Resumo

ROBINSON, Grace Clare. You live and learn: narrative in ethical enquiry with children. child.philo [online]. 2014, vol.10, n.20, pp.305-330. ISSN 1984-5987.  https://doi.org/10.12957/childphilo.2014.10206.

Many educators will be familiar with the power of stories to stimulate rich and meaningful philosophical enquiry on ethical issues with of children. In this paper, I present a view of the nature of narrative and ethics - and the relationship between the two - that attempts to explain why this is the case. It is not an accident that ethical matters are illuminated to children and adults alike in stories, nor is the explanation of this fitness for purpose, merely pragmatic, or a matter of convention. Narrative, I argue, is at the heart of ethical life and learning. We live and learn by virtue of the stories we tell and the stories that are told to us. This is possible not only because these stories present us with vivid ethical content, but also because successful engagement with and enjoyment of these narratives requires the exercise of capacities that also help us lead good lives. Narrative is central, in two respects, to learning how to live a good live and living it: it is both source and a method of ethical knowledge and understanding. Crucially for educators narrative is a rich and abundant source and a method that can be easily grasped and then practiced and improved upon. For those who find this account persuasive, I conclude with some suggestions about how best to practice Narrative Ethical Enquiry in ways that acknowledge, actualise and maximise the power of narrative, whilst bringing it to bear fruitfully in everyday ethical life and learning. I propose ‘Narrative Ethical Enquiry’ a pedagogy that aims to develop three virtues: ethical awareness, narrative competence and critical, self-conscious enquiry. I have found that the philosophy classroom is an ideal crucible for the combination of these three elements. However, elsewhere in my work I argue that that Narrative Ethical Enquiry is not restricted to the philosophy classroom, or any classroom for that matter. It is equally at home in domestic, community, religious, professional or political contexts where people use stories to represent ethical experience, explore ethical issues and share what they have learnt. I am not advocating something radically new in this paper, but rather observing something that spontaneously exists in those places where human beings seek to order, comprehend and communicate ethical experience; and to learn how best to pursue a good life. Here I am merely proposing that this phenomenon - of ethical enlightenment through narrative - be recognised more widely, and capitalised upon by educators.

Palavras-chave : Community Enquiry; Narrative; Ethics; Education; Philosophy.

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