A transactional model of moral learning – how to challenge unsustainable denials

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

This article draws on a philosophical critique of the problems of denial in the face of the climate crisis and the call for an education that deals with the root causes of social and environmental injustice in depth. To respond to this radical critique in concrete educational practice, there is a need for an understanding of moral learning that also considers the problems of denial and the role of the teacher in these learning processes. We therefore propose a transactional model grounded in Dewey’s pragmatic philosophy that explains how denial hinders the process of moral learning but also describes how teachers can offer moments of resistance that interrupt denial and challenges and transform moral habits. Finally, we discuss the implications of a transactional perspective and the need for making moral progress by reflectively revising our moral habits in the face of overlapping environmental and social injustice crises.