kolhberg
Integrating Care and Justice: Moral DevelopmentThe criticisms of Kohlberg's moral development stages seem to center around three major points, his research methods, the "regression" of stage four, and finally his goals.The first criticism that I would like to address is that of his research methods. Kohlberg is often criticized for not only his subject selection, but also the methods by which he tries to extricate data from those subjects. His initial study consisted of school boys from a private institution in Chicago. The problem with this is fairly obvious, that this does not represent a significant portion of the population to allow for generalized conclusions. In other words, how can we test some boys from Chicago and ascertain that this is how all people develop worldwide?I believe that the answer to this criticism comes from the theory that it relates to. Kohlberg's moral development schema is highly dependent upon the idea that there are fundamental truths that cannot be dismissed. These ideas are "in the ether", wound into the very fabric that constructs human nature. Granted, his descriptions of the various stages also seem very dependent upon the surroundings and social institutions that an individual wo
(The next section is assuming that one would naturally move from a Kohlbergian stage three to Gilligan's stage one). Gilligan states that this is not true, but rather, everything is a shade of gray. So all people must be inherently abusive, right? I should hope not, but rather, that it is a case of poor timing. To fulfill the previous! stage's goals with this new scope, one must dedicate resources to it. Personally, I must agree with the idea that it is, in fact, a priority change. It may be a slow process, and one that can be abused to fit one's needs, but it is the only one that incorporates the individual into the molding of the system. Also, there is an argument that stage two admits that stage one was a regression, stage two merely brings us back up to par. In terms of conflicting views, this could be the most impressive point towards unifying them. So, we are combining the best of both worlds. Where does the balance lie between seeking to fulfill one's own interests, and meeting the requirements placed upon one by others? I believe that we all recognize a need to initialize and solidify a healthy caring for oneself before it is possible to be outwardly caring for others. Rather than try to develop this step by step and point by point (which would be intolerable after about the second line), I'd like to just give my interpretation of what the final product would look like. If this act is first viewed to warrant public action (an arrest, trial, or hearing), then that should be the course of action. Some have criticized that Kohlberg is trying to objectify morality to a Natural Law, or justice perspective. Putting effort into everyday interaction, from talking to listening, can greatly enhance every experience. Laws, rules and regulations take over for individualistic judgement, helping to herd everyone into the proper behavior.
Common topics in this essay:
Care Justice,
Moral Development,
Prince Valiant,
Constitution Granted,
Carol Gilligan's,
Natural Law,
Third Reich,
Ms Gilligan,
Using Kohlberg's,
Finally Kohlberg's,
moral development,
golden rule,
social contract,
stage three's,
social system,
research methods,
caring oneself,
regression stage,
stage regression,
social institutions,
agreed social contract,
kohlberg's moral development,
|
Acceptance Essays
