Why should we teach Moral Reasoning? | Phil Temple | TEDxNorwichED

Summary

In this thought-provoking TEDx talk, Phil Temple explores the importance of teaching moral reasoning at an early stage. He recounts a personal experience from his childhood that taught him the impact of words and the need for moral understanding. With his background in forensic neurodevelopmental psychiatry, Temple discusses the benefits of structured moral education programs, like the one at his workplace, which help individuals make ethical decisions and improve their lives. He poses the question of whether society should proactively teach moral reasoning in schools to prevent antisocial behavior and foster a safer, more successful, and happier future.

Highlights

• Teaching moral reasoning early on could prevent antisocial behaviors. 📚
• Phil Temple shares a personal story highlighting the impact of learning morality. 📖
• In structured environments, individuals show improved social behaviors and decision-making. 💡
• Environmental factors such as upbringing significantly affect moral development. 🏡
• Learning morality should be part of a proactive educational approach. ✔️

Key Takeaways

• Moral reasoning is a crucial skill that can significantly impact individual behavior and societal safety. 🧠
• Personal upbringing and environmental factors play a key role in moral development, and not everyone has the same opportunities. 🌱
• Proactive moral education could prevent antisocial behavior and lead to a safer community. 🛡️
• Teaching moral reasoning should be intentional and integrated into educational systems rather than left to chance. 🎓
• Structured programs like 'Equip' show positive results in improving ethical decision-making. 🔄

Overview

Phil Temple kicks off his talk with an engaging story from his childhood, reflecting on an incident that taught him a lifelong lesson in moral reasoning. Throughout his speech, Phil shares how words have power and the importance of understanding the impact they can have on others. His background in forensic neurodevelopmental psychiatry offers a unique perspective on why moral reasoning is crucial, especially for individuals interacting with the justice system.

In the core part of his lecture, Temple discusses the significance of teaching moral reasoning and how environmental factors play a crucial role in this development. He argues that some people lack the guidance needed to develop ethical thinking due to circumstances like intellectual disabilities or adverse environments. Through his experiences with patients, he sees firsthand how structured moral education programs can transform lives and attitudes.

Concluding his passionate talk, Temple makes a compelling case for integrating moral reasoning into educational curriculums proactively. He challenges educators and society to think beyond traditional subjects and consider the profound impact that moral teachings could have on future generations. His vision is for schools to not leave moral education to chance but teach it by design, potentially creating a safer and more harmonious world.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 02:30: Introduction and Personal Story The chapter begins with a personal story narrated by the speaker who recalls playing a Formula 1 racing game on a console in their parents' bedroom. At a critical moment in the game, the speaker's father interrupts, instructing them to pause the game. The speaker describes their attempt to reason with their father about the importance of continuing the game.
• 02:30 - 04:00: The Question of Moral Reasoning The chapter discusses a personal experience where the narrator reflects on explaining the significance of completing a gameplay session without interruption. The narrator wishes they had explained the technical and mental reasons for not pausing the game, such as the risk of overheating the console and losing the focus needed for optimal performance. Instead, the narrator attempted to use a phrase picked up from older, seemingly cooler peers, suggesting an exploration of peer influence and the struggle between personal priorities and social pressures.
• 04:00 - 08:00: Role of Environment and Teaching Moral Reasoning The chapter explores the significant influence of environment on teaching moral reasoning, highlighting a personal anecdote where the narrator experiences a disagreement. The narrator recalls expressing dissatisfaction with someone's suggestion, which leads to an emotional confrontation. This incident illustrates the complexities surrounding communication and the unintended impact of language during moral disagreements.
• 08:00 - 13:00: Introducing the Equip Program The chapter titled "Introducing the Equip Program" discusses a personal anecdote involving the author's father, highlighting a moment of learning and realization. The author reflects on an instance where their father's unexpected reaction taught them a valuable lesson about language and behavior. Specifically, they understood that using certain words, such as the 'f-word,' was wrong and inappropriate. This experience seems to be a significant part of their journey in understanding acceptable conduct and communication, which may relate to the broader themes of the Equip Program.
• 13:00 - 18:00: Proactive Approach to Teaching The chapter titled 'Proactive Approach to Teaching' delves into the reflective process of understanding moral values and ethical judgment from early learning experiences. It initiates with a rhetorical pondering by an individual, perhaps addressing a parental figure or someone from whom values are learnt. The narrative suggests reflecting on moments or 'snapshots' where one's actions, such as getting caught speeding, might have been corrected or judged, contributing to one's understanding of right and wrong. This approach emphasizes learning through lived experiences and incidental teaching moments that proactively shape understanding and behavior.
• 18:00 - 21:00: Call to Action and Conclusion This chapter explores the development of moral reasoning, challenging the idea that it is shaped by singular events or moments of regret, such as being reprimanded by a teacher or other authority figures. Instead, it delves into the gradual and complex process through which individuals come to comprehend notions of right and wrong. The conclusion encourages reflection on this developmental journey, emphasizing the continuous and evolving nature of moral understanding.

Why should we teach Moral Reasoning? | Phil Temple | TEDxNorwichED Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Music] I was playing on a console in my parents' bedroom on a Formula 1 racing game at a crucial point in the race when my father told me to stop stop stop now stop at this crucial point I decided to reason with him to explain to him the
• 00:30 - 01:00 significance of where I was in the game to explain to him how important it was that I could finish what I'd started to explain that pausing the game would risk overheating the console and that there'd be a danger that wouldn't be able to get back in the zone when I resumed at least that's what I wish I'd done instead I decided to try out a new phrase a phrase I'd heard from some of the older kids at school some of the cooler kids it's a
• 01:00 - 01:30 two-word phrase that that expressed my dissatisfaction with what it was that he was suggesting that clearly describe the fact that I did not agree with what he said I didn't realize I didn't quite understand the emotional impact of those two words that I was about to utter not until I said them at least and then the shouting started something about getting out of the room and going to my room immediately something about how I would would never use that kind of language
• 01:30 - 02:00 again perhaps words like grounded were banded about my father is a calm rational Fair reasonable man but I was terrified it was something about his reaction that was so shocking so surprising I I learned then that what I had done was wrong I learned that it was not okay and it was not good and I swear to you I never said the fword to my
• 02:00 - 02:30 father again I wonder how you learned it not that word not any word but I wonder how you learned what was right and what was wrong I I wonder how you came to understand what was good and what was not maybe you can remember moments like that one snapshots in time maybe you got caught speeding maybe you
• 02:30 - 03:00 got told off by a teacher when you were a student or recently maybe you did something that you deeply regret maybe you can't pick out specific moments and actually this stuff doesn't develop in an instant does it it develops over time it is not a collection of snapshots but how do we develop moral reasoning how do we come to understand what is right and what is
• 03:00 - 03:30 wrong and what happens if we don't I have a confession to make today I am not primarily an educator I'm not a teacher or a lecturer education is not my primary vocation I'm a psychiatrist that's right I have one of those jobs that makes people look at you a bit funny but it's okay don't worry cuz I am analyzing you I work in forensic
• 03:30 - 04:00 neurodevelopmental psychiatry which I think sounds really exciting I think it sounds like I run around chasing an analyzing criminals and helping to catch them does anyone remember waking the dead it was a TV show it's on Netflix or something but that's not what I do I work in an impatient secure unit for people with learning disabilities autistic Spectrum conditions or both
• 04:00 - 04:30 and most of our patients have had some involvement with the criminal justice system many of them are in our care instead of being imprison so I'm fascinated by this question of how we develop moral reasoning how moral decision making develops in our lives because what's striking is that the people that I work with are not bad people they are warm friendly fun and yet they have done things that are
• 04:30 - 05:00 shockingly wrong in the 4 and 1 half years that I've been working in this area I have worked with with people who when you spend time with them are absolutely fine but under stress or pressure have done things that the rest of society would consider completely unacceptable where does that come from what happens I've also seen though that when we intentionally teach moral reasoning to the people that we work work with the effect the impact is
• 05:00 - 05:30 significant people go from having a pro-criminal antisocial attitude to having a pro-social positive view of themselves and the world and I wonder if we're leaving it too late if we wait until people come into forensic Services before we teach them this stuff should we teach moral reasoning sooner should we teach it more widely and to answer that question I want to look a little bit at where our understanding of
• 05:30 - 06:00 morality comes from there are many models that might help us to do this but probably one of the most well-known and most established the foundational one for this whole area was developed by a person called Colberg who who put out six stages of moral development who explained that as we age as we go through maturity we go from a a moral understanding that is very much based on meeting our own needs to an understanding of morality based in the social consensus and and one stage
• 06:00 - 06:30 particularly is significant as we go from stage two to stage three as we go from sta a stage which is defined by a what's in it for me approach to a stage that is more about the golden rule of treating others as you would want to be treated yourself but what's interesting is that progress does not always happen and there are many reasons why it may not occur for for some people it may be that it doesn't occur because of an intellectual disability or problems with
• 06:30 - 07:00 perspective taking or a Mis understanding of social cues for others it's because the environment that they grow up in do not provide the circumstances for ongoing moral development and and the Colberg himself talked about the fact that that the more sociable the environment the faster we develop morally others like John C Gibbs have talked about the fact that if people grow up in a in an Environ whether is neglect or abuse they are
• 07:00 - 07:30 primed to develop antisocial attitudes that actually the circumstances that we grow up in have a key role in our moral development and we've seen that in my own life how with the nurturing support of my parents and their gentle guidance when I went astray I learned moral reasoning imagine if you don't have that input actually you probably don't have to imagine it you've probably seen it you've probably seen seen it in some of your students you
• 07:30 - 08:00 probably rub shoulders with people who have not had that background and that nurture and developed I was talking to one of my colleagues recently very recently about how about one of our patients and about how the pattern of abuse and neglect that he suffered in his early life so clearly shaped the offending behavior that occurred later on so what we've done where we work is that we run a course that intentionally teaches moral reasoning that that
• 08:00 - 08:30 doesn't expect people to catch it just by default but by Design we have a course that helps people to catch it and to understand it that provides the environment in which they can learn it it's a course called equip that runs in a 12 rep program four days a week for about an hour a day and it covers things like social skills like moral judgment anger management all in the context of mutual support and encouragement that are addresses some of the key key
• 08:30 - 09:00 problems that lead to antisocial Behavior it it covers things like thinking errors mistakes in the way that we perceive ourselves or the world things like thinking the worst which is when we assume the worst possible outcome of people or situations or blaming others which is when we ascribe our negative attitudes or the things that we do and we say that they are someone else's responsibility or they are someone else's fault it also teaches things like coping skills about the way to deal deal with stressful situations
• 09:00 - 09:30 about not becoming the clown in the ring and there is a picture here of someone taunting us like a clown in a ring and we have a decision as to whether we step into the ring with them and become a clown ourselves or cut the strings and step away as you can hear there is a common language that develops a language that endures through people's progress and I've seen the impact as we've taught this I've seen what happens as people have Tak these principles on board how
• 09:30 - 10:00 they have moved very quickly from the disordered environment in our admissions Wards on into a rehab context and out into the community I've seen how the lights have come on as people have discovered a different way of living I've seen people for whom even in even in the midst of a very severe relapse of their mental illness have held on to these principles I've seen how they have prevented much harm in people's lives but I wonder I wonder about our approach if we
• 10:00 - 10:30 only teach it in forensic Services I wonder if we're missing the boat I wonder what would happen if we taught it earlier because what we do is reactive it is treatment could we take a prophylactic approach could we be proactive could we teach this stuff in schools or everywhere else could we make it so that a child regardless of their upbringing regardless of whether they're in an environment where they they they catch this stuff will experience it for
• 10:30 - 11:00 certain that if it isn't at home that they will experience it at school can we help those who have who have missed out to catch up can we intentionally teach it not just to say that oh well the environment of our school is such that they are going to pick up on it because if they're already heading in an antisocial Direction they're not going to engage with the environment of the school what if we taught this stuff by design what if we taught it by intention
• 11:00 - 11:30 what if we found a way to teach a different way of living a different way of thinking a different way to view the world now I'm not naive I know that we've heard about a lot of ideas today hundreds of ideas hundreds of brilliant ideas and many of them are going to be much easier to implement than this but the impact if we could do it would be so significant
• 11:30 - 12:00 how could it be possible in your context is there a way that you could teach moral reasoning in your school or your organization maybe it's something that could happen in form time maybe it could be a set block maybe you could just take some of the difficult disengage students and run a program like the one we use with them maybe you want to try it out with your staff team maybe there a as an organization that you work in that's not in mainstream education but where you
• 12:00 - 12:30 could help people to move forward in this area I know that it would take a lot of energy and effort I know that it would l a lot of thought I know that exams are looming and we've heard this afternoon about all the different boxes that need to be ticked but it strikes me that if we could do this along with teaching certain subjects that moral reasoning would set each and every one of our students up to win in life if we could
• 12:30 - 13:00 teach moral reasoning by Design not by default if we no longer left it to chance and Circumstance whether or not kids picked up this stuff what difference could we make in our world I I believe that moral reasoning is too important to be left to chance and Circumstance I've seen the worst case scenarios of the time times when it
• 13:00 - 13:30 goes wrong and I believe that if we could find a way to intentionally teach this stuff in our context we would see happier students more successful schools a safer society and best case scenario we can make our world a better place thanks very [Applause] much