Explain The Second Levels Of Moral Development

Moral development is how an individual differentiates from right and wrong actions. This can be influenced in many ways and by many people such as an individual’s own personal experience, looking at another’s perspective, through parents, peers, society, cultural values, or moral stories, to name a few. Lawrence Kohlberg developed six stages that reflect the growth through moral development. The levels and stages describe the ideas of right and wrong can change as one grows. However, Kohlberg mentioned that because of the differences in cognitive functioning, not every individual will progress through the changes within his stages and levels (Crain, 2011, pg. 168). Kohlberg’s main curiosity went beyond the answers of ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ He

Lawrence Kohlberg, a developmental psychologist, identified six developmental stages of human moral reasoning. The first stage that he recognized was the Punishment-Obedience Orientation, where the person’s concern is for avoiding punishment through obedience. The second stage was the Instrumental Relativist Orientation, where the person’s concern is to work in their self interest, and better their position. The third stage of moral development was the Good Boy-Nice Girl Orientation, where the person’s concern lies with their reputation. Next was the Law And Order Orientation, where the person was less concerned with their own immediate well being to the maintenance of a larger society. The fifth stage was the Social Contract

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 second level from his theory is conventional moral reasoning. This is primarily people following social norms and customs (Kohlberg’s Theory). The laws and rule are sustained simply because they are laws and rules that must be followed (“Kohlberg’s Moral Development”). The second level is generally found in society hence the name of this level being “conventional”. Stages three and four are included in the conventional level. Stage three focuses heavily on peer approval (Lawrence Kohlberg). Individuals are merely trying to please others so they will follow rules or do what others want them to do in order to gain their approval (“Kohlberg’s Moral Development”). Many will follow

Augustine 's understanding of the relationship between the sovereignty of God and human responsibility is more biblical than Cassian 's view. Augustine 's school of theology totally relies on God as the grace giver, however Cassian 's school relies on man 's merit before receiving grace. This debate has been going on since the early church and still affects the church today. Many people have different opinions and interpretations of how the Bible deals with predestination and man 's free will. Augustine 's understanding is more biblical due to his ability to use scripture properly, show both sides of the argument, and defend his case with better clarity.

Level II: Conventional morality (or morality of conventional role formality): People have internalized the standards of authority figures. They are concerned about being “good,” pleasing others, and maintaining the social order. This level is typically reached after age 10; many people never move beyond it, even in adulthood.

Here is the situation a child in middle childhood age 10 may face. The child sees a pack of gum that he wants. He has already asked his mother to buy the gum, but she said “no because she doesn’t have the money.” The child takes the gum and gets caught by the store manager and the police is called. The judge then tell the child that he needs to receive some counseling. Based on this on this situation the child would be in the preconventional stage of moral development stage 2 and according to Newman & Newman p.249, it suggest that the decision of the child is based on if the consequence is beneficial to the child or their family.

Connect the six stages of Moral Development to the various philosophical traditions discussed in the text book, notes and in the Harvard Justice lecture series, i.e. Deontological, Utilitarian/Consequentialist and Teleological and to their philosophical origins i.e. Aristotle, Kant, Bentham etc.

Lawrence Kohlberg believe that most Americans were at stage 3 and stage 4 of his moral developement model. I agree with Kohlberg's take on stage 3 but I totally disagree with his take on stage 4. In my opinion, most Americans are at stage 1 and stage 3. In todays day and age people are more concerned with how others preceive them and people want to be socially accepted by others. In addition to people wanting social acceptance from others, they do things morally to avoid the backlash of negative consequences from authority or being punished by authorities.

The second level of moral development is the conventional moral reasoning; “Beginning in middle school, up to middle age – most people end up here” (“Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development.”). At this level,

At stage 1 children think of what is right as what authority says is right. Doing the right thing is obeying authority and avoiding punishment. At stage 2 children are no longer so impressed by any single authority they see that there are different sides to any issue. Since everything is relative one is free to pursue one's own interests although it is often useful to make deals and exchange favors with others. At stage 3 and 4 young people think as members of the conventional society with its values, norms, and expectations. At stage 3vthey emphasize being a good person which basically means having helpful motives toward people close to one. At stage 4 the concern shifts toward obeying laws to maintain society as a whole. At

Particularly, I think the center of moral development is cognitive by nature, and even when I consider that emotions shouldn’t be given the main role in moral matters, I think it should be recognized that they are important because they help to distinguish moral features in specific contexts, motivate moral actions, stop immoral behaviors, and play a communicative role in revealing our moral concerns to ourselves and others. Both, Kant and Hume argue that human beings have an inner moral sense that produces pleasant feelings of approval towards benevolent actions and disapproval feelings towards vicious or perverted acts, these form the original source of moral judgments. Hume, in particular suggested that moral judgments are similar somehow, to aesthetic judgments, as arising from the feelings and not reason.

Catherine of Siena was born in 1347, the twenty-forth child in her family. At the young age of seven, she is said to have dedicated her virginity to God and began living a strict life of discipline that included severe fasting and flagellating herself. When she was fifteen she decided to join The Third Order of St. Dominic in resistance to her parent 's attempts to marry her off. In order to make herself unattractive to suitors she cut off all of her hair, and after a bout of smallpox she praised God for the scars left on her face. Around the age of twenty, after joining the convent, Catherine had her first "mystical communion with Jesus Christ" (Mystics, Visionaries, and Prophets, 209). This time marks a turning point in her life where she began to lessen her self-harming practices and started to speak out openly against the injustices of the church.

The theory of moral development, advanced by psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg is one of the most well-known persuasive theories in the field of cognitive science and stems from the work of Jean Piaget, which hypothesizes on the direct correlation that exists between moral and cognitive development. Kohlberg speaks of the appearance and understanding of what is right and wrong from childhood to adulthood and explains by this transition through the identification of various levels of morality known as pre-conventional, conventional and post conventional. People will make decisions based on the understanding of the possible outcome and through reasoning of morals. (Target Concept)

Moral development is a concept as well as process regulated by socially defined general standards of right and wrong demeanor. Morality is a composed of three interconnected psychological components: emotional, cognitive, and behavioral. A pioneer in the study of moral reasoning, Kohlberg used an open-ended tactic to elicit responses from children about the means to handle dilemmas. He studied how morality on such topics develops as children age (Berk, 2017). I questioned whether the impact of higher education, like college, could be related to Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning.