Cultivation of Impartial Interest in John Dewey's Revised <i>Ethics</i>: Focusing on the Functions of “Approval” and “Disapproval”

<p> While Dewey's theory of moral education focuses on indirect aspects, recent Japanese scholarship has argued for the necessity of morality classes that provide direct education on methods of thinking, based on Dewey's philosophy. The purpose of this paper is to draw suggestions from Dewey's ethical theory regarding how to teach methods of moral thinking. Specifically, the study intends to clarify how “approval” and “disapproval” are involved in the process of formation of “social interest” as in the revised edition of Ethics (1932). Thus, the study focuses on one aspect of the concept of “social interest,” namely the “impartial” quality of interest.</p><p> The following three elements have been identified regarding the process of cultivation of the “impartiality” of interest. First, the “impartiality” of interest is cultivated through the formation of a reflective attachment to “true happiness” as the “satisfaction of the whole self” through the repeated exercise of impartial deliberation. And yet, second, this impartial deliberation is about what kind of “self” one becomes, not what one gains, and the conscious pursuit of one's own happiness is an obstacle. Third, many people actually carry out these moral deliberations; only, however, in interaction with social and cultural conditions, of which “approval” and “disapproval” are important parts.</p><p> As well, the following three elements have been identified regarding the significance of “approval” and “disapproval.” First, the function of “approval” and “disapproval” in the cultivation of “impartiality” of interest is to make people aware that their acts and their consequences are strictly correlated to their own character, and to support their taking “responsibility” for growth. Second, nevertheless, the actual exercise of “approval” and “disapproval” is in the context of emotional interaction with others, so that uncertainty is inevitable. Third, those who exercise “approval” and “disapproval” are required, based on the recognition that there is no fixed superiority or inferiority of morality, to deepen their own morality reflectively, while working with others to recognize and reconstruct social and cultural forces. Here we see the limits of “approval” and “disapproval” as an activity in direct moral education.</p>