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Reflection and synthesis: How moral agents learn and moral cultures evolve
Author(s) -
BurchBrown Joanna
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of philosophy of education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.501
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-9752
pISSN - 0309-8249
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9752.12622
Subject(s) - imperfect , parallels , moral disengagement , feeling , reflection (computer programming) , moral development , moral reasoning , epistemology , social cognitive theory of morality , moral education , task (project management) , psychology , moral psychology , moral imperative , key (lock) , sociology , social psychology , philosophy , pedagogy , computer science , mechanical engineering , linguistics , computer security , management , engineering , economics , programming language
One aim of moral education is to help society progress from morally imperfect conventions towards more perfect ones. According to a popular view, reflecting judgment is the vehicle of this progress. In this paper, I argue that although reflection is important, it is not enough; moral development also requires practical synthesis. Moral development takes place by securing new connections—conceptual, affective, volitional and behavioural—that bring thoughts, feelings, motivations and actions into alignment with higher reason, to instantiate respect for all who are ends in themselves. Constructing parallels from Kant's theoretical philosophy, I identify three kinds of synthesis that are central to moral practice. If I am right, then a key task for moral education is to support the development of these capacities of practical synthesis.