Enlightened minority - Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development

[BloodyWilliam]

I had a little brainfart and thought back on a psych course I took in high school. One of the things we came across was KOhlberg's Stages of Moral Development, a six-stage process by which individuals' moral structures develop. I can't really discuss it without being completely condescending towards most conservatives, but I'll do it anyway. :evilgrin:

http://www.xenodochy.org/ex/lists/moraldev.html

http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/kohlberg.html

That's an excellent page that gives the basic gist of Kohlberg's stages, but here's an even shorter version by me:


Level 1 - Preconventional (Childlike, self-oriented)

Stage 0 - Egocentric ("I want! Gimme!" No other moral judgements)

Stage 1 - Punishment/Obedience Orientation ("I want, but I'll get in trouble, so I guess I won't." Avoiding punishment and following a system of rules for one's self-interest)

Stage 2 - Instrumental Relativist ("I'll do this for you if you do this for me." Working with others to satisfy one's own needs )


Level 2 - Conventional (Adapting to social order)

Stage 3 - Interpersonal Concordance ("More people will like me and help me if I do this." Working with the group because it's considered normal and good)

Stage 4 - "Law and order" ("The government must be right, so we should support it!" Maintaining social order and functioning under an authority figure for no reason beyond authority and social order. This is where the concept of "duty" comes in.)

Level 3 - Post-Conventional, Autonomous, or Principled (Making your own rules)

Stage 5 - Social Contract Legalistic ("We give and take, but as long as we generally turn out alright, the social order is pretty reasonable to follow." A duality between authority-bsaed morality and personal moral values, which work together to produce an idealistic pseudo-authoritarian. This is where concepts such as "honor" comes in)

Stage 6 - Universal Ethical-Principle ("This is generally good, so I'll generally do it. As a human being I can form my own moral principles and follow them accordingly." Ethics and morality are created by the individual and followed in accordance with an understanding of individual liberty and a general sense of "What is good." Kohlberg even specifically points out that such principles are abstract like the "Golden Rule" or Kant's Categorical Imperative, not a solid set of rules like the Ten Commandments.)

Interestingly enough, Kohlberg believed that most adults have not yet reached the Postconventional level of moral development. I can understand, because such philosophical introspection is, in all honesty, tiring. It's a lot easier to simply follow rules. But if Kohlberg's right, then we, as liberals, are indeed a minority.

I'd like to think I'm at stage 6, myself. I form my own moral decisions and function on them. I could be stage 5, of course, since I do begrudgingly appreciate the need to work within a social order.

Free marketers and Randists seem to be somewhere between stages 0 and 2. Rand herself even said that there's no such thing as altruism (so developing further, especially to the postconventional level, would be particularly difficult). There's a general sense of "I've got mine, you get yours, we'll all compete and the better man will win."

A majority of Americans are, in my opinion, stage 3. Blind obedience to rules for rules' sake isn't part of it, but neither is sheer greed. Simply an understanding that we all have to work together on this mudball and respect the social contract if we're going to have any sort of decent lifestyle.

Pro-government/administration Republicans, fundamentalists, and religious conservatives are stage 4 (I personally disagree with Kohlberg and believe that stages 3 and 4 should be switched, but that's my opinion). Obedience of an authority structure is good in and of itself, because the authority structure is basically superior to the individual.

Any Psych wonks out there? Any thoughts? Where are you on Kohlberg's ladder? Come on, let's all shamelessly stroke our egoes while we discuss this. :evilgrin:

On edit: Just fixed the bold tags. I'm not perfect. :-)

[villager]

1. fuck it...

...be condescending toward conservatives...

[Ladyhawk]

2. Interestingly enough I'm unable to sleep because a friend of mine

is stuck in stage 4. I'm upset because he seems unable to converse at the same level of morality, intelligence, etc. This is especially upsetting because I recently did something which is one of the big sins in Ladyhawkism. My record for following my own rules hasn't been very good lately. I'm smothered in the bog of my own shame. I can't exactly point to myself as a shining example of the human species, yet I feel strongly that John (my friend) trusts authority figures too much.

I have a basic distrust of doctors. Instead of believing them because they're doctors, I give them a blank slate and they must prove to me they are good at what they do. I have reasons for feeling this way. During the past three years I have had some very bad experiences with doctors.

Then I realized that I always question authority. The bible is right? Why? Who says? I should obey my elders? Why? Who says? Why do they say it? Is it for my own good and the general good of others, or is it because it is convenient for them?

After a recent hospitalization, I told John he was going to get himself into trouble by blindly trusting and obeying authority figures. I said, "You trust entirely too much."

He said, "You think you know more than you do."

Maybe. But I'm pretty sure I know enough to realize when someone doesn't know how to do their job.

John is a conservative fundy. No surprises there. Don't think. Do what we tell you. Don't think. Do what we tell you. Don't think. Do what we tell you. Don't think. Do what we tell you. Don't think. Do what we tell you.

I've been turning this conversation over in my mind. How can you explain to someone like that why I feel trust must be earned? I don't automatically trust authority figures. In the past, that has been very dangerous for me. One can be molested and beaten for trusting authority figures. Also, multiple cases of malpractice have been committed against me. No one listens because we live in an authoritarian society. I'm automatically wrong because the authority figure knows best.

It's occured to me that John probably doesn't even believe what I've told him concerning abuses perpetuated by my mother and father. As a conservative, knee-jerk xtian, he will believe my mother first should he ever meet her.

Damn.

Why does this hurt so much?

[Ladyhawk]

3. And Laura did that which is right in her own eyes.

I'm a wicked queen by Old Testament standards.

[BloodyWilliam]

4. Level 3 isn't just about questioning authority,

But rather questioning authority in the face of a greater, developing moral principle. Rather than simply breaking down the authority of the authority figure, there's putting a greater principle of liberty and "goodness" in its place.

[Ladyhawk]

5. I meant level 4: law and order

What I read puts law and order (and those who wield power) above individual needs at any given time.

[BloodyWilliam]

6. Actually, that's stage 4.

Stages 0, 1, and 2 are part of level 1.

Stages 3 and 4 are part of level 2.

Stages 5 and 6 are part of level 3.

Sorry if that was poorly worded. :-)

[Ladyhawk]

7. Um, yeah. I'm tired so I'll take your word for it. :)

Big week. Lots of shit coming down the pipes. We need a real psychologist to come on and explain them to us. :)

[BloodyWilliam]

8. I have 3 AP credits... that count?

And do I get extra psych cred if I make it my hobby to fuck with peoples' heads? Did you know that people get really uncomfortable if you stare at them for more than a few seconds?