Teaching communitarian ethics from systemic perspectives
Abstract
This paper describes and examines a theoretical and empirical proposal for systemic research and practice that appreciate ‘communitarian ethics’ that come from a holistic ways of thinking and acting. We explore the nature of the process of action-based learning that examining one’s own actions and learning about the complexity of educational practice from both Western and Eastern systemic perspectives. As a virtual life regards as the good life from MacIntyre’s ethical perspective, we offer a theoretical basis for our approach to communitarian ethics that takes place from an experiential approach to reflective social practice, the narrative unity of a human life, and the systemic inquiry to the nature of a social practice where it needs to reassess where it is going, and how we will build our good life that communicates and shares with ‘others’ in society. Based on critical Eastern thoughts, we appreciate and present Zhuang Zu (Chuang Tzu)’s theory of Daoism in order to understand reflective social practice. It allows participants to be ‘critical thinkers’ in the given situations.
Keywords: Communitarian ethics; Western and Eastern systemic perspectives; Zhuang Zu (Chuang Tzu)’s theory of Daoism