Morality In John Dewey's The Good Will

The Good Will, as described by Kant, is the aspect or capacity of human persons to choose on the basis of the dignity of all human persons which ultimately derives from reason, our most distinctive human capacity. Dewey believes in the idea of Moral Maturity, that people become responsible for others and treat them a particular way. It becomes difficult for someone to be Morally Mature if they do not have a clear distinction between right and good. The idea of what is right is often taught to us from a young age. However, if one is exposed to the idea of unequal rights they get a better understanding as to what it is to be both good and right rather than simply right. In order for one to be Morally Mature they must be able to distinguish whether …show more content…
This is because, according to Dewey, even though something is right, it doesn’t necessarily have to be good. He states this because it is often those who deem laws right who believe in a good. But, “. . . they give Good a radically different meaning from the theories previously considered. They admit the existence of a good which consists in the satisfaction of desires, but they regard this as a non-moral Good.” (Dewey, 232) So they often to not believe in a moral good, but only a good that are determined by society. Dewey also states, “The conflict between the good and the right is acutely apparent in the cases in which social demands run counter to desire” (Dewey, 233). As an example of this he talks about a child being unable to run on grass since it is the property of another and it would be trespassing. However, the restriction of the child prevents him from following his desires, which are good. So Dewey states that knowing what is right is taught by guidance and self reflection. Dewey also states that we cannot treat everyone the same due to the differing relationships between each other. Here it becomes evident that you cannot aim to help and please everyone, but rather you must choose who to help in singular