they've ...
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This chapter explores three issues: first, how the leaders of public schools have largely abandoned the teaching of religion but have worked at moral formation, and the difficulties they've encountered in that effort; second, the critical importance of personal example in learning morality; and third, why the leaders of Catholic schools have an advantage over their public counterparts, since they, carrying out the work of moral formation, can draw explicitly upon a rich religious tradition that includes a doctrinal framework and religious and moral practices. It begins with a few notes from history that will provide some perspective on how, for a very long time, religious and moral education remained intimately linked. It then looks at some of the difficulties public schools face when they try to provide character education and moral formation. Finally, it describes doctrinal dimensions and various practices of Catholicism and how they help Catholic schools provide rich moral and religious formation.Less
This chapter explores three issues: first, how the leaders of public schools have largely abandoned the teaching of religion but have worked at moral formation, and the difficulties they've encountered in that effort; second, the critical importance of personal example in learning morality; and third, why the leaders of Catholic schools have an advantage over their public counterparts, since they, carrying out the work of moral formation, can draw explicitly upon a rich religious tradition that includes a doctrinal framework and religious and moral practices. It begins with a few notes from history that will provide some perspective on how, for a very long time, religious and moral education remained intimately linked. It then looks at some of the difficulties public schools face when they try to provide character education and moral formation. Finally, it describes doctrinal dimensions and various practices of Catholicism and how they help Catholic schools provide rich moral and religious formation.
Warren Nord
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199766888
- eISBN:
- 9780199895038
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199766888.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This book argues that public schools and universities leave the vast majority of students religiously illiterate. Such education is not religiously neutral, a matter of constitutional importance; ...
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This book argues that public schools and universities leave the vast majority of students religiously illiterate. Such education is not religiously neutral, a matter of constitutional importance; indeed, it borders on secular indoctrination when measured against the requirements of a good liberal education and the demands of critical thinking. The book also argues that religious perspectives must be included in courses that address morality and those Big Questions that a good education cannot ignore. It outlines a variety of civic reasons for studying religion, and argues that the Establishment Clause doesn't just permit, but requires, taking religion seriously. While acknowledging the difficulty of taking religion seriously in schools and universities, the book makes a cogent case for requiring both high school and undergraduate students to take a year long course in religious studies, and for discussing religion in any course that deals with religiously controversial material. The final chapters address how religion might best be addressed in history, literature, economics, and (perhaps most controversially) science courses. The book also discusses Bible courses, and the relevance of religion to moral education and ethics courses. While the book's position will be taken by some as radical, it argues that he is advocating a “middle way” in our culture wars. Public schools and universities can neither promote religion nor ignore it.Less
This book argues that public schools and universities leave the vast majority of students religiously illiterate. Such education is not religiously neutral, a matter of constitutional importance; indeed, it borders on secular indoctrination when measured against the requirements of a good liberal education and the demands of critical thinking. The book also argues that religious perspectives must be included in courses that address morality and those Big Questions that a good education cannot ignore. It outlines a variety of civic reasons for studying religion, and argues that the Establishment Clause doesn't just permit, but requires, taking religion seriously. While acknowledging the difficulty of taking religion seriously in schools and universities, the book makes a cogent case for requiring both high school and undergraduate students to take a year long course in religious studies, and for discussing religion in any course that deals with religiously controversial material. The final chapters address how religion might best be addressed in history, literature, economics, and (perhaps most controversially) science courses. The book also discusses Bible courses, and the relevance of religion to moral education and ethics courses. While the book's position will be taken by some as radical, it argues that he is advocating a “middle way” in our culture wars. Public schools and universities can neither promote religion nor ignore it.
Frank Palmer
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198242321
- eISBN:
- 9780191680441
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198242321.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics, Moral Philosophy
When asked what is learned in literature, the most often given answer is that it is dependent upon what is read, by whom, and in what spirit. However, the point in question in this chapter focuses on ...
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When asked what is learned in literature, the most often given answer is that it is dependent upon what is read, by whom, and in what spirit. However, the point in question in this chapter focuses on two aspects: what literature can contribute to education and what literature can contribute to moral education. In exploring these two points, there is a risk of conflating two different things: the importance or value of literature and its educative power and the independent value or importance it has regardless of its educative function. While the distinction between the educational value and moral education value is not totally separate and there are indeed some relations in some way, certainly literature should not be considered as mere device for moral instruction or a fuel for the cause.Less
When asked what is learned in literature, the most often given answer is that it is dependent upon what is read, by whom, and in what spirit. However, the point in question in this chapter focuses on two aspects: what literature can contribute to education and what literature can contribute to moral education. In exploring these two points, there is a risk of conflating two different things: the importance or value of literature and its educative power and the independent value or importance it has regardless of its educative function. While the distinction between the educational value and moral education value is not totally separate and there are indeed some relations in some way, certainly literature should not be considered as mere device for moral instruction or a fuel for the cause.
Vigen Guroian
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195152647
- eISBN:
- 9780199849192
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195152647.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter explores some of the serious shortcomings of contemporary education as regards to the moral instruction of children and the role fairy tales and fantasy stories might play in improving ...
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This chapter explores some of the serious shortcomings of contemporary education as regards to the moral instruction of children and the role fairy tales and fantasy stories might play in improving any deficiencies in moral instruction. The great fairy tales and fantasy stories capture the meaning of morality through vivid descriptions of the struggle between good and evil, where characters must make difficult choices between right and wrong or heroes and villains contest the very fate of imaginary worlds. The great stories avoid didacticism and supply the imagination with important symbolic information about the shape of the world and appropriate responses to its inhabitants. Moral living is about being responsive and responsible toward other people.Less
This chapter explores some of the serious shortcomings of contemporary education as regards to the moral instruction of children and the role fairy tales and fantasy stories might play in improving any deficiencies in moral instruction. The great fairy tales and fantasy stories capture the meaning of morality through vivid descriptions of the struggle between good and evil, where characters must make difficult choices between right and wrong or heroes and villains contest the very fate of imaginary worlds. The great stories avoid didacticism and supply the imagination with important symbolic information about the shape of the world and appropriate responses to its inhabitants. Moral living is about being responsive and responsible toward other people.
Stephen C. Angle
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195385144
- eISBN:
- 9780199869756
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195385144.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This book explores what happens when we take Neo-Confucianism and its ideal of sagehood seriously as contemporary philosophy. It develops an interpretation of the Neo-Confucian tradition that, while ...
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This book explores what happens when we take Neo-Confucianism and its ideal of sagehood seriously as contemporary philosophy. It develops an interpretation of the Neo-Confucian tradition that, while historically grounded in detailed readings of Zhu Xi, Wang Yangming, and others, is open to further development and critique; and also reflects on ways that Neo-Confucian perspectives challenge or enhance issues of concern to contemporary Western philosophers like Martha Nussbaum, Michael Slote, Iris Murdoch, Lawrence Blum, Christine Swanton, and others involved in the revival of virtue ethics. The book develops novel interpretations of core Neo-Confucian ideas like “coherence (li),” “harmony (he),” and “reverence (jing).” These interpretations underpin the book's accounts of Neo-Confucian theories about moral psychology, active moral perception, overcoming moral conflicts and dilemmas, and moral education. In each case, the book looks at these topics both as issues within contemporary Confucianism, and as sources of stimulus and challenge for Western philosophers. In the final chapters the book addresses topics within political philosophy like rights, law, participation, and the relation between sagehood and democracy. Finding the resources we can get out of Neo-Confucianism in this area to be too thin, at this point the book engages additionally with twentieth-century “New Confucian” philosophers like Mou Zongsan. Throughout, the book's goal is to articulate a plausible and attractive picture of how and why people should strive for sagehood, and to show how the arguments for this picture that can be developed out of Neo-Confucianism resonate with and challenge current thinking in many areas of philosophy.Less
This book explores what happens when we take Neo-Confucianism and its ideal of sagehood seriously as contemporary philosophy. It develops an interpretation of the Neo-Confucian tradition that, while historically grounded in detailed readings of Zhu Xi, Wang Yangming, and others, is open to further development and critique; and also reflects on ways that Neo-Confucian perspectives challenge or enhance issues of concern to contemporary Western philosophers like Martha Nussbaum, Michael Slote, Iris Murdoch, Lawrence Blum, Christine Swanton, and others involved in the revival of virtue ethics. The book develops novel interpretations of core Neo-Confucian ideas like “coherence (li),” “harmony (he),” and “reverence (jing).” These interpretations underpin the book's accounts of Neo-Confucian theories about moral psychology, active moral perception, overcoming moral conflicts and dilemmas, and moral education. In each case, the book looks at these topics both as issues within contemporary Confucianism, and as sources of stimulus and challenge for Western philosophers. In the final chapters the book addresses topics within political philosophy like rights, law, participation, and the relation between sagehood and democracy. Finding the resources we can get out of Neo-Confucianism in this area to be too thin, at this point the book engages additionally with twentieth-century “New Confucian” philosophers like Mou Zongsan. Throughout, the book's goal is to articulate a plausible and attractive picture of how and why people should strive for sagehood, and to show how the arguments for this picture that can be developed out of Neo-Confucianism resonate with and challenge current thinking in many areas of philosophy.
DAVID WRIGHT
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199246397
- eISBN:
- 9780191715235
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199246397.003.009
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
During the Victorian period, England witnessed a dramatic change in the education of mentally disabled children. Before the early 19th century, idiots were thought to be uneducable. Indeed, the very ...
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During the Victorian period, England witnessed a dramatic change in the education of mentally disabled children. Before the early 19th century, idiots were thought to be uneducable. Indeed, the very definition of idiocy revolved around the inability of idiots to be ‘improved’. The moral education of idiot children incorporated traditional classroom teaching, workshop apprenticeship, and the inculcation of accepted norms of social behaviour. All three were to be incorporated within the therapeutic milieu of idiot asylums such as the Earlswood Asylum, where education was also based on a Victorian belief in the organicist origins of mental disability. This organicist understanding of mental handicap was central to the medical model of idiocy — that physical defects of unknown origin were preventing the true expression of the idiot mind. The philosophical underpinnings of education at the Earlswood Asylum were based on a post-Enlightenment belief in the perfectibility of humankind, a Victorian faith in the improvement of individuals, and a non-conformist desire to see spiritual improvement through employment and self-help.Less
During the Victorian period, England witnessed a dramatic change in the education of mentally disabled children. Before the early 19th century, idiots were thought to be uneducable. Indeed, the very definition of idiocy revolved around the inability of idiots to be ‘improved’. The moral education of idiot children incorporated traditional classroom teaching, workshop apprenticeship, and the inculcation of accepted norms of social behaviour. All three were to be incorporated within the therapeutic milieu of idiot asylums such as the Earlswood Asylum, where education was also based on a Victorian belief in the organicist origins of mental disability. This organicist understanding of mental handicap was central to the medical model of idiocy — that physical defects of unknown origin were preventing the true expression of the idiot mind. The philosophical underpinnings of education at the Earlswood Asylum were based on a post-Enlightenment belief in the perfectibility of humankind, a Victorian faith in the improvement of individuals, and a non-conformist desire to see spiritual improvement through employment and self-help.
Terence Irwin
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198242901
- eISBN:
- 9780191597770
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198242905.003.0019
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
Aristotle’s account of how the political community promotes the human good supports an account of the ideal state, and why actual states fall short of it. Aristotle attributes much of what is wrong ...
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Aristotle’s account of how the political community promotes the human good supports an account of the ideal state, and why actual states fall short of it. Aristotle attributes much of what is wrong with prevalent political systems to mistaken conceptions of happiness. Honour and sensual gratification are viewed as genuine intrinsic good; but the right sort of honour does not require competition for external goods, and the right extent of gratification does not require an unlimited supply of them. Virtuous action is the primary constituent of happiness; ignorance of this explains the mistaken classification of goods in different political systems.Less
Aristotle’s account of how the political community promotes the human good supports an account of the ideal state, and why actual states fall short of it. Aristotle attributes much of what is wrong with prevalent political systems to mistaken conceptions of happiness. Honour and sensual gratification are viewed as genuine intrinsic good; but the right sort of honour does not require competition for external goods, and the right extent of gratification does not require an unlimited supply of them. Virtuous action is the primary constituent of happiness; ignorance of this explains the mistaken classification of goods in different political systems.
ROGER PEARSON
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198158806
- eISBN:
- 9780191673375
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198158806.003.0009
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
This chapter discusses the different works that Voltaire wrote during the 1760s. It was during this time that the debate regarding education in France had reached its peak. The main issue surrounding ...
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This chapter discusses the different works that Voltaire wrote during the 1760s. It was during this time that the debate regarding education in France had reached its peak. The main issue surrounding this debate was whether education in the country should be handled by the State or the Church. Through these stories, Voltaire showed that mankind shares the same notions of right and wrong and that moral education is what counts. This is best effected by listening to reason. These works also include the different philosophies and philosophers as purveyors of fiction, including Descartes, Spinoza, and Pascal.Less
This chapter discusses the different works that Voltaire wrote during the 1760s. It was during this time that the debate regarding education in France had reached its peak. The main issue surrounding this debate was whether education in the country should be handled by the State or the Church. Through these stories, Voltaire showed that mankind shares the same notions of right and wrong and that moral education is what counts. This is best effected by listening to reason. These works also include the different philosophies and philosophers as purveyors of fiction, including Descartes, Spinoza, and Pascal.
Norvin Richards
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199731749
- eISBN:
- 9780199866311
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199731749.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
When children do wrong, should we respond differently than we would if they were adults? That belief underlies the practice of having separate systems of juvenile justice, and Tamar Schapiro points ...
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When children do wrong, should we respond differently than we would if they were adults? That belief underlies the practice of having separate systems of juvenile justice, and Tamar Schapiro points out that it also underlies our everyday reactions. This chapter argues against a standard justification for this view, namely that children are not responsible for their actions in the way that adults are. A different thesis is supported by an analysis of reactive attitudes such as resentment and a theory about the way in which a child's character becomes his or her own. The conclusion drawn is that children who do wrong are ordinarily entitled to have us take this behavior primarily as an occasion to contribute to their moral education, and adults who do wrong are not. The chapter closes by offering a view about when this presumption is to be abandoned with regard to a child who has done wrong, and it argues that typically these are occasions for mercy.Less
When children do wrong, should we respond differently than we would if they were adults? That belief underlies the practice of having separate systems of juvenile justice, and Tamar Schapiro points out that it also underlies our everyday reactions. This chapter argues against a standard justification for this view, namely that children are not responsible for their actions in the way that adults are. A different thesis is supported by an analysis of reactive attitudes such as resentment and a theory about the way in which a child's character becomes his or her own. The conclusion drawn is that children who do wrong are ordinarily entitled to have us take this behavior primarily as an occasion to contribute to their moral education, and adults who do wrong are not. The chapter closes by offering a view about when this presumption is to be abandoned with regard to a child who has done wrong, and it argues that typically these are occasions for mercy.
Michael Slote
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195391442
- eISBN:
- 9780199866250
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195391442.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter focuses on the notion/phenomenon of empathy. It clarifies what we nowadays mean when we talk about empathy, but it also explains how the recent literature of psychology bears on moral ...
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This chapter focuses on the notion/phenomenon of empathy. It clarifies what we nowadays mean when we talk about empathy, but it also explains how the recent literature of psychology bears on moral sentimentalism. In particular, it shows how that literature supports the conclusion that empathy plays a crucial role in developing and sustaining genuinely altruistic, caring motivation. This chapter also points out the ways in which the moral distinctions we commonsensically make generally correspond to normal differences in empathic responsiveness. This moves us in the direction of the central idea that empathy plays a role in our understanding, and in the semantics, of moral claims.Less
This chapter focuses on the notion/phenomenon of empathy. It clarifies what we nowadays mean when we talk about empathy, but it also explains how the recent literature of psychology bears on moral sentimentalism. In particular, it shows how that literature supports the conclusion that empathy plays a crucial role in developing and sustaining genuinely altruistic, caring motivation. This chapter also points out the ways in which the moral distinctions we commonsensically make generally correspond to normal differences in empathic responsiveness. This moves us in the direction of the central idea that empathy plays a role in our understanding, and in the semantics, of moral claims.
Frisbee C. C. Sheffield
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199286775
- eISBN:
- 9780191713194
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199286775.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
This chapter examines the relationship between Socrates and his devotees shown at the start of the dialogue. In exploring this relationship, it teases out some of the dialogue's central questions ...
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This chapter examines the relationship between Socrates and his devotees shown at the start of the dialogue. In exploring this relationship, it teases out some of the dialogue's central questions about the role that lovers can play in the moral education of the young, the sorts of values that they might advocate as central to the good life, and the way in which desires can be shaped towards certain ends. It goes on to examine a variety of answers to these questions in the first five speeches in the dialogue.Less
This chapter examines the relationship between Socrates and his devotees shown at the start of the dialogue. In exploring this relationship, it teases out some of the dialogue's central questions about the role that lovers can play in the moral education of the young, the sorts of values that they might advocate as central to the good life, and the way in which desires can be shaped towards certain ends. It goes on to examine a variety of answers to these questions in the first five speeches in the dialogue.
