TED Conversations

Ellen Feig
Yonkers, NY
United States

Professor, Bergen Community College

This conversation is closed. Start a new conversation
or join one »

Can one teach young people to be moral? Is morality something that must be taught in the home? Is it innate?

Currently I am working on a professional development platform focused on teaching college students ethics and morality. Young people seem to be incredibly disengaged from others, have little sense of what it means to be moral, gracious or ethical and don't care. How can we teach morality or is it something that is innate?

Related Talks:

Topics: ethics morality

Sort By:

Manish Kumar Aggarwal
- 0
Jan 28 2013: ...when everything is working on Fear, Opportunity and Greed...connect the morals and ethics with the same..homeopathy gives sweet to support medicine, we need to reverse...selling sweet but not in sweet...

Regards
Greg Swanson
- 0
Jan 28 2013: Who cares whether or not it is inate if you can teach it. Here's how. 1) Tell your pupil how important it is that there is altruism in the world, talking about ghandi or however you want to inspire this do-good feeling. 2) Drop a bit of money (enough to be meaningful) in a place where you know where your pupil will find it. 3) If the pupil finds it and gives it to you, give them some and emphasize how good of a person they are for giving the money back. Even give them some of it and also donate some of the money on their behalf to some cause to which they might be sympathetic. Let them see how it helps them and others. If they keep the money, catch them and make them feel extremely guilty (don't wuss out) verbally. Regardless, you are trading incentives/reinforcers for a learning opportunity. I would say that often people are verbally reminded of morals, but don't get many chances to practice. I say give them a few practice opportunities and show them how good it feels to help people and do good. No disrespect to those that want to talk about the philosophy of this, but regardless, if you can teach it, teach it. If you want more, talk to a behavior analyst (yes, they exist, are good, and are expensive).
Nicholas Miceli
- 0
Jan 28 2013: Consider that if you want to change behaviors, you need to change the operating reward systems. If you can do that, you can get at least the results you want, if not actual attitude change.
Yuddandi Sivasubramanyam
- 0
Jan 28 2013: moral and ethical values are essential tools of human nature. we are born greedy. the pleasure is seen in material, this is a basic wrong direction where people crazily participate and ruin the harmony of nature. present generation is not taken care in this subject since the parents as well schools are busy in their own commitments. less attention is paid to inculcate self esteem and character. this is built on moral and ethical nurturing. the growth of discipline and understanding of human relation takes place. nation with moral beggars is better than unhappy millionaires.
David Grammer
- +1
Jan 27 2013: I think everyone enters the world hardwired for selfishness, acquisitiveness, and rudeness. Babies want what they want when they want it and cannot conceive of the possibility that someone else has needs. After that, society takes over and what we define as morals are actually guidelines on how to better achieve our personal goals. I think we have two sets of "morals"; the ones we would like to be true and the ones that society actually values and rewards. It sounds as if you wish to teach the former while the students are more in tune with the latter. The only way to change someone's moral outlook is to provide convincing concrete evidence of the efficacy of your choices. I doubt that's possible. Society is what it is and reality may not align with what we'd like it to be. You might approach it as a kind of game theory, showing the long term benefits of ethical/moral behavior over the short term benefits of unethical/immoral behavior but even the terms moral and ethical are fairly fluid.
Juliette Zahn 50+
- +2
Jan 27 2013: I can't get enough of the Talks you have posted. Every one is important and Barry Schwartz drives the point home.

I feel, everyone enters this world ' hard-wired ' for goodness, empathy, trust and love. "Being a baby is like being in love in Paris for the first time after you’ve had three double espressos.” (Alison Gopnik)

http://www.ted.com/talks/alison_gopnik_what_do_babies_think.html

Once in this world, I feel, that morality, like everything else, is learned from observation as of birth. It is learned, first from one's parents, who are initial and emotive teachers, then from teachers (objectively) at school. Teachers often play a critical role because their job and privilege is to ACT ' in loco parentis'. Since our contemporary world has come to suffer from a large number of fractured families, most values must be instilled in children by teachers and mentors at schools. The teaching of morality is only possible through being the example for the child to emulate and by imparting self awareness on the children in relation to each other.

It is taught through proper socializing of a person rather than instructional, academic or any form of enforcement.

Discipline, physical or emotional, is counter active. While it forces obedience in the immediate, it desensitizes the person to empathy on the long run

It is a matter of building an ' inclusive' society instead of an ' ex-clusive ' society in which individuals are socially isolated and bullied or shunned, as allowed by the 'group'.

Morality is born and thrives in an environment of trust. Every child must feel safe in the common social environment and feel a belonging to a healthy environment.

So actually, " Kindness, care and empathy are an essential part of EVERYONE'S job, even when and if their job does not include this in it's description. Having the moral will to do right by other people, and beyond this they should have the moral skill to figure out what 'doing right' means."(Barry Schwartz)
Nicholas Miceli
- +1
Jan 27 2013: Have you read any of Robert (Bob) Altemeyer's works on right-wing authoritarianism? He's done excellent work in the field, and integrated social dominance orientation (Pratto and Sidanius) with his theoretic support. Let me know if you take a look at it, and it interests you.
Gary Malloy
- +2
Jan 27 2013: I believe that morality is something that you hopefully are exposed to and raised with as a young child. At a certain point or time in everyone's life they have to become responsible for themselves and their actions. Great people raise bad people and bad people raise great people.

What you and I think is moral may not fit the same criteria as what others believe. We are all products of our environment. And in this world there are more environments that anyone can imagine so, what you may consider to moral others may not.

Morality is as individual as DNA.
Lazy Human
- 0
Jan 26 2013: Its not a problem its nature of every animal and human is civilized animal and thats why we have schools wherew we can start teaching kids and so called education system has to be lil strict in discipline. Kids can be taught not adults or teens especially when there is no discipline in modern society
Ben Jarvis 50+
- 0
Jan 26 2013: yes morality is innate, there have been many studies that show that even animals have morals, and most of them are connected with society, in that when you behave morally you will not be ostracized from the group and have to fend for yourself. there was an interesting bbc documentary quite a few years back no (sorry don't remember the title) that examined the flaws of game theory. basically in a single encounter sure you're likely to get more from acting in your own interest, but in a society where interactions tend rarely to be once off (and even if they are there's also your reputation from previous one-off interactions) both parties come out ahead when both parties play nice. they also found that punishing those who do not play nice leads to great sharing and increased future benefits for the one punished, as well as the 'victim'.

that said we have the potential for both - ie were are innately moral but we also innately try to get the upper hand, and children need lessons in that regard, to reinforce that their innate feelings of fairness get followed while the innate urge to try to get away with having more is understood to be self-defeating.
- Ellen Feig 500+
  - 0
  TEDx Organizer
  
  Jan 26 2013: Very interesting re: game theory as I was of the belief that games (and competition) teach one to further their own interest rather than the interest of the whole. Having just spent some time reading about the conflict in Sudan, there are some strong global examples of the immorality that comes from acting to further one's objectives while ignoring the needs of the group.
  - Fritzie Reisner 100+
    
    0
    Host
    
    Jan 27 2013: Game theory actual includes consideration of games in which there are repeated interactions as well as games in which the best outcome is achieved only if the parties recognize and act on their mutual interests. There are zero sum games in which every win is paired with a loss, but there are also games that are not zero sum.
  - Brian Anderson
    
    0
    Jan 27 2013: "Very interesting re: game theory as I was of the belief that games (and competition) teach one to further their own interest rather than the interest of the whole."
    
    Depends upon the type of game such as win/lose , win/win, or lose/lose. Chess - self (individual) versus other (individual), war - us (ingroup) versus them (outgroup). We tend to define our morality in terms of the "whole" or "other" by our ingroup such as self, family, friends, town, tribe, city, state, country, and mankind. As ingroup gets larger, the activation of our emotional brain (limbic) tends to decrease or becomes completely inactive because we were designed to be local by evolution. However, culture can accentuate ingroup/outgroup differences and can lead to the "other" being defined as stupid, lazy, evil, etc. (limbic) or maybe we are just "ignoring the needs of the group" (apathy, nonlimbic). Isn't that all of us, Ellen? Thanks for letting me respond to your thoughts.
    - Ben Jarvis 50+
      
      0
      
      Jan 27 2013: chess only if you go for a single game though. you start a league where multiple interactions are likely and cooperation is likely to spontaneously appear. it even happened during the first world war, confounding the generals as peace was breaking out along the front, with soldiers deliberately missing and warning the other side before they sent off artillery.
      
      agree with you about the group/other, as does steven pinker evidently as he lists the increasing size of our groups as one of the 4 possible reasons as to why violence has been steadily declining for millenia. mark twain also seems to agree as he said "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness".
    - Ben Jarvis 50+
      
      0
      
      Jan 28 2013: sorry can't reply directly to your most recent comment, please see below.
  - Ben Jarvis 50+
    
    0
    Jan 27 2013: found it over the weekened, a bbc horizon episode entitled "nice guys finish first". it's on the tubes.
    - Brian Anderson
      
      0
      
      Jan 28 2013: Thanks Ben. Great points regarding multiple interactions leading to cooperation. Regarding group/other, I was actually taking a more pessimistic view of our chances for a more peaceful world because of our evolutionary limitations. However, after watching Pinker's talk on TED, I realize he makes a strong case for the decline in the rate of violence because of technology, increased standards of living, and trade which increases the size of our ingroup. However, couldn't one make the case that technology has amplified both the power and accessibility of weapons that can destroy so therefore even though the rate of violence has decreased historically the probability of a catastrophic event has increased?
  - Ben Jarvis 50+
    
    0
    Jan 28 2013: i see what you mean in that 1 person could have a much larger effect than in the past, however the repercussions have also grown. if there was a catastrophic event the perpetrator would have nowhere to go these days, so even if a strong party such as a state approved of the action, they wouldn't be able to actually give support because it would be known and they'd suffer all manner of boycotts and other forms of lashback. recently the bank UBS chose just to pay nearly $2 billion (not million!) in fines over their libor scam rather than contest them, my guess is that this is because they know they'd lose a lot more if their practices became more widely known. with elections too back in the day you only ever had to give the impression of being decent when your picture was being taken, but nowadays there are recorders behind every vase to catch you in the act before you get the chance to do anything heinous.
    - Brian Anderson
      
      0
      
      Jan 28 2013: I hope you are right. All we need is one attack and the results could be catastrophic, especially if the attackers see the rewards in the afterlife versus this life, Thanks for your response.
DjcandYamanda Hilton Hilton
- 0
Jan 25 2013: http://djcandylovebeat.wordpress.com/157-2/

my blog site has it all please read all of my posts i wrote articular challenged for the earth as i see through the eyes of all of you
Luis Javier Salvador 30+
- 0
TED Translator

Jan 25 2013: I do not think that morality is innate. I strongly believe that It is learned from our environment, as shown by the fact that our moral codes have changed throughout history.
carolyn mcauley 20+
- +1
Jan 25 2013: what about using a recent book as the backdrop of your moral study...its content will get teens feeling better about themselves and the moral factor is connected to social resposibility, and personal at the same time...and Im sure the author would be flattered...the book reviewed by the New York Times is"Far From The Tree" by Andrew Solomon...I just heard about it today... and it presents moral questions...and the subjects in the book could use a helping hand in being better understood. . It would also include the difficulty felt by parents when trying to do the best by their children..everyone looks better,hardly any blame...and tough moral questions.
- Ellen Feig 500+
  - 0
  TEDx Organizer
  
  Jan 25 2013: That book is sitting next to my bed (I admit that right now I am in the middle of Lawrence Wright's Scientology expose)...
Linda Taylor 50+
- +1
Jan 25 2013: Our values dictate our morals (how we behave) and ethics is the language we use to discuss our morality with others.

There is a lot of work out there about morals and moral development. You can start with a pioneer, Lawrence Kohlberg and his stages of moral development. However, his model does not always stand up to research and it is pretty well confirmed that his model does not apply to female moral development. Just do a lit search.

Absolutely we must teach morals all the time. I get students ready for a profession. In this profession sometimes they need to support the value and morals of others which means they must suspend their own values and morality. It is a huge leap for many. But they cannot act on their values and morals because they now understand the values and morals of the profession. They better behave as a professional or they will not achieve professional status.

There are many many professions with distinct professional values and to be a professional, you must act in accordance with the profession, which means you must integrate professional values to behave morally within that profession.

Here is a sample of a values clarification sheet that can begin the discussion of values, morals, and ethics in the classroom.
http://www.sofia.edu/resources/crc/pdf/values.pdf. I would recommend you clarify your institutional values before initiating this kind of thing.
- Ellen Feig 500+
  - 0
  TEDx Organizer
  
  Jan 25 2013: I agree Linda and have read Kohlberg. To model behavior I have begun creating service opportunities which they get credit for
  - Linda Taylor 50+
    
    0
    Jan 25 2013: What I can tell you is you need to make sure to articulate outcomes to assign credit. The DOE is coming down heavy on credit and credit hours. Good luck.
George QT
- +1
Jan 25 2013: Yes, you can teach young people to be moral, however the most strong influence comes from parents at the most early ages of the child development. So once again: Yes, morality is something that must be taught at home. And to answer your last question: I don't think morality is purely innate or purely learned, I believe a small part is innate and the rest is learned.

If young people seem to be incredibly disengaged form others, and have little sense of what it means to moral, gracious or ethical, and don't care, the blame is on their parents, because they didn't pay enough attention to their kids when they needed it the most. What most parents do, is to endorse their kids to the public education system hoping they don't have to pay too much attention to them, leaving all the load to the teachers, and then, when a teacher becomes strict, they go to the principals office and make a fuzz, complaining about that evil teacher, who dare to correct the poor little child who is so innocent... And I want to make it clear that I am not a teacher, but this is what I see as a common denominator, so in my humble opinion that is why universities are full of students that don't have a clue about what morality or ethics mean, and they don't give a dime.

Like I said, I believe is possible to teach young people to be moral, however I don't think college students can learn this subjects by theory and lectures, what you require is something more physical.
- Ellen Feig 500+
  - +1
  TEDx Organizer
  
  Jan 25 2013: As a parent and a teacher I agree with your assessment...when I taught high school I would get phone calls from irate parents when I gave their kids a bad grade; they blamed everyone - me, the school, society- but never themselves or their child. I do think that in order for there to be a moral society we must first take responsibility for our actions.
Keith Trott
- +1
Jan 25 2013: The American Mental Health Association believes there is an ever increasing rate of mental disfunction even though more and more public money is being spent to correct the problem(s). And many people in this discussion have described a disconnect of individuals with society. This disconnect is, IMHO, much of the problem. Many people in our society today are disconnected but everything is fine for them because agencies pay the bills. Years and decades ago this was not so. For example, parents named godparents for their children in case something should happen to them (the parents). In other words, people relied on the community for support and survival, not an ever extending hand of governmental and NGO agencies.
So why would I agree to connect with society if I can apply for and receive aid from an agency? Can't I just do what I want? And doesn't being a member of society mean getting along with the status quo? The problem is, the status quo isn't perfect so many don't want to slither through this human muck. We are imperfect, frail, guilt ridden, and not anything like a perfect, omni present, omni powerful God who will never forsake us.
To this I say, Forgiveness is divine. Prayer is used to remind and remind. Failure is what we do but not and end. So let us try, try, try again and again. Amen.
Don Anderson 20+
- +1
Jan 25 2013: Hi Ellen, here is my concept:

I have been digging into my ancestry (including getting DNA ancestry) and during my search I came across the “The Nine Noble Virtues” and I can’t think of better virtues to follow and teach.
1. Courage
2. Truth
3. Honour
4. Fidelity
5. Discipline
6. Hospitality
7. Self-Reliance
8. Industriousness
9. Perseverance

Note:
There is nothing about religion in them, nor can I see anything a religion would abject to.
They are thought and discussion provoking.
For example: Is truth something you seek, tell, or accept?

Do you have the "courage" to accept the "truth" that you eat poorly, and have the "discipline" and "perseverance" to change? And can you be "industrious" enough to find food that is healthy and taste.

I wonder if optimism should be a 10th virtue.
- Ellen Feig 500+
  - 0
  TEDx Organizer
  
  Jan 25 2013: These are great - do you know where they came from?
  - Don Anderson 20+
    
    0
    Jan 25 2013: Yes, hehehe my Viking ancestors.
    That is right there were noble Vikings, in fact as I’m discovering the Vikings were not as history generally depicts them.
    They had tools 100s of years ahead of Europe, one blacksmith made swords 2,000 years ahead of Europe. Russia is named after the Swedish noble Vikings (called Rus) that traded along the Volga River.
    
    You can Google “Nine Noble Virtues” and get more information, history and interpretations.
    - Ellen Feig 500+
      
      0
      
      TEDx Organizer
      
      Jan 25 2013: This is going up on my office wall
Ellen Feig 500+
- 0
TEDx Organizer

Jan 25 2013: So after engaging with all of you, I have a thought - what if we, as a group, try to define the concept of morality and how it grows or is processed? This discussion below has really pushed me to readdress many of my own preconceived notions and I would love to continue this conversation
- Scot Wilcox 10+
  - 0
  Jan 25 2013: It's a noble aspiration, to try to define morality. It seems to be a hot topic among most people. What is actually right or wrong? However, I don't think that kind of thing can be decided by a group of people. Some will inevitably disagree, and there's really not much of a standard you can base it on. It all boils down to "Because I think so." Any morality come up with by humans is by definition subjective. There's no objective criteria to judge different moralities by. Unless of course you believe in God, then it's a whole different ballgame.
  - Ellen Feig 500+
    
    0
    TEDx Organizer
    
    Jan 25 2013: True - but if this is the case why do we, on the whole, act morally? If our morality is purely subjective, wouldn't it go to reason that most people would simply act out their dreams and fantasies. It interests me where behavior starts
    - Scot Wilcox 10+
      
      0
      
      Jan 26 2013: I believe in God, so my answer is that because we're all children of God, we all naturally have a bit of Him in us. That's why we instinctively kind of know what's moral or not. But we can ignore that sense, change it, or get confused with all of the different voices in the world. Do you know what I mean, though, that kind of gut feeling before rational thought that something's just right? You help someone, and you just feel good.
- Roy Bourque 20+
  - +2
  Jan 25 2013: If young people seem to be disengaged and have little sense of what it means to be moral, gracious, or ethical, you may want to discuss with your peers what brought this about. It appears to be a culture change. Morality is (generally) defined as knowing and doing what is right. As I have stated earlier, a persons concept of right and wrong is determined by many factors, largely governed by the environment in which one is brought up.
  
  As an educator, you must know what is right and wrong in your own eyes. If you are uncertain yourself, you won't be able to convince anyone else. Don Anderson's list is a good place to start. I would add Integrity to the list. Paraphrasing Lorelei, you need to be the role model. People learn by example, not by words.
  
  There are plenty of examples in today's society where immoral or unethical behavior has torn lives apart. If you want to teach morality and ethics, the consequences need to be known. Those examples are a good place to start.
Mary M. 100+
- 0
Jan 25 2013: Ellen, have you read this book by Dr. Kent Keith?
It might be worth a read in your case.

http://www.kentmkeith.com/
- Ellen Feig 500+
  - 0
  TEDx Organizer
  
  Jan 25 2013: Thanks Mary
Feyisayo Anjorin 50+
- +1
Jan 25 2013: Children need to be taught rules of decent behaviour so that they will grow up to be responsible citizens. There are certain moral rules and values that has to be inculcated in children during the formative years so that they would be able to make choices that benefitial to them and to the society.
This is the responsibility of parents, even though teachers and schools are stakeholders.
- Ellen Feig 500+
  - 0
  TEDx Organizer
  
  Jan 25 2013: I agree but I think it is important to remember that children spend most of their day with their teachers and peers in school
Lorelei Coffin
- 0
Jan 25 2013: The teacher must be a charismatic leader. The students must look up to the teacher. Then the students will learn the teacher's morality.

Prove rationally and demonstrate through storytelling the negative consequences of immoral behavior.

Reach for their guts.
- Ellen Feig 500+
  - 0
  TEDx Organizer
  
  Jan 25 2013: Any specific stories that you think would work?
  - Lorelei Coffin
    
    0
    Jan 25 2013: Good question. I don't really have any.
    I was just thinking of the way it reached my gut when I recently saw http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0508194/.
James Clifton
- +1
Jan 25 2013: Morality is a very personal yet vague notion. Every society has or had thier own form of norms that would be equated to morals. I believe parents play an extremely important role in the moral growth of their children. Sharing personal stories and learning points work to a certain extent.

Proviidng quantity time as opposed to quality time made a difference to me as a child. Whenever I wanted to talk or such, my dad would always be there for me, even though he was pulling in minimum wage and long hours. HE instilled in me a great sense of responsibility as well as a sense of morals that have put me in good stead with my peers. While morals may shift, the values we give as significant figures in children's life enable them to evolve.

As an educator, I applaud you in your attempt to teach ethics and morality. It's not easy. Especially as they come to you at this age, where they have already 'tasted' the world.
The Scouts have a term that Scouting means 'Doing". Nothing beats a lesson on morality than to get into the trenches and do physical work.

Using lesson times to work at the homeless shelters/orphanages to make new furniture or to even organise long term stints as "Big Brother' to the underpriviledged and other such programmes will really help them to shape their ethics and sense of morality. It did for me.
- Ellen Feig 500+
  - 0
  TEDx Organizer
  
  Jan 25 2013: I agree with you one hundred percent that doing is probably the best way to teach morality and ethics
Brian Anderson
- +2
Jan 25 2013: Based on studies in anthropology and evolutionary psychology, nature provides us with a first draft of the moral mind which include five channels - harm/care, fairness/reciprocity, ingroup/loyalty, authority/respect, purity/sanctity. The first draft is malleable and is then revised by family and culture. For further information, follow the link below.

http://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_on_the_moral_mind.html
- Ellen Feig 500+
  - 0
  TEDx Organizer
  
  Jan 25 2013: Thanks Brian - I want to spend more time looking at these five channels as it seems like a very interesting way to deliver the concept
  - Brian Anderson
    
    +1
    Jan 25 2013: Thanks Ellen. To further enhance your discussion regarding "Is it innate?" I would also look at Sapolsky's entertaining lecture on TED at;
    
    http://www.ted.com/talks/robert_sapolsky_the_uniqueness_of_humans.html
    
    He compares the moral emotions and behaviors of aggression, The Golden Rule (reciprocity), and empathy between us and other species and the unique way we exhibit them. Good Luck!
Lazy Human
- +1
Jan 24 2013: Morality - Its time to redefine morality like anything else as things have changed over course of time. When these words were created situation was different - I think most kids or younger people or people who wants to understand Morality or value of Moral science get confused with what is being told and what is happening. In Older days as there was no diversity among common people what was told to one person was acceptable and was practised almost by entire society but now coz its world of globalization every community is diversified so every one has different moral values for e.g. For Person from one cultural background killing animal for food is bad moral values and for other its part of life. So this brings in agreement with few comments which says "Moral values cannot be told" but on other hand because society need some rules and moral values to sustain itself -, we need to redefine moral values according to modern society. Once our modern society does that I think it will be easier to make new generation understand what are moral values
- Scot Wilcox 10+
  - 0
  Jan 25 2013: I agree. But how are we going to define these new morals?
  - Lazy Human
    
    +1
    Jan 25 2013: Thats where schools come in - so far by large morality is taught through religion in one or other form but if kids are taught moral science with facts and little more scientific way it can solve the issue. Few hiccups can occure while preparing the curriculm in start but I guess thats achievable. Now about little older generation or "teens" - I think it will be hard but can be tried through ways which suits them and we all know social media is great on this . Make things cool for them and they will adapt it - force it and they will rebel against it. But in nutshell new scientific and factual moral science has to be part of curriculm starting grade 1. I hope i was able to make my point clear.
    - Scot Wilcox 10+
      
      0
      
      Jan 26 2013: The problem is that I don't think you could ever get people to agree on what's right and wrong. You could get schools to teach philosophy/scientific method for sure, but as for "This is wrong, this is right" I don't think you could ever get that to work.
Lejan . 30+
- +2
TED Translator

Jan 24 2013: Most of our fairytale culture is based on the idea to teach moral concepts to young people, yet there is no guarantee that what is taught will be taken. As moral itself is no constant entirety and is constantly changing and mixed by religious, political and social 'belief systems', it is a task on its own for each generation to do their best in trying to hand over what deems right for them in that moment in time.

If you, as you describe, deal with young people who already 'don't care', your question is without doubt a good one!

When I look at myself, I got all of my 'moral core values' exclusively within my family and at very young age. And this without being directly taught, like, 'Today my dear we will teach you about 'lieing', 'stealing' and 'envying' .. :o)

It was the overall 'atmosphere' and exemplary living of all the family members - besides my older brother, of course ... :o), which was carefully guiding into directions I was able to choose from. At times with consequences if my choice wasn't welcome, yet also with understanding and support at times where I had to find my own ways.

I personally belief, that a positive childhood in love and care is the most influential factor for the development of a strong moral compass and that 'outside' institutions like childcare, kindergarten and schools are hopelessly over-strained to compensate for that.

If I just look at the increasing number of children in Germany with speech disorders due to a lack of communication within their families, I would not be surprised, if 'their' moral development is lacking enough 'input' too.

As children and in terms of behavior we are choosing our role-models instinctively. This can be parents, grandparents or close relatives or even friends of the family. Important, I think is, in either case the continuity and closeness of this relationship for 'moral behavior' to transfer, as it comes as a trial and error process as well, which needs 'supervision' and constant 'correction'.
natasha nikulina 50+
- +1
TED Translator

Jan 24 2013: I think morality is innate until ego intrudes. '' In the land of innocent there are no gods "
I have serious doubts that morality can be taught, what can be taught is a set of dos and don'ts and it never works properly and shouldn't. Morality is absorbed 24/7 from environment, any kind of environment : political social family ....nature.
Nature is the best teacher, if we are truly attentive. I would say the only teacher.
The practical advice may look like : ' live as you teach ' . Whatever we are teaching our children our attitude morality spirituality goes trough us and is absorbed by them without words mediation, directly , then comes back to us ...and so it goes on and on.
Something like this ... :)
prakhar porwal
- +1
Jan 24 2013: I think we still attempt to instill morals like we
always have. It is true, as you say, that we are
"Bombarded with sex, foul language, violence,
and overall chaos," but we still have moral
standards. I think these standards are ingrained,
innate, and we couldn't get rid of them if we tried. I agree that the bombardment has to have
had some effect on how moral our behavior is at
times, but short of becoming a dictatorial society,
that's just how it's going to be. Teaching kids to
think analytically and to be self-reflective will help
to some degree.
W. Ying 10+
- 0
Jan 24 2013: .
.
Morality is the rules of human symbiosis in our soul.
It contains our instincts (the successful experiences of our ancestors saved in DNA) plus new rules made today.

The instinctive part is innate.

The new part acquired today should be taught, the earlier the better.

Load more comments…

Sign In

To join or start a conversation, you'll need to sign in. Not a member? Register Now (it's free and fast).

Live Conversations

Live Conversations are hosted by TED speakers and TED Fellows. Ask your questions and participate in the discussions on the following dates and times: