Ronald Lee Zigler & Buddy

These images illustrate the concept of balance or symmetry: aesthetic and moral symmetry.

Aesthetic symmetry is not necessarily perfect or bilateral with the exact same image on both sides. Balance is proportional.

Internal and External Harmony:

Our individual sense of moral symmetry, or our path toward

external, social harmony is dependent upon a state of internal equanimity and harmony: not reasoning.

Both are true heroes: noble individuals, great in spirit and character despite human weaknesses

In the epic stories in which they play central roles, each hero is confronted by a conflict, a dilemma which

suspends the heroes involvement in a battle—each refuses to fight. Yet, each ultimately return to the

battlefield.

Achilles from The Iliad Arjuna from The Bhagavad-Gita

It is in the examination of the conditions under which they return to battle that we gain our insights into the aesthetic dimension of moral development—moral symmetry—since resolution of their conflict does not come about through the hero’s recourse to moral reasoning, but rather through the establishment of a state of internal harmony or equilibrium which makes the apprehension of moral symmetry possible.

The examples provided by the Iliad and the Bhagavad-Gita are illustrative of a perennial dimension to the way in which moral problems may be conceptualized—not how they are resolved.

Anger is an internal condition with physiological and biochemical correlates that makes reckless, aggressive responses likely to occur.

Hans Selye: stress hormones & self-induced intoxication, more harmful than alcoholic

intoxication

Either experience can potentially sensitize us to the aesthetic element of life and morality.

When unprepared for the vicissitudes of life, our life experiences may be disruptive to our equilibrium and thus not evoke positive transformations in our capacity for apprehending moral symmetry. (See Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search For Meaning).

Perceiving symmetry: our perspective is everything.

Whether or not we see symmetry, depends on our perspective.

The analogy to visual symmetry is just that: only an analogy.

This is a dimension of tacit knowledge which lies within our subsidiary, not our

focal awareness.

“There is no better evidence of a well formed moral character than knowledge of when to raise the moral issue and when not. It implies a sensitiveness to values which is the token of a balanced personality” John Dewey !

Knowing when to, and when not to raise the moral issue is itself an art. It is an art which portrays our sense of moral symmetry, as well as a sense of when moral growth can be optimized in a timely fashion.

A chicken is more than a collection of parts. The same is true about the four domains of moral education. Any one or two, by itself, is inadequate to the task.

INDIRECT

DIRECT

DIRECT EXTERNAL

INDIRECT EXTERNAL

DIRECT INTERNAL

INDIRECT INTERNAL

EXTERNAL INTERNAL

(Emotions are pivotal to the internal domain)

Direct Indirect

Direct Indirect