Moralne i edukacyjne konsekwencje intelektualizmu etycznego

Abstract

The article is of a polemic character; the author criticizes the main assumptions of ethical intellectualism, especially the statement that a person’s moral behavior is closely affected by his or her knowledge of moral values. According to the author such beliefs lead to one-sided commitment of the students’ mental sphere in the present-day school. The author puts forward several theses, which she elaborates on in the text, including the following: ethical intellectualism, disregarding the importance of human will, emotions and feelings has significantly hampered the proper process of moral upbringing of subsequent generations and replaced it with axiological education. The author presents numerous examples of ethical intellectualism, which has dominated the Polish school, e.g. the student is perceived as a learning subject, less often as a subject experiencing a variety of emotions or feelings; the school infrastructure is relatively well suited to fulfill its didactic function but less so to carry out its upbringing functions; especially neglected here is the introception of values in students. The author is of the opinion that privileged pedagogical categories should include, among others, the upbringing situation and the atmosphere of upbringing, both of which facilitate the process of adopting proper moral attitudes by children and the youth.