Kohlberg and his scale of matu
Kohlberg and his scale of matuAn interesting individual, by the name of Lawrence Kohlberg, came up with a fascinating way of looking at morality in our society. This man originated a scale, in which he explains his comprehension of human moral development. Kohlberg's postulate is "action determines the stage, not just conscience." He put together three levels of morality, one being the lowest and three being the highest. Kohlberg calls the first level premoral, which is mainly for children who believe good and evil will be punished or rewarded. "Conventional role conformity" is the way he illustrates the second level of morality. This is where the child practices the sort of morality, which wins approval from parents, teachers and peers, as explicated by L. Kohlberg. The third and highest level is "the morality of self-accepted principles." This level also deals with the intellectual side of a child, which helps involve a moral system. While morality is considered to be a part of life, many people are now realizing how it can be used to evaluate a character in a book. The novel The Bean Trees is about a young woman who struggles to get through life's choices and decisions on her own with a baby in her possession. Taylor, the main character in the book, reaches the highest level and stage of moral development according to Kohlberg's scale. Even though Taylor makes many stage five decisions, she belongs in stage six.
In the book The Bean Trees Taylor starts out in stage five. Her decision to move and become independent due to the low success-failure ratio automatically places her into stage five. Taylor makes the decision to move not because she would get recognition for it or even personal profit but because it is the right thing to do and that is a clear example of a stage five decision. "Judgements are based on abstract, more personal principles that aren't necessarily defined by society's laws."(Becker). Stage five is an extremely high level because only 20 percent of the entire adult population reach such a high stage; yet Taylor reaches this stage at a relatively young age. This decision shows maturity and intelligence.
Stage six is the highest stage in...
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