Education for Loneliness as a Consequence of Moral Decision-Making

An Issue of Moral Virtues

Bibliographic Data

ID10801003
AuthorsJarosław Horowski (0000-0002-6412-1544, Nicolaus Copernicus University, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume39
Issue6
Pages591-605
Publication date2020-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueStudies in Philosophy and Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0039-3746 • E-ISSN: 1573-191X
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s11217-020-09728-7
OpenAlexW3041288470
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited25

The direct reference point for these analyses is the process of making moral decisions, but a particular point of interest is the difficulty associated with making decisions when acting subjects are aware that their choice of moral good can lead to the breakdown of relationships with those close to them (family members or friends) or to their exclusion from the group(s) that have been most important to them so far in their lives, consequently causing them to experience loneliness. This difficulty is a challenge for education, which in supporting the moral development of a maturing person should prepare her/him for choosing moral good even if this requires personal sacrifices. In these analyses, assuming that knowledge of moral good is not sufficient for morally good actions, I refer mainly to the virtues of character that facilitate making morally good decisions and I seek the answer to the question: what character traits (moral virtues) should be shaped in maturing persons, so that as adults they can resist moral evil, even when this will clearly lead to the experience of loneliness? I propose these character traits as expressing moral virtues—especially the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude (neo-Thomistic approach). In this way, I join in the discussion relating to the teleology of education. I do not touch on the methodology of education, however. The argument is presented in two parts. In the first, I introduce the problem of decision-making implying consent to loneliness. In the second, I reflect on the characteristics of a person who is capable of making such a decision

Argument (complex analysis · Economic Justice · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Good moral character · Judgement · Loneliness · Moral character · Moral development · Moral disengagement · Moral psychology · Political science · Prudence · Social cognitive theory of morality · Sociology · Teleology · Law · Medieval Philosophy and Theology · Philosophy · Psychology · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Religious Education and Schools · Social Psychology

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