A Critical Analysis of the View of Directive Moral Education

Michael Hand regards compliance with ethical standards as the primary objective of moral education. He believes that directive moral education is a kind of thoughtful reflection which aims to promote compliance with justified ethical standards. Therefore, one cannot remain impartial to justified ethical standards and one needs to purposefully contribute to the debate so as to arrive at a reasonable conclusion. Hand sees this as a necessary condition for the continuity of social life. The main question of this study is whether it is an appropriate way for moral education to justify ethical standards by means of argument. This study seeks to challenge Hand’s commitment to argument and rational justification for ethical standards as the most effective method for moral education. This is because logical reasoning is not by itself sufficient to convince others and to promote compliance with moral principles. The present research claims that there is a sort of implicit compliance with ethical standards. General agreement on ethical standards depends upon some implicit understanding obtained by living in an especial culture with a distinctive identity. This cannot be formulated in rational arguments. Moral education based on this understanding may lead to a deep insight into ethics that plays a crucial role in acquiring moral virtues. The current research defends this quality as implicit compliance with ethical standards.