According to Trilling, sincerity was eventually elbowed aside by the need for authenticity, "a more strenuous moral experience" that responds aggressively to received moral opinion.

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Her research examines how early life experience may influence brain development, moral functioning and character in children and adults.

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In eliminating every potential problem, however, lawyers and administrators are squeezing important elements of life and learning, as well as moral and educational principles, out of the collegiate experience.

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But should we really be empowering children to make moral decisions about a world in which they have little experience?

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As Nikki White's experience demonstrates, it's fundamentally a moral problem: We've created a health care system that leaves millions of our fellow citizens out in the cold.

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But what makes it such a singular experience is the convergence of fine acting, moral urgency and a willingness to linger on moments of great intensity.

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At the base of these are moral values, but in my view most of the rest are gleaned from experience, parents, and formal education.

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