ABSTRACT
In reading the works of moral philosophers it is immediately noticeable that few commit themselves to any substantive moral conclusions concerning character and most ignore reflection on the period of childhood and the formation of character. They prefer to analyse and clarify general moral concepts. A great many educational philosophers have viewed morality as being primarily the process of making decisions. They have been concerned about rationality and autonomy in moral education, particularly the outcomes of moral reasoning rather than the ends or application of moral judgements. This has led to an emphasis on what Paul Hirst (1974) calls ‘forms of thought’ or the methodology of reaching a moral decision. This is the modern liberal position on moral education which aims to encourage critical thinking upon the values encountered in life – to form the person who can make autonomous, critical and rational moral judgements. This is what Ruth Jonathan (1999: 64) calls the ‘morally self-defining individual’.
