Chapter 12: Human Development Moral development Chapter 12: Human Development

“Heinz and the Drug Dilemma” In Europe, a woman was near death from a special form of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors believed would have saved her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman’s husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about $1,000, which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying, and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. The druggist replied, “No, I discovered the drug and I’m going to make money from it. So Heinz got desperate and broke into the man’s store to steal the drug for his wife. Should Heinz have broken into the store and stolen the drug? Was it right or wrong? Why?

Moral Dilemma: The Crying Baby It’s wartime, and you’re hiding in a basement with your baby and a group of other people. Enemy soldiers are outside and will be drawn to any sound. If you’re found, you will all be killed immediately. Your baby starts to cry loudly and cannot be stopped. Smothering him to death is the only way to silence him and save the lives of everyone in the room. Could you do it? Assume the baby is not yours, the parents are unknown and there will be no penalty for killing him. Could you be the one who smothers this baby if no one else would?

Moral Dilemma: Crying Baby Yes? No? Your Baby Someone Else’s Baby

Preconventional Level (Infancy & Preschool) Stage 1 “Punishment orientation” Being moral is following rules & being obedient. Actions evaluated in terms of possible punishment Stage 2 “Pleasure-seeking orientation” Determined by one’s own needs. “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”

Conventional Level (School Age) Stage 3 “Good boy/good girl orientation.” Good behavior is what pleases others. Emphasis on being “nice.” Stage 4 “Authority Orientation.” Upholding the law, order & authority. Doing one’s “duty” to family, country, etc. Personal considerations are subjugate to the law.

Postconventional Level (Teens & Adults) Stage 5 “Social contract orientation.” Rules are recognized as open to question Rules are upheld for the general good Life, for example, must be recognized when considering rules. Stage 6 “Morality of individual principles.” Behavior is directed by self-chosen ethical principles. Abstract, general, comprehensive, or universal. High value on justice, dignity & equality.

Criticisms Culturally biased: (applies to Western industrialized societies). Ideals in stages 5 & 6 may not appear in collectivist cultures Moral reasoning may be different than moral behavior. Carol Gilligan believes the stages are applicable only to men. The “moral ideal” for women were based on relationships & care.

Summary