Education in Morality

Readings and Reflections

by Sam Batara (2002)
University of Asia and the Pacific

In everyday discourse morality refers simply to the norms of right and

wrong conduct. But what is meant by moral right and wrong? Whose criteria
shall be used to judge the wrongness of actions? Individuals treat some
forms of social behavior as moral universals. Other forms of social conduct
are subject to determination by local cultural or social norms. Still others are
matters of personal choice. Conceptual differences emerge when formal
criteria for morality are employed which define morality as those
interpersonal behaviors that are held to be right or wrong, independent of
governing social rules, and maintained as universally binding. Prescriptions
which meet these criteria are those which refer to actions, such as hitting and
hurting, stealing, slander, which have an impact on the welfare of others.
Accordingly, concepts of morality underscore conceptions of justice, rights
and welfare. Morality, then, may be defined as one's concepts, reasoning,
and actions, which pertain to the welfare, rights and fair treatment of persons
and, to some extent, the rest of creation.

Morality, defined in terms of justice, welfare, and rights, can be

distinguished from concepts of social conventions. Conventions are
collectively determined standards of conduct particular to a given social
group. Conventions established by social systems, such as norms or
standards of dress, how people should address one another, table manners
and so forth, derive their status as correct or incorrect forms of conduct from
their inclusion within a particular shared system of meaning and social
interaction. The particular acts in and of themselves have no prescriptive
force in that different or even opposite norms (e.g., dresses for men, pants
for women) could be established to achieve the same symbolic or regulatory
function (e.g., distinguishing men from women). The importance of
conventions lies in the function they serve to coordinate social interaction
and discourse within social systems. Social conventions are necessitated by
the need for order and control in social interactions and organizations.

Violations of morality, such as harming another, are wrong whether or

not there is a governing rule in effect. Moral judgments of wrongness can be
generalized as universally true to members of other cultures or groups which
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may not have norms regarding such actions. Conventions, on the other hand,
are viewed as binding only within the context of an existing social norm, and
only for participating members within a given social group.

It can safely be assumed that a wide variety of world cultures

differentiate between matters of morality and convention. The same can be
said of conceptions of religious rules. Observant religious groups may judge
certain religious norms (e.g., day of worship, work on the Sabbath, baptism,
circumcision, wearing of head coverings, women leading worship services,
or appropriate food) in conventional terms in that they regard these as
contingent on religious authority or the word of God, and as particular to
their religion. In contrast, moral issues (e.g., stealing, hitting, slander, and
killing) are regarded as wrong to do, independent of the existence of a rule
established by religious authority or by God's word, and as obligatory for
members of all other religious groups.

Differentiating what is moral from what is socially "proper," educators

should focus discussions on questions of how best to develop children's
moral understandings (i.e., concepts of welfare and fairness), and their
tendencies to act in accord with such moral principles, rather than being
captured by heated arguments over which set of local conventions or
religious norms ought to be included within the collection of values to be
addressed by the curriculum. The identification of morality as centered
around issues of justice and human welfare is consistent with common sense
constructs of the basic task of values education as fostering the development
of people who don't lie, cheat, steal, or hurt others. These core moral
concerns for fairness and welfare constitute the central issues for moral
judgments and consequent actions.

Values educators would do well to point students’ thinking processes to

consequences of human actions as partial determinants of rightness or
wrongness. An immoral act has lasting effects that violate human nature and
destroys life, of both victim and, especially, actor, either instantly or
gradually. Any deed that goes against the dignity of the human person is an
inhuman act. Any action that dehumanizes is wrong because it reduces the
person into an object, a state that is far below the intentions of the creator for
humankind.