This paper takes inspiration from Books III and IV of the Nicomachean Ethics, which discuss the ways in which the student of virtue can go wrong with respect to different vices. It uses this discussion to draw some conclusions about Aristotelian habituation. I will argue that habituation is an appropriate learning strategy for many kinds of…

Middle childhood seems to be crucial for the emergence of a moral identity, that is, an evaluative stance of how important it is for someone's sense of self to be moral. This study investigates the effects of moral identity on the neural processing of moral content in 10-year-old children. Participants were presented with scenes portraying…

Evaluating other people's moral character is a crucial social cognitive task. However, the cognitive processes by which people seek out, prioritize, and integrate multiple pieces of character-relevant information have not been studied empirically. The first aim of this research was to examine which character traits are considered most important…

As a desired outcome of education, ethical thinking has roots in philosophy, developmental psychology, and political movements that advocate for developing knowledge, capabilities, and dispositions beyond those associated with traditional school subjects. Economists, business leaders, and educators have long advocated for preparing students for an…

Moral intelligence is newer and less studied than the more established cognitive, emotional and social intelligences, but has great potential to improve our understanding of learning and behavior. Moral intelligence refers to the ability to apply ethical principles to personal goals, values and actions. The construct of moral intelligence consists…

Reviews what is known and not known about three questions in comparative ethics: What are the ideas and concepts associated with moral thinking in normal Western adults? What are the processes resulting in a judgment that something is a vice or a virtue? Are those ideas, concepts, and processes available in different cultures and at different…

This paper argues that morality is essentially a matter of rational reflection and judgment and has little to do with feelings or affections. The notions of reason and justification are analyzed. Four types of feelings are defined and shown to provide inadequate bases for moral judgment. (Author/SJL)

Within the field of community services it is widely accepted that reflection is an important factor in personal and sociomoral development. The purpose of this research was to determine if a particular form of reflection-decision making with an emphasis on the ethical nature of community-has special value in achieving service-learning goals. (BF)

The performance of 75 congenitally blind and 75 sighted subjects (6- to 18-years-old) was compared on 32 Piagetian measures of reasoning, moral judgment, and moral conduct. Among major findings were that blind Ss did not achieve the reasoning processes characteristic of concrete operational thought with the facility or completion that would be…

The study examined (1) whether 60 elementary school teachers could score moral thought statements into Kohlberg's moral stages by receiving special training and using a rater manual, and (2) what factors were related to their stage-scoring ability. Major conclusion was that the rater manual and training were ineffective. (Author/ND)

Findings of this experiment demonstrate the interdependence of reasoning and action in the development of morality. (Authors)

Socrates' contention was that the sophist misconstrues the sphere of ethics. Although the sophist presents a systematized moral world, no experience is implied. This can be applied to the new professionalism in the teaching of ethics. Loosening the creative tension of perceived responsibility effectively closes down the real moral decision. The…

Today, more than at any other time in human history, biologists are or should be concerned about the morality of biological research and newly developed technologies. Two questions confront any scientist or science student concerned about morality and the life sciences. Is there some theoretical framework that might be used to assist in deciding…

Traces the development of the capacity to make moral judgments. States that emotions involve judgments as well as actions. Discusses the susceptibility of moral beings to remorse and explores the nature of sympathy and resentment. (GG)

This handbook for educators and parents discusses the need to include philosophy in the elementary classroom. The authors point out that as a question-raising discipline, philosophy is appropriate to guide children's natural inquisitiveness through the educational process. It encourages intellectual resourcefulness and flexibility which can enable…