Ethics and Education for Adults in a Late Modern Society

Based on the argument that there is only one universal good and all other moral goods are cultural and relative, this book develops the position that adult education is a site within which human morality is worked out. Chapter 1 inquires into education as a practical activity, the educational, and the nature of educational knowledge. Chapter 2 presents a critical overview of the main theoretical positions in moral philosophy, moral and nonmoral good, and some arguments for moral goodness. Chapter 3 examines an existentialist argument for one universal good, how it is to be distinguished from cultural moral values, and the application of this position to the wider society. Chapter 4 explores the basis of social values and what constitutes socially accepted behavior. Chapter 5 explores the moral base of learning, education, and training and teaching techniques. Chapter 6 examines the assertion that the process of teaching and learning is the location of universal value. Chapter 7 addresses concepts underlying mentoring and mentoring itself. Chapter 8 addresses teaching techniques that emphasize the individual and individualism: self-directed and contract learning. Chapter 9 examines ethical implications for teaching in distance education. Chapter 10 argues education has become a marketable commodity and the market has no place for welfare or the common good. Chapter 11 explores the distinction between being and having and relates the distinction to learning and education. Chapter 12 discusses the relationship between measurement and assessment and evaluation and relates this to the processes of assessing students' achievements and evaluating courses or curricula. Chapter 13 locates adult education within social movements, explores the way in which society is changing, and discusses the role education can play in future social movements. Chapter 14 considers the learning society and the education of desire. (Contains 249 references and author and subject indexes.) (YLB)