Rousseau's Thought Of Moral Education And The Significance In Contemporary

In the history of western ideology, Jean-Jacques Rousseau is never neglectable. His thoughts, inculding moral education, have profound significance not only in the past, but also in the contemporary society. His theory of moral education starts from his understanding to humanity and its development. Starting from the origin of human beings, he assumes a state of nature and endows the natural person with moral meaning, from which, he draws out natural humantity, on which his moral education theory is based. According to Rousseau, human civilization is far from nature, and humanity deviates from its origin, which, as a kind of alienation and deviation, is overcame through moral education. After the decription of alienation resulted from science and rationality, he established a moral community. Moral education, which works as a bridge between alienation and morality, finds necessaty of its existence. Naturalist humanity views causes Rousseau's developing different principles, aims and methods in his theory of moral education. Rousseau also regards that the aim of moral education is to revert the humanity and release the human beings. In such a perspctive, the target of moral education is to bring forward new natural person, namely citizen. The double meaning of civilian in moral and politics requires, on the one side,a steady community of moral education in order to guarantee freedom in politics; on the other side, culturation of self-will in order to achieve moral libration.Rousseau's theory of moral education displays unresovable dilema in the educational system in which both tasks co-exist, mainly manifested in the following aspects as the conflict between self-will and social identification, and that between natural education and public education. The production of dilemas is inherently connected with phylosophical and politic thoughts, as well as influences from historical environment and personal experiences.There are some problems in modern moral education concerning moral concepts, moral education practice, as well as moral education achievement. Confronted with these problems, we can get lots of helpful enlightenment from Rousseau's moral educational thought and dilema, which is also the significance of moral education in contemporary society. Not only effects of social public morality should be emphasized, but also the concept of human-oriention, and the significance of natual feeling in moral education.