Exemplars Embodied
Can Acting Form Moral Character
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21314548 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ann Phelps (Director of Programming for Leadership and Character Wake Forest University, corresponding author), Dylan Brown (0000-0002-4883-4325, Research Affiliate for Leadership and Character Wake Forest University and Duke University) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 73 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 728-748 |
| Publication date | 2023-10-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Educational Theory (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0013-2004 • E-ISSN: 1741-5446 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/edth.12603 |
| OpenAlex | W4389202846 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 5 |
Theatre practitioners use empathy formation techniques within their acting methodology to develop particular characters for the stage. Here, Ann Phelps and Dylan Brown argue that, when Constantin Stanislavski's seminal dramatic method is placed in conversation with exemplarist moral theory, acting can become a tool for moral formation. To illustrate this claim, they describe their work with the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University, where a neo‐Aristotelian virtue ethics framework is embodied and expanded using this dramatic method. By using acting exercises to help students rehearse how their moral exemplars would respond to situations, Phelps and Brown challenge students to embody their exemplars instead of merely engaging with them as a passive intellectual exercise. Moral educators can achieve their pedagogical aim by expanding Stanislavski's dramatic “super‐objective” to encompass a “moral meta‐objective.” This neo‐Aristotelian modification to Stanislavski's method might extend beyond the stage in ways that facilitate the embodiment of morally exemplary behavior, even after the curtain falls
Aesthetics · Character (mathematics) · Conversation · Embodied cognition · Empathy · Epistemology · Moral character · Moral development · Moral psychology · Morality · Sociology · Stanislavski's system · Virtue · Virtue ethics · Art Education and Development · Cultural Studies and Interdisciplinary Research · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology · Theatre and Performance Studies
| Citations per year | 0.67 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2023 - 2025 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |