Dewey holds that virtues cannot be given fixed meanings because they express interests in changing objects and institutions, so virtues should be taught in relation to specific situations¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · theoretical r2 · q1
Currency · newest study 2014 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Evidence quality · No study behind this claim is a peer-reviewed article with a DOI: it rests on a source with no registered publication record (a web page, book or unpublished report). It is kept because a design page cites it; treat it as a lead to check, not an established finding.

Subclaims¶

q1 i? For Dewey, each virtue's meaning changes with social and physical environments, virtues are not isolated from each other, and no virtue can be taught separately from the concrete situation. → Xiangdong Liu 2014

Evidence¶

Xiangdong Liu 2014¶

Xiangdong Liu. (2014). The Problem of Character Education and Kohlberg's Moral Education: Critique from Dewey's Moral Deliberation. Philosophical Studies in Education 45. https://www.ovpes.org/

q1 · i? · theoretical · r2

Philosophical interpretation of Dewey's Theory of the Moral Life offered in the section on what Dewey would say about character education. The article quotes Dewey that a virtue "cannot be given a fixed meaning" and adds that virtues work together in each situation rather than being taught separately.

"Dewey held that each virtue “cannot be given a fixed meaning, because each expresses an interest in objects and institutions which are changing.”"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Character education is criticized for didacticism and de-emphasizing reflection and moral judgment, and Dewey's deliberation is proposed as a bridge between it and Kohlberg's approach — related
• Dewey rejects Kohlberg's fixed stage hierarchy: moral inquiry happens only in problematic situations where no single action seems morally justified, and must be repeated as concrete situations arise — related
• For Dewey, moral knowledge is a product of moral inquiry, so character education should add moral problem solving rather than teach fixed principles through example, reward, or punishment — related
• A meta-analysis of 55 studies found Kohlberg's dilemma discussion approach had a moderate to significant effect on moral education, and Just Community Schools provided a moral culture — related
• Dewey grounds morality in everyday problems, making administrative practice chiefly an ethical undertaking resolved by reflective appraisal of competing values — related