Moral Education in the Pragmatic Pursuit of the Good

Abstract

The best-known approaches to moral education can be broadly described as the cognitive-developmental approach associated with Lawrence Kohlberg, character or virtues education, and values clarification. To these a fourth should be added, based on the extensive contributions of John Dewey, to be called the pragmatic pursuit of the good. The pragmatic approach fosters and guides moral learning in the context of a moral community that is engaged in building a better world through democratic processes. In the pragmatic pursuit of the good, the moral community plays a vital role in nurturing moral character, moral values, and a recognition of the good to be achieved-including the public good, which requires going beyond the moral community in cooperation with other communities and the public at large. Defining and achieving the public good requires the cultivation of democratic participation and open, empirical investigation. In keeping with John Dewey's philosophy of education, the overall aim is movement toward growth in opportunity, unity, and harmony: every deliberate choice is a moral opportunity to choose the good-the better option in view-and thus a moment of moral growth and achievement.