LECTURE HANDOUT 8

HOW IS MORAL CHARACTER DEVELOPED ?

STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
OBJECTIVES:
 
At the end of lecture handout 8, the student will be able to:
 
 Understand that the 6 stages of moral development is the way an
individual reasons about a dilemma that determines positive moral
development.
 Give guidance to the moral characters of learners and help them to
become the best that they can be.
 • Aid in socialization process, prevent acting on unchecked
urges, instead considering what is right for society and the
community as a whole.
 Make sure that over time the learning will evolve to a desire to
make the world a better and more just place for all people.
 Accept that rules are necessary for keeping society running
smoothly and believe it is their duty to obey them
INTRODUCTION/OVERVIEW
 
 The main point of Kohlberg about moral reasoning is that it changed
as a person grew older.
 There are three levels of moral reasoning and each includes two
stages of moral development
 People make decisions based on what actions will please others,
especially authority figures and other individuals with high status.
• People look to society as a whole for guidelines about
right or wrong.
• People also recognize that rules can be flexible, meaning
that if they do not serve the society’s best interest can be
and should be changed.
 
What is moral character?

Moral is concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior or

the goodness or badness of human character. Character is defined as the
“mental and moral qualities distinct to an individual. But in philosophy, the
term character usually denotes to the moral dimension of a person. Moral
character refers to the “existence (or lack of) virtues such as integrity,
courage, fortitude, honesty, and loyalty.
The Circular Relation of Acts and Character

In the process of moral development, there is the circular relation

between acts that build character and moral character itself. Not all acts help
to build moral character, but those acts which emanate from moral
characters certainly matter in moral development. Hence, there appears the
apparent circular relationship between individual acts and moral character. A
person’s actions determine his/her moral character, but moral character itself
generates acts that help in developing either virtue or vice.
 This goes to show that moral development should also be understood in
the sense of human flourishing. This flourishing is attained by the habitual
practice of moral and intellectual excellences, or ‘virtues.’ In the context of
developing morally which also brings about self-realization and happiness,
acting in line with virtues is acting in accordance with reason. Indeed,
philosophers like Aristotle hold that the function of human being consists in
activities which manifest the best states of his rational aspect, that is, the
virtues.
 Virtuous traits of character ought to be stable and enduring and
are not mere products of fortune, but learning, constant practice, and
cultivation. But we have to add that virtuous traits of character are
called excellence of human being because they are the best exercise
of reason, which is the activity characteristic of human beings. In this
sense, the Greek moralists believe, virtuous acts complete or perfect
human life.
 Nonetheless, the Greek philosophers think that it takes someone of good
moral character to determine with regularity and reliability what individual
acts are appropriate and reasonable in certain situations and that it takes
someone of good moral character to decide with regularity and reliability how
and when to secure goods and resources for himself/herself and others.
Aristotle thus states that, it is not easy to define in rules which acts
deserve moral praise and blame, and that, these matters require the
judgment of the virtuous person, that is, someone with good moral
character.
Philosophical Views on Moral Character
What do the great ancient minds think about moral character
A. Confucian Traditions ( Eastern)

The philosophy of moral development is rooted in ancient views. For Confucian

traditions moral development was attributed to “four beginnings” of the human
personality. These four beginnings were considered as seeds of human personality that
will naturally unfold to become human activities. Take note though, that contrary to Western
understanding of personality as a given human condition; personality in Confucian
perception meant- “an achieved state of moral excellence.”
 Thus, in this concept, every person is born with four beginnings.
However, each of these do not yet capture the concept of self. However,
when the four beginnings are put together, it may then be perceived in
Western understanding as the “pre-self or “potential self”.
The four beginnings in Confucian traditions are:

1. The heart of compassion, which leads to Jen

2. The heart of righteousness, which leads to Yi
3. The heart of propriety, which leads to Li
4. The heart of wisdom, which leads to Zhi
 Jen means goodwill, sympathy towards others, and generosity. Yi means
righteousness and the respect of duty, that is, respect your position as guardian
towards nature and humanity. Li deals with outward behavior such as
etiquette, customs and rituals. Zhi means wisdom, and this wisdom is a
product of practicing Jen, Yi, and Li in one’s life.

 
A.Aristotle and Virtue Ethics

Virtue ethics is an approach that reduces the emphasis on rules,

consequence, and particular acts. Instead, virtue ethics focus on the quality of
the person. Although action and consequence are significant, virtue ethics
does not focus on whether an action is right or wrong; nor whether the
consequences are good or bad. It is more concerned with whether the person is
acting as virtuous person should act in the situation.
 Virtue Ethics is largely identified with Aristotle. In ancient Western
philosophy, Aristotle’s discussion on moral character, particularly virtue, is the
most influential view on the topic. Aristotle argued that each person has a
built-in desire to be virtuous and that if a person is focused on being a good
person the right actions will follow effortlessly and you will do good things.
 What does it mean to be a good person? Aristotle believed that
humans have an essence. He called this essence proper functioning where
everything has a function and the thing that performs as intended is called
good when it is able to fulfill this function. Thus, a scissor is a good scissor if
it can cut. A car is good if it runs and takes you to your destination. A person is
also good if he or she fulfills what nature expects of him or her. Hence, a
person needs to sleep, be healthy, grow, and develop as nature intended.
However, aside from its natural instincts, a person according to Aristotle is also
a “rational animal” and a “social animal”. Therefore, using reason to live and
get along with other people is also the human person’s function. A ‘good’
person is one who fulfills all these functions.
 So, what does it mean to be virtuous? Virtue for the Greeks is equivalent to
excellence. A man has a virtue as a flautist, for instance, if he plays the flute
well, since playing the flute is the distinctive activity of a flautist. A person of
virtue is someone who performs the distinctive activity of being human well.
The principle of being virtuous is called the “Doctrine of the Golden Mean”-
that moral behavior is the one that is in the middle of two extreme behaviors (or
what he called vices).
 When he said “extreme behavior”, it meant the act was either excessive
or deficient. For example, in Aristotelian view eating is a human function as
demanded by nature. When a person overeats (gluttony), this behavior is
excessive; while a person who diets too much (starvation) is deficient. Thus, the
virtue when eating is temperance or to eat just the right amount at all times to
keep your body nourished and healthy. Temperance is the golden mean
between gluttony and starvation. Aristotle understood virtue as a character that
can be developed, and that this can be developed by practicing the golden mean
( the doctrine of the Mean). In time , good behavior will come naturally.
 It is important to note that Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Mean does not claim
that you behave in moderately at all times; such as when you get angry, you
should only ever be ‘moderately’ angry. In Aristotle’s philosophy, you should be
as angry as the situation demands which can be very angry or slightly irritated.
He concluded that virtue is a choice of behaving the right way, at the right time,
with the right people, and that this choice is determined by rational principle
and practical wisdom.
 The virtuous man is the kind of man (note: the term man in

Aristotle’s writing is equated with person and not just as opposed to

woman) who is able to satisfy both inclinations and rational desires

because his or her inclinations and desires are aligned. The virtuous man

wants to do what is good and does it because he/she derives pleasure from

choosing and doing what is moral.

 But why do we have to be virtuous? The reason, according to virtue
ethics is Eudaimonia. Generally, Eudaimonia can be translated as
“happiness”, “well-being” or the “good life” and that this is the goal of
human life. Aristotle believed that to achieve eudaimonia you need to
practice the virtues in your everyday activity all through your life.

 
STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

How did we develop a sense of what is right or wrong? In this lesson, you should be
able to identify the different stages of Moral Development as stipulated by philosopher and
psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg.

  Lawrence Kohlberg was a 20th century development psychologist and moral

philosopher. When he was the director of Harvard’s Center for Moral Education,
Kohlberg’s research focused on the moral development of children particularly on how
they develop a sense of what is right or wrong, as well as justice. He observed that children
move through what he believed as definite stages of moral development.
 Lawrence Kohlberg was a 20th century development psychologist and moral philosopher.
When he was the director of Harvard’s Center for Moral Education, Kohlberg’s research
focused on the moral development of children particularly on how they develop a sense of
what is right or wrong, as well as justice. He observed that children move through what he
believed as definite stages of moral development.

Lawrence Kohlberg studied morality using a very interesting (if controversial) technique.
In his research, Kohlberg would ask children and adults to try solve moral dilemmas in short
stories and asked the participants to think out loud so he could follow their reasonings. The
reason for this was that Kohlberg was not interested with the specific answers to the
dilemmas- he wanted to know how the person got to his or her answer.
The story below is one of Kohlberg’s best- known stories concerns a man called Heinz:

“In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug
that the doctor 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
$2,000 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 $1,000 which is half of
what it 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.”

Kohlberg asked a series of questions such as: Should Heinz have stolen the drug? Would
it change anything if Heinz did not love his wife? What if the person dying was a stranger,
would it make any difference? Should the police arrest the chemist for murder if the woman
died?

His theory holds that moral reasoning, which is the basis for ethical behavior, has
identifiable developmental stages and each become more adequate at responding to moral
dilemmas as the person progresses from one stage to the next. Kohlberg asserted that the
process of moral development was principally concerned with justice, and that the process
goes on throughout the individual’s lifetime.
After looking at hundreds of interviews using several stories, Kohlberg outlined three broad
levels and six specific stages of moral development.

Level I: Pre-conventional morality

Judgment at this level is solely focused on the self. This line of moral reasoning is
common among children although some adults would also exhibit such behavior. The child,
having no concept about society’s conventions on what is right or wrong, would base its
judgment mainly on the external consequences of its actions.
Stage 1: Punishment-Obedience Orientation

This is also called the ‘pre-moral stage’ where decisions and actions are
determined by immediate physical consequence and not the true moral value. The
overall goal at this stage is to avoid punishment. For example, “I am going to study
my lessons because mom will get mad at me if I do not pass this test.”
Stage 2: Reward Orientation

As children grow older, they begin to see that there is actually room for negotiation
because other people have their own goals to meet and wants that must be satisfied too.
Children learn to behave in a manner based on the principle,” What’s in it for me”? For
example, an older child might reason: If I get good grades mom and dad will buy me a
new smart phone. So, I’m going to do my homework.”
Level II: Conventional Morality

This level of moral reasoning is typical of adolescents and adults.

Conventional morality is to reason in a conventional (something that is
generally accepted) manner. It is accepting the rules and standards of one’s
group. This means decisions and the morality of his/her actions are based on
society’s views and expectations. The focus on this level is the “significant
others” or what is also called “Tyranny of the They(They say this…. They say
that…. They say I should….)
Stage 3: Good Boy/Good Girl Orientation

At this stage, the child tries to seek approval from other people by living up to
their expectations. He/ She also now understands the concept of loyalty. Trust,
and gratitude as well as become interested in motives and intentions behind a
particular decision or action. For example, children understand and live by the
Golden Rule.
Stage 4: Authority Orientation

By this time, individuals have reached adulthood and they usually

consider society as a whole when making judgments. The focus at this stage
is following the rules, maintaining law and order, doing one’s duty, and
respecting authority. For example, when someone violates the law, it is
morally wrong; culpability is therefore a significant factor in this stage
because it separates what is bad from what is good.
Level III: Post conventional

This is also known as the ‘principled level’. It is marked by a growing realization

that people are unique and are an independent part of the society. Therefore, the
individual’s own perspective is more significant over what the rest of the society
thinks and that this would sometimes lead to disobeying the law to follow personal
principles. At this level, a person does not see rules and laws as absolute or beyond
question, but a changeable mechanism. Kohlberg asserted that post conventional
individuals view rules and laws to be important in maintaining peace and order but
it only serves as a guide that needs to be weighed against personal principles and
beliefs to uphold one’s human rights.
Stage 5: Social contract orientation

This stage means that individual is aware that much of what is considered to be moral
or good is mainly based on personal beliefs as well as on the social group they belong to
and that only a very few of the known fundamental values are actually universal.

The person at this level understands that the world holds different opinions, rights, and
values; thus, different views should be mutually respected. Laws are also regarded as a matter
a social contract with one’s fellow human beings in order to promote universal values and
that decisions are made for “the greater good for the number of people. The best example for
this level is the Democratic form of government.
Stage 6: Ethical-Principle Orientation

At this point, social contract takes a clear back seat and the person makes a personal
commitment to uphold universal principles of equal rights and respect. At this stage, an
individual already has a principled conscience; and will follow universal, ethical
principles regardless of what the laws or the rules say. Judgment here is based on abstract
reasoning such as being able to put oneself in other people’s shoes.
End of Topic