Thick or Thin? The Cognitive Content of Moral Education in a Plural Democracy

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Abstract
It is sometimes thought that in a society in which a plurality of moral traditions and points of view are represented, the cognitive content of moral education must be thin, being confined to a recognition of a few shared values. It is argued here, to the contrary, that citizenship in a plural democracy demands a cognitively substantial form of moral education. The argument for a shared, and cognitively demanding, form of moral education to some extent parallels the argument in a plural society for political liberalism‐‐where the strongest argument may be a pragmatic one. Both democratic participation and the pragmatic demands of toleration demand a level of moral understanding which can only be achieved through a cognitively rich moral education.

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