PART ONE: LAWRENCE KOHLBERG REVISITED
For a general overview of Kohlberg's theory, see
Lawrence Kohlberg, Philosophy of Moral Development (San Francisco:
Harpers, 1981)
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The general theme of ethical development is the
movement from
ego-centered to
societally-centered
to world-inclusive or
deep humanity-centered
The general movement is triadic -- start in
the center and call that " X."
Then we have Pre-X X Post-or Trans-X
thus, if we let X= conventional, we will have
Pre-conventional Conventional Post-Conventional
Let us use this way of speaking to talk of Kohlberg's earlier theory.
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Kohlberg I -- the earlier version of the theory --
Pre-conventional Conventional Post-Conventional
Me-centered
We-centered
Beyond convention to
but in a contentional way
wider and deeper criteria
(Wilber's Mythic-membership We?)
An awareness of conventions
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
Immediate
Longer term Good
boy-
Conventional
Primarily
Primarily Kant
Self-interest
Self-interest good girl (etc.)
rule-following
utilitarian
(later Rawls)
role orientation because this is
Later still,
because this is what society says
Kohlberg
what people say you must do to
walks away from
you must do to be well thought of
stage 6 -- saying
be well thought of e.g. a good American
he lacks empirical
validation
At stage 2, there is the
start of role-taking.
Kohlberg calls stage
2 --
"mutual back-scratching."
In truth, in these stages,
the subject is not able
to understand any
horizon larger than self
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Commentary:
Pre-Conventional
Conventional
Only with post-conventional
indicates those
indicates those
do we arrive at a
who genuinely do not
who do understand
stage where a person
understand anything
something of roles and
can critique the
bigger than themselves
systems but only in terms
conventional understandings
of what people say about
and misunderstandings
e.g. being a good son or
daughter or
being a good American
The idea is that we start very
Here we try to orient to
much under the influence of
a "WE" bigger than "me"
outside forces
but we tend to still internalize
(reward/punishment;
outside voices in an uncritical manner.
praise/ blame)
Then we may learn to make judgments
on a more intrinsic (nature of things) basis
regarding our longer-term self-interest
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Kohlberg II -- the later Kohlberg Here let X = Societal
Let's call this the "Pre-societal --- Societal --- Post-or-Trans-societal" Version
Pre-Societal
Societal
Post-or-Trans-societal
Stages
Stages
Stage
Pre-societal awareness WE-centered
Societal
Trans-societal Awareness
Awareness
Orienting to
Orienting to
Orienting to
something bigger
something deeper &
than myself alone.
wider than this or
that role or societal
arrangement
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
Immediate Longer-term
Ideal
Ideal
Criteria of
Self-interest Self-interest
Role
System
Person-in-
Maintaining Maintaining
Community
& Enhancing & Enhancing
or even wider --
(I-R-M-E) (I-S-M-E)
criteria of
wholes and their
Basically as above
Here the yardstick is a whole
participant-parts
but add not able to see
larger than the individual ego.
(e.g. web of all life)
social units bigger than
Stage 3 at its best understands
Contains the resources
self as having worth
ideal role relationships and is
for cultural critique
in own right.
committed to maintain and
and reversal.
to understand any
perhaps even enhance them.
horizon larger than self
Traditional marriage vow is
Of old, Kantian
example of ideal
and
role relationship.
Utilitarian thinking.
Today more ecological
Stage 4 at its best under
thinking. Capacities to
-stands ideal system main-
go beyond racism,
taining and perhaps
sexism, ageism,
enhancing. Thus, to orient
speciesism, etc.
to supporting and enhancing
In midst of awarness of
Elon (for the sake of all it can be)
societal awareness, emergence
is I-S-M-E
of deeper criteria -- e.g. deeper
sense of human rights and
responsibilities. UN Declaration
of Human Rights. Extended to
UN Earth Charter -- ecological
"rights"
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Commentary on Kohlberg II:
A major change is how the societal stages are described:
Stage 3 = ideal role maintaining and enhancing (IRME)
Stage 4 = ideal system maintaining and enhancing. (ISME)
Here, Kohlberg is asking
that one orient to a wider and deeper vision of roles and of systems. In
these stages, a
person needs
to understand the nature and point of relationships (and of organizations)
and
to commit
to them in a new way -- beyond what they can do for me as a skin-encapsulated
ego.
A person begins to understand what conditions are needed to aid relationships and social systems to flourish.
The motivation or
commitment is different; the value criteria center on the intrinsic
nature of these enterprises.
One begins to think of RED&GOLD
criteria: what is good for the whole and fair to its participant
parts.
In the first case --
stage 3, the whole is the friendship or one-to-one role relationship
seen (from within) in its constructive possibilities.
In the second case
-- stage 4, the whole is the organization
seen (from within) in its constructive possibilities.
Stages 3 and 4 invite devotion.
One is not an outside detached
spectator but a committed participant within the role relationship
and taking responsibility for it.
One is not a detached spectator
but a committed participant within the organization
and taking responsibility for it.
One expands one's own identity
to include care for the role relationship or for the organized group (system)
that
one dwells within.
Think IRME = Ideal Role Maintaining/Enhancing and ISME
= Ideal System Maintaining/Enhancing
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Note: Kohlberg claims that his stages form a Piagetian sequence;
For Gilligan, see
Carol Gilligan, In a Different Voice (Harvard University
Press, 1982)
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Note: Carol Gilligan was the in-house critic of Kohlberg for
a number of years. Her ground-breaking book
gave voice to an original feminist critique of Kohlberg and others as unduly
"male-centered."
Her hypothesis was that women spoke "in a different voice" and their voice
was not being heard.
All too often, "different" was taken as "lesser." When male
development was taken as the norm,
women were seen as less developed, not just as developed but in a different
way.
Women, she would argue, go through the triadic steps --
pre-X, X and Post-or-Trans-X.
Yet they do so with a different orientation and speak their truths in a
different way.
PRECONVENTIONAL STAGE
SELF over OTHERS
Ideal is simply Survival
CONVENTIONAL STAGE
OTHERS over SELF
Ideal of Goodness as Unselfish
This is an orientation to roles conventionally understood e.g. good wife, good mother, etc.
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POST CONVENTIONAL STAGE
-- SELF AND OTHERS --
the search for equality and mutuality
Here there is an attempt
to balance self and others -- seeing that each person needs to have his
or her
needs addressed. A realization
that in most difficult situations someone will get hurt.
Orientation to causing the least possible harm.
Difficult choices often seen as "lesser of two evils" -- not choice between
two goods
or even choice between a good & bad but both options seem to be bad.
A NO-Win situation. A tragic dimension to life.
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Elsewhere in the same book, Carol Gilligan theorized that in the
First half of life
Men tend to orient to "agency" -- to law -- ethical problems invoke
justice --
what is fair when each is counted as one --
the person is seen as a decontextualized individual.
Women tend to orient to "communion" -- to the concrete and contextual
--
to relationships and how to sustain them,
to compassion and care.
Toward Mid-life she noticed a developmental crossover. If men and women had not done this earlier in their lives, then at mid-life the crossover may occur.
Men may need to befriend the communion side of life;
women may need to bring in the agency side of life.
If this is accomplished, there is a type of completeness for both.
Both genders can contextualize and both can see the need for fairness
and procedures in institutional life; both justice and care are needed
in a complete life; both agency and communion are both to be prized.
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