Directing moral inquiry: A rejoinder to Cam, Sowey, Lockrobin, Splitter, Sprod and Knight

Abstract

In this rejoinder to the foregoing responses to my article ‘Moral education in the community of inquiry’, I address what I take to be the four most fundamental objections to my proposed expansion of the community of inquiry (CoI) method. My proposal is that we make room in the CoI for 'directive' teaching of moral standards we know to be justified or unjustified, in addition to 'nondirective' teaching of moral standards whose justificatory status is unknown. The four objections I consider are: (i) that the dominant conception of the CoI method already permits directive moral teaching; (ii) that permitting directive moral teaching in the CoI would edge out other valuable kinds of inquiry; (iii) that all moral standards are controversial; and (iv) that the task of distinguishing justified and unjustified moral standards from controversial ones is unreasonably demanding. I argue that none of these objections is successful.

Keywords

• community of inquiry, directive teaching, indoctrination, moral formation, moral inquiry, moral justification, moral standards