Learning to Flourish:
Moral Development, the Emotions, and Professional Practice
A Workshop with Prof. Kristján Kristjánsson
Madrid and Pamplona, 9-10 March 2023
“Learning to flourish: Moral development, the Emotions, and Professional practice” is an academic workshop with a series of seminars that aims to discuss Prof. Kristján Kristjánsson’s work and contribution to character education.
The seminars range from the foundations of character education (virtue and flourishing), character and emotions, and the value of character in the professional domain.
The program offers required and suggested readings that help one prepare for active participation in the seminars. Each seminar topic will be introduced by Prof. Kristján Kristjánsson (45 min.), and followed by discussion.
The seminar will be held in-person and online (live streaming). In case of live streaming you will receive the link upon registration
Program
University of Navarra. Madrid Campus
→ 10-11.30 h. Seminar 1 (first part). “Foundations of character education: virtue and flourishing”.
Room Aula Magna. Madrid Campus. University of Navarra.
Moderator: Vianney Domingo. Civic Humanism Center for Character and Professional Ethics. University of Navarra.
→ 11.30-12 h. Coffee Break.
→ 12-13.15 h. Seminar 1 (second part). “Foundations of character education: virtue and flourishing”.
Room Aula Magna. Madrid Campus. University of Navarra.
Moderator: Emma Cohen de Lara. Civic Humanism Center for Character and Professional Ethics. University of Navarra.
→ 13.30 h. Lunch
→ 15 h. Transfer to Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
→ 16-18.30 h. Seminar 2. “Character and emotions: the dynamics of human moral growth”.
Room: Salón de Grados. Faculty of Education. Complutense University of Madrid.
Moderator: Juan Luis Fuentes, Faculty of Education. Complutense University of Madrid.
Universidad de Navarra. Pamplona Campus
→ 11.30-14 h. Seminar 3. “The value of character in the professional domain”.
Room M1. Amigos Building. Pamplona Campus. University of Navarra.
Moderator: Alejo Jose G. Sison. School of Economics and Business. University of Navarra
Seminars
Seminar 1
Foundations of character education: virtue and flourishing. The first seminar will discuss the fundamental concepts of character education and the different approaches to character education, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses while paying particular attention to the neo-Aristotelian approach. The fundamental concepts range from the understanding of human flourishing to the connection of the intellectual and moral virtues in the development of character from an Aristotelian perspective. The seminar will also focus on the conceptualization of the intellectual virtue of phronesis or practical wisdom and its role in moral actions, with a focus on how phronesis develops psychologically, what motivates it, or how it can be cultivated.
Upon registration you will receive access to the readings.
→ Peterson, A. and Kristjánsson, K. (2023). The philosophical foundations of character virtue development. (Handbook chapter, forthcoming).
→ “Some persistent myths about Aristotelian character education”. In Kristjánsson, K., Aristotelian character education. Routledge, New York, 2015. (Chapter 2: pp. 44-59).
→ Kristjánsson, K., Fowers, B., Darnell, C. and Pollard, D. (2021). “Phronesis (practical wisdom) as a type of contextual integrative thinking”. Review of General Psychology 25 (3), pp. 239-257.
→ “An introduction to the concept of flourishing: good character and beyond”. In Kristjánsson, K., Flourishing as the aim of education: A neo-Aristotelian view. Routledge, London, 2020. (Chapter 1: pp. 1-25).
Seminar 2
Character and emotions: the dynamics of human moral growth. This seminar will offer an explanation of Aristotelian moral development with a focus on the role of the emotions. In the Aristotelian account, virtues are emotional or affective dispositions. The seminar will provide a neo-Aristotelian explanation of the nature of human emotions, highlighting their cognitivist value. Special attention will be given to the individuation of the emotions and their moral and educational relevance. We will explore different reasons and arguments for understanding “emotions as virtues” or “conducive to virtues”.
Upon registration you will receive access to the readings.
→ “Introduction: Developing an Aristotelian Account of Virtuous Emotions”. In Kristjánsson, K., Virtuous emotions. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2018. (Chapter 1: pp. 1-30).
→ “Educating Emotions”. In Kristjánsson, K., Virtuous emotions. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2018. (Chapter 9: pp. 161-184).
→ “Self-Change and self-Education”. In Kristjánsson, K., The Self and Its Emotions. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2010 (Chapter 10: 218-248)
→ “Emotions and moral value”. In Kristjánsson, K., Virtuous emotions. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2018. (Chapter 2: pp. 31-50).
Seminar 3
The value of character in the professional domain. The third seminar will focus on virtue in the professions, organizations, and managerial practice. As a salient virtue in business ethics and managerial contexts the seminar will conceptualize and discuss professional and collective phronesis and its relevance for business education.
Upon registration you will receive access to the readings.
→ Kristjánsson, K. (2022). “Collective phronesis in business ethics education and managerial practice: a neo-Aristotelian analysis”. Journal of Business Ethics 181, pp. 41–56.
→ Kristjánsson, K. (2015). “Phronesis as an ideal in professional medical ethics: some preliminary positionings and problematics”. Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics 36 (5), pp. 299-320.
→ Huo, Y. and Kristjánsson, K. (2018). “Why Is There Lack of Growth in Character Virtues? An Insight into Business Students across British Business Schools”. In Cultivating Moral Character and Virtue in Professional Practice. David Carr (Ed.) Routledge, Oxon, pp. 19-28.
→ Kristjánsson, K. (2022). “Teaching phronesis to aspiring police officers: some preliminary philosophical, developmental and pedagogical reflections”. International Journal of Ethics Education 7, pp. 289–305
Kristján Kristjánsson
Kristján Kristjánsson
Professor of Character Education and Virtue Ethics in the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues. University of Birmingham
Kristján Kristjánsson is Professor of Character Education and Virtue Ethics in the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues of the University of Birmingham. His research orientation can best be summed up as that of Aristotle-inspired philosophical scrutiny of theories in educational psychology and values education, with special emphasis on the notions of character and virtuous emotions. He has written extensively on themes in general education, moral education, educational psychology, moral philosophy and political philosophy, and sees himself essentially as a bridge-builder between philosophy and social science.
Prof. Kristjánsson has published over 130 articles in international journals and is the Editor of the Journal of Moral Education. He has been a Visiting Fellow at Cornell University, University of Konstanz, Cambridge University and University of London. In 1997, he was elected the Young Humanities Scholar of the Year by the Icelandic Council of Science, and in 2011 he was presented with the Ása Guðmundsdóttir Wright Award, the most prestigious scholarly award given to an Icelandic academic across the Sciences and Humanities. In 2016 he won the Society for Educational Studies Prize for the best Education book of 2015 (Aristotelian Character Education).
Contact
Vianney Domingo
vianneydomingo@unav.es
José María Torralba
jmtorralba@unav.es
Emma Cohen de Lara
ecohend@unav.es
University of Navarra. Pamplona
Campus Pamplona
Campus Universitario 31009 Pamplona
University of Navarra.
Madrid Campus.
Calle Marquesado de Sta. Marta, 3 28027 Madrid Spain
Facultad de Educación.
Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
Rector Royo Villanova s/n. Ciudad Universitaria 28040 Madrid