한국의 공동체주의적 문화에서 도덕교육의 목표로서 자율적 도덕성이 갖는 의미

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to clear away the seeming contradiction between moral habituation and moral autonomy as two main aims of moral education conducted today after the model of so-called character education. What is at stake in this task is to clarify what moral autonomy means to us who are living in a highly communitarian culture where autonomy is considered to be vice rather than virtue. As a manner of argument, we call moral autonomy suitable to communitarian culture like ours a weak sense of moral autonomy, as opposed to the original sense of moral autonomy as 'self-determination' or 'self-choosing,' calling it a strong sense of moral autonomy. Drawing upon Merry's view, this paper argues that our future citizens' moral autonomy in a weak sense would not be hurt even if they are educated to uncritically accept and internalize their parents' moral beliefs and values, as long as they are not indoctrinated. That is to say, moral autonomy in a weak sense does not require rational openness and critical reflection in a fullest sense, which are supposedly required for the education of a strong sense of moral autonomy in a highly liberal society. However, moral autonomy in a weak sense still requires our children to be taught to appreciate the reasonableness of the given moral beliefs and values, sometimes in the light of some counter-arguments; for it will leave them with room to reexamine their internalized moral beliefs, so that they are able to will them as their own, as they grow up. This ability is exactly what constitutes one's moral autonomy in a weak sense as we define here. Finally this paper tries to show how well the education of moral autonomy in this weak sense can prepare our future citizens to properly respond to moral pluralism today. And it suggests one possibility for it by equating a morally autonomous person with a person with ethical self-understanding who is able to deconstruct his or her acquired moral habits and knowledge. It concludes with the expectation that more specific teaching methods for this form of moral education is to be explored and developed to see the presented view plausible.