SELF-RESPECT, MEGALOPSYCHIA, AND MORAL EDUCATION

Self-respect is widely and rightly considered an important value in mo ral education. There seems at first sight less agreement on what exact ly constitutes self-respect. However, I show that once terminological differences have been set aside, there emerges a substantial concordan ce of opinion in philosophical circles on the specification of this co ncept. Unfortunately, this common specification is marred by two major shortcomings. I argue that both these shortcomings can be ameliorated through a synthesis of recent conceptions of self-respect and Aristot le's analysis of his much-neglected ''crown of the virtues', megalopsy chia. Finally, I suggest some practical implications of such a synthes is for moral education.