Galina Burmenskaya read for us Jean Piaget’s book Moral Judgment in a Child
“This book came to us very late (it first saw the light in 1928), but how timely! Piaget touches on many topics: the relationship between freedom and coercion in dealing with children, the role of adult authority and the child’s personal experience, but most importantly, he shows what a difficult path each preschooler goes through, mastering the principles of morality. Perhaps many parents will be surprised to learn that the usual children’s game is not just entertainment, but an important and indispensable school of morality.
In a joint game (the one that today is often supplanted by “serious and useful activities”), the child needs to follow the rules and take into account the positions of his partners, and in the course of disputes and clashes with peers, he is forced to overcome his egocentrism. So gradually, in the game, the idea of justice arises in children, and the morality of obedience begins to develop into a moral attitude towards other people.
We truly only have what we ourselves have discovered with our minds and hearts.
Jean Piaget’s book is unusual: the main word in it is given to children, and the author acts primarily as a skillful interviewer and subtle commentator on children’s statements and reflections. The reader will be surprised to find how original the child’s view of lies, theft and other offenses is, how far from the «adult» his understanding of the meaning of prohibitions, punishments, responsibility …
What is worth, for example, Piaget’s discovery of «moral realism»: young children judge the severity of a misconduct by actual damage, and not by intention, for them to accidentally break 10 cups is a greater misconduct than one, but on purpose … in the eyes of overly critical parents for the inconsistency, confusion and superficiality (from the point of view of adults) of their moral judgments. At the same time, the witty stories described here are a good occasion for a lively discussion in the family circle — without edification and teachings …
Getting acquainted with the judgments of children, we, following Piaget, will see: as in the intellectual field, in the sphere of morality, the child really has only what he himself has acquired, developed by his mind and heart, rediscovered in communication, cooperation and joint activity with other people. «.