Understanding Moral Education and Ethical Conscience
Definition of Education
Leadership and Promotion of Children: Nurturing children towards their full potential, encompassing the development of moral virtues, both natural and supernatural.
Importance of Moral Education
Moral education plays a crucial role in a child’s growth. It fosters the development of their values as individuals and guides them in utilizing their freedom (will and affections) to cultivate intellectual virtues. This foundation in moral virtues is essential for intellectual growth.
Difficulties in Moral Education
- Lack of consensus on how to effectively transmit values.
- Skepticism and insufficient support for this type of education.
- Prevalence of individualism.
What is Moral Education?
Moral education encompasses the study of principles, methods, and strategies aimed at fostering the development of moral virtues in children.
Criteria of Morality: Approaches to the Concept of Conscience
The term “conscience” originates from the Latin “con-scientism” or “cum-scire,” which translates to various meanings, including: with knowledge, realize, remember, know, take right, take the notion of. The word “consciousness” reflects different aspects of our inner selves, requiring further clarification:
- Being Aware Of: This refers to our understanding of ourselves, our existence, and the world around us.
- Being Responsible: This involves the notion of good and evil, guiding our judgment of the morality of our actions, attitudes, and behaviors. It’s a skill nurtured through mindful actions and accountability.
Renowned researchers propose a deeper understanding of consciousness through “states of consciousness”:
Innate or Sensitive Conscience
This instinctive reaction to stimuli serves as a dynamic defense mechanism. It’s our bio-neurological foundation, activating the Central Nervous System and neurotransmitters.
Psychic Awareness
This organized structure of our perception involves our sensory systems (Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic, Taste, and Smell) in action. Our attention span and selection of experiences contribute to our “content of consciousness” and make us “witnesses” of ego functions.
Moral Conscience
This faculty allows us to perceive and judge, using rational intelligence and practical experience, to distinguish between good and evil. It’s the ability to discern the morality of our actions and their consequences based on learned rules and principles. This ethical attribute prompts reflection on our “human nature” and its purpose of living a fulfilling life.
Conscience Ethics – Moral
This involves the personal selection of values and life attitudes based on consciously and responsibly adopted beliefs and principles. It’s the “fundamental choice of life” that guides our internal compass, upholding dignity, integrity, and respect for ourselves, others, and nature. Expressions like “conscientious objection” and “conscience vote” highlight the distinction between individual morality and the societal conscience.
Ethics – Moral Choices
Through maturation and reflection, we refine our discernment and decision-making based on philosophical, religious, and personal beliefs.
Distortions and Deformations of Conscience
+ believe “distortion” of an error, a mistake. + Consider “distortion” to conduct regular and systematic, but in both cases are “traps” to our ethical discernment and self-determination. We intend to “justify” with reasoning, moral behavior and ethical consciousness have made us rightly consider as wrong – 1 – EXTRINCISISMO: two sentences are warranted typical saying: “If it was unintentional I have no guilt,” “It was not wanting wanting” inappropriate attitude: ignorance and evade responsibility and the consequences of their own actos.2 – collectivism or BORREGUISMO: two sentences are warranted typical saying: “If everybody does it, not bad”, “If everyone does it, why me no “inappropriate attitude: The criterion of” most “or” mass “does not guarantee survival of consciousness and valuables. 3 – legal or Normative: The typical justification for saying two sentences: “If it is” legal “is good and I approve,” “If I ordered those in charge, I was just following orders” inappropriate attitude: The regulatory laws or regulations not are a guarantee of dignity, justice, freedom, truth, etc.4 – ritual or religious exogenous: it is justified by saying: “If I recognize my faults to God in his mercy will find your kind forgiveness,” If I confess my sins, with the acquittal of sacrament of forgiveness I am free from all blame “inappropriate attitude: The absence of true conversion, lack of purpose of amendment and repair of damage causados.5 – Subjectivism: It is justified by saying:” If it is good for me, if I harms no “inappropriate attitude: The values are objective and do not depend on interpretations accommodating or antojadizas.6 – permissiveness, is justified by saying:” I I can afford, because … but neither you or I forgive others ” or “globalization and modernity required to be” in “inappropriate attitude: to confer the dignity or rights not accorded to others. Pluralism and tolerance overrated sobredimensionada.7 –Exception: justify saying: “It will be the established order and legally legitimate, but” my case is different. My situation is “exceptional” The inappropriate behavior: Although there are circumstances and contexts served is illegal systematically marginalized the rules of coexistence. 8 – Scientists, Economic, Psychologists, OVERALL: They are justified by saying: If denote scientific achievements, economic, psychological, etc., are developments that need to progress, despite the “sacrifices” may.’s inappropriate behavior: The identity of human beings and dignity is violated his rights and inwardness, spirituality and individuality, uniqueness and sense of transcendence. The amorality that is absence of criteria, moral standards and ethical principles leads to immorality and total helplessness. Unknown to person is an end in itself and never a means to something. 9 – Ethnocentrism, Dogmatism, Essential: It is justified to say: “Our customs, beliefs, traditions, values, etc., as always are the only objective and valid, being both the “measure” that others must assimilate “inappropriate attitude: Superiority complex and intolerance. Forgetting that life is dynamic and not static. Signs of the times they are leading mankind to a progressive awareness of the equal dignity of all persons without discrimination 10 – HEDONISM search for pleasure or leisure. It is also a IMMANENCE EXISTENCIAL: It is justified by saying, “Who saw tomorrow? eat and drink for tomorrow we die” attitude inadequate: Individualism makes us forget our essentially social nature. Human acts consciously or not, have consequences or impact on oneself, others, in the life of the eco sistemas.11 – Relativism: It is justified by saying: “Everything is negotiable for the convenience “” Everything is relative, nothing is absolute “inappropriate attitude: Our” word of honor “, the rules of behavior in marriage, labor agreements, business etc.., cease to be reliable and credible. The social construct convictions based on value achieved through rationality, insight and good conscience are the “subjective discretion” who take or leave it for you. Another danger: What disdain for inconvenient today, tomorrow will be the lifeline . Strength and weakness of the human attribute ethical – moral: Our greatness lies in the ability to decide. But just as we were right, we can also make mistakes and somehow there is our smallness And here we find the key to a sense of responsibility, because they generate in us two feelings: Remorse and repentance.’s remorse is a feeling that looks to the past. It suffers from being unable to clear the damage we did. But awareness of “being wrong” rather than dive into sickly guilt complexes honestly invites us to recognize our fragility Repentance is a sense that looks to the future. It involves the recognition that we can modify our behavior. The repentant man faces the future with hope: not only is able to repair and correct what went wrong, but to take care of himself “re – creating” if it is proposed