CHAPTER 3:
The Moral Agent (Part II)
MORAL CHARACTER AND VIRTUES
Moral character refers to the
existence or lack of virtues such as
integrity, courage, fortitude,
honesty, and loyalty.
To say that a certain person has a
good moral character means that
he/she is a good person and a
good citizen with a sound moral
compass.
MORAL CHARACTER AND VIRTUES
The term “character” is derived from the
greek word “charakter”, which was initially
used as a mark impressed upon a coin.
The word “character” later came to mean
a distinct mark by which one thing was
distinguished from others, and then
chiefly to mean the assemblage of
qualities that distinguish one person from
another.
In the process of moral development, there is the circular relation
between acts that build character and moral character itself.
A person’s actions determine his/her moral character, but moral
character itself generates acts that help in developing either
virtue or vice.
Virtuous traits of character ought to be stable and enduring and
are not mere products of fortune, but of learning, constant
practice, and cultivation.
Dispositions are particular kinds of properties or characteristics
that objects can possess.
Moral character traits are those dispositions of character for
which it is appropriate to hold agents morally responsible.
Moral character traits are relatively stable, fixed and reliable
dispositions of action and affect that ought to be rationally
formed.
It is something that springs from the will of the moral agent.
STAGES OF MORAL
DEVELOPMENT
Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral
development is a theory that focuses on
how children develop morality and moral
reasoning.
The theory also suggests that moral
logic is primarily focused on seeking and
maintaining justice.
HEINZ DILEMMA
“In Europe, a woman was near death from a special
kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors
thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a
druggist in the same town had recently discovered.
The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist
was charging ten times what the drug cost him to
make. He paid $200 for the radium and charged
$2000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman’s
husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow
the money, but he could only get together about
$1000 which is half of what is cost. He told the
druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell
it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said:
“No, I discovered the drug and I’m going to make
money from it.” So Heinz got desperate and broke
into the man’s store to steal the drug for his wife.”
STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Level 1 - Pre-conventional morality
Stage 1. Obedience and Punishment Orientation
Stage 2. Individualism and Exchange
Level 2 – Conventional morality
Stage 3. Good Interpersonal Relationships
Stage 4. Maintaining the Social Order
Level 3 – Post-conventional morality
Stage 5. Social Contract and Individual Rights
Stage 6. Universal Principles
STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Level 1 - Preconventional
morality
the first stage of moral development,
and lasts until approximately age 9.
At the preconventional level children
don’t have a personal code of morality,
and instead moral decisions are
shaped by the standards of adults and
the consequences of following or
breaking their rules.
STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Stage 1. Obedience and Punishment
Orientation.
The child/individual is good in order to
avoid being punished. If a person is
punished, they must have done wrong.
Stage 2. Individualism and Exchange.
At this stage, children recognize that
there is not just one right view that is
handed down by the authorities.
STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Level 2 - Conventional morality
characterized by an acceptance of
social rules concerning right and
wrong.
Authority is internalized but not
questioned, and reasoning is
based on the norms of the group
to which the person belongs.
STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Stage 3. Good Interpersonal Relationships
The child/individual is good in order to be
seen as being a good person by others.
Therefore, answers relate to the approval
of others.
Stage 4. Maintaining the Social Order
The child/individual becomes aware of the
wider rules of society, so judgments
concern obeying the rules in order to
uphold the law and to avoid guilt.
STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Level 3 - Postconventional
morality
characterized by an individuals’
understanding of universal ethical
principles.
These are abstract and ill-defined,
but might include: the preservation
of life at all costs, and the
importance of human dignity.
STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Stage 5. Social Contract and Individual
Rights
The child/individual becomes aware that
while rules/laws might exist for the good
of the greatest number, there are times
when they will work against the interest
of particular individuals.
Stage 6. Universal Principles
People at this stage have developed their
own set of moral guidelines which may or
may not fit the law.
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