Did you know that many classical colleges dedicate entire courses to the art of decision making? The ability to make correct choices – to distinguish between good and bad possibilities - is so important that liberal arts programs require every student to complete work in this area.
In matters that count politically and personally, most college-aged learners have already made up their minds. They already know what political party they support, whether they’re for or against the “hot topic” issues such as abortion or gay marriage, and how they want to treat the people they care about. So, why bother trying to teach a subject like moral reasoning?
Harvard, a school with robust moral reasoning courses, puts it this way:
“The common aim of courses in Moral Reasoning is to discuss significant and recurrent questions of choice and value that arise in human experience. They seek to acquaint students with the important traditions of thought that have informed such choices in the past and to enlarge the students’ awareness of how people have understood the nature of the virtuous life. The courses are intended to show that it is possible to reflect reasonably about such matters as justice, obligation, citizenship, loyalty, courage, and personal responsibility.”
Basically, the study of moral reasoning helps us understand how choices have been made throughout history and how we can approach the decisions we have to make / have already made. When you embark on a self-study of moral reasoning, no one is going to tell you the specifics of right and wrong. Instead, you’ll discover methods of improving your own thinking. Maybe you’ll change your mind about some of the beliefs you already have or maybe you’ll simply understand why these beliefs are ultimately good. Either way, learning how to make better decisions can improve your life as a learner, a leader, and a human being. [click to continue…]
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