Kohlberg's Six Stages

[struggle4progress]

KOHLBERG'S STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

Stage 1. Obedience and Punishment Orientation ... The child assumes that powerful authorities hand down a fixed set of rules which he or she must unquestioningly obey ...
Stage 2. Individualism and Exchange ... This is a notion of fair exchange or fair deals ...
Stage 3. Good Interpersonal Relationships ... They believe that people should live up to the expectations of the family and community and behave in "good" ways. Good behavior means having good motives and interpersonal feelings such as love, empathy, trust, and concern for others ...
Stage 4. Maintaining the Social Order ... Now the emphasis is on obeying laws, respecting authority, and performing one's duties so that the social order is maintained ...
Stage 5. Social Contract and Individual Rights ... a good society is best conceived as a social contract into which people freely enter to work toward the benefit of all ...
Stage 6: Universal Principles ... the principles of justice require us to treat the claims of all parties in an impartial manner, respecting the basic dignity, of all people as individuals. The principles of justice are therefore universal; they apply to all ...

http://faculty.plts.edu/gpence/html/kohlberg.htm

It is interesting to set a scheme like this beside (say) a religious-based ethical system. "I'll go to hell if I'm bad" seems to be Stage 1, "I'll go to heaven if I act properly" seems to be Stage 2, "My motives should be good" seems to be Stage 3, "I should follow the rules and respect authority" seems to be Stage 4, and so on