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

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Part of the Library of Ethics and Applied Philosophy book series (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.

Keywords

Moral Judgment Moral Reasoning Emotional Intelligence Moral Development Moral Identity 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of PsychologyUniversity of Notre DameNotre DameUSA

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