Mr. Alvaro de Vicente on Moral Imagination: Part 1

The moment that each of us was born, we stepped into what Chesterton referred to as the supreme adventure of life.  To be born, he wrote, is to enter a sort of fairy tale, from which follows certain important questions.  What are the rules?  How does this world work?  Who are the good characters and who are the bad ones?  What is the plot?  Most importantly, who am I in this story? 

In this week’s episode, we bring you the first part of a lecture delivered by Mr. Alvaro de Vicente on the moral imagination.  In the lecture, Mr. de Vicente discusses how boys develop the world view, which informs all aspects of their life, from how they see reality per se to how they see their relationships with other persons. 

In this segment, Alvaro focuses on what the moral imagination is and why it is important.  In part II, he considers what we as parents and educators can do to form the moral imaginations of our sons and students. 

Chapters 

  • 1:35 Introduction 
  • 1:54 All the World’s a Stage
    • 3:27 What is the Genre? 
    • 4:06 The Supreme Adventure 
    • 5:42 What is the Plot? 
  • 10:23 The Question: Who am I in the Story? 
  • 13:11 Some Clarifications: What Life is Not
  • 17:00 The Moral Imagination Defined 
  • 17:00 Why the Moral Imagination is Important
    • 20:12 Searching for a Persona 
    • 21:00 How a Boy Finds His Character
    • 26:27 Influences on the Moral Imagination Today 

Also on The Forum  

Who am I?: The Question of  Persona with Mr. Alvaro de Vicente

Our Little Protectors: How do WE See our Boys with Mr. Alvaro de Vicente 

Forming your Young Son’s Conscience with Mr. Colin Gleason 

Fostering Vocations in a Digital Age with Fr. Carter Griffin

Grounding Boys in Reality with Mr. Joe Cardenas

The Issue of Identity: Who does your son think he is? By Mr. Rich Moss

Alvaro de Vicente

About the guest:

Alvaro de Vicente


Alvaro de Vicente has served as Headmaster of The Heights School in Potomac, Maryland since July 2002. Originally from Santander, Spain, Alvaro received some of his secondary education at The Heights and graduated from there in 1983. In 1987 he graduated cum laude from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Philosophy and received his J.D. from Georgetown University School of Law in 1991. As Executive Director of the Tenley Study Center from 1989 to 2002, he organized and managed supplemental development programs to several hundred students and professionals per year. Several of the Center’s programs were replicated and became standard programs for other supplemental education centers in the United States and abroad. While employed full-time by the Tenley Study Center, Mr. de Vicente offered his services on a part-time basis to The Heights School. Between 1992 and 2002, Mr. de Vicente assisted the School in various positions; coaching, establishing and running its college counseling office, school administrator overseeing contracts with vendors, and student advisor. From 1995 to 2001, Mr. de Vicente served on The Heights School’s Board of Directors, the last four years as its vice-president. In addition, Mr. de Vicente also serves on the Board of Trustees of two other educational groups; the Youth Leadership Foundation and the Texas Education Works. In his capacity as Headmaster of The Heights School he spearheaded and supervised the construction of the School’s signature building. But Mr. de Vicente’s most important work is in the classroom where he teaches Catholic Apologetics and in mentoring students daily.

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