Exploring the potential contributions of mindfulness and compassion-based practices for enhancing the teaching of undergraduate ethics courses in philosophy

Abstract

There are numerous ethical theories from which faculty may choose to teach in undergraduate philosophical ethics courses. Whether learning such theories results in ethical behavior change remains an open question. If one of the goals of teaching ethics is to support ethical behavior, then alternative approaches are merited. Within the past decades, there has been a growing emphasis on mindfulness and compassion-based practices in particular, as applied to psychotherapy in the field of psychology. Such findings have bearing on ways in which compassion-based practices might be fruitful in the philosophical ethics classroom. This article will identify issues with the dominant approach to teaching philosophical ethics, focusing on the need for a bridge between theory and action. It will also explore the potential benefits of utilizing mindfulness in the classroom, with a focus on compassion-based practices such as loving-kindness, to contribute to meeting this need to enhance the teaching of undergraduate philosophical ethics.

Keywords:

• Teaching undergraduate philosophical ethics
• Compassion
• Loving-kindness
• Mindfulness
• Education
• Ethical action
• Philosophy

Acknowledgements

Gratitude is expressed to Joe Couture for his editorial assistance and Vaughn DeCoster for reviewing an earlier draft of the manuscript. The authors wish to thank the University of Evansville and the University of Southern Indiana for their institutional support.