Revolutions in Norm-Creating: Law, Morality, Religion

Introduction. The emergence of social norms is usually described as a spontaneous, objectively conditioned process. However, the norm-creating approach to the study of the indicated problem allows obtaining a fundamentally new optics of socio-philosophical studies of normativity. The purpose of this article is to analyze the position of various normative regulators (law, morality, religion) in the value-normative hierarchy, conditioned by the rule-making activity of individual and collective subjects. Materials and Methods. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is a systematic approach that allows considering law, morality and religion as elements of a single value-normative space. To conceptualize norm-making revolutions, the model of the social imaginary in the interpretation of C. Castoriadis and Ch. Taylor is used. Results. Three norm-creating revolutions are described: moral, religious and legal, each of which is characterized by the priority of the corresponding normative regulator. The moral stage was preceded by the stage of the emergence of social norms and the primary social imaginary, characterized by the priority of the group. The moral revolution was marked by the internalization of external norms into individual consciousness and the isolation of moral norms from other social normative regulators (that had not been differentiated in the syncretic consciousness of an archaic person). A religious revolution is characterized by other subjects of rule-making (God, Councils, bishops, etc.), the switch in the value hierarchy from an individual to a group, the formation of a new type of social imaginary. A legal revolution, which entailed a certain degree of legalization of morality and religion, is associated with the development of the ideas of human rights, justice, equality in the social imaginary. It is characterized by the priority of the individual interests and the expansion of the circle of subjects of norm-creating, although their degree of participation in norm-making activities can be significantly differentiated. Discussion and Conclusion. Probably, the next norm-creating revolution has already begun, but it is not yet possible to fully understand its specifics. Most likely, the group again will occupy the center of the social imaginary, pushing the individual to the periphery of the value-normative space.

Moral Self-Identity and Character Development

Moral development is a kind of sociopersonality development that has as its aim the disposition to virtue. The developmental grounding of moral personality is in the first months of life and includes neurobiological foundations, the mutual responsive orientation, and dialogic socialization of the moral self. The authors argue that moral self-identity offers integrative possibilities for understanding the life span development of moral personality and for understanding the dispositional and motivational bases of moral behavior, and that social cognitive theory has resources for understanding how the moral self and conscience of infancy is canalized into individual and cultural differences in the schedule and priority of character strengths that are the targets of socialization. Moral self-identity and character are placed in the historical context of the moral stage theory paradigm.

Moral development

The concept of moral development has its roots in Plato’s metaphor of ascent from the dark recesses of the cave to the initially blinding sight of the form of the good. Influenced by the developmental theories of Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg proposed a sequence of stages beginning with two stages of egoism, followed by stages of conventionalism, contractarianism, consequentialism, and finally a Kantianism emphasizing the role of universalizable laws. Recent empirical work has not, however, corroborated moral stage theory. There seems not to be a unified mode of thought that applies to all and only moral problems.

Pemetaan Perkembangan Moral Mahasiswa Binus ditinjau dari Perspektif Kohlberg (Studi Kasus Terhadap 10 Mahasiswa di Kelas 04 Paf)

Learning means changing. Conditions of learning rely on a person's organizational thought against the learning process. One’s organizational thought is categorized into three major categories, each of which is divided into two phases: pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional. The teaching world, not least Bina Nusantara university, should play a role in developing the organizational thought /moral development of every person whom becomes the believer. This moral mapping may be information underlying the learning model. This mapping is generated through qualitative research of 10 Bina Nusantara university students, grade 04, PAF. Data collection technique used observational-partisipative method with the instrument of three moral dilemmas and Kohlberg’s moral stage development indicators. The results in the form of mapping of moral development is reported in the form of pie charts moral The study also resulted in the proposal of moral learning model that can be tested in subsequent research.

Sociomoral Reflection and Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior: Two Italian Studies

Two Italian studies on the development of moral judgment based on the 1992 Sociomoral Reflection Measure-Short Form of Gibbs, Basinger, and Fuller were performed. In Study 1, 49 male and female adolescent volunteers involved in prosocial activities and a control group of 60 nonvolunteers completed the form. In Study 2, 60 male drug abusers in a drug-rehabilitation community were compared with a matched group of 60 nondrug abusers. Analysis showed that involvement in prosocial activities was associated with higher stages of moral judgment and Type B responses, while drug abuse was associated with lower stages of moral judgment and more Type A responses. The moral type scores were less closely associated with behavioral outcomes than the moral stage scores, perhaps reflecting the interplay between universal sociocognitive processes and specific real-life situations.

From Substages to Moral Types and Beyond: An Analysis of Core Criteria for Morally Autonomous Judgements

Based on Kohlberg’s typological distinction between heteronomous versus autonomous moral types (Type A vs. B), the study proposes a refined strategy for the assessment of autonomous morality that aims at overcoming methodological ‘aws of Kohlberg’s typological approach. Theoretically, two conceptually crucial criteria of autonomous morality were distinguished: (1) prescriptiveness; and (2) universality of moral reasoning. Empirically, measures of prescriptiveness and universality of moral reasoning were examined to determine whether or not they yield important empirical findings that were associated with the concept of moral types. In a study of 348 German adolescents from grades 9 and 12, both prescriptive and universalised moral reasoning were assessed by two standard probe questions of the Moral Judgment Interview. Both aspects of moral reasoning predicted readiness to take moral responsibility in the context of sociopolitical action. In addition, both measures were moderately correlated with moral stage, largely independent of SES, and unrelated to gender. There was significant longitudinal change towards prescriptive and universalised moral reasoning over a three-year interval. The findings demonstrate that the construct validity of Kohlberg’s approach to the assessment of autonomous morality can be significantly improved by using measures of the prescriptiveness and universality of moral reasoning.

Nursing Students’ Responses to Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing Practice

In literature as well as in nursing practice a growing concern about nurses’ ethical competence can be observed. Based on the cognitive theory of moral development by Kohlberg, this research examined nursing students’ ethical behaviour in five nursing dilemmas. Ethical behaviour refers not only to the ethical reasoning of nursing students but also to the relationship between reasoning and behaviour. Kohlberg’s definition of morality was refined by adding a care perspective. The results show that the majority of students can be located in the fourth moral stage according to Kohlberg’s theory, that is, the conventional level of moral development. This finding implies that students are still guided by professional rules, norms and duties, and have not (yet) succeeded in making personal ethical decisions on the basis of their own principles and acting according to such decisions.