The educational level of people and the rise of culture are the main signs that the morality of the society is on a high level. The relations between people began to be very important and the problem of how these relations should develop is the main focus of people. There are a lot of works that deal with the teachings about morality. Kohlberg observed different types of moral reasoning and covered them in his work, which deals with three levels and six stages of moral reasoning.
The levels are as follows, pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional, these levels comprise two stages each. Each level and stage justify a person’s behavior and acts. The higher the level of moral reasoning a person percepts, the higher his/her personal morality, and the person may be judged according to the decisions he/she makes (Hoyer and Roodin, 2003).
The first stage is heteronomous morality. At this stage, a person focuses only on his/her interests without taking into consideration other people. The example of this stage may be given while considering children’s behavior (from 2 till 5 approximately), as they think only about their desires. “I want to do this!” – is the usual children’s demand, and it is impossible to make them listen to reasons, as their mental activity is not so developed to understand it. Every request is faced with a lot of questions: Why I cannot do this? Why is it unacceptable? Why can I hurt the person? and others.
The second stage of Kohlberg’s moral reasoning is the understanding that every person has needs. These needs may be met by anyone only in the case when they meet the needs of this very person. The example of 6 -14-year-old children fit the best to describe this stage of moral reasoning. Children of this age understand that mother or father want to rest after work, that they want to watch film after a hard day, but if children want to play or to watch cartoons, it is impossible to cope with it. Children of this age are rather egoistic, and while being confident about other people’s needs, they continue to insist on what they want.
The third stage is titled mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships, and interpersonal conformity. At this stage, people not only understand the needs of other people but also try to meet their expectations, especially of the authorities. Youth of 16 – 21 years old approximately begin to compose the moral reasoning of this stage. They understand that they should listen to older people, the directors at schools, parents.
The fourth stage is closely connected with society. The social opinion is very important for people. People under 22 understand this more than others, and in some situations try to follow social opinion. The example is following customs and traditions of the country, which is the most fitting to this stage.
The fifth and the sixth stages are the most serious from the point of view of moral reasoning. These stages are accessible to people with great responsibility and power. The best example is the government, which has the right to change the laws when they have outlasted and are not acceptable in the current society anymore. The sixth stage is the highest in moral reasoning as it requires forgetting about personal ideas and following the ethical rules which are established in the society even if they contradict your own (Far East countries where women should cover their faces are difficult to be visited by European women)
So, these six stages of moral reasoning show the development of a person’s morality and behavior as every next stage is higher according to the moral decision than the previous.
Works Cited
Hoyer, William J. and Paul A. Roodin. Adult Development and Aging. McGraw Hill, 2003.