DEVELOPING A BASIS FOR MORAL THINKING

Writing from the standpoint of mother and teacher, the author asks from where we can start to find a basis of moral education. She rejects simply exchanging one basis for another. We need to agree upon principles which would enable us to judge what constitutes a right basis, rather than concentrating on the content of particular beliefs. She identifies four qualities that children need to be equipped with in order to act reasonably in situations where moral choice is required: recognition of the validity of others as equals; requisite emotional insight; factual knowledge; and a capacity to make, and act upon, principles formulated by using the above equipment. These ''high-level'' principles should take precedence over any creed - sacred or secular; to make this shift has become crucial on a national and international level. The general preconditions and practical possibilities for the implementation of moral education are then specified. Finally, the author questions why so few researchers and teachers are working on this basis - concluding that what hinders us is our tendency to see morality as derived from authority, instead of being ''a form of thought in its own right''.