Pitfalls of teaching morality

Just last week the MOE announced a NT$1.2 billion budget for a morality education campaign that was supposed to inspire Taiwan's residents, particularly children, to improve their character and lead more ethical and moral lives.

Minister Cheng has now cut the funds that were specifically allotted for “moral education” and reduced the budget to NT$970 million.

A general governmental campaign to teach manners and encourage ethical behavior is laudable. Taiwan has long lacked effective public service announcements (PSAs). The PSAs the public does see — often before a movie at a theater or on cable television — are weak, often cartoon-like simplistic attempts unworthy of today's sophisticated audiences.

If a portion of the proposed “morality education” budget were to go to PSAs that taught road safety rules, respect for the elderly, proper public manners or even some anti-drug ads with substance, the money will not be a waste of public funds. But when it comes to teaching schoolchildren morality, the situation gets much more complicated.

What is morality? One definition from the American Heritage dictionary is: “Conforming to established standards of good behavior.” Of course, established standards have changed throughout the eras and are continuing to evolve today.

In short, when teaching children morality, who decides what's moral?

Children are by nature selfish. They exhibit selfishness in its purest form: The world doesn't revolve around me — I am the world. As people age they slowly grasp that there is more to existence than ourselves, and the awakenings of empathy begin.

Empathy is the road out of self. Some scientists believe that empathy evolved from something called “mirror neurons,” meaning the ability to understand that what you feel, others also feel.

In her article “Empathy, Mirror-Neurons, Technology and War,” Jeannie Carlisle explores how mirror neurons might have evolved: “The prehistoric warrior met his foe in a direct struggle of sinew, muscle, and spirit.

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