As previously explained, the moral agent, the human person, is a being capable of
acting "with reference to right and wrong," that is, one who is capable of being moral,
having a moral character.
Social psychologists look at the moral agent as he is, where he is, in the society where
he lives. From birth, he/she is cared, nurtured and influenced by the world around
him/her. He/she grows up in a family, develops in a society, and thus he/she is
exposed to all the do's and dont's of his/her family and his/her society. His/her moral
life, his/her norms and moral standards, are shaped by the prevalent cultural
influences. In other words, as disclosed and unveiled as he/she is, the moral agent
undergoes development.
Moral development refers to the "process through which a human person gains his/her
beliefs, skills and dispositions that make him/her a morally mature person. William A.
Kay (1970) has the following to say regarding the nature of moral development.
Just as the pattern of intellectual growth can be simply described as passing through
stages of animal behavior, pre-logical thinking, thought governed by empirical logic
and finally by formal logic, so morality can be described as passing through stages of
behavior controlled first, by taboo; then second, by law; third by conscience (i.e.
irrational, intrajected values); fourth, by reciprocity; fifth, by social consensus and
finally by personal moral principles, though
not necessarily in that order.
Stated differently, the five stages may be reduced to three as
follows:
• The amoral stage - egocentric, hedonist and prudential considerations.
• The pre-moral stage - authoritarian, ego-idealist, social and reciprocal
considerations.
• The moral stage-personal, autonomous, altruistic, rational, independent and
responsible considerations
Lets analyze your answers in the Activity phase of this lesson. If your reasons to go to
school are "I am afraid to be dropped and fail" and "to show to my parents that I am a
good student" you are in the a-moral's ego- idealist stage. If you go to school
everyday because "I promised to my parents I will never be absent" that is William
Kay's pre moral stage (social and reciprocal consideration.) If your reason is "it is the
right thing to do," you have reached Kay's moral stage personal, autonomous, rational,
independent and rational considerations.
Moral development refers to the process through which a human person,
gains his/her beliefs, skills and dispositions that makes him/ her a morally
mature person"
At the pre- conventional level children don't have a personal code of
morality. Instead, their moral code is controlled by the standards of adults
and the consequences of following or breaking adults' rules.
Throughout the conventional level, a child's sense of morality is tied to personal and
societal relationships.
Moral
refers to the
"process through
which a human
person gains his/
her beliefs, skills
and dispositions
that make him/her
a morally mature
person.
Growth in morality
can be described
as passing through
stages of behavior
controlled first,
by taboo; then
second, by law;
third by conscience
(i.e. irrational,
intrajected
values); fourth, by
reciprocity; fifth, by
social consensus
and finally by
personal moral
principles, though
not necessarily in
that order
Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development
Moral development refers to the "process through which a hur person, gains
his/her beliefs, skills and dispositions that makes him/he morally mature
person". Kohlberg (2013) describes the stages of m development in 3 stages,
namely: Level 1 - Preconventional morality, Le develonventional morality,
and Level 3 - Post-Conventional morality. Ea level has two stages each so
that there are six stages of moral developme They are described in detail
below:
Level 1 - Pre-conventional morality
This is the lowest level of moral development in Kohlberg's theory. A the
pre-conventional level children don't have a personal code of morality
Instead, their moral code is controlled by the standards of adults and the
consequences of following or breaking adults' rules. Authority is outside the
individual and reasoning is based on the physical consequences of actions
There is no internalization of moral values.
Stage 1. Obedience and Punishment Orientation. The child/individual does
good in order to avoid being punished. If he/she is punished, he/ she must
have done wrong. Children obey because adults tell them to obey. Moral
decisions are based on fear of punishment. It is a matter of obey or you get
punished. e.g. Josef does not cheat because he is afraid of a punishment, a
failing grade and "I go to school because I am afraid to be dropped and fail
Stage 2: Instrumental Orientation. Right behavior is defined by whatever the
individual believes to be in his/her best interest. "What's in it for me?" In
this stage there is limited interest in the needs of others, only to the point
where it might further the individual's own interests. It is a matter of "you
scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours"mentality. An example would be
when a child is asked by his parents to do a chore. The child asks "what's in
it for me?" and the parents offer the child a reward by giving him a treat.
In this stage, right involves equal exchange. e.g. Mario sees Juan get
Miguel's pen. Soon he sees Miguel retaliate by taking Juan's favorite pen.
Mario does not report the incident to the teacher because they involve equal
exchanges.
Level 2: Conventional
Throughout the conventional level, a child's sense of morality is tied to
personal and societal relationships. Children continue to accept the rules of
authority figures, but this is now due to their belief that this is necessary to
ensure positive relationships and societal order. Adherence appropriateness
or fairness is seldom questioned
Stage 3: "Good Boy, Nice Girl" Orientation
In stage 3, children want the approval of others and act in ways to avoid
disapproval. Emphasis is placed on good behavior and people being "nice"
to others. The individual is good in order to be seen as being a good person
by others. Therefore, answers relate to the approval of others. The individual
values caring and loyalty to others as a basis for moral judgments. E.g. if a
politician is around in times of calamities primarily because he wants to
appear "good boy" or "good girl" to electorates, he displays stage 3 moral
developmental stage.
"To show to my parents and teachers that I am a good student" and "I
promised by parents never to be absent fall under this stage of good boy,
nice girl orientation.
Stage 4. Law and Order Orientation. 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. It is a matter of "I have to do this
because the law says so." It is still blind obedience to the law so morality
still lacks internalization. "It is the right thing to do; "school rules say so" as
reasons for going to school are in stage 4
Level 3-Post-conventional Morality
This is the level of full internalization. Morality is completely internalized
and not based on external standards. Individual judgment is based on self-
chosen principles and moral reasoning is based on individual rights and
justice. According to Kohlberg this level of moral reasoning is as far as most
people get.
Stage 5. Social contract orientation 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. In
this level, individuals reason out that values, rights and principles transcend
the law.
Laws are regarded as social contracts rather than rigid orders. Those that do
not promote the general welfare should be changed when necessary to meet
the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
Stage 6. Universal, ethical, principle orientation. Individuals at this stage
have developed their own set of moral guidelines which may of developed
moral judgments that are on universal human [Link] principles apply to
everyone.
e.g., human rights, justice, and equality. The person will be prepared to ect
to defend these principles even if it means going against the rest of society
in the process and having to pay the consequences of disapproval and/or
imprisonment. When faced with a dilemma between law and conscience, the
person follows his conscience.
Kohlberg doubted few people reached this stage. (McLeod, 2013
Development of conscience-based moral decision
Moral development includes development of conscience-based moral
decision. This is in the post-conventional level of Kohlberg's stages of moral
development. Panizo defines conscience as "an act of the practical judgment
of reason deciding upon an individual action as good and to be performed
and as evil and to be avoided." It is metaphorically referred to as the "inner
or little voice of God." Panizo (1964) quotes St. Thomas regarding the
obligatory force of conscience: "Every conscience, whether right or
erroneous, whether with regard to acts which are evil in themselves or acts
which are indifferent, is obligatory, so that he who acts in opposition to his
conscience, does wrong."
Rev. Thomas V. Berg, (2012) defines conscience as follows:
In the NL (natural law) tradition, conscience is understood to be a judgment
emanating from human reason about choices and actions to be made, or
accomplished, or already opted for and performed...
Aquinas held that conscience, in the strict sense, was as an act of human
reason-called a judgment-following upon, and concluding, a time of
deliberation. In this sense, conscience is the interior resounding of reason.
Conscience is reason's awareness of a choice, or an action's harmony or
disharmony, with the kind of behavior which truly leads to our genuine
well-being, and flourishing.
If our choice or action is not in accord with the judgment of a rightly formed
and active conscience, then that judgment will linger in our conscious
awareness, presenting itself as a felt disharmony between the choice, and the
moral norm (and corresponding virtue), being violated. While such felt
disharmony is indeed of an emotive nature (e.g. a healthy emotional guilt),
the judgment of conscience remains something distinct and irreducible te the
negative feeling which happens to accompany it.
The formation of conscience
Corresponding therefore to the prior discussion on moral development is the
formation of conscience. What then discussion on moral development
conscience must be "formed"?
First, conscience formation begins with the deep-seated decision to seek
moral truth. One adopts, as a way of life, the habit of seeking out answers to
questions about right and wrong, persevering in that quest until one arrives
at a state of moral certainty, after having made the most reasonable effort
possible to arrive at those answers. Second, a sound conscience must stand
on the firm foundation of integrity, sincerity and forthrightness. Duplicity,
personal inconsistency and dishonesty undermine any hope of forming a
properly functioning conscience. Third, conscience formation is sustained
by the habit of consistently educating oneself by exposure to objective moral
norms and the rationale behind those norms
Conscience needs a guide.... The Church's moral teaching, while certainly
enlightened by divinely revealed law, is, at its core, the application of what
this tradition has discovered over the centuries about the kinds of behavior
that lead us to live genuinely fulfilling, human lives. You do not place
yourself at odds with such a tradition lightly.
Consequently, conscience formation requires a habit of on- going self-
formation (what we might call moral information gathering) through study,
reading, and other types of inquiry. This includes consultation with persons
whose moral judgment we know to be sound and in accord with the
Church's moral tradition. Finally, conscience, if it is to be correct, needs the
assistance of the virtue of prudence. By "prudence," we mean the virtue as
understood within the NL (natural law) tradition. This should not be
confused with timidity, "covering one's back"or dissimulation (hiding the
truth). Berg, 2012.
It may be added, as clarified in Fr. Vitaliano Gorospe (1974), that getting to
the highest-level, conscience-based moral decision can mean the widening
human consciousness. It is a growth or development from family
consciousness to clan consciousness, community consciousness, town
consciousness, provincial, regional, national, and international or global
consciousness. As one's consciousness widens, the moral parameters
In post-
conventional
stage, morality
is completely
internalized
and not based
on external
standards.
Individual
judgment is
based on
self-chosen
principles an
moral reason
is based on
individual ric
and justice
Conscience- based moral decision is "an act of the practical judgment of
reason deciding upon an individual action as good and to be performed and
as evil and to
• For conscience to be formed, it needs a guide, for Christians, the Church's
moral teaching and persons whose moral judgments are sound and in
accordance with the Church's moral tradition.
• Conscience formation requires a habit of on-going self-formation (moral
information gathering) through study, reading and other types of inquiry.
Conscience-based moral decision means the widening of human
consciousness - from family consciousness to clan consciousness,
community consciousness, town
consciousness, provincial, regional, national and international or global
consciousness. • As one's consciousness widens, the standards of one's
decision making widens, one's moral conscience widens, one matures.
Moral development is internalization of moral norms. One acts morally
based on his/her convictions not because the law says so or a person in
authority orders so
