BEDSV 101 Value Education Block 1 PDF

BEDSV-101 Value Education School of Extension and Development Studies Indira Gandhi National Open University New Delhi EXPERT COMMITTEE Prof. N.K. Ambasht Dr. Indu Kumar Ex-Chairman, Assistan...

BEDSV-101 Value Education School of Extension and Development Studies Indira Gandhi National Open University New Delhi EXPERT COMMITTEE Prof. N.K. Ambasht Dr. Indu Kumar Ex-Chairman, Assistant Professor, NIOS Department of Elementary Education NCERT, Prof. C.R.K. Murthy New Delhi-110016 Professor, STRIDE Block-14, IGNOU Ms. Indu Goswamy Principal, Kendriya Vidyalaya Prof. Somdutt Dikshit Rohini, New Delhi-110017 Director and Executive Secretary General (WAVE),New Delhi-24 Dr. Shefali Srivastava Campaigner, Value Education Mr. J.N. Sharma Bhopal, M.P. Educational Consultant Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Dr. Silima Nanda New Delhi-110016 Deputy Director International Division, Block-14 Prof. B.S. Dagar IGNOU, New Delhi Ex-Consultant, STRIDE, IGNOU. Prof. Sutapa Bose Savitha Kapur Assistant Professor, Former Principal, Kendriya Vidyalaya School of Education, Pragati Vihar, IGNOU. New Delhi-110016 Dr. Lata Pandey Associate Professor, Department of Elementary Education NCERT, New Delhi-110016 BLOCK PREPARATION TEAM BLOCK-1 Units Writer: Content Editor: Prof. Sutapa Bose, IGNOU. Prof. B.S. Dagar (Units 1-4) Language Editors: Prof. Sunaina Kumar, SOH, IGNOU. Dr. Silima Nanda, International Division, IGNOU. BLOCK-2 Units Writers: Content Editor: Prof. Sutapa Bose, IGNOU. Ms. Bishakha Sen (Units 1-3) Language Editors: Prof. Sunaina Kumar, SOH, IGNOU. Prof. Sutapa Bose (Unit - 4) Dr. Silima Nanda, International Division, IGNOU. BLOCK-3 Units Writers: Content Editor: Prof. Sutapa Bose, IGNOU. Prof. B.S. Dagar (Units 1-4) Language Editors: Prof. Sunaina Kumar, SOH, IGNOU. Dr. Silima Nanda, International Division, IGNOU. BLOCK-4 Units Writer: Content Editor: Prof. P.K. Biswas, STRIDE, IGNOU Dr. Shefali Srivastava (Units 1-4) Language Editors: Prof. Sunaina Kumar, SOH, IGNOU. Dr. Silima Nanda, International Division, IGNOU. BLOCK-5 Unit Writers: Content Editor: Prof. P.K. Biswas, STRIDE, IGNOU Dr. Vandana Singh (Unit-1) Language Editors: Prof. Sunaina Kumar, SOH, IGNOU. Ms. Indu Goswamy (Unit-2) Dr. Silima Nanda, International Shri.J.N. Sharma (Unit-3) Division, IGNOU. Dr. Jayashree Menon (Unit-4) Programme Co-ordinators: Dr Grace Don Nemching Prof.B.K.Pattanaik PRINT PRODUCTION Mr. Tilak Raj Assistant Registrar, MPDD, IGNOU, New Delhi February, 2024  Indira Gandhi National Open University, 2024 ISBN : All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form, by mimeograph or any other means, without permission in writing from the Indira Gandhi National Open University. Further information about the School of Social Sciences and the Indira Gandhi National Open University courses may be obtained from the University’s office at Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110 068. Printed and published on behalf of the Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi by the The Registrar, MPDD, IGNOU. Laser Typesetting : Akashdeep Printers, 20-Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi-110002 Printed at :  BEDSV-101 Value Education Indira Gandhi National Open University School of Extension and Development Studies BLOCK 1 Conceptual Framework 7 BLOCK 2 Changing Culture and Human Values 53 BLOCK 3 Theoretical Foundations 113 BLOCK 4 Social Dynamics and Value Development 157 BLOCK 5 Social Linkages 213 INTRODUCTION TO VALUE EDUCATION Dear Learners! Welcome to this course. This is the introductory course on value education and designed accordingly. This course is presented in five blocks, each one of which is to serve specific purpose. The socio-cultural milieu of the present day modern society is afflicted by multiple social malaises like corruption, hatred, terrorism, violence etc and it is direly in need of a value-based education. Such value oriented education can help to combat the negative influences in the society. In such a scenario, the role of the teachers is very important because they can help in reconstructing the society through a holistic development of individuals-cognitive, physical, affective and moral. These call for teaching methods that promote rational, liberal, and independent thinking about evaluative issues. The teaching materials should introduce the principles of logic and rules of good reasoning that must be applied in tackling practical issues of moral education. The importance of morality vis-à-vis development of moral behaviour is deeply realized. The different dimensions of morality reflected by the moral theories of reasoning and judgment, enunciated by Piaget, Kohlberg, Gilligan and their associates are elaborated upon. Value theories encompass range of approaches to understanding how, why, and to what degree humans should value things, whether the thing is a person, idea, object, or anything else. Early philosophical investigations sought to understand, good and evil and the concept of “the good”. Today much of value theory is scientifically empirical, recording what people do value and attempting to understand why they value it in the context of, sociology, and economics. Living life by a basic set of values makes life fulfilling happy and successful. Caring along with Giving are two basic human values to live. And they add quality to all human life. Values are the principles to guide our thought and behavior. They determine not only what we do, but also who we are. The identity of persons or cultures is largely defined by the set of values they accept. This is especially true for cultures because every culture must have a set of behaviors it regards as permissible and another that it regards as taboo. The presence of diverse perspectives and traditions thus promote solidarity and mutual understanding, which help prevent societies from becoming narrow-minded and intolerant. Multiculturalism gives the privilege to the society for respecting, understanding and tolerating each one’s culture. Multicultural diversity means a commitment to inclusion and support of individuals from all groups and communities. The question of living in peace and harmony should be the goal of all conscious human activities and it is in this context that the spirit of democracy is highlighted. Democracy is a value based concept which eulogizes concepts like equality of human beings, respect for individuality, rights and duties and inclusive participation of individuals in the society. It is a process of social living based on the principles of human welfare. It assures fuller growth of ones personality and thus paves the way for a peaceful and value based living.  BEDSV-101 Value Education Indira Gandhi National Open University School of Extension and Development Studies Block 1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK UNIT 1 Social Malaise and the Need for Value Education 11 UNIT 2 Concept of Morality and Moral Education 21 UNIT 3 Dimensions of Morality 32 UNIT 4 Pillars of Democracy: Living in peace and Harmony 42 BLOCK-1 INTRODUCTION Unit-1 Social Malaise and the Need for Value Education: Portrays the socio- cultural mileu of the present day Indian Society. The social malaises are diverse in nature like rampant corruption, violence, terrorism, nepotism, social crimes et. The need for a kind of education which can prevent and combat such undesirable influences in the society is urgently the justification for a need of a value oriented education. It is the essential solution under under the present circumstances for transforming the children into socially worthwhile human beings. Unit-2 Concept of Morality and Moral Education: This unit clarifies the concept of morality as well as of moral education. The nature of morality is made clear y explaining the distinction between “form” and “content” of moral behaviour. The different criteria of rationality propounded by Hegel have also been illustrated. The unit also discusses the distinction between moral institutions, moral training indoctrination vis-a-vis moral education by giving suitable examples in each case. Unit-3 Dimensions of Morality: describes the multi-dimensional aspect of morality. Like any other behavior, moral behaviour is also related wit some of the domains of personality-especially the cognitive and the effective ones. This unit justifies why training in habit formation in some kinds of behaviour, especially in the early years of schooling is essential. The quality of moral judgment which entails moral action is also discussed. Unit-4 Pillars of Democracy: Living in peace and harmony: This unit deals with concepts which may be termed as pillars of democracy: liberty, equality and fraternity that help us to attain peace, harmony and individual social development. Democratic living ensures living in peaceful co-existence with each other. It is perhaps for this unbounded faith in equality and freedom that the framers of Indian Constitution provided in the Preamble that all men irrespective of caste and creed, color, sex or region or religion would be treated equal in the eyes of law. It also discusses the principles of democracy, in the educative process. Conceptual Framework 10  Social Malaise and UNIT 1 SOCIAL MALAISE AND THE NEED Need for Value Education FOR VALUE EDUCATION Structure 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Objectives 1.3 The Malaise of Indian Society 1.4 Relation between Education and Value Education 1.5 Need for Value Education 1.5.1 The Role of Teachers 1.6 Activities 1.7 Let Us Sum Up 1.8 Answers to Check Your Progress 1.9 References 1.1 INTRODUCTION A child is compared by some thinkers to a seed possessing potential of becoming a full-fledged tree, provided it is given the necessary environment, conducive to its growth. The environment to the child is provided not only by teachers or the school but by the total social – psychological milieu in which he/she happens to live. Secondly, it is not only the deliberate attempts of the school that help the child to develop as a worthwhile person or an individual. Other agencies of education like the home and the community also are sources of education and these agencies greatly influence the children to be moral or immoral. This is because to a great extent children learn (both good and bad things) from the social and the cultural environments, even unconsciously. They pick up behaviours from home, school, peers, and other social agencies. It may even happen without involving any deliberate and conscious efforts on the part of the learner to learn or the social agencies to teach. So the way individuals develop, depends on the socio-cultural environment. This is especially true for young children as they have impressionable minds. According to the Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged (2003) Malaise is derived from the French word mal means bad + aise means ease. It has been defined from different angles: a feeling of unease or depression (Medicine / Pathology) a mild sickness, not symptomatic of any disease or ailment a complex of problems affecting a country, economy, etc. Bulgaria’s economic malaise. From the socio-economic context, several malaises afflict the modern society. Hence, there is the need for right kind of education for children. The concept of education is deeply related with the development of human individual in respect of its different facets of personality – social, psychological, physical, moral economic and intellectual. In a way education, in its true and complete sense, aims at the total development of an individual: as a social, moral and a spiritual being who can meaningfully interact with the physical and the social environment in a worth while manner to the benefit of both the self and others. Education which has value education as an integral part is necessary to develop citizens who can mitigate the social evils. 11 Conceptual Framework The present unit is an attempt to portray the socio-cultural milieu of the present day Indian society – the social malaises and the need for a kind of education, which can resist and combat the undesirable influences that these malaises have on the tender minds of children and about which the elementary teacher is supposed to know. 1.2 OBJECTIVES Following a study of this unit, you should be able to:  describe the major socio-cultural malaise prevalent in Indian society today;  illustrate that mere acquisition of knowledge and skills is not enough for being educated;  relate the major cause of erosion of human values in our society and  justify the need for value-oriented education under the circumstances we happen to live 1.3 THE MALAISE OF INDIAN SOCIETY We shall discuss in this section some of the malaises affecting the Indian society. There is a maddening pursuit for accumulation of physical wealth, power and status at the cost of humanness in us. Though we are very proud of our ancient culture, which upholds spiritual development over materialistic pursuits, but in reality it has become shrouded in the pages of scriptures or of history. Declining social environment is a major determinant of increasing mental health problems in recent years. Poverty, over-crowded living conditions, unemployment, job insecurity and inequity, a growing number of broken relations and marriages, man-made natural disasters, wars, ethnic violence as well as violence against women, children and aged are some of the major factors which have aggravated the situation to a greater extent. Occurrence of incidents of social malaise smashes the semblance of comfort of the world. Severe poverty, family conflict, neglects and violence, alcoholism or drug abuse in the home, or the illness and death of parents, can be some of the reasons that drive the young people to live on their own. From here starts the vicious cycle of neglected lives that impairs spiritual bliss of an individual resulting in loss of self, proving detrimental than any other loss in the world. Issues like torture, mutilation can take place due to oppression, castration under religious or societal pressure, sodomy or sexual abuse that mars one’s psychology and stands his or her way to complete humanness. Considerable percentage of children suffers from malnutrition, are not able to find access to basic education, live in deplorable conditions and endure inhuman treatment. Corruption and crime are the obvious outcome of such frustrated generation because of rapid urban growth along with weak institutions and economic crisis. All social classes are affected by crime and insecurity, but it is the marginalised section of the society which is more vulnerable as it lacks means to defend itself. Every strata of society is witnessing different set of problems. Violence against girls and women cuts across lines of class, income, residence and culture. The situation is no better in the urban areas, where the cases of domestic violence, rape, suicide, dowry deaths are equally prevalent. Physical, sexual and psychological violence have become 12 a part and parcel of human living. Every one of us has to take the responsibility to Social Malaise and Need for Value Education combat the social malaises corroding the society. The Upanishads have taught us the ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam (i.e. the entire world is my family), yet today we fight with our fellowmen in the name of religion, region or even caste. Some people seek to attach importance to mosques, temples and other religious institutions and try to draw the attention of people from worthwhile issues that can lead to social development and inclusiveness. Such vested interests sustain the grinding poverty of Indian people, abysmal standards of nutrition, social injustice, and the like. We fight for the preservation of the former even with the total neglect of the latter. For example, we may resort to fast unto death on religious issues and even massacre people on these issues but remain unmoved by acute suffering of our people resulting from hunger, disease, malnutrition or even communal hatred. Does religion teach us all this? Certainly not. And if still we do all this or believe in such kinds of things for the sake of religion, we are not religious but bigots or fundamentalists. Essence of all religions is about humanity, equality and about caring for the people. We should seek to develop in children spirituality rather than knowledge of religious rites and rituals, nurture love for people, not hatred towards them. Many of our religious philosophies and texts teach us the lofty ideals of Aparigraha (non hoarding) but we often find some of our religious preachers, accumulating huge material , lust for power and property, and even exploiting people sexually. Our religions teach us the doctrine of Ashimsa (non-violence) i.e. not to inflict pain or cause sufferings to others either by words or deeds, yet most of the violence is perpetrated in the name of religion itself. Religions teach to “love thy neighbour as thy self” and to treat those in trouble with compassion and care. We remain untouched about a person who has met with an accident on the road and may die if not taken to hospital on time, simply because it may cause us some inconvenience or the police would interrogate us about the case. There are hundreds of such cases who die because timely help by the passers by was not rendered. We advocate rational theories of human conduct and action but in our personal life, we are guided by blind rituals, superstitions and orthodoxy. Our great saints like Swami Dayanand, Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Tagore, Kabir, to name a few have taught us to subject all contentions and moral issues to the demands of situations backed by reasoning but we continue to quarrel and fight over petty social issues. We theorize about social equity, justice and equality of men, yet large sections of our people still continue to be treated as untouchables. On the other hand, although we profess democratic values in public life, some of us still exploit caste factor for personal and political gains. We teach theories of social justice but may not practice them. While we teach lofty ideals, our actions, betray the basic forms of duplicity and hypocrisy. Thus, we face a value crisis, which has resulted in deep social, moral and spiritual vacuum. Corruption in the society is another malaise. It is becoming widespread and deep rooted. Lust for wealth and power and dissatisfaction with simple lifestyles are leading to widespread corruption. Loss of bonding among human beings is also a major social malaise. It is leading to break-ups in families and neighbours becoming strangers. The fellow feeling is on the wane. Substance abuse is also a serious social malaise. 13 Conceptual Framework Commenting on the moral and spiritual vacuum that has been created, Joshi (1994) aptly remarked, “Humanity today stands at a critical juncture. Hope and despair, pride and passion, comfort and confusion fill human hearts in unequal and unstable measure. Whereas the peaks of material progress scaled by some countries enthral humanity as a whole, the depths of social disintegration in many parts of the world sometimes, make thinking people wonder if mankind can make recovery at all.” Social malaise is also reflected in the agencies of the society like the educational systems. Despite the fact that at the conceptual level, education is an initiation into worthwhileness as Peters (1982) opined, but in actual practice, education imparted in our schools, colleges and universities, are in most cases examples of contradiction between theory and practice. For instance, some educational institutions like the private schools are for the privileged sections, out of reach of the poor. This deepens the social divide while education is supposed to bridge it. This contradiction leads to erosion of human value like equality. The erosion of values is not merely episodic but can be seen as a phenomenon (concrete examples are needed to substantiate this point). As per the Delors Commission’s Report entitled “Education for the Twenty First Century” (1996), education is the key to the resolution of tensions: “In confronting the many challenges that future holds in store, human kind sees in education an indispensable asset in its attempts to attain the goals of peace and social justice.” The Report mentions several kinds of tensions in the society that are central to the problems of the 21st century. Some of these tensions mentioned in this Report are: 1. The tension between global and the local: people need to become world citizens without losing their roots and while continuing to play an active part in the life of their nation and their local community. 2. Tension between tradition and modernity: This tension may be resolved by understanding how it is possible to adapt to change without turning one’s back on the past 3. Tension between need for competition and concern for equality of opportunity: to rethink and update the concept of lifelong education so as to reconcile three forces: competition, which provides incentive, co-operation, which gives strength, and solidarity, which unites. 4. Tension between the spiritual and the material: It is education’s noble task to encourage all of us acting in accordance with traditions and convictions and paying full respect to pluralism, to lift our minds and spirits to the plane of the universal and, in some measure, to transcend ourselves. Education alone can empower a generation by creating a social consciousness that can transcend differences of caste, creed, religion, wealth and more. It can create an environment of ‘equity’ in the country and act as a catalyst to initiate and sustain change in the society by eradicating the social malaises. Therefore, education is the key to the resolution of different kinds of tensions in our society. Besides the rampant malpractices in the society, teachers too often do not try to set the system right. Teaching, which earlier was one of the noblest of professions, has simply become one of the vocations for earning livelihood. But the way out of the present scenario is mainly through education imparted by teachers. 14  Social Malaise and Check Your Progress 1 Need for Value Education 1. Discuss any two social malaises existing in Indian society. ……………………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………. 2. Mention two tensions as described in the Delors Commission’s Report ………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… 3. How can education empower a generation? ………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… 1.4 RELATION BETWEEN EDUCATION AND VALUE EDUCATION If we attempt to analyse the concept of education from the point of view of the kind of behaviour modification it is supposed to bring, it is almost axiomatic that value education, and more so, moral education, is a sine-qua-non – an essential condition of the concept of education. Without inclusion of this essential component, aim of imparting education, which is mainly to develop, good human beings will not be fulfilled. No individual, howsoever knowledgeable, skilled, intelligent or competent he/she might be, can be included in the category of educated persons unless one has developed attitudes and behaviours which are socially worthwhile. Similarly no process of teaching and learning can legitimately be called education, if it fails to transform the individual from a biological to a human being. It will be rather a contradiction in terms to say that a person is highly educated but does not exhibit values in his/her thoughts and actions. An “educated” individual essentially possesses a set of values, which influences his/her life via thinking, feeling and behaving. Devoid of these value aspects, education becomes a tool for developing mere literary and arithmetic skills at the elementary level. The development of cognitive or psychomotor skills , making an individual efficient and skilful in manipulating the environment are important merely as means for becoming a well adjusted human being in an inclusive and humane society. Peaceful co-existence in the human society can be attained only through a kind of education, which is deeply rooted in a value system. The human values simultaneously take care of the interests of others as well as of our own selves without sacrificing the interests of either. 1.5 NEED FOR VALUE ORIENTED EDUCATION The kind of contradictions between what we know and judge as true, good and rational and what we practice in our lives have posed before the humanity a problem. The fabric of human society, to a greater extent is threatened by violence, terrorism, 15 Conceptual Framework theft, tax evasion, pollution, heinous crimes, etc. The social scenario as it exists can be attributed to the consequences of our ill-conceived educational system and practices of child rearing. Our education today is preparing efficient individuals but not good human beings. The framers of New Education Policy (1986) well recognized these lacunae and recommended that, for education to be meaningful, it must be value-oriented. The value context of education, which has been worn thin, needs to be brought back. This is possible only if we consider values as essential to the very concept of education. We need today education which is holistic and not merely centred on knowledge and skills required to earn a livelihood. The rampant corruption prevalent in the society, especially the Indian society, from top to bottom clearly indicates that the society has become sick; the greed for wealth has crossed all rational limits. The doctors in the hospitals would not treat a dying man unless money has been deposited. News of corruption in every section of the society is common. The custodians of law like the police and lawyers are not aboveboard. Even those delivering public goods and services like doctors and teachers are not exceptions. Doctors go on strike to compel the authorities to accede to their demands without any consideration for the inconvenience to the public and sometimes even of loss of human life. Then there is the problem of adulteration. People don’t hesitate to adulterate eatables like milk and milk products, grains, spices, mineral water, green vegetables and fruits. In some products they add harmful chemicals for sake of petty gains. Even life-saving drugs are not spared and in the market many spurious drugs are available. This is the condition of Indian society. Above all if an individual involved in such corrupt practices is caught red- handed, she/he greases the palms of the investigating agency. The evidences are destroyed deliberately to weaken the case and the criminals even go unpunished. It is for this reason that Human Development Index of India has gone down. According to a recent survey of the UNDP, India’s status on Human Development Index has deteriorated to the extent, that India is 134th country of a total of 196 countries of the world on which the survey was conducted. The social scenario delineated as above, compels thinking people to have a fresh look at the concept, process and product of our education. Is the education we receive in our schools, colleges or universities worthwhile? Is it bringing any enlightenment in the people that it is supposed to bring? Do the so-called educated persons have any consideration for doing justice to those who work under them? Do they care for others interests as they care for their own? If the answer is ‘No’, then we need to over haul our education system to include value education embedded in the curriculum. The planet we inhabit and of which we are citizens is a single, living pulsating entity. The human race is an interlocking, extended family – Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam as the Vedas have depicted and the difference of race, religion, nationality and ideology, economic and social status must not come in the way of global unity. The ecology of our planet has to be preserved from mindless and ruthless exploitation and preserved for future generations. There should be a more equitable consumption pattern based on limits to growth, not unbridled consumption. Hatred and bigotry, fundamentalism and fanaticism and greed and jealousy whether among individuals, groups or nations are corrosive emotions which must be overcome. Love and compassion, caring and charity, and friendship and cooperation are the elements that have to be encouraged as we transit into our new global awareness (Karan 16 Singh 1996). Holistic education which acknowledges multiple dimensions of human Social Malaise and Need for Value Education personality – physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual – can be the only remedy to the social malaise of the present day society. The challenge of combating social malaise cannot be tackled by one group or community in isolation; it needs a holistic approach and national consensus. Religious leaders, professionals community activists, political thinkers and civil society organizations must develop socially sound interventions and strategies for combating the social malaises. Parents should take steps to understand the world of youth and give them confidence through useful techniques of addressing the challenges of society. A stable family environment is essential for the healthy growth of children. Young people should take up the responsibility to understand the values of meaningful, sound and stable family life. Thus Education should aim for integrated development in the student physical, mental, moral and spiritual, besides imparting knowledge in various disciplines. It should strive to make him/her ideal citizens capable of shouldering the responsibilities of national reconstruction. 1.5.1 The Role of Teachers Teachers have a central role to play in student learning, and show them how to improve both individually and as a team. For the teacher to legitimately provide instruction in values, he/she has to be first oriented to such values. It is not sufficient to orient the teachers in human values or add the value aspect in their curriculum; the very process of teaching-learning needs such orientation. More powerful than singing prayers and organising lectures for children are examples set by the teacher himself. The teachers need to set an example of human beings with values. In all their interactions with children in the class or outside they are to see that children are properly cared for, loved and respected as individuals and no action of the teacher should cause injustice, or discrimination against them. Adding a separate component of value education in their curriculum is not going to serve any useful purpose. Rather, a teacher needs to set an example in simplicity, austerity, economy in using material resources of the school, politeness, take a stand against injustice in the school and the community and reinforced by regular instruction in the classroom. All teachers have a vital role in promoting respect for the cultural diversity of their students and the community. Good teaching builds upon the cultural and language backgrounds, ways of making meaning, and prior knowledge that all children bring to the classroom. Effective teachers:  develop their knowledge of other cultures;  have high expectations for all children;  provide a welcoming environment that affirms all children;  work with family members and the community to promote student learning and build bridges of cooperation Culturally informed teaching supports the learning needs of all children, regardless of their cultural or linguistic background. By creating a positive environment in the class and through the process of interactive teaching the teacher slowly but firmly fosters the positive values in children that ultimately help the society to combat the social evils. 17 Conceptual Framework 1.6 ACTIVITIES Discipline: Maintain an ethos in the classroom that is positive and all inclusive, with a feeling of equality, this would help children gain most from values lessons. Children feel secure and able to share their thoughts, feelings and experiences when they know that these are always welcomed and valued. Reflection: This is a time when the children are expected to sit still and silent for anything from one to four minutes, this has proved to help children in a variety of ways. It regulates breath and heartbeat and so calms and relaxes the body. It quietens the mind, focuses attention and increases concentration. It helps to develop awareness and intuition, and the children are more able to get in touch with their own feelings. Story telling: Using a story where possible as a stimulus for the lesson has many advantages. It can put across the value in a way that all levels of awareness can access. It generates feelings, captures attention and often inspires. The listener is able to find parallels in their own experiences which can help in future difficult situations. Use a stimulus for the lesson that may be based on a story, discussion, experience or artifact, etc. The learning objective should be made clear, for e.g. to understand why the value of honesty is an important guide to our behaviour. Discussion: Next is the teacher-led discussion that lies at the core of the lesson. Careful questioning leads the pupils to a deeper appreciation of meaning and helps them to translate the value into areas of their own experience. Enjoyment: The next section of the lesson will be an activity that will encourage pupils to engage with the value. Enjoyment should be a key characteristic of value lessons and is vitally important. Aim to make enjoyment a prime element will see positive effects in many other areas of school life. To be specific, teachers may carry out activities that lead to value inculcation in children. Some of these activities are: 1. Narration of relevant stories, poems, parts of text from scriptures of different religions that emphasise the need for good deeds. Such narrations may not only be by teachers but also by children; 2. Role play; 3. Staging drama based on stories, epics; 4. Celebration of festivals; 5. Activities for protection of environment like planting trees; 6. Caring for the less privileged like teaching children out of school; helping the needy and 7. Visit to localities where children can contribute. This part on curriculum of pre-service teacher education is to be deleted because the course is not meant for teacher educators but for teachers. 18  Social Malaise and Check Your Progress 2 Need for Value Education 1. Mention two activities that lead to value inculcation? ………………………………..................…………………………….. ……………………………………………..................……………….. 2. What is the relation between education and value education? …………………………...............……………………………………. ……………………………………...............…………………………. 3. How should teachers impart instruction in values? ………………………………………...............………………………. …………………………………...............……………………………. 4. What is the concept of global unity? ………...............………………………………………………………. …………………...............……………………………………………. 1.7 LET US SUM UP Since it is the introductory unit to the whole programme of value education for elementary school teachers, it is essential that we make a proper case for it and justify its need so that teachers at the elementary level appreciate the need for it. With this objective in view, the unit delineates the contradictions and inconsistencies existent in our society regarding what we profess and what we practice. While we preach lofty ideals of social justice, our actions betray them bringing out our duplicity and hypocrisy. Thus, we face a value crisis, which needs to be resolved essentially. The spiritual vacuum that we face today needs to be filled up with love care, compassion and justice. We have also discussed that such a situation has happened because of the weakness of our education system and especially because of the role the teachers play. Teaching, which was earlier one of the noblest professions, has simply become a vocation for earning livelihood and nothing more. The New Education Policy (1986) well realized this lacuna of education. It recommended that education to be able to meaningfully play its role in transforming the biological infant into a socially worthwhile and competent human being must be value oriented. The value context of education which has been worn out, needs to be brought back. This is possible only if we consider values like care for others and justice essential to the process of education. The teacher can play the most significant role if she/he takes care of human consideration in all his/her interaction in and outside of the class. The need for value orientation of the entire process of education can never be over emphasized. The Delors Commission on “Education for the Twenty First Century” realized the significance of learning to live together – learning with others and named this concept one of the pillars of education. In essence the only remedy to the global social malaise is education, which is rightly conceived and properly practised. Teacher 19 Conceptual Framework needs to set an example in simplicity, austerity, economy in the use of school resources and politeness. 1.8 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS Check Your Progress 1 (i) a) Fighting with our fellowmen in the name of religion, region and caste. b) Fighting on religious issues and even to massacre people on such issue. (ii) a) Tension between global and the local b) Tension between tradition and modernity. (iii) Education alone can empower a generation by creating a social consciousness that can transcend differences of caste, creed, religion, wealth and more. Education alone can create an environment of ‘equity’ in the country. Check Your Progress 2 (i) a) Narration of relevant stories, poems, parts of text from scriptures of different religions b) Role Plays. (ii) a) No process of teaching-learning can legitimately be called education if it fails to transform the individual from a biological to a human being b) To learn about peaceful co-existence in the human society can be attained through a kind of education which is deeply rooted in a value system. (iii) a) The process of teaching-learning needs orientation to impart instruction of values b) Teacher needs to set an example in simplicity, austerity, economy in the use of school resources and politeness. (iv) The concept is that the human race is an interlocking, extended family – Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam as the Vedas have said, and the difference of race, religion, nationality and ideology, economic and social status must not come in the way of global unit. 1.9 REFERENCES Dagar B.S. and Dhull, I. (1995) Perspectives in Moral Education, New Delhi: Uppal Publishing House Jacques, Delors (1996) Learning the Treasure within – Report of the International Commission on Education, Paris: UNESCO Publishing Joshi, Kreet (1995) in B.S. Dagar and I. Dhull. Perspectives in Moral Education. New Delhi: Uppal Publishing House Karan Singh (1996) Education for the global society In Jacques Delors, Learning the Treasure within – Report of the International Commission on Education. Paris: UNESCO Publishing Peters, R.S. (1966) Ethics and Education, London: Allen and Unwin Peters, R.S. (1982) in Downey and Kelly. Moral Education, London: Harper and 20 Row.  Social Malaise and UNIT 2 CONCEPT OF MORALITY AND Need for Value Education MORAL EDUCATION Structure 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Objectives 2.3 Moral Consciousness 2.4 Moral Education versus Religious Education 2.4.1 Distinction between Moral Education versus Religious Education 2.5 Theory of Morality 2.5.1 The Objective theory of Good 2.5.2 Language of Morals 2.6 The Form of Morality 2.7 Criteria of Rational Behaviour 2.8 Difference between Moral Instruction, Moral Training versus Moral Education 2.9 Moral Judgements and their Criteria 2.10 Let Us Sum Up 2.11 Answers to Check Your Progress. 2.12 References 2.1 INTRODUCTION In the earlier unit of this block, you have learnt about the social malaises afflicting our society, which are characterized by social and moral problems that are in turn leading to the social degeneration of Indian society. We have seen that the fabric of Indian society today is threatened because of the damages inflicted to society through rampant corruption, violence, terrorism, crime, hatred, bigotry, fundamentalism etc. and to the environment through pollution and unsustainable development. This kind of social scenario necessitates a need for education, which is, grounded in human values, especially the moral values. You have also learnt that education bereft of component of human values is not education in true sense. Without inclusion of human values it may be any thing like instructions, literacy development, training, indoctrination and the like but not education. Hence, education, which aims at development of total human being, must of necessity, be value oriented. And among different kinds of values, the moral values are most essential to education. It is the moral consciousness in man, which qualifies one to be called as truly educated. In this unit we shall try to clarify the concept of morality as well as of moral education. 2.2 OBJECTIVES After studying this unit, you will be able to:  define the nature of moral consciousness and its relation with education;  differentiate moral education from religious education; 21 Conceptual Framework  depict that the relationship between religious education and morality is not essential;  distinguish the matter (content) of morality from its manner or form;  illustrate with examples the four criteria of rational behaviour as given by Hegel;  clarify the concept of moral education and distinguish it from moral instruction and moral training;  state and explain the criteria of any moral judgement and  define the characteristics of a morally educated person 2.3 MORAL CONCIOUSNESS Moral consciousness, like intelligence is a natural endowment, which requires an appropriate environment or education for its full flowering in human personality. It is inborn but not in the sense that man is good by nature, as Rousseau and other romantic naturalists had asserted. Man, in fact, is born with two kinds of forces: one that leads to ‘self preservation’, with instincts that lead to aggression, anger, jealousy, fear, drive for sex and the like; and the other that leads to ‘social preservation’, like love, affection, sympathy, care , compassion, empathy, consideration for others, rationality etc. In Freudian terminology the former tendencies are id- related and the latter, super-ego related and the ego acts as the steering, which controls the two and strikes a balance between them (As per Sigmund Freud, human psyche consists of 3 parts – id, ego and superego. Id seeks pleasure and is impulsive, the super ego acts as the moral guardian and ego balances the two tendencies so that impulses are expressed in a socially acceptable manner). Moral consciousness is intimately related with ‘social preservation’. Therefore, morality or moral consciousness has no meaning and relevance without a social context. If we take care of others’ feelings or emotions as we take care of ours, we are morally conscious. If the sorrows or sufferings of others fail to move our hearts in the same manner, as the sorrows and sufferings of our own near and dear ones, it signifies that we lack moral consciousness in the same proportion. Such consciousness is innate or inborn, as already pointed out, but its nurturance depends on environmental forces acting on human beings including education. Some people strongly believe that the most appropriate platform for the consciousness to grow into moral behaviour or full-fledged morality is through religion – visit to places of worship, listening to preaching of religious Gurus and the like. They believe that there is an intimate and essential relationship between religion and morality. But to many others, such an assertion associating morality with religion is highly contentious. In the next section we shall examine the validity of the assertion with regard to the relationship between morality and religion. 2.4 MORAL EDUCATION VERSUS RELIGIOUS EDUCATION To settle the issue of ‘what is morally worth doing?’ Many people prefer to take 22 the final answer from scriptures like the Gita, the Bible, the Quran or Guru Granth Sahib and the like, or the preachers who hold high offices (the Mathadhish, the Concept of Morality and Moral Education Shankaracharya, the Maulvi, the Priest, the Granthi etc.). For such people, these sources alone are the legitimate authority, which can finally settle the issue of moral conduct. Some denominational schools in India follow this tradition of linking moral education with religious education. They have daily acts of worship and in the zero period, some religious preaching and anecdotes pertaining to some morals are related. They name it “Dharma Shiksha” period or religious education period. But, in fact, the word Dharma has got much wider and secular connotation. Dharma is construed by many well known scholars as, righteousness in duty with right conduct, thought and action. Since India has adopted secular democracy as a way of life, such a notion of moral education, which is linked with a particular sect or religion cannot be accepted as education of the future citizens of the nation. This is because ours is a multi-ethnic, multicultural and multi-religious society. The schools are meant to discharge functions that are free of religious education. The idea behind such a thought is that religion is purely a personal concern of an individual, whereas school is an organ of the total society that aims at the development of intellectual, social, moral skills and attitudes in children. Development of moral aspect of personality is the principal aim of education but it should not be developed via religious education, because religious education as we shall discuss below cannot be truly educational. Let us now study the distinction between moral education and religious education. 2.4.1 Distinction between Moral Education and Religious Education (i) It is possible to live without a religion, but it is unthinkable to live without a set of moral values to guide our behaviour. There are many people in this world who may not believe in any religion or even in the existence of God, but they do believe in moral values. They may be morally good or even better than many of those who are the followers of a religion. It is for this reason that we talk of “secular morality”, as an approach to morality, which is independent of all religions. So, there is no logical connection between morality and religion. (ii) If, we wish to link morality with religion we may involve ourselves in a situation, which is positively antagonistic to the concept of education per se. Morality derived from or linked with religion must essentially be authoritarian, because such principles of conduct emanate either from scripture or is dictated by some religious Guru. But if we accept a particular code of conduct not because it is recommended by or derived from some particular religious faith but for reasons other than these (rational thinking, for example), then our morality is not a religious one. For instance, we may base our actions on reasons other than religious ones, and accordingly keep a promise, do our duty with sincerity and commitment, speak the truth, etc. Such behaviour is not based upon religious morality and it will not be considered authoritarian because it is based on reasonableness and emerges from the social context. In certain contexts, where telling a lie is in the larger human interest or a behaviour can save the life of an innocent individual, one will agree that such a lie will be better than telling the truth. Such a principle can apply very well to other human virtues like non- deceiving, loyalty, non-violence, etc. Don’t you remember that even Sri. Rama, 23 Conceptual Framework whom many consider as an incarnation of God, killed Bali? This means that under exceptional circumstances even the so-called universal values can be sacrificed if by doing so, it serves a bigger human cause. (iii) Linking morality with religion is unacceptable because it denies the individual the right to choose the principles of morality according to the context of one’s own conscience. Such a proposition is unacceptable because it puts a dead end to any evolution or growth of moral knowledge. The fact remains that our moral understanding must be such as to enable us to adjust to meet new moral problems and challenges and to modify our principles to deal with them. But if we link morality with religious authority, changing of moral principles will be inconceivable. To the question of use of contraceptive as a means of birth control, religion is ambivalent. This is a moral problem, the solution of which depends on man’s thinking. Otherwise, the problem of over population will be a danger to our survival. Hence we have to leave such questions to rational human judgement. This implies that religion can provide no firm basis for moral decision and action. On the basis of arguments given above, Downey and Kelly (1982) concluded that, “a proper morality has to be seen as independent of religion. If there is a connection it is not that morality is dependent on religious beliefs, it is much more likely that man’s religious beliefs are a result of moral consciousness”. So we should examine any question of morality independent of religion and on grounds that make it universally acceptable. 2.5 THEORY OF MORALITY We shall discuss briefly the popular theory called the objective theory of good. 2.5.1 The Objective Theory of Good If morality cannot be linked with religion the question arises, how can we ascertain that some particular action is morally good? In earlier theories, moral precepts were seen as objectively valid and therefore it was sensible to talk of moral knowledge or knowledge of the “good”. According to this theory the base of morality is fixed and objective. It is a view that leads us to the notion that a morally educated person is the one who has recognized the truth of some particular moral values and he/ she acts on them irrespective of conditions/situations. Such values can be human virtues like truth, non-violence, not-deceiving others, to be objective and impartiality, respecting elders, etc. The purpose of education according to such a theory would be to impart instruction with a view to instil these values in pupils. But such a view of morality would obviously be authoritarian and hence not much different from religious morality, which we have already rejected as outmoded. Second, can any one of such virtues be desirable and hence good under all circumstances? We have already maintained that such virtues are not necessarily always desirable, under all conditions. There are other reasons also, why we should not nurture children in accordance with the objective theory of morality. One such reason is grounded in man’s freedom. Human being’s freedom of thought, right to his/her own beliefs cannot be denied. The concept of moral freedom entails notion of human being as an active agent, 24 responsible for his/her own destiny, and for his/her action and behaviour. Under Concept of Morality and Moral Education such a concept of autonomy, if I have a right to act freely or to protect my freedom, for the same reasons I have no right to encroach upon similar freedom of others. And this forms the basis of morality, which is the essence of equity or justice. It implies that man’s values must be his own. One loses one’s freedom in so far as one acts in accordance with the values that are imposed from without. It is clear, therefore, that our question “what is morality”, is a response to the constantly changing demands of the society suited to man as a free and an autonomous being. We must recognize this as a demand for the autonomy of the individuals and a respect for the freedom and autonomy of others. If we believe that we should live in a society comprising of free and autonomous individuals, we also thereby feel an increased need for moral education, a kind of education that must enable students to do their own moral thinking, rather than encouraging them to conform to externally imposed moral codes. Check Your Progress 1 (i) What is moral consciousness? ………………………………………… ………………………………………… (ii) What is the distinction between moral education and religious education? ………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… 2.5.2 Language of Morals Philosophers and other thinkers in the field of ethics have been trying to answer the most fundamental question – the question of what is highest good: the summum bonum, which may be termed as good in itself, or the determining principle in ethical system. As a matter of fact, the different theories in ethics have come up in the manner this question has been answered. For example, according to objectivists, there are certain things/actions, which are good in themselves. The idealist thinkers following this notion, assign intrinsic values to concepts like ‘truth’, ‘goodness’ and ‘beauty’. According to them these values are absolute and hence can be unconditionally followed. On the other hand, the subjectivists, rejecting the objective theory of values, assert that nothing in this world is good without conditions. What we call good is not a quality of the object, situation or action, but rather a subjective perception of the viewer. Something good for me may be bad for others; it may be good in a particular situation or at a particular time but bad in other situations or at other times. According to them, there is no ultimate or absolute good. The utilitarian, taking a slightly different view from the subjectivist, holds that the right or good act is the one which will probably produce the greatest amount of happiness in the world at large. For them, it is happiness that is good in itself. For existentialist thinkers, freedom and autonomy of the “will” constitute inherent goodness. Any action or situation is good to the extent that it directly or indirectly promotes or is likely to promote freedom and autonomy of the individual(s). 25 Conceptual Framework The basic question that is asked is whether freedom/autonomy, pleasure/happiness, truth, beauty or goodness etc. are good under all conditions and always? A little reflection would reveal that no such thing is good unconditionally. Kant, the great philosopher, having critically examined all such theories of “good” stated in one of his categorical imperatives that, “Nothing in this world or out of it, is good without conditions except the good will”. For Kant, therefore, goodwill is the ultimate good. If we deeply analyse this fundamental question in ethics, we find that the difficulties we encounter in setting up universal principles in search of some value substance arise because of our basic confusion in understanding the distinction between form and content, language and literature, or manner and matter of moral conduct. Any moral conduct has both form as well as content. According to Downey and Kelly (1982) our mistake in defining moral worthy of some action lies in that we take cognizance of the content (the action) and not its form – the reason that leads to the particular action. According to Peters (1966), principles of moral behaviour are: impartiality, consideration for others’ interest, freedom, respect for persons and probably truth telling. But the same fundamental question can be asked again: “Are such principles of human conduct good under all conditions”? And the answer again is ‘no’, not always and not under all circumstances. So Peters’ approach is not different from what Kohlberg called “a bag of virtues approach” to moral behaviour. All virtues, in the ultimate analysis, constitute matter or content of morality and not its manner or form. 2.6 THE FORM OF MORALITY If all virtues constitute the matter or content of morality, what then is the form of it? Some philosophers, especially the positivists hold that reasonableness or rationality of behaviour constitutes the form of moral discourse or moral action. Accordingly, no behaviour in a given circumstance can be termed as good if it is not rational or reasonable in that circumstance, even though it is in accordance with the highest virtue that is conceivable. Conversely any behaviour or action that is rational in given circumstances (effected for the sake of attaining a bigger human cause or end), even though what we call human vices (like telling a lie) are used as means to that end, will be decidedly good. That is if the “end” is worthwhile or worthy to be pursued, the “means” do not matter much. It is on the basis of such reasonableness that one can justify why Shri Ram in Ramayana or Shri Krishna in Mahabharata had to adopt wrongful means, because the worthwhile “end” could have been jeopardized and much evil would have been generated. So it is the reasonableness of an action (its form) and not the action per se (its content) that determines the moral worth of an action. 2.7 CRITERIA OF RATIONAL BEHAVIOUR In order to understand rationality or reasonableness in fuller perspectives with its implications on moral human conduct, let us explicate the concept of rationality. Hegelian dialectics of rationality is discussed in terms of four criteria, which are: (i) logical consistency or coherence (ii) generation of universals 26  (iii) empirical evidence in support of the generalizations or good reason to support Concept of Morality and Moral Education the same and (iv) public intelligibility According to the first criterion, it is necessary that a set of moral beliefs that we have, should be internally consistent. For example, it is not rational for me to believe that others should cooperate with me or should take care of my interests, if I do not, at the same time, accept that I must respect others. On the other hand, it will be equally rational (or coherent) if I believe that others need not respect my interests, just as I don’t respect theirs. Many people in this world live life according to the latter principle; we may not like their values (content) but we cannot call them rational or irrational, because they show coherence or consistency of behaviour. To be called rational, therefore behaviour must be coherent and consistent. The second criterion/condition of rational behaviour is generation of universal principles. According to this condition, one must not be guided by a principle today and another tomorrow unless there are cogent reasons for the same. The idea of rational morality entails that one’s behaviour should be in accordance with certain general principles, whatever these principles may be. According to the third condition of rationality, we should be able to provide empirical evidence or good reasons for what we do. We can say that behaviour, for which no valid reasons can be provided, is irrational in the fullest sense. Such behaviour cannot be counted as moral. According to the fourth condition, to be truly rational, our behaviour should be publicly intelligible or acceptable. If, on the other hand, we tend to behave based on evidences or reasons, which are idiosyncratic, they cannot be termed rational. One example of such behaviour can be “rationalization” which is contrasted with rationality. In rationalization, the individual tries to justify one’s behaviour by selective use of evidence or reasons, which seem to be valid but are not true reasons. The proverb “grapes are sour” (rationalising something as bad because it could not be attained) is an example of rationalization of behaviour. Rationality on the other hand is based on reasons given objectively and is not coloured by one’s perceptions. In the final analysis though rationality cannot provide us with any set of moral principles that we can adopt or act upon, it can, however tell us a good deal about the form or manner of our moral code (what is meant by form or manner or language of moral code may be clarified). That is it means that to be rational, our moral code should be coherent/consistent, in the form of general principles (generalizations), subject to evidence that emerges from public understanding of ‘good’. Check Your Progress 2 (i) What is Objective Theory of Goodness? …………………………………………………….. (ii) What is Rationality of Behaviour? …………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………….. 27 Conceptual Framework (iii) What is the difference between Rationalization and Rationality? ………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………… (iv) Describe the four criteria of Hegel’s dialectics of Rationality? ………………………………………………………………… 2.8 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MORAL INSTRUCTION, MORAL TRAINING VERSUS MORAL EDUCATION A few illustrations may be added to bring out the differences in a better way. We have seen that moral education is not a matter of instruction in certain moral tenets, nor it is a matter of getting to know certain moral values, which are objective, fixed and unchangeable. It is rather a process of learning to think for ourselves on moral issues, of becoming morally autonomous. While describing the act of teaching, we use terms like instruction, training, conditioning or even indoctrination and sometimes education. However one should remember that each of these terms has a definite and a specific meaning. They cannot be used interchangeably. In order to distinguish these terms, let us think of situations where these are appropriately used. According to Peters (1966) education is concerned with developing autonomy of the individual, where people can think and choose on their own. Education also involves development of a cognitive perspective. The other processes like training or instruction, etc. do not have any such aim. While training somebody in certain skill (say motor driving) we have no consideration for the individual’s autonomy. The process of conditioning and indoctrination are still more irrelevant to individual’s autonomy. In these processes there is a deliberate attempt to stifle individual’s autonomy. Attempts made to indoctrinate people into some religious or political-social systems are deliberate in nature and the aim is to prevent people to question the validity of these systems. In the process of education, however, what is important is the development of knowledge and understanding – a kind of cognitive perspective and also the development of critical awareness. To be educated, therefore, means not only the acquisition of autonomy but also the capacity to use that autonomy effectively. For example, if a person is provided autonomy or freedom to act, but the individual is not fully informed on the subject, the freedom provided will be meaningless. Merely providing freedom of thought does not qualify a person to be educated, unless one is adequately informed on the subject. So education implies an attempt not only to develop pupils’ ability to form their own opinion, but also to improve the quality of these opinions. We very well recognize that we do not give proper cognizance to an individual’s opinion unless we are convinced that he/she has given proper thought to the matter and knows what he/she is talking about. Another feature of education, to which Peters (1966) draws our attention is that the activities they are engaged in are worthy of being pursued for their own sake, 28 whereas in the case of other activities like training instruction or indoctrination, this Concept of Morality and Moral Education is not necessarily the case. To take a case, we can train some body to perform certain skills without any question of whether he/she values them or not. For example, one can train somebody in skills like pick pocketing or stealing or even torturing somebody. Similarly one can indoctrinate some body in accepting dogmas, beliefs etc. which no rational mind can appreciate. On the other side, it is illogical to speak of a man as educated, and assert that he/she places no value on the knowledge and understanding that he/she has acquired while being educated. There is still another vital element in moral education, which is related with the development of proper human emotions and sentiments, feeling for others etc. If we do not consider other people’s relations we miss something very significant in moral decisions. Hence rationality based on objectivity does not exclude human relations. 2.9 MORAL JUDGEMENTS AND THEIR CRITERIA Having examined the nature of morality and moral education, we need to examine an important question of what counts as a moral action. It has two aspects: one, an action cannot be called moral or not moral unless we establish that the individual has so acted on his/her own “free will”. It must be an act that the individual is, in the full sense responsible for it. If, on the other hand, the individual is coerced or compelled to do by forces beyond his control – and had it been left to his free will, he would probably not have performed it, the individual in such a case cannot be held fully responsible for the act. In such a situation the act will not be termed moral or immoral. This leads to our second point of consideration. When the question of praise or blame for certain acts performed comes to be examined, we need to see the intention or motive with which the act is performed by the agent. Two further issues need to be considered in this regard: (a) did the agent perform the act because he thought it was right? or (b) did he perform because it could bring advantages to him/her? In fact, while making a moral judgement about an act performed by the agent, the action per se is not that important as the “will” with which the act is performed. Kant probably meant exactly the same thing when he said: nothing in this world or out of it is good without conditions except the good will. If an act is performed with a “good will”, it will be termed as good, irrespective of the consequences of the act. In any court of law also these two principles of “good will” and of “free will” are considered as the sole criteria for determining whether a person is criminally culpable or not. The judge seeks to ascertain whether the act was done without any coercion, of his own free will and with what intention/motive was the act done. For any act done under coercion, the doer cannot be held responsible and hence cannot be culpable. Similarly, if the intention is established to be good, but some how the consequences of the act are harmful to somebody, then the agent will not be criminally culpable. Kant clarifies this point in what he calls “action done for the sake of duty” and “action done in accordance with duty”. Moral goodness can only be assigned to the former but not to the latter. One such example may be of an expert ophthalmologist (an eye surgeon) who gives an advertisement in a newspaper to hold a free eye-operation camp for the benefit of the poor people who cannot afford the hospital expenses: Obviously, with such a free operation camp many poor people will be benefited. Nevertheless the moral 29 Conceptual Framework worth of it will depend on the intention of the surgeon for organizing the free camp. Some people do it for the sake of their advertisement, for being known to the public so that it may accrue him dividends in the form of helping his business flourish. For them such camps serve as bait. What is crucial to moral behaviour is that it should be motivated by the desire to do what is morally or socially desirable and not for the sake of expediency. The action done for the sake of duty is unconditionally good, whereas work done only in accordance with duty possesses no moral worth. 2.10 LET US SUM UP The unit starts by relating moral consciousness in human beings with human feelings of right and wrong and caring for others. In explaining the nature of morality and moral education, effort has been made to distinguish it from religious education. Since religious education is authoritarian, hence it cannot be truly educational because education by its very nature enables one to think on one’s own. In our discussion about the nature and concept of morality we related the objective theory, according to which the base of morality is fixed and unchangeable. But in practice we observe that in the context of morality, we take cognisance of the changing circumstances, intention and the context in which we find ourselves. Hence, its nature cannot be fixed. Secondly the objective theory is against the concept of autonomy of the individual. It is further shown that, no value content could be unconditionally good under all circumstances. That is, there cannot be any absolute or ultimate good. The nature of morality is made clear by explaining the distinction between ‘form’ and ‘content’ of moral behaviour. Our moral behaviour must have a form as well as content. For example, when we say that any behaviour to be morally good it must be rational, here the rationality of behaviour constitutes its form and the actual act constitutes the content. The different criteria of rationality as propounded by Hegel have been illustrated in this unit. The unit also discusses the distinction between moral instructions, moral training indoctrination vis-à-vis moral education by giving suitable examples in each case. At the end, the question of what constitutes a moral action and what does not have been examined. In this regard, two very important criteria of moral judgement have been illustrated viz. the intention with which any act is performed and the “free will”. To conclude, no act performed without the free will of the doer, can be said to be moral or immoral; and second, any act performed with goodwill constitutes moral goodness, irrespective of its consequences. In this regard the two kinds of acts have been explained briefly: one that is done for the sake of duty and the other done in accordance with duty. 2.11 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS Check Your Progress 1 (i) It is a natural endowment which requires an appropriate environment or education for its full flowering in human personality. It is related with social preservation. If we take care of others interests, feelings or emotions as we take care of our own then we are morally conscious. (ii) a) It is possible to live without a religion but it is unthinkable to live without a set of moral values. b) Morality derived from religion is authoritative in character because it emanated from scriptures which are rigid. c) Morality is not dependent 30  on religious beliefs; it is likely that a man’s religious beliefs are the result of Concept of Morality and Moral Education moral consciousness. Check Your Progress 2 (i) According to this theory, the base of morality is fixed and objective. It views that a morally educated person is the one who has recognized truth of some particular moral values and he/she acts on them irrespective of conditions/ situations. Such values can be absolute and hence can be unconditionally followed human virtues like truth, politeness, respect to elders etc. (ii) Some philosophers like the positivists hold the view that rationality of behaviour constitutes the form of moral action. Accordingly no behaviour in a given circumstance can be termed as good if it is not rational even though it is in accordance with the highest virtue that is conceivable. (iii) In rationalization, the individual tries to justify one’s behaviour by selective use of evidence or reasons which seem to be valid but are not true reasons. Rationality on the other hand is based on reasons given objectively and is not colored by one’s perceptions. (iv) The four criteria of Hegel’s Dialectics of rationality are: a) logical consistency or coherence b) generation of universals c) empirical evidence and d) public intelligibility. 2.12 REFERENCES Ayer, A. J. (1946), Language Truth and Logic in Downey, J.B. and Kelly, A.B. (1982), Moral Education, London: Harper and Row. Bair, K. (1975). Moral Autonomy as an Aim of Education in Downey, J.B. and Kelly, A.B. (1982), Moral Education, London: Harper and Row. Dagar B.S. and Dhull, Indira (1995). Perspectives in Moral Education, New Delhi: Uppal Publishing House. Downey, J.B. and Kelly, A.B. (1982). Moral Education, London: Harper and Row. Hare, R.M. (1974). Freedom and Reason, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kohlberg, L. (1964) Moral Education in Schools, School Education Journal. Kay, W. (1975) Moral Education, London: Allen and Unwin. Peters, R.S. (1966). Ethics and Education, London: Allen and Unwin. Peters, R.S. (1973). Reason and Compassion, London: Routeledge. 31 Conceptual Framework UNIT 3 DIMENSIONS OF MORALITY Structure 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Objectives 3.3 Who is a Morally Educated Person? 3.4 Difference between Morality and Ethics 3.5 Different Facets of Morality 3.5.1 Caring 3.5.2 Judging 3.5.3 Morality and Justice 3.5.4 Acting 3.6 Let Us Sum Up 3.7 Answers to Check Your Progress 3.8 References 3.1 INTRODUCTION Having delineated the social malaise that the human society in general and the Indian society, in particular, are suffering from, we attempted to define and discuss the nature of morality and moral education in the earlier unit of this Block. We discussed that moral behaviour of an individual does not merely depend upon human virtues like truthfulness, honesty, impartiality, and the like. It also depends on the motives or intentions with which one performs an act. Morality, therefore, is a multidimensional concept involving a number of facets or dimensions. Like any other behaviour, moral behaviour is also related with some of the domains of personality, especially the cognitive and the affective ones. In the present unit, we shall explain the different dimensions of moral behaviour. 3.2 OBJECTIVES After going through this unit, you will be able to:  illustrate the characteristics of a morally educated person;  discuss the three facets of morality;  distinguish between morality and ethics;  describe Gilligan’s contribution to morality – the caring dimension;  distinguish between the morality of justice and morality of care;  differentiate between the ethic of justice and ethic of care;  illustrate why the action/act per se is morally neutral and yet significant in moral behaviour;  justify why training in habit formation in some kinds of behaviour, especially 32 in early years of schooling is essential  Dimensions of Morality 3.3 WHO IS A MORALLY EDUCATED PERSON? The understanding about dimensions of morality can be facilitated if we reflect a bit on whom we call a morally educated person. While analysing the meaning of education in the previous unit we saw that moral consciousness is a sine-quo-non of being educated; second, in our discussion on the connotation of moral education, we distinguished it from moral instruction and moral training. On the basis of this, we can hold that we would not like to call a person morally educated, who has had a kind of moral up-bringing, which is about what to believe instead of why to believe. What Kohlberg called a “bag of virtues” approach to moral upbringing does not make a person morally educated. According to this approach morality consists in certain fixed and unchangeable values which are to be instilled in children via rewards and punishments. Children so brought up are only exposed to character training rather than moral education. Moral education in the true sense involves many other aspects. First, a person who is not capable of reaching his/her autonomous moral decisions or reaches them without giving proper consideration to the particular situation, i.e. the context, may not be described as a morally educated person. We must understand that our moral action is invariably situation–dependent and not to indiscriminately follow certain course of action in accordance with the ‘virtues’, we have been taught. If a doctor, for example speaks the truth to that patient that he/she is suffering from some ‘difficult to cure’ disease, his action will not be a moral action. Secondly, regarding positive characterization of a morally educated person, we can say that such a person should possess adequate factual knowledge relevant to the context. Ayer (1946) calls this aspect “non-moral” fact of the case. The relevance of such awareness is not that one can logically deduce the ultimate choices/decisions from the factual premises, but rather it enables one to size up the situation and understand the likely socio-moral consequences of acting on certain alternative course of action. If the teacher tells a student that he/she is having a low intelligence quotient or the doctor tells a patient that the disease he suffers from is fatal, in most cases the consequences of such truthfulness may be disastrous. Concealing the truth in such cases is far more morally good than telling the truth. Apart from the knowledge of non-moral-facts of the case, for executing the moral choices one should possess certain skills, especially the social skills. One must for example, need to understand how to relate to people, get on with them, and even communicate with them. Hence, a morally educated person needs to possess knowledge and understanding of the feelings of others. Such understanding and feelings pertain to the affective domain of one’s personality. Therefore, an emotional approach, directed towards the interests, rights and feelings of others, rather than only cognitive approach may be required. Sometimes our moral behaviour is affected by our own feelings and emotions more than by a consideration of others. When we come to implement the decision taken at the cognitive level we are pulled by many forces that ‘Aristotle’ called the ‘Pleasures’, which may deter us from doing what we ought to do; or what our rationality impels us to do. For example, my friend is hospitalised, in such a situation my duty is to go to the hospital to see him. But for some feelings I don’t like to go there but spend time taking rest. In moral context, such conflicts between reason 33 Conceptual Framework and emotions have always remained. Emotions like attachment, greed, and selfishness are a direct antithesis of morally good behaviour. We will discuss such conflicts in detail in the later units of this course. At this juncture, it is sufficient to indicate, as St. Peter once remarked rather confessed that “The evil that I would not, that I do and the good I would, I do not” (in Downey and Kelly, 1982). There are in fact, two kinds of feelings and emotions given to us by nature: one, those that lead to self-preservation like the ones indicated in the above paragraph; and the other, those lead to social preservation like sympathy, empathy, love kindness, caring for others and the like. In our mature moral development we need to strike a balance between the two kinds of emotions. Nevertheless, there is no denying the fact that emotions play a significant role in moral development of man. They are not to be considered as merely an unpleasant remainder of human infirmity. It must be seen as playing an essential role in the development of morality. As we know computers cannot act morally, for they lack the ability to respond emotionally. It is in fact, the emotional aspect that makes us humane and enables us to live as moral beings. 3.4 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MORALITY AND ETHICS Morals or in other words moral values are generally associated with personal view of values. Personal morals tend to reflect beliefs relating to sex, drinking, gambling, etc. they can reflect the influence of religion, culture, family and friends. Ethics on the other hand is concerned with how a moral person should behave. Ethical values are beliefs concerning what are morally right and proper as opposed to what is simply correct or effective.i.e. an individual may personally believe that drinking is immoral. However, drinking is not, in and of itself, unethical. Further, it is unethical to impose your personal moral values on another. Ethical values transcend cultural, religious, or ethnic differences. Ethical values embrace a more universal world view. Trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship are some important ethical values. Ethics and morals seem to appear similar on the face of it, but if one analyzes deeply, there is a subtle difference. It means, it may be ethical for someone to consume meat and at the same time the same person may find the idea of slaughtering an animal repugnant. This implies that ethics define the code that a society or group of people adhere to, while morality delves into the right and wrong at a much deeper level, both personal and spiritual. For instance hunting wild animals like the deer and tigers in India was ethical till the other day, because there was no law against it. But the recent legislation has banned it making it illegal. Following ethics is thus a relatively simple affair but morals are however relatively difficult to adhere to. Morals define personal character, while ethics stress a social system in which those morals are applied. 3.5 DIFFERENT FACETS OF MORALITY Morality as we have indicated above is a multi-dimensional and multi-faceted concept. There are many issues and concerns involved in this concept. A better and more comprehensive understanding of the different facets involved can