Culture

Indian Society and its Moral Dilemmas
O.P. Sharma

Education for democracy is any form of intentional learning aimed at instilling the skills and knowledge necessary to function effectively and thereby contribute to the democratic process and thus enrichment of society. This is essential to check the all around degradation of social and moral values. Former Nagaland Governor, O.P. Sharma who traces the history of moral education and ethical value system over the centuries draws attention to the ever-worsening situation on the moral front in India and what needs to be done.

All-round deterioration in public life in India is generally attributed to the prevailing moral crises. This worsening situation has affected the security of the state, economic development and the international standing. President Dr. Kalam who has been a votary of India emerging a great economic power by 2020 has recently expressed his disappointment over the performance of the political class. He pleaded for raising NCC cadres among students as part of character building strategy.

The issue of moral education in a pluralist society like India and USA is important but sensitive. The present age is the age of humanism. God and prayer books are put on the back burner. Though the growth of humanism is traced to such landmarks as the French Revolution, American Declaration of Independence, views of Locke in England and Kant in Prussia, yet the fact remains that the seeds of humanism were in 2000 years old Greek Philosophy, 3000 years old Chinese Philosophy and 4000 years of Indian Philosophy.  Protagoras and Sophists in 5th Century BC Greece, who were against religion, had propounded man-centered philosophy. This highlights the point that religion and morality are not the same as the Sophists regarded religion as primitive superstition while Jainism and Buddhism were deeply moral but atheistic religions. Protagoras, on the other hand, stated that the virtue was an art while Socrates said that Virtue was knowledge. Aristotle observed that if it was knowledge it could be acquired and the Chinese view of life, be it of Confucius, Tao, scholars or illiterates was intensely human. Indian Vedanta provided a great ethical principle that the Atman was all-pervasive and saints like Kabir and Guru Nanak refined the concept of humanism.

According to social domain theorists, children construct different forms of social knowledge, including morality through their social experiences with adults. And studies point out that children actively evaluate social messages in terms of their domain appropriateness and reject messages that are domain inappropriate and inconsistent with the nature of the event.

Moral Education in Japan is grounded in their religion. From the ancient to medieval times, three major religions of Japan -- Shinto, Buddhism and Confucianism, were formed or introduced to Japan that gradually became the core of their value system. Shinto is the natural indigenous religion of Japan and has two main characteristics, worship of nature and ancestors. In Shinto, all natural objects and phenomena were considered as having gods (kami). There were neither specific leaders in Shinto religion, nor any books of scripture so that, after the advent of Buddhism, Shinto survived and assimilated Buddhist doctrine. Confucianism reached Japan in the early sixth century. Confucianism has four key principles: the hierarchical relationship, the family system, benevolence, and the emphasis of education.

First United States Education Mission, composed of twenty-seven prominent American educators, was invited to spend a month in Japan to examine the educational system and recommend measures to reform of education system, soon after the Second World War. The Mission reported:

“Morals, which in Japanese education occupy a separate place, and have tended to promote submissiveness, should be differently construed and should interpenetrate all phases of free people's life. Manners that encourage equality, the give-and-take of democratic government, the ideal of good workmanship in daily life - all these are morals in the wider sense. They should be developed and practiced in the varied programs and activities of the democratic school.”

Then, in 1958, moral education was again restored to as an independent subject (Dotoku, which literally means "the path of virtue") and counted as a primary goal, with an allotted period (one hour a week, at all grade levels of compulsory education) assigned to it. The goal that the "spirit of human respect" should penetrate the life of family, school and society, was reaffirmed as well.

Also, the course of study describes six objectives of moral education:  to foster a spirit of respect for human dignity and awe of life, to nurture those who endeavor to inherit and develop traditional culture, and create a culture that is rich in individuality, to nurture those who endeavor to form and develop a democratic society and state, to nurture those who can contribute to realizing a peaceful international society, to nurture those who can make independent decision, to foster a sense of morality.

Korea has an elaborate and graded moral education programme. According to a Korean maxim, "If there are three persons, including me, the other two persons must be moral exemplars for me." This maxim emphasizes that we learn from both a bad exemplar and a good exemplar. We learn from a good exemplar when a person gives us an opportunity to imitate his or her good behavior. We also learn from a bad exemplar when a person gives us an opportunity to reflect on immoral behavior. Through nearly a 5,000-year-old history, Koreans have cherished the cultivation of moral character as a focal point of human life.

Humanism is now interpreted in wider terms and there is a greater concern for animal rights, rights of children, women, and the unprivileged. The changing society keeps throwing fresh moral concerns. In the age of IT, new terms like "Internet ethics," "cyber ethics," "cyber law," "netiquette," and others such terms have come into vogue. The current request to put God and prayer back into the classroom derives from an old and enduring belief that extends beyond the parochial scope of specific religious groups which is a belief that morality and religion are inseparable.  The problem this point of view presents to teachers and administrators of any pluralist democracy is that it forces school personnel to choose among the values of differing religious groups.

Defining Character Education and Education for Democracy is difficult. Unfortunately this field is rife with problems of language and terminology. Terms vary both between cultures and historically within cultures. So what a term may connote in one place and time may be quite different than what it connotes in another place or time. In the US alone during the 20th century, the favored approach shifted from character education to values education to moral education and back to character education. Character education and moral education often have negative connotations in other cultures, conjuring up images of authoritarian religious sermons about eternal salvation and damnation.  By character education is meant any form of intentional education aimed at promoting the growth of moral functioning; i.e., to increase an individual’s capacity to function as an effective moral agent. Specifically aimed to may be increase the ability to reason about right and wrong, increase the motivation to do pro-social work or engage in pro-social behaviors etc. Or it may focus on a combination of these and other related aims.

Education has the potential for character building, for promoting basic democratic values, and for developing patterns of responsible citizenship behavior. Well-designed programs can enhance the social, psychological and intellectual development of youth and help them to become informed, engaged, and effective citizens.