Human beings, unlike other animals, are not only able to make well thought out actions, but are also able to reflect on and make judgements about those actions. As a result, we are able to differentiate between right or wrong and make thought out moral choices. But how do we learn morality? How do we learn right from wrong? How do we come to understand what is good, and what is not?

How we ground and justify moral claims is tremendously important. It makes a huge difference if we insist a child share because it would make the other child happy, or just demand the child share as it’s a classroom rule. Teaching through urging children to be good often means listen-to-what-I-say-and-do-as-you-are-told. It tells our children that beyond compliance and obedience, there is no sense of being good, and to suppress ‘unacceptable’ feelings and desires. Moral development should be assessed not in terms of obedience or compliance but the struggle towards a commitment to honesty, forthrightness, integrity, authenticity, keeping one’s promises, not stealing, not cheating or hurting others in any manner and so on.