University of Alberta Stoicism, Moral Education and Material Goods by David Patrick Burns A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Theoretical, Cultural and International Studies in Education Department of Educational Policy Studies ©David Patrick Burns Spring 2011 Edmonton, Alberta Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission. To my loving wife, thank you. ABSTRACT Material goods play an important role in ethical life and moral education. Judging which goods are preferable to which − and which are therefore worth pursuing over which − is an ethically crucial process. The currently dominant paradigms of moral education (virtue education, cognitive developmentalism and care theory) do not satisfactorily contribute to this important topic. I argue that the resultant lacuna may be resolved by attending to the insight of the classical Stoics and their modern day neo‐Stoic interpreters. Stoicism, I argue, provides a unique set of philosophical resources that fosters critical deliberation and reflection regarding the attribution of value to material goods. I begin this study by detailing the extant lacuna via discussion of virtue education, cognitive developmentalism and care theory as they relate to material good education. Once the lacuna’s existence is established I move on to introduce Stoic philosophy (both classical and contemporary). From this philosophy I construct a moral educational framework. This framework is then applied to two topics related to the material good lacuna: consumer education and environmental education. I conclude that, while Stoicism must be softened and revised for a modern pedagogical audience, its core philosophy has much to offer moral educationalists. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................1 METHODOLOGY..........................................................................................................................................2 THE NEED FOR THIS STUDY....................................................................................................................4 Issue 1: Consumer Education...........................................................................................................5 Issue 2: Environmental Education ................................................................................................9 The Extant Lacuna............................................................................................................................11 CHAPTER 2 MORAL EDUCATION AND MATERIAL GOODS....................................... 14 CRITERIA FOR SELECTION..................................................................................................................... 14 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTALISM ....................................................................................................... 17 Historical Background ....................................................................................................................17 Theoretical Roots...............................................................................................................................19 Proposals for Moral Educational Practice..............................................................................24 Relevance to the Material Good Lacuna..................................................................................25 CARING MORAL EDUCATION ................................................................................................................ 28 Historical Background ....................................................................................................................28 Theoretical Roots...............................................................................................................................29 Proposals for Moral Educational Practice..............................................................................33 Relevance to the Material Good Lacuna..................................................................................35 CHARACTER/VIRTUE EDUCATION ...................................................................................................... 39 Historical Background ....................................................................................................................40 Theoretical Roots...............................................................................................................................42 Proposals for Moral Educational Practice..............................................................................51 Relevance to the Material Good Lacuna..................................................................................59 TOUCHSTONES FOR A MORAL EDUCATION REGARDING MATERIAL GOODS............................... 61 1. Critical Reflective and Deliberative Capacities................................................................61 2. Just Communities...........................................................................................................................61 3. Other­ and Self­regarding Frameworks..............................................................................62 4. Comprehensive Attention to Habit, Emotion and Practical Judgment..................62 5. Fostering Caring Relations .......................................................................................................62 6. Ordinary Conversation ...............................................................................................................63 CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................................ 63 CHAPTER 3 AN INTRODUCTION TO STOICISM............................................................ 64 THE STOIC SOURCES .............................................................................................................................. 65 THE STOIC COSMOLOGY AND WORLDVIEW....................................................................................... 67 REASONING AND DECISION‐MAKING.................................................................................................. 69 INDIFFERENTS AND SELECTION........................................................................................................... 74 VIRTUE AND VIRTUOUS ACTIONS........................................................................................................ 80 STOIC EMOTIONAL PSYCHOLOGY ........................................................................................................ 84 THE STOIC AND OTHERS ....................................................................................................................... 91 Oikeiôsis .................................................................................................................................................95 THE MEDICAL ANALOGY AS PEDAGOGY............................................................................................. 97 THE STOICS AND ARISTOTELIAN VIRTUE ETHICS............................................................................ 99 EVALUATING STOICISM .......................................................................................................................101 CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................................105 CHAPTER 4 A MORAL EDUCATIONAL FRAMEWORK...............................................106 WHAT HAS BEEN DONE......................................................................................................................106 Neo­Stoic Education Outside K­12 Systems ........................................................................ 106 Neo­Stoicism in Mainstream Moral Education.................................................................. 116 A NEO‐STOIC MORAL EDUCATIONAL FRAMEWORK .....................................................................118 Neo­Stoicism ..................................................................................................................................... 119 Foundational Principles............................................................................................................... 120 Pedagogical Touchstones............................................................................................................ 128 SUMMARY OF FRAMEWORK................................................................................................................145 CHAPTER 5 CASE STUDIES...............................................................................................147 Background to Consumer Education Case Study.............................................................