Moral sciences and the role of education

ABSTRACT

In the first 20 years of the 21st century, research on morality grew exponentially in social sciences and related fields. A corresponding upsurge in the field of moral education has not been observed. It appears that there is a widening gap between the science of morality and the field of moral education, which once were closely interconnected fields. The present paper explores why this gap occurred and what could be done about it. It is argued that today’s moral sciences are markedly more pluralistic and diverse than moral psychology in the past. This opens ample opportunities for moral sciences and moral education to engage in a constructive dialogue. Specifically, an evolutionary-developmental account of human morality allows for a deep integration of both fields. Within such a framework moral education becomes an indispensable part of the emerging discipline of moral sciences.

KEYWORDS:

• moral sciences
• moral psychology, morality
• education
• moral development

Acknowledgments

A preliminary version of this paper was presented at the symposium of the Journal of Moral Education Trust, September 26-29, 2019, Villa Palazzola, Italy.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. This is not to say that Kohlberg’s theory was the only source of inspiration for moral educators in the 1970s. The philosophical work of Peters (1974), for instance, or the pedagogical writings of Stenhouse (1975) were no less influential in these times. Yet, Kohlberg’s theory brought together empirical-psychological, educational and philosophical perspectives that even drew the attention of leading intellectuals in Western Europe (Habermas, 1983). In this regard, his theory was unique.

2. In fact, the study cited above on unethical behavior and cleansing (Zhong & Liljenquist, 2006) failed the replicability test (Forsell et al., 2019). However, this does not necessarily testify to a general ‘replicability crisis’ in moral psychology and related fields. Findings based on the dictator and ultimatum games are quite robust and have been replicated many times. The same applies to the trolley problem (Forsell et al., 2019). In the present paper, we will highlight whenever studies were successfully replicated (or failed replicability tests), provided this evidence is available.

3. It is noteworthy that only two out of more than 100 authors who contributed to this Atlas have written about issues of moral education in the past, namely Elliot Turiel and Darcia Narvaez. The index of the book does not list education or moral education as subject terms. This confirms the disconnect between moral sciences and the field of moral education described earlier in this paper.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tobias Krettenauer

Dr. Tobias Krettenauer is a Professor for Psychology at Wilfrid Laurier University, specializing in development of moral emotions, moral motivation and moral identity across the life-span.