Moral Concepts in the Philosophy of Music Education

Abstract

This work is an analysis of moral concepts in the philosophy of music education. Philosophy is understood in a broad sense as scholarly writing in music education that implicitly or explicitly involves discussions of right action, appropriate human interaction, or moral authority in music education. The works of six music education scholars (Bennett Reimer, David Elliott, Estelle Jorgensen, Thomas Regelski, Clifford Madsen, and Patrician Shehan Campbell) were analyzed by applying Lakoff and Johnson's theories of Conceptual Metaphor and Family Metaphor. Results of the analysis indicate that a range of moral authorities and moral systems are used and that they reflect the conceptual metaphors of Strict, Nurturant, and Permissive Parent Families. Possible applications and implications of this analysis for the practice of music education are explored.