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ERIC Number: EJ880979
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Mar
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0305-7240
EISSN: N/A
Moral Action as Social Capital, Moral Thought as Cultural Capital
Kang, Min Ju; Glassman, Michael
Journal of Moral Education, v39 n1 p21-36 Mar 2010
This paper explores the idea that moral thought/reasoning and moral actions are actually two separate phenomena that have little relationship to each other. The idea that moral thinking does or can control moral action creates a difficult dualism between our knowledge about morality and our everyday actions. These differences run parallel to the distinction between social capital and cultural capital--where social capital is based on cooperation and trust and leads to purposeful solutions to real time social problems and cultural capital serves as a shorthand sign that certain individuals should be recognized as accepted members of an ongoing community. Social capital and cultural capital, like moral action and moral thought, are related and sometimes even dependent on each other, but they are different phenomena sometimes working towards different purposes. We suggest that moral action is actually a form and an originating source of social capital and moral thought is an important form of cultural capital in many social groups. The differences between moral action and moral thought can lead to social tensions--including which is more valuable and how each should be approached in terms of education. John Dewey suggested that morality is tied to active engagement in the solving of a community's problems and should be integrated into the everyday activities of the classroom. Those who view morality through more of a cultural capital lens often times see morality as a stable set of social values--an important resource that needs to be transmitted between generations. (Contains 15 notes.)
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A