Educating Ethics

I'm starting a new class this semester in ethics. While reading some of the material it occurred to me how much more practical it is than any of the philosophy of science (or anything else) I study. Compared to the meta-ethics I did last semester, this course in first-order ethics seems relevant to the man in the street.

Then I remembered a while ago in Australia there was some talk of offering a course in Secular Ethics to school children who did not attend scripture classes. (The idea was reported in the Herald on 30th July, 2005.) The talk started with an idea from the St James Ethics Centre, ostensibly as an alternative to colouring in or whatever else the dissenting students do while the rest are in scripture. (I have heard that some Catholic schools do teach something about social justice as part of their religious studies program but I've also heard pretty terrible things about the slant with which it's taught.)

At the time it seemed a fantastic idea. And now that I think about it a little more I'm even more enthusiastic. Can you imagine how much better a society would be if everyone had just a little knowledge of ethical theories? It wouldn't be much but it wouldn't take much. It's surprising what some people retain from their high school science classes many years later if the appropriate moment arises. Ethics would have a bigger impact because situations in which people might use that knowledge arise more often for most people than situations where they need to know about acids and bases. Just the ability to examine a situation in terms of duties and virtues could do wonders for the way people treat each other (if they just stop and think dispassionately) and maybe even influence the way people assess political positions.

The most important thing that could come from this would be an end to the (unfortunately real) conception that people can't be moral without a fear of god. Yes, some people do believe this even today. My friend Matt's father-in-law, a Baptist minister, is one. John Anderson is another, I think (although I'm not sure whether he believes his own bullshit). Not everyone would have to take the class to understand, just knowing that such a discipline existed would make the idea of gods as the only sources of morals seem ridiculous to everyone.

There are two problems to overcome: there's no-one to teach it; and having it at the same time as scripture would be unfair on the religious kiddies who should learn ethics too! I don't have an answer to the second problem. And it is a real problem because the law states that nothing else can be taught while the religious kiddies are off at scripture. I think this can be avoided so long as what is taught is not part of the syllabus. I do think that it would attract a lot of the students who attend scripture just because their parents think it would be good for them to learn about those things, and not because they believe (I've heard quite a few stories like this). There's also a possibility that it would benefit some children from religious families -- the ones whose denomination is not offered. If their parents are open-minded and be convinced that the ethics class is not an attack on religion they might let their children go to that. (Although this seems unlikely. I remember at my primary school most of the kids not going to scripture were weirdos like Jehovah's Witnesses and Closed Brethren.)

Eventually this will be recognised as an extra-curricular skill worth having and all the unis will offer ethics as a BEd elective). Until then I have a solution which would make a good source for the teachers. Because there are not enough clergy to go around (pace Mr Dempsey) most scripture teachers are little old ladies who volunteer their time out of the goodness of their hearts (my grandmother used to be one). Where to find that many ethically trained volunteers? Use philosophy students! Any philosophy student who has completed one semester of ethics would be elegible to enroll for credit in a course that is them volunteering to teach ethics to primary school kids. I think a large number of students would do it. It would require less face-to-face time than most classes and less reading but the preparation and having to explain concepts simply would mean that they would get a lot out of it themselves. (It wouldn't take too much of the lecturer's time either, once the inital arrangements were made and the syllabus written.)

Unfortunately it's not going to happen any time soon. Refshauge ruled that it conflicted with department policy. The St James Centre is disputing this but they won't get anywhere. This needs to be implemented at a grassroots level. What's needed is a university ethicist to develop the class and then approach someone in the dept, a district superintendent or maybe even a single principal, asking to get his students into schools to practise their teaching skills, the same way education students do practical work. "But we understand that there's very little time to teach the syllabus as it is so we thought it might be appropriate to schedule it for the same time as scripture." On a small enough scale this would be no more controversial than offering scripture for some strange denomination. A notice would go out in the newsletter that next year there would be "Ethics and Moral Philosophy" (this is a tautology but "Secular Ethics" could sound confrontational) offered alongside the usual C. of E., Roman Catholic and Muslim scripture classes. After it had run successfully for a year or two, the idea would be spread to other unis and other schools.

If I ever find myself teaching in a School of Philosophy I'll have to think about actually doing something like this.