From Theory to Action and Back Again: Principles and Practices for Doing Action-Guided Ethical Theory

CMEI Colloquium
Gutman Library, Harvard Graduate School of Education
September 16 2015

If you ever find yourself next to the switch for an out-of-control trolley that is hurtling toward people tied to the track, you can turn to moral philosophy for exquisitely detailed advice about what direction you should guide the trolley. If you ever find yourself in a classroom with out-of-control students who desperately need your guidance, however, moral philosophy is far more likely to leave you hanging. You're on your own. The same is true if you're a principal setting grading policies, a school superintendent deciding on budget allocations, or a citizen trying to figure out whether to vote for charter school expansion. In this talk, Meira Levinson discussed principles and practices for doing ethical theory that can address such practical questions, and hence guide action in the real educational settings.

Speaker Biography:

Meira Levinson, Professor of Education and co-convener of CMEI, is a normative political philosopher who writes about civic education, multiculturalism, youth empowerment, and educational ethics. In doing so, she draws upon scholarship from multiple disciplines as well as her eight years of experience teaching in the Atlanta and Boston Public Schools.

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