Kohlberg's moral development stages: an abstract analysis

Abstract

The phases of moral growth of Lawrence Kohlberg represent an evolution of the psychological paradigm initially devised by Jean Piaget, Swiss psychologist. Kohlberg started researching on this subject as an undergraduate student in psychology at Chicago University in 1958 and spread theory through his life. The theory suggests that moral reason, the basis for ethical behaviour, has six phases of progress which are each more suitable than their predecessor to respond to moral dilemmas. Kohlberg pursued the emergence of moral judgement well past the ages studied by Piaget, who also argued that logic and morality were developing in building phases. Expanding on Piaget's thesis, Kohlberg determined that the moral development process was mainly concerned with justice and continued throughout the person's life, which led to a debate of the metaphysical ramifications of such study.