Moral Education: A Philosophical Analysis

Abstract

One fundamental challenge confronting human society is how to equip individuals to act morally. Equipping individuals to do morally right actions is the function of moral education. However, there appears to be a lack of clarity about what constitutes moral education. Notwithstanding, the fact that the question of what constitutes moral education has been explored extensively by philosophers and educational theorists, there are endless disagreements about what constitutes moral education and how moral education is to be carried out. Thus, what constitutes moral education continues to be a problem requiring further attention. This paper looks at moral education as a philosophical subject with the view of exploring the issue of what constitutes an adequate conception of moral education. The investigation begins with the analysis of the concept of education and what makes moral education distinct from other kinds of education. The paper argues for the position that a conception of moral education that is adequate is one that includes as its component parts facets that nurture, in the individual, moral qualities essential for acting morally.