Analyzing Kohlberg's Moral Reasoning

The second level of Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral development is the Conventional Level. The Conventional level consists of stages 3 and 4. Stage 3 is based on interpersonal expectations. Those who are at this stage try to be a “good” boy or a “good” girl and live up to others’--such as close friends and family’s-- expectations. Stage 4 is based on Law-and-Order. They are not only focused on what their family and friends say; they are now focused on society. These stages are usually reached by early teens. They don’t blindly follow rules;

Kohlberg’s response to Gilligan was to recognize the significance of distinguishing the concept of morality, which focuses on special relationships and obligations, but to deny that it was a distinct moral orientation. He saw it as an addition rather than alternative to justice solutions.

Lawrence Kohlberg was greatly influenced by Piaget, which laid the foundation for the basis of his theories of how moral and faith development is created. He hypothesized that there are six stage-like positions for the development of moral reasoning. Piaget’s focus consisted of a subject knowing and interacting with a well versed environment. Where Piaget was concerned how the person knows the world scientifically and mathematically, Kohlberg focused on how the person structured their experiences and judgments about the social world. Kohlberg also says that the sequence of the stages is universal and that the greater stages are truer than the earlier forms. According to Kohlberg, moral choice is an interpretation of a moral dilemma situation, the construction of the points of view of the various participants and affected parties, and the weighing of their respective claims, rights, duties and commitments to the good and that they are all cognitive acts. Kohlberg’s hypothesis is that morality is more predictable and expected from people in the later stages of Kohlberg’s theory. Kohlberg’s six stages are grouped in two’s, making three main levels, which are as follows: the Pre-Conventional stage, the Conventional stage, and the Post-Conventional stages. Each stage is sequential and requires one to go through each phase before moving on to the next phase.

Rather than being inspired by the work of Freud, Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is a cognitive developmental theory was inspired by Piaget’s stages of cognitive development. Kohlberg’s theory is made up of three different levels; the preconventional level, the conventional level, and the postconventional or principled level. The three levels are each broken up into two separate stages. For the purpose of this observation, we will be mainly focusing on the preconventional level and the conventional level of moral development. Kohlberg intended the preconventional level to be focused toward infants and preschool children, however the students behavior more closely related to this level than that of the conventional level which is aimed toward his age range. The preconventional level is where children learn that their actions have consequences. The first stage of this level is the punishment and obedience orientation stage, children in this stage are focusing on the consequences of their actions rather than the logical thing to do. The following stage is the instrumental purpose orientation stage, within this stage children tend to believe that if they do someone a favor, that person should do a favor in return (Berk & Meyers,

…During this tumultuous time, Carlton Hislop was in a tizzy as to what to do next: either escape Xanadu for some safe foreign locale, or be a man and face the consequences of his actions with unperturbed stoicism, yet no matter how edifying the pendulous outcome to his conscience, Hislop had to decide prudently. And as he waited for his henchman, Ted, to ring, he opted – whether wisely or not – for the safest choice, to be exact, flee from Xanadu. Nevertheless, as Carlton Hislop dialed the phone number to make the necessary arrangements, a sense of shame smothered him to the point that each time he was on the threshold of entering the final digit, he slammed the phone back on the receiver. What he did next, astonished me because for a fleeting moment, I observed the menacing mogul weep not for the crimes he had committed, but instead for selfish reasons, namely, how these transgressions would impact on his ability to wield power. If there was an ounce of morality in that detestable man, then he would get down on his knees and beg for absolution from God, and more importantly from his countless victims. Alas, he was not made of stronger stuff, but from the weaker constituents of

It is upon this theory and study that Lawrence Kohlberg developed his own theory of morality; that contains three levels and six stages. Unlike Piaget who solely targeted children in his theory, Kohlberg discusses early adolescence as well as young adulthood. Kohlberg’s three overall levels and first three stages are basically the same as in Piaget’s theory. It is in his last three stages that his theory differs from Piaget’s. Kohlberg’s fourth stage of morality, which takes place during level two: conventional morality, addresses children ages ten to thirteen or beyond. Kohlberg refers to this fourth stage as “social concern and conscience” (376). During this stage, adolescents begin to obey rules and laws because they understand that it is necessary in order to maintain social order. Immediately it can be seen that nurture related factors are associated with this stage. Both rules and society are discussed here. As mentioned earlier, laws and rules are given to people; no one is born with them. Maintaining social order deals exclusively with society, and has not the slightest connection to genetics. Also considering the age range for this stage, it can be assumed that most children

Advancing through Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development is something all individuals experience. All individuals continue on through these stages at different paces and reaching different levels. I have been able to advance through these moral stages relatively faster than other individuals due to events and experiences in my life. I have been able to not only develop morally, but also academically, being capable of learning and applying knowledge to everyday situations. This development has been assisted to by Gardner’s Intelligent Strengths and Kaplin’s Habits of a Scholar.

The two main theorists of morality were Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg. Piaget explained that young children see adults as authority figures and that they should follow whatever they say. As they grow older, they rules become a little more flexible due to the fact that they learn to be less self-focused and develop more abstract thinking (Oswalt, 2008). Kohlberg took Piaget’s theory and expanded upon it and created his stages of moral understanding. Young children often fear authority and will do anything to make sure they do not get in trouble and are not punished.

Kohlberg’s two stages of the conventional level are pre-conventional mortality and conventional morality. They describe the inability to recognize their view of what others think about them and what individuals really think as a general rule. Children tend to concentrate for the most part on self-observations.

There are three levels to Kohlberg's moral stages and in each level there are two stages. The three levels goes up to six stages, which the text says stages very few people even reach stages five and six. Level one discusses preconventional morality, which is morality prior to any conception of social convention or shared norms. The first stage in this level are punishment and obedience. Moral thinking is characterized by perceptions of right and wrong that are based on obedience to authority and shaped by the threat of punishment or the promise of reward. The second stage is instrumental purpose and exchange. That is moral thinking characterized by egoism or self-interest. I can address the first stage by simply giving out rewards to my officers that are doing a great job. Can also give days off or give free tickets to keep morale up. On the other side of the fence, if any of my officers are not doing what they are supposed to do then punishment will be given out. This can be desk duty, suspension, suspended pay, etc.

One thing I have learned working with children, is these young is that a lot of their actions are what they see in tier surrounding, there was a time that a child yelled at their friend a pushed them down, we walked over and asked the children what happened? The child said, “well my brother does that to me at home. We asked what does your mom or dad do, when they see it, they said laugh. So as adults my belief is that the children at an early age do mimic you, or other adults for the actions they see. After this experience, I always share with my co teachers, that if you think that children don’t learn form you, your wrong. Kohlberg therefore interviewed both children and adolescents about moral dilemmas, and did find stages that go well beyond

If children had observed their authority figures in their life making immoral decisions that disregarded the rights and welfare of others, leading these youth to develop beliefs and values that juxtapose the ones of society. Lawrence Kohlberg claimed not all can reach the final stage of moral development, “these youth may never reach their full potential and may find it difficult to form meaningful and rewarding relationships with others. Thus, while parents may find this process of moral development difficult or challenging, it is important to remember that this developmental step is essential to their children's well-being and ultimate success in

Kohlberg’s stages of moral development were based on a moral philosopher by the name of Lawrence Kohlberg. His main interest was to observe children during growth to develop and conclude which stages they best fit into. After observing both adults and children, he concluded that, “Human beings progress consecutively from one stage to the next in an invariant sequence” (“Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development”). All of the 6 stages he created, represent the morality in which a child or adult can be at; he created an age zone for each stage. There are a total of 6 stages but each main concept consists of 3 levels. Level 1 is the preconventional stage. This stage focuses on punishment/obedience and how the person decides to act due to the

Goldman Sachs should have been punished for its behavior in the years leading up to the financial crisis. Goldman ended up settling with the federal government for $110 Billion, which I do not believe was sufficient based on the magnitude of problems created. This amount should have been much larger, and at minimum they should have forfeited the $14 Billion paid to them by AIG. (Inside Job, 2011) In addition, AIG should have had the right to sue Goldman Sachs for fraud. It was in the public’s best interest to keep Goldman up and running, however additional penalties could have been put on a repayment schedule to keep them solvent. Instead, you had Goldman giving out large bonuses.

Now that both sides have been established, those stakeholders who favor and those who oppose the policy in question, each of their argument 's evidence and reasoning will be analyzed. The corresponding pages which follow will provide an understanding of each side through three developed sections: a critical analysis, moral reasoning, and a tentative solution. The critical analysis will thoroughly measure to what level an argument 's authoritative, accuracy, reliability, precision, applicability, and etc. is able to represent their claims. At the same time the critical analysis includes a judgement call on whether or not a side 'wins ' or 'loses ' each of their arguments based upon the strength and weakness of the argument 's claims and evidence. The moral reasoning section will then secondary the value of each side 's evidence, and focus on analyzing each side 's moral reasoning, or rather, evaluating what "values, obligations, consequences, and normative principles" present reasonableness to their position on morality. Following these two sections of analysis, a conclusion will be made on which of the two sides makes an overall stronger, more conclusive and moral argued solution to the normative question.