Moral education serves at least five purposes.It reinforces what we know, because the mere fact that we know something is wrong is not enough to keep us from doing it.
It elicits what we know, because we know many things without knowing that we know them.
It guards what we know, because although deep conscience cannot err, surface conscience can err in all too many ways.
It builds upon what we know, because only the most general and basic matters of right and wrong are known to us immediately, and second knowledge must be added to first.
Finally, it confronts us about what we know, because sometimes we need to be told "You know better."
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
5 Purposes of Moral Education
J. Budziszewski, What We Can't Not Know: A Guide, pp. 114-115 [my emphasis and formatting]