Moral Education, Character Traits and Reasons for Action

Abstract

This article takes exception to L. Kohlberg's claim that the aim of moral education is the development of reason, not character. Although the development of reason is important, if we assume that any morally educated person is able to act in morally appropriate ways in varying circumstances, it becomes central to inquire into the conditions under which reason can move an agent to act. This article claims that reason cannot move an agent to act unless conjoined with certain desires. Furthermore, this conjunction is not an unhappy marriage of two independent forces (i.e., reason and desire) which continually threaten to do battle with one another, but rather is something we can call moral character. To describe a person's moral character in terms of certain traits is to indicate the kind of reasons he or she usually has for acting. Moral education in being concerned with the development of reason is likewise concerned with the development of certain kinds of character traits known as the virtues. Character education is necessarily a part of moral education.