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From: hinkle@vim.ARPA (Gerald Hinkle )
Newsgroups: comp.edu,sci.philosophy.tech
Subject: Re: Blooms `Closing of the American Mind'
Summary: How do you teach morality? Especially to a 20 year old?
Keywords: morality family enviroment
Message-ID: <558@vim.ARPA>
Date: 19 Aug 88 14:04:40 GMT
Expires: August 29, 1988
References: <2909@bath63.ux63.bath.ac.uk> <4101@pdn.UUCP>
Reply-To: hinkle@brl.mil (Gerald Hinkle (VLD/SAB) <hinkle>)
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab (BRL), APG, MD.
Lines: 28

Warning- first time poster 8-)

I will admit right now to not having read 'Closing of the American Mind'.
However, I have read reviews of it on this net and in papers. Bloom seems
upset with the US education system, especially colleges and universities.
If he or any one else believes that going to a liberal arts education
will reintroduce ethics and morality to the leadership of America, they 
obviously have not been in college recently. Or they are over-estimating
liberal arts and its "powers". Ethics and morality are not taught by a course
of study, they are instilled by one's enviroment at home. I believe that 
most young people today have their opinion of right and wrong fairly well
set by high school, and a philosophy course will not make them stop cheating
on others. If you grow up in an enviroment where cheating is practiced
(dad lies on his taxes, your neighbor brings home boxes of supplies from work,
etc.), you will percieve it as normal behavior. Good guys finish last, right?
Got to get my share, 'cause the godd@*& next guy will if I don't.
Try this one- It's not a crime if you don't get caught.
My friends and I used these and others in high school, and friends of mine
in college used them from day one. NO- we weren't coniving weasles on the stock
market, just average kids from nice backgrounds (parents income over 40,000,
both at home, non-abusive). I like to think(and have been told) we're nice guys.

Take a look at telivision, or better yet, take a gander at the nightly news
and see where your kids also get taught ethics (or lack thereof).
The government of the US tried to legislate morality once. It was called
Prohibition. 
In case you're wondering, I AM 20 years old, and AM going into my third 
year of mechanical engineering studies at University of Delaware.
			      -- Gerry Hinkle