Virtuous gratitude as an aim of education

This theoretical paper argues that the development of virtuous gratitude can be justified as an aim of education. Virtuous gratitude is defined as the disposition to be intuitively and deliberately attentive to the gratuitous nature of the good(s) in one’s life and to be motivated to cherish these goods. As a virtue, such gratitude must also satisfy certain epistemic and moral criteria. This virtue is educable and can itself contribute to education by fostering reflective awareness and understanding concerning what is valuable in one’s lives. As such, virtuous gratitude can make valuable contributions to (lifelong) learning, moral development and flourishing.