Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development:

1. Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development: A system to study character development in literature

2. A Sociological Approach to Criticism • Looking at the Adam and Eve/Cain and Abel is looking at Archetypal patterns • Looking at Theories of Morality is an approach from lens of morality An allegorical painting representing charity….a virtue revered by society

3. Why we will look at Kohlberg • To compare and contrast character behavior • To illuminate more fully our understanding of the text • To analyze and evaluate character behavior • To view character motivation from a cultural/ethical point of origin

4. Preconventional Stages • Stage Zero –Pre-Moral • Stage One – Simple Authority Orientation • Stage Two – Instrumental Relativist

5. Stage Zero • 4% of society never moves beyond this point • Pleasure-Pain determine behavior (think of the child touching the stove) • No sense of obligation or morality • Not immoral, but amoral (without) • Take what is pleasant; avoid what is unpleasant • Person guided only by what he can and wants to do

6. Stage One: Simple Authority Orientation • Think Machiavelli’s Prince/Robert Bruce in the film Braveheart • Obedience-and-punishment • Physical consequences determine good/bad behavior • Deference to superior power or prestige • Authority figure determines standards • Responsive to rules

7. Stage Two: Instrumental Relativist • Naively egoistic orientation (self-centered in a naïve way) • Instrumentally satisfying needs of self (occasionally others) • Equal sharing, exchange, reciprocity, fairness (children playing with toys…if you loan me your Barbie, I’ll be your best friend) • Eye for Eye, same for all, treat all the same • You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours (not centered in loyalty or concern, but fair) Think politicians/spies etc.

8. Conventional Moral StagesStages 3 and 4 • Stage Three – Interpersonal concordance or Good Boy/Nice Girl Orientation • Stage Four – Law and Order

9. Stage Three: Interpersonal Concordance • Being nice, approval, pleasing a limited group are important (think of the groups of students in teen movies like Mean Girls or Never Been Kissed • Consider own feelings (conscience) and feelings of others • Put oneself in other’s shoes • Stereotypes of right behavior of majority • Intentions (“he means well…”) become important • Teenagers often find themselves here

10. Stage Four: Law and Order • Orientation toward authority and maintenance of the social order • Maintain the given social order for its own sake • Doing duty • Rigid: fixed rules hard to change (imagine the person at the broken stop light who won’t go even if there is not a car in sight) • Respect for authority and majority rule • 70-80% of adults peak here

11. Post-ConventionalStage 5, 6, and the nebulous 7 20% adult population may reach • Stage Five – Social Contract • Stage Six – Ethical Principle • Stage Seven – Nebulous/God on Earth

12. Stage Five: Social Contract • Legalistic orientation • Standards critically examined and socially agreed upon • Constitutional and democratic (ideals which guided our founding fathers) • Legalistic but law can be changed for benefit of society • Individual rights respected except when contrary to constitutionally agreed rights • Personal values respected • Utilitarian • Moral values defined in terms of individual rights and standards agreed upon by the society (pants issues in Atlanta right now) • Consensus rather than majority • “Official” Morality of our country

13. Stage Six – Ethical Principle • Guided by self chosen principle • Orientation to principles above social rules Jean Valjean, Ghandi, MLK, George Washington, Erwin Rommel and Robert E. Lee are examples • Principles appeal to logical university and consistency • Justice with individual dignity • Obedience or disobedience to law based on moral respect for justice • Saints, ascetics, people who die for a cause

14. Stage Seven – Out of this world • Christ on Earth….we don’t see this in our world… • This would be a person of undescribed morality • Sometimes you see Kohlberg’s theory list a 7 and sometimes it goes only to 6…it is a nebulous area.

15. Movement through Kohlberg • Each person’s moral reasoning develops through the stages outlined • Stages can’t be skipped; progress occurs only one at a time • Some people go farther and faster than others • Once can only comprehend all stages up to and including his present stage. • Given the right circumstances, one can understand and operate at a moral level immediately above the present level • Moral reasoning more than one stage higher cannot be fully comprehended

16. Movement….cont. • One tends to prefer the next stage as he understands it • Moral reasoning stages lower than that attained will be understood but rejected; they do not affect behavior or persuade the thinking of the individual • Moral development is always progressive – regression does not occur; once higher level is attained it is never lost and movement continues forward • Moral development is not automatic; it may be arrested at any stage • A person may be in transition between stages • When one is “in stage” at least 50% of his responses are typical of that stage, with some higher and some lower • The sequence of stages does not vary with culture, social class, or religion; these factors may affect speed of movement or stages typical of a given age.

17. The process of moral development can be stimulated by: • Experience of moral conflict or dilemmas • Exchange of different views • Exposure to next higher level or moral reasoning…… • We can see these things in literature…and this should stimulate conversation and thought