My remarks will outline, from a philosopher's perspective, challenges and opportunities that I see for a science of virtue. I will touch on three topics: (1) ensuring that the studies are philosophically useful; (2) grappling with issues of measurement; and (3) next steps in moving a science of virtue forward. I approach (1) and (2) through…

Religion dictates the groups against whom it is seen as justifiable (even righteous) to express prejudice: often groups perceived of as violating core religious values. We review research demonstrating that for Christians, particularly conservative ones, religion seems to sanction prejudice against LGBT individuals. We describe the causes and the…

Virtue theorists commonly assert that significant moral change, such as the cultivation of a virtue or the elimination of a vice, can only occur over a prolonged period of time. Many scholars who make this claim also accept the comparison between virtues and skills. In this article I argue that if one accepts the comparison between virtues and…

This article explores the widespread use of the 'lessons' of the era of the Second World War in Europe since 1945. This usage proved to be a resilient element of European cultural values, especially in Western Europe during the era of the Cold War. However, with the emergence of a more diverse and pluralist Europe since 1989, so this form of civic…

Adolescence has been highlighted as a significant period in an individual's character development and autonomous decision-making. Social cognitive theories of character emphasise the importance of the interaction between person and context in making decisions which promote the good. A Grounded Theory methodology was used to explore how adolescents…

Philosophical views defending shame as a catalyst for moral virtue are at odds with empirical data indicating that shame often yields psychologically unhealthy responses for those who feel it, and often motivates in them morally worse action than whatever occasioned the initial shame experience. Our interdisciplinary ethnographic study analyzes…

Success and failure in entrepreneurship affects not only entrepreneurs but also many participants in their entrepreneurial relationships. Studies have led us to consider the social and moral dimensions within entrepreneurship education. Doubts arise, however, when one asks how moral principles can be included in entrepreneurship education in order…

How do different forms of education contribute to value preferences? Clearly, informal education through personal experiences that shape one's sense of identity and frame cultural expectations and opportunities (as indexed by culture, gender and age-cohort), non-formal education through religious traditions and formal state-mandated education all…

How young people spend time out of school is important for their character development. In this article we explore the relationships between adolescents' leisure time and other aspects of their lives, with a particular focus on religion. Using a data set generated by secondary school students in Peru and El Salvador (n = 6085) for a public health…

One of the major challenges facing modern-day secular states is the issue of social integration. The issue discussed in this article is how it is possible to arrive at unifying values in a multicultural society that is characterised by secularisation and disintegration of the Christian hegemony of former times on the one hand and by the emergence…

It has been claimed that there are universal goals of child-rearing, such as survival of the child or the promotion of their capacity to contribute to economic and social reproduction. Yet in certain circumstances parents appear to pursue child-rearing practices that actively harm children, threaten their survival and inhibit their ability to grow…

Kant's deontological ethics, along with Aristotle's virtue ethics and Mill's utilitarian ethics, is often identified as one of the three primary moral options between which individuals can choose. Given the importance of Kant's moral philosophy, it is surprising and disappointing how little has been written on his important contributions to moral…

This article explores Vygotsky's concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) in the Malaysian context to support local reform of the Moral Education (ME) classroom. Small groups of students in three different types of school were involved in a participant action research (PAR) project. Such classrooms in Malaysia bring together students from…

This is a story of the intertwining of moral education with religious education in a professional lifetime. It is told episodically. Instead of the purported intellectual respectability of total separation of one from the other, even elimination of one by the other, it favours their mutual critique. It begins with strong sentiment, inspired in…

This article traces the development of moral education (ME) in Botswana from pre-colonial times to the present day. It shows how during this time ME has undergone three distinct phases of development, each emphasising a particular ideology. In pre-colonial times ME was offered as part of indigenous education in the home and community, both…