Problem:
Which of Kohlberg's stages of moral development corresponds to a decision to engage in civil disobedience? Kohlberg's moral stages consist of three levels of moral reasoning, with two stages in each level (Kohlberg, 1976). According to Kohlberg and his colleagues, each stage involves qualitative differences in the way the individual sees the world. Cognitive development and moral development are integrated-that is, one must grow intellectually to achieve a higher moral stage. One cannot skip stages, they are hierarchical; however, some people will not advance to the highest stages (Hersh, 1979: 52). At the pre-conventional level, the person approaches a moral issue motivated purely by personal interests. Young children first start sharing when they perceive benefit to themselves; they grudgingly share, because they fear punishment from an adult if they do not. At the conventional level, people perceive themselves as members of society, and living up to role responsibilities is paramount in believing oneself to be good. Children enter this level when they can play with other children according to rules. Games and play are training grounds for moral development, because they teach the child to learn to submerge individual interests and desires to conform to rules and role expectations. At the post-conventional level, a person moves beyond the norms and laws of a society to determine universal good-that is, what is good for all societies. Need Assignment Help?