ABSTRACT
As with the field of morality and moral philosophy generally, it is necessary when considering moral education to begin by clearing away a number of misapprehensions, misconstructions, and misconceptions. The true enemy of understanding is not lack of understanding so much as misunderstanding. Again as with morality generally, a major mistake in respect of moral education is to define the subject too broadly and loosely, as if it covered everything from cultivating good manners to producing saints, from inculcating the habit of punctuality to instilling the courage of the martyr. It is necessary therefore to begin by getting our bearings; and, at the risk of disappointing those who do not see that clearing the ground of confused and confusing irrelevance is both an important and a necessary prerequisite to drawing positive conclusions, this chapter largely consists in outlining and explaining why there are some things that I am not going to be concerned with.
