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Chapter 8 - The Capability Approach as a Foundation for Moral Education

from Part II - New Approaches to Moral Education

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2023

By
Lorella Terzi
Edited by
Douglas W. Yacek ,
Mark E. Jonas  and
Kevin H. Gary
Douglas W. Yacek
Affiliation:
Universität Dortmund
Mark E. Jonas
Affiliation:
Wheaton College, Illinois
Kevin H. Gary
Affiliation:
Valparaiso University, Indiana
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Summary

Educating responsible moral agents is a central goal of democratic societies committed to the values of justice, equality, and the promotion of individuals’ well-being. How best to pursue the goal through formal schooling is, however, highly debated in moral education, due to reasonable disagreement on values and how to impart them. This chapter suggests that the core concepts of the capability approach provide an ethical framework which can fruitfully inform moral education. The approach’s core idea of evaluating individual well-being and the justice of society in terms of capability, or the substantive freedom to choose one’s valued life, together with the concept of agency and the importance of rational deliberation, set the ethical foundations for educating morally responsible citizens, who consider and treat other people as moral equals, care for social justice, and value their own and others’ well-being.

Keywords

capabilityfunctioningsfreedommoral agencyrationalitywell-beingjusticeequalitydemocracypublic reasondeliberation
Type
Chapter
Information
Moral Education in the 21st Century , pp. 136 - 150
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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