The Role of Aesthetics in Moral Education: A Discussion of Maritain’s Philosophy of Education and Art

Abstract

This paper is an exposition of the philosophy of Jacques Maritain (1882-1973), showing how his philosophy of aesthetics can resolve a problem of moral philosophy and furnish a model for moral education. The problem at the heart of the paper is that of freely choosing to do what is right, the reconciliation of freedom and right conduct. The paper suggests that the parallelism Maritain establishes between morality and aesthetics is the key to resolving this issue. What appears to be impossible in the purely moral context can be solved by seeing how an analogous difficulty is overcome in aesthetics. In this way aesthetic education can serve a moral purpose.