Deciding What is Right and Wrong

Laurence Kohlberg, a psychology professor at Harvard University a number of years ago, studied differences in children’s reasoning about moral dilemmas that resulted in a Moral Development Theory. This theory is based on the work of Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, who argued that individuals develop their intellectual abilities in stages. Applying that model to moral development, by which people decide what is right or wrong, Kohlberg identified the following six stages of moral development:

Stage l. Obedience and Punishment Orientation. Rules are obeyed to avoid punishment. Examples: “ I do not say bad words because if I do, mommy will get mad at me.” "How can I get what I want, or avoid what I don't want?"

Stage 2. Individualism and Exchange. Conformity to rules is out of self-interest and what others can do for you. Examples: “For a cookie, I will pick up my toys.” “I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch mine."

Stage 3. Good Interpersonal Relationships. Desire to be respected by others for being a good person. Decisions made at this stage are based on the person's desire to be part of a group. Example: “I do not eat in class because my teacher does not like it.”

Stage 4. Maintaining Social Order. One must have respect for duty and higher authority in order to maintain social order. This stage is concerned with following the rules of society as a result of an understanding of the need for rules in society for any group to function. Example: “I do not talk during a fire drill because that is one of the rules.” "What would happen if everyone broke whatever laws they wanted to?"

Stage 5. This stage differs from Stage 4 in which a smooth-running social order is the highest priority to viewing a good society as a social contract in which individuals work toward the benefit of all. Basic rights (life and liberty) are protected. Stage 5 decisions are based on principles of justice and fairness, which may or may not conform to the established laws of society. Examples: “I disagree with you, but you have the right to your opinion and you might be able to convince me.” “I am joining in a march to protest the torture of political prisoners.”

Stage 6. Individuals do what they think is right, regardless of legal restrictions or opinions of others. Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. had a sense of justice which led them to disobey those civil laws which they felt were unjust and unfair. Examples: “I pay taxes not because it is the law, but because it is the right thing to do.” “We are going to conduct sit-ins of local restaurants because we think the local ordinances segregating people on the basis of race is unjust and unfair.”

As you answered the previous questions involving moral decisions, which of Kohlberg’s stages did you employ in your reasoning?

Judging John

(This post is a continuation of the previous two posts. If you have not already read those posts, you should do so before reading and commenting on this one.)

(A few bloggers want to know why I have not stated my choices for these scenarios. I don't want to influence in any way the choices that others may make by revealing my personal beliefs. You will understand the reason later.)

Officer Jim Brown reported that earlier in the evening during which the theft took place, he had seen John near the laboratory behaving in a suspicious manner. He also asserted that later that same evening, he had seen John running away from the laboratory. John subsequently was arrested and brought to court. After a short trial, a jury found him guilty. John could face up to five years in prison.

Should the judge sentence John to prison for the maximum term? Why or why not?

A Friend in Need

(This post is a continuation of the previous one. If you have not already read that post, you should do so before reading and commenting on this one).

The next day after John broke into the laboratory and stole the drug, the local newspaper reported the break-in and theft. Jim Brown, a police officer and John's best friend, remembered seeing him the previous evening, behaving suspiciously near the laboratory. Later that same night, he also observed John running away from the laboratory.

Should Officer Brown report what he saw? Why or why not?

Stealing an Experimental Drug

A woman is near death from a unique kind of cancer. There is a promising experimental drug that might save her life. The drug costs $8,000 per dosage. The sick woman's husband John goes to everyone he knows to borrow the money and tries every legal means possible, but he can only get together about $4,000. He informs the doctor scientist who discovered the drug of his plight and pleads with him to either give him a discount or to let him pay the balance in installments. But the doctor scientist refuses.

Should John break into the doctor's laboratory to steal the drug for his wife? Why or why not?

Whose Money Is It?

Joe is a fourteen-year-old boy who wanted to go to camp very much. His father promised him he could go if he saved up the money for it himself. So Joe worked hard at his paper route and saved up the one hundred dollars it cost to go to camp, and a little more besides. But just before camp was going to start, his father changed his mind. Some of his friends decided to go on a special fishing trip, and Joe's father was short of the money it would cost. So he told Joe to give him the money he had saved from the paper route. Joe didn't want to give up going to camp, so he thinks of refusing to give his father the money.

Please try to provide in your comments the answers to as many of these questions as you can:

1. Should Joe refuse to give his father the money?
1a. Why or why not?

2. Does the father have the right to tell Joe to give him the money?
2a.Why or why not?

3. Does giving the money have anything to do with being a good son?
3a. Why or why not?

4. Is the fact that Joe earned the money himself important in this situation?
4a. Why or why not?

5. The father promised Joe he could go to camp if he earned the money. Is the fact that the father promised the most important thing in the situation?
5a. Why or why not?

6. What do you think is the most important thing a father should be concerned about in his relationship with his son?
6a. Why is that the most important thing?

7. In general, what should the authority of a father be over his son?
7a. Why?

8. What do you think is the most important thing a son should be concerned about in his relationship with his father?
8a. Why is that the most important thing?

9. In thinking back over the situation , what would you say is the most responsible thing for Joe to do in this situation?
9a. Why?