Unit 11- Moral Reasoning and Emotion

post-conventional level

- moving beyond social conventions, you no longer follow rules without first questioning them - understand that all opinions are equally valid

Conventional level characteristics

- they understand that rules are a social convention and they do not only understand that other people have different perspectives but also consider the perspectives of others - they care about how others view them and their actions

pre-conventional level characteristics?

- you do not understand that many rules are social conventions so you accept rules as absolute - things are either wrong or right, you do not understand the flexibility

what is a convention?

a social rule, things that people have agreed to abide by and follow - ex. waiting in line to check-out at a store

stage 4

conventional - follow rules to maintain social order - "if everyone steals, there will be no more social order"

stage 3

conventional - follow rules to gain approval of family and friends - "i will steal the drug to make my family happy" - peer-pressure stage

Heinz dilemma

his wife is dying and there is one pharmacist in town that has found a cure but is asking a ridiculous amount of money for it. should heinz steal the drug to save his wife?

how does direct experience affect moral reasoning?

it puts you into cognitive disequilibrium where you undergo practice and you are able to work through the problem directly

Kohlberg's stage of moral reasoning

most recent, things that are important are your - cognitive reasoning - perspective-taking skills (understanding others) - direct experience with moral dilemmas

what is personal distress?

once you are crying so much that you are no longer focused on the emotion of others and focused only on how to get yourself to calm down, this is no longer about your moral development

stage 5

post-conventional - protect individual rights - "pharmacist wants to make money too and has a right to price it where he wants"

stage 6

post-conventional - reasoning based on your own self-chosen abstract and ethical principles - you aknowledge the law but continue to do what you think is right or wrong - ex. african american people going against segregation laws in 1960's

Stage 1

pre-conventional - child determines what is moral based on rewards/punishments - if you steal candy but dont get caught then you didnt do anything wrong

Stage 2

pre-conventional - what is moral is what meets their own needs - they do not see that their right/wrong actions affect others

what do newborns do when they hear other babies crying?

they cry more when they see them cry than when they hear them crying, meaning they are not just annoyed by the sound but they are displaying empathy

when is post conventional level reached?

usually never, only reached by ghandi, jesus, MLK jr.

when are roots of empathy seen?

very young babies

empathy definition

you are able to relate and feel the emotions of others (ex. crying when others cry)

sympathy definition

you feel sorry for or concerned for someone but you do not feel their actual emotion