On Kant's Virtue Theory And Moral Education

The dissertation reinterpreted Kant's ethics according to the perspective of virtue theory and brought forward Kant's virtue theory was a character theory based on deontology. Kant's thought of moral education is a kind of thought of character education. Kant's virtue theory and thought of moral education are significant for the discussion of the contemporary virtue ethics and moral education, especially for character theory and character education.Kant's virtue theory is an inquiry on human beings'morality, which is different from that of holy rational beings, and regards human's special nature as the start. The speciality of human nature implies that human being is a limited rational agency. The two elements, limited and rational, compose the structure of human nature together and influence and operate each other. The tendencies to good and evil coexist in human nature. The conflicts between two motives of moral law and natural inclination, between two maxims of good and evil make virtue indispensable and impossible.Virtue only belongs to human being as limited rational agency and is the essence of his morality. Virtue as human being's moral disposition, strength and capability is the embodiment of his intrinsic character traits. Kant's virtue concept prescribe that human being should possess what kinds of intrinsic excellent characters, so his virtue theory is about human being's intrinsic excellent characters. The operation of virtue depends upon the motives human being adopts in his maxim and their classification, and then there are three mechanisms for virtue:only for the sake of the motives of moral law and duty, cultivating the motives of moral feelings, and dealing with the motives of unreliable immoral feelings, which as a whole form the mechanism of virtue operation. The status of virtue is confirmed by analyzing Kant's consistent structure of moral and happiness, that is, virtue and happiness in proportion to virtue, and impossible ideal of highest good. Virtue is the precondition and qualification of happiness, prescribes the direction of human nature's perfection, and is the supreme value pursuit of human life. Kant's thought of moral education is based on his virtue theory. Moral education is the practical application of virtue theory in education domain. Virtue must be acquired, which needs moral education as the approach. So moral education is virtually a kind of character education, which forms and cultivates human being's intrinsic moral character. The end of education is to fulfill human being's characteristic and promote the perfection of human nature. The end of moral education is to fulfill human being's essential characteristic, promote the perfection of human being's moral character and make human being be virtuous. Moral perfection is supreme in all human being's perfections promoted by education and the supreme value pursuit of education.