Condoy, Zarina Kate V.

BS Chemistry 2

1. What is moral development and how does it operate in human existence? More
so, what are the stages of moral development? Give a concrete personal
experience.
Moral development is a process which people develop from infancy thru adulthood, we
specifically develop proper attitudes and behaviors towards other people based on
social and cultural rules and laws. We are surrounded by evilness, either we get
corrupted by the outside world or the inside world corrupts us is our own decision. As
we grow we learn the right things from the wrong, this kind of development give humans
a sense of self-fulfillment. The continuous development of morality give human beings
the foundation to progress forward.
STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
by Laurence Kohlberg
Stage 1. Punishment/obedience orientation
Behavior is determined by consequences. The individual will obey in order to
avoid punishment.
Example: In our household my mother have thought me to do my chores when I was
still young, and when I laze around I will either be given a sermon or a beating with a
hanger in my butt. So as someone who doesn’t want that I always do my chores before
playing so my mother won’t get angry with me.
Stage 2.Instrumental purpose orientation
Behavior is determined again by consequences. The individual focuses on
receiving rewards or satisfying personal needs.
Example: Being a student I study well to gain medals and certificates that recognizes
my achievements academically and those achievements also gives me a feeling of self-
fulfillment.
Stage 3.Good Boy/Nice Girl Orientation
Behavior is determined by social approval. The individual wants to maintain or
win the affection and approval of others by being a “good person”.
Example: Greeting older people by practicing the “mano po” tradition and saying ‘po’
and ‘opo’.
Stage 4.Law and order orientation
Social rules and laws determine behavior. The individual now takes into
consideration a larger perspective, that of societal laws. Moral decision making
becomes more than consideration of close ties to others. The individual believes that
rules and laws maintain social order that is worth preserving.
Example: A great example is the enhance community quarantine, I stay at our home
and follow the rules our municipality imposes to prevent the spread of the covid-19
virus.
Stage 5: Social contract orientation
Individual rights determine behavior. The individual views laws and rules as
flexible tools for improving human purposes. That is, given the right situation, there are
exceptions to rules. When laws are not consistent with individual rights and the interests
of the majority, it does not bring about good for people and alternatives should be
considered.
Example: In the summer of 2018 there was a fellow Ivatan women who wore a bikini in
the beach, it caused heated arguments in social media among us Ivatans. Since some
of the government officials in Batanes are a bit conservative they drafted an ordinance
that forbids anyone to wear such revealing clothes in the beach. After reading the
drafted ordinance we found it to be a bit unconstitutional, a lot of people including me
voices our concerns. The officials decided to allow a public hearing for us to voice those
concerns, it was revisioned but at the end of the day it wasn’t approved for a lot more
reasons.
Stage 6: Universal ethical principle orientation
According to Kohlberg, this is the highest stage of functioning. However, he
claimed that some individuals will never reach this level. At this stage, the appropriate
action is determined by one’s self-chosen ethical principles of conscience. These
principles are abstract and universal in application. This type of reasoning involves
taking the perspective of every person or group that could potentially be affected by the
decision.
Example: During group projects whenever I become the group leader, I tend to do all
the things because it’s more convenient for me and I sometimes don’t like or trust my
group mates to do the things that was given to them. I then realized that it’s better to
divide the work equally to my partners so that they’ll know how the task that was given
to us. I also realize that this group project teaches us how to work with one another,
teaches us how to cope with the different individual personality of our classmates that
may help us when we go out to the world to work.
2. Relationship between FEELINGS and MORAL DECISION MAKING: Why is
reason and impartiality a requirement in moral decision making?
During moral dilemma using reason and impartiality help us make a moral decision that
affect our well-being and the well-being of others. Reason helps us justify our decisions,
it let us understand the consequences of the actions and opinions we make. On the
other hand impartiality help us make decisions without the prejudice to other people.
3. What are the seven steps in moral reasoning model and why is moral courage a
determinant?
The following steps is from the: Seven-step guide to ethical decision-making (Davis, M.
(1999) Ethics and the university, New York: Routledge, p. 166-167.
1. State the problem
2. Check the facts
3. Identify relevant factors
4. Develop a list of options
5. Test the options
6. Make a choice
7. Review steps 1-6
In our world today a number of people choose to turn a blind eye whenever
something unethical happens but there are still a lot of people who stands up and have
the courage to seek the greater good without considering their own social cost.
4. What is the difference between will and reason and what is its role in moral
development and moral-decision making?
Will is the capacity of a person to actively decide what to do and to select a
different path for our actions after a deliberating rationally while reason talks about
personal justification that is different from person to person based on their own ethical
and moral code. Their roles in moral development and moral decision making is
important since reason guides our will, our actions are made accordingly to the laws of
our own reasons.