Can Virtue Be Taught?, Howard Radest
Howard Radest spoke at the Ethical Society of Northern Westchester (ESNW.org) on October 4, 2009 on the topic Can Virtue Be Taught? (The possibility and impossibility of moral education) (You need to scroll down a bit to find his talk.) While the sound quality isn't the greatest, I thought it was well worth listening to. You might especially appreciate the question and answer session at the end. This is Howard Radest's biography as it appeared in the program of the ESNW and you can find out even more about him on the Philosopedia website.
My fondest memory of Howard comes from 1977 or so. I was living and working at the Weis Ecology Center in northern New Jersey. The center had a connection to Ethical Culture, and still does, indirectly, although it is now run by the Audobon Society. While there I took a few courses at Ramapo College. One of the courses I took was a survey course about religion. Each week, a representative, usually clergy as I recall, came and spoke to the class about their religious traditions. Only two of the lecturers made a lasting impression on me. The first was a Catholic priest who was quite progressive. It was the first time I realized that there were Catholic people who were thoughtful and questioning. It was different from my previous experiences. The other lecturer I remember was Howard Radest. (I think Howard was the one who put the course together - celebrating our diversity.) I was so excited to have someone teaching a class I was in who was an Ethical Culturist. It was very affirming to have the professor explaining my religion to the class. It was very different from my usual experience of telling classmates about my religion and hearing "that's not really a religion" or looking at me like I was from Mars or farther out. Thanks, Howard.
