A Theoretical Model of Moral Education Based on the Aesthetic Principles and Values of John Dewey and Allameh MohammadTaghi Jafari

Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify, analyze, and integrate the aesthetic principles and values in the philosophical thought of John Dewey and Allameh MohammadTaghi Jafari in order to develop a comprehensive theoretical model for moral education grounded in aesthetics. This study employed a qualitative approach using a comparative–analytical method based on Bereday’s comparative framework. The research corpus consisted of primary and secondary philosophical and educational texts related to the aesthetic and moral educational theories of Dewey and Jafari, selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through systematic conceptual analysis, philosophical inference, and thematic coding. Comparative analysis was conducted across philosophical foundations, aesthetic principles, and educational implications. The validity and reliability of the findings were enhanced through expert review, triangulation of sources, and systematic documentation of analytical procedures. The inferential analysis revealed that aesthetic principles and values in moral education can be categorized into ten major dimensions, including aesthetic experience, spirituality and transcendence, creativity, rationality, social ethics, freedom, personal growth, justice, loyalty, and beauty. The analytical findings indicated that in Dewey’s framework, aesthetic experience serves as a foundational mechanism for moral development by fostering creativity, critical thinking, social responsibility, and ethical habits. In contrast, Jafari’s perspective integrates aesthetic experience with spirituality, God-centeredness, moral self-purification, and existential transcendence. Comparative inferential synthesis demonstrated that despite fundamental differences in ontological and epistemological foundations, both thinkers share significant functional convergence in emphasizing experience, rationality, ethical awareness, and moral development. The integrative theoretical model derived from this synthesis demonstrated that combining Dewey’s experiential human-centered framework with Jafari’s transcendental and meaning-oriented approach results in a multidimensional and coherent model capable of addressing both psychological and spiritual dimensions of moral education. The findings indicate that aesthetics plays a foundational role in moral education and serves as a powerful framework for ethical formation and character development. The proposed integrative model, which synthesizes experiential learning, creativity, rationality, and social responsibility with spirituality, meaning, and moral self-transcendence, provides a theoretically robust and culturally adaptable framework for designing comprehensive moral education systems aligned with contemporary educational needs.