Thinking Space

Many educators will be familiar with the power of stories to stimulate rich and meaningful philosophical enquiry on ethical issues with of children. In this paper, I present a view of the nature of narrative and ethics – and the relationship between the two – that attempts to explain why this is the case. It is not an accident that ethical matters are illuminated to children and adults alike in stories, nor is the explanation of this fitness for purpose, merely pragmatic, or a matter of convention. Narrative, I argue, is at the heart of ethical life and learning. We live and learn by virtue of the stories we tell and the stories that are told to us. This is possible not only because these stories present us with vivid ethical content, but also because successful engagement with and enjoyment of these narratives requires the exercise of capacities that also help us lead good lives. Narrative is central, in two respects, to learning how to live a good live and living it: it is both source and a method of ethical knowledge and understanding. Crucially for educators narrative is a rich and abundant source and a method that can be easily grasped and then practiced and improved upon. For those who find this account persuasive, I conclude with som