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Becoming a Moral Person – Moral Development and Moral Character Education as a Result of Social Interactions

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Empirically Informed Ethics: Morality between Facts and Norms

Part of the book series: Library of Ethics and Applied Philosophy ((LOET,volume 32))

Abstract

It is commonly assumed that humans do not begin life with moral character or virtue. Most documented societies through history considered infants to be unformed persons, not yet moral members of society, “humanity-in-becoming” who have “watery souls” (Fijian) (Sahlins 2008: 101–102). This person-becoming view fits well with human sciences today, as a child’s development is viewed as the unfolding and co-construction of a complex dynamic system. At first, the infant is co-constructed by other complex, dynamic systems—caregivers. The personality that is formed is very much dependent on this early formation, which is largely beyond the control of the individual. However, over time, the individual takes on more choices about her or his own character development within the framework of subsequent social experience and enculturation.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Generally speaking, sensitive periods in brain development include the first 5 years, early adolescence, early adulthood and during therapy. Although thresholds for many systems are established early, there is opportunity for change during these other sensitive times. It is not yet known how the three ethics differ in malleability during these periods.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA

    Darcia Narvaez & Daniel Lapsley

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  1. Darcia Narvaez
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  2. Daniel Lapsley
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Correspondence to Darcia Narvaez .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biomedical Ethics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Markus Christen

  2. Anthropological Institute & Museum, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Carel van Schaik

  3. Institute of Social Ethics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Johannes Fischer

  4. University Priority Program Ethics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Markus Huppenbauer

  5. Department of Banking and Finance, Centre for Responsibility in Finance, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Carmen Tanner

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Narvaez, D., Lapsley, D. (2014). Becoming a Moral Person – Moral Development and Moral Character Education as a Result of Social Interactions. In: Christen, M., van Schaik, C., Fischer, J., Huppenbauer, M., Tanner, C. (eds) Empirically Informed Ethics: Morality between Facts and Norms. Library of Ethics and Applied Philosophy, vol 32. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01369-5_13

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