The Structure of
Moral Development
John F. Morris, Ph.D.
Rockhurst University
Seminar in Medical Ethics PL 4700
The Structure of
Moral Development
I. The ethical challenges that we face
in life are diverse and complex.
A. These challenges affect us at a
variety of levels:
1) personally;
2) socially; and
3) morally.
The Structure of
Moral Development
B. To help us understand how we can
achieve CONSENSUS in ethics,
we will build upon the work of
Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987).
1) He was a developmental
psychologist who studied
moral development.
The Structure of
Moral Development
C. Kohlberg identified three broad
levels of moral development. For
each level, there are two stages.
3
For our purposes, we will
2
1
really only focus on the
Three Levels.
The Structure of
Moral Development
1) At the most basic level, we all have
personal interests at stake in the
actions we perform.
We want to
do good for ourselves,
and avoid anything bad.
The Structure of
Moral Development
Level One: Pre-Conventional
Self-Interest
Stage 1: Obedience and punishment
orientation. Obey commands
in order to avoid punishment.
The Structure of
Moral Development
Level One: Pre-Conventional
Self-Interest
Stage 2: Naïve instrumental hedonism.
Obey to obtain rewards, have
favors returned.
The Structure of
Moral Development
a) However, if all we consider is selfinterest, we will run into a conflict.
Rewards
Punishments
for example = the dieter and the doughnut
The Structure of
Moral Development
And so,
acting at Level I thinking
of self-interest
fails to lead us to
CONSENSUS.
The Structure of
Moral Development
2) When we look beyond our own interests
and consider people around us, we find
that all of us have numerous social roles
which place demands on us.
The Structure of
Moral Development
a) Recognizing that we belong to a specific
culture that is molding and developing
our thoughts is a healthy and crucial step
in our development.
This development
helps us move from
“ME” to “WE”!
The Structure of
Moral Development
Level Two: Conventional
Social Roles
Stage 3: Good boy morality of maintaining
good relations. Orientation to
approval and helping of others.
The Structure of
Moral Development
Level Two: Conventional
Social Roles
Stage 4: Authority maintaining morality.
Conform to avoid censure by
legitimate authorities, with
resulting guilt. Regard for the
earned expectations of others.
The Structure of
Moral Development
b) However, if all we consider are social
roles or cultural values, we will also
run into conflict.
Society
Professional
Family
Etc.
for example = jobs often conflict with family
The Structure of
Moral Development
Thus, acting at
Level II thinking
of social roles
also fails to lead us to
CONSENSUS.
The Structure of
Moral Development
But since our roles and interests
come into conflict,
and
since everyone has different
roles, cultural values, and interests anyway –
does that mean that everything
is relative?
The Structure of
Moral Development
Transitional Level
Relativism
Stage 4 1/2: Believes that social
standards are relative and
arbitrary. Moral decisions
are thought to be subjective
and personal. Conscience
is thought to derive from
one’s emotional responses.
The Structure of
Moral Development
Whereas relativism is a natural stage
to go through in one’s moral development –
especially as one begins to
discover and learn about other cultures –
it is not the end of the story …
The Structure of
Moral Development
Remember that all human beings have
COMMON HUMAN NEEDS =
1) physiological = food and drink.
2) psychological = pleasure, rest,
and relaxation.
3) social = family, friends, community.
4) spiritual\creative = knowledge,
truth, and love.
The Structure of
Moral Development
From these
COMMON HUMAN NEEDS
flow common ethical principles =
Respect for Persons
Non-Malevolence
Benevolence
Integrity
Justice
Utility
Double-Effect
The Structure of
Moral Development
Level Three: Post-Conventional
Universal Moral Principles
Stage 5: Contractual legalistic orientation.
Morality of contract, of individual
rights, and of democratically
accepted law.
The Structure of
Moral Development
Level Three: Post-Conventional
Universal Moral Principles
Stage 6: Morality of universal principles.
Orientation to conscience as a
directing agent and to mutual
respect and trust.
The Structure of
Moral Development
3) Level Three represents:
a universal perspective;
that recognizes impartial
moral principles.
The Structure of
Moral Development
a) The central moral principle at Level Three
is respect for persons:
1) Respect is reversible - it takes into
account all people, so that the
decision would be acceptable,
even if the roles were reversed.
The Structure of
Moral Development
Because of this,
acting at the level of
moral principles
is particularly important for
PROFESSIONALS!
The Structure of
Moral Development
II. Professionalism
A. Comes from the Latin root,
professio =
1) “I promise”
2) “ I vow”
The Structure of
Moral Development
B. The four traditional professions are:
law
education
theology
medicine
What “promise” is made in each of these professions?
The Structure of
Moral Development
In a professional relationship,
one promises
to help another person attain an
important human good.
The Structure of
Moral Development
II. The Definition of a “Professional”
A. Includes three parts:
1) has a skill acquired through
specialized training;
The Structure of
Moral Development
II. The Definition of a “Professional”
2) can give a rational account
of one’s activities, explaining
the whys and hows of one’s
expertise;
The Structure of
Moral Development
II. The Definition of a “Professional”
3) and, is dedicated to using
one’s skill to promote the
well-being of others.
The Structure of
Moral Development
III. Why Level Three is Best
A. Respect for persons resolves
more conflicts than the lower
levels.
The Structure of
Moral Development
B. Respect for persons is more
inclusive - Level Three includes
all human beings as worthy
of respect.
The Structure of
Moral Development
C. Level Three understands the
limitations and deficiencies
of the lower levels.
The Structure of
Moral Development
D. Level Three avoids abuses of
power.
The Structure of
Moral Development
a) In sum, moral principles help us
harmonize our interests and roles –
and so, avoid relativism.
The Structure of
Moral
Development
Moral Development
In this sense, Level Three requires a
spirit of multiculturalism – to respect
others, we must respect their cultural
values and personal beliefs.
The Structure of
Moral
Development
Moral Development
However, Level Three emphasizes
that cultural values and personal beliefs
are not sufficient for ethical decision making
because they are not all inclusive.
The Structure of
Moral
Development
Moral Development
What are the implications
of this for
professional and personal
ethics?