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According to Lawrence Kohlberg at which stage of moral reasoning is a child who reasons that Heinz should obey the law as it is his duty as a citizen and if no one is allowed to steal even Heinz should not be allowed?

According to Lawrence Kohlberg at which stage of moral reasoning is a child who reasons that Heinz should obey the law as it is his duty as a citizen and if no one is allowed to steal even Heinz should not be allowed? Correct Answer Law and order orientation

Lawrence Kohlberg sought to refine and extend the ideas of Piaget about the theory of moral development by creating a comprehensive three-stage theory.  He identified three general levels of moral reasoning: pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional, and described two stages at each level:

  • Pre conventional level:
    • Stage-1 Punishment-obedience orientation.
    • Stage-2 Instrumental-exchange orientation.
  •  Conventional level:
    • Stage:3 Good-boy-nice-girl orientation
    • Stage-4 Law and order orientation.
  • Postconventional Level:
    • Stage-5 Social-contract situation
    • Stage-6 Universal-ethical-principles orientation.

Key Points Kohlberg studied moral development by posing moral dilemmas to groups of children as well as adolescents and adults. These dilemmas take the form of stories, one of Kohlberg’s best-known dilemmas involves a man named Heinz, who must choose between stealing medicine and letting his wife die.

  • Stage-4 Law and order orientation: There is an orientation towards authority, fixed rules, and maintenance of social order. Right behavior consists of doing one's duty, showing respect for established or lawful authority, and maintaining given social order for its own sake.
  • So the given statement in the question is followed by stage 4 of Kohlberg's moral development theory by which Heinz should obey the law as it is his duty as a citizen and if no one is allowed to steal even Heinz should not be allowed.​

Important Points

 Other stages of Kohlberg's moral development theory:

  • Stage-I: The Punishment and Obedience Orientation: The physical consequences of an action determine whether the action is good or bad regardless of the human value or the meaning of these consequences. Avoidance of punishment and deference to power are valued in their own right, not in terms of respect for the underlying moral order.
  • Stage-2: Instrumental Relativist Orientation: Right action consists of that which instrumentally satisfies one's own needs and occasionally the needs of others. 
  • Stage 3: Good boy - Nice Girl Orientation: Good behavior is that which pleases or helps others and is approved by them. Behavior at this stage is frequently judged by intentions - "he means well", becomes important for the first time. One earns approval by being good to others.
  • Stage 5: The Social Contract, Legalistic Orientation:  in terms of general individual rights and standards that have been critically examined and agreed upon by the whole society. Apart from what is constitutional and democratically agreed upon the right is a matter of personal values. The result is based upon a legal point of view but with a Right to Education emphasis upon the possibility of changing the law in terms of consideration of social utility 
  • Stage 6: The Universal Ethical Principle Orientation: Right is defined by the decision of the conscience in accordance with self-chosen ethical principles appealing to logical comprehensiveness, universality, and consistency. These are universal principles of justice, reciprocity, quality of human rights, and respect for the dignity of human beings as individual persons. 

Related Questions

Read the following passage carefully and choose the most appropriate answer to the question out of the four alternatives.
True, It is the function of the army to maintain law and order in abnormal times. But in normal times there is another force that compels citizens to obey the laws and to act with due regard to the rights of others. The force also protects the lives and the properties of law abiding men. Laws are made to secure the personal safety of its subjects and to prevent murder and crimes of violence. They are made to secure the property of the citizens against theft and damage to protect the rights of communities and castes to carry out their customs and ceremonies, so long as they do not conflict with the rights of others. Now the good citizen, of his own free will obey these laws and he takes care that everything he does is done with due regard to the rights and well-being of others. But the bad citizen is only restrained from breaking these laws by fear of the consequence of his actions. And the necessary steps to compel the bad citizen to act as a good citizen are taken by this force. The supreme control of law and order in a State is in the hands of a Minister who is responsible to the State Assembly and acts through the Inspector General of Police.
According to the writer, which one of the following is not the responsibility of the police ?
Read the following passage carefully and choose the most appropriate answer to the question out of the four alternatives.
True, It is the function of the army to maintain law and order in abnormal times. But in normal times there is another force that compels citizens to obey the laws and to act with due regard to the rights of others. The force also protects the lives and the properties of law abiding men. Laws are made to secure the personal safety of its subjects and to prevent murder and crimes of violence. They are made to secure the property of the citizens against theft and damage to protect the rights of communities and castes to carry out their customs and ceremonies, so long as they do not conflict with the rights of others. Now the good citizen, of his own free will obey these laws and he takes care that everything he does is done with due regard to the rights and well-being of others. But the bad citizen is only restrained from breaking these laws by fear of the consequence of his actions. And the necessary steps to compel the bad citizen to act as a good citizen are taken by this force. The supreme control of law and order in a State is in the hands of a Minister who is responsible to the State Assembly and acts through the Inspector General of Police.
"They are made to secure the property of citizens against theft and damage" means that the law:
Read the following passage carefully and choose the most appropriate answer to the question out of the four alternatives.
True, It is the function of the army to maintain law and order in abnormal times. But in normal times there is another force that compels citizens to obey the laws and to act with due regard to the rights of others. The force also protects the lives and the properties of law abiding men. Laws are made to secure the personal safety of its subjects and to prevent murder and crimes of violence. They are made to secure the property of the citizens against theft and damage to protect the rights of communities and castes to carry out their customs and ceremonies, so long as they do not conflict with the rights of others. Now the good citizen, of his own free will obey these laws and he takes care that everything he does is done with due regard to the rights and well-being of others. But the bad citizen is only restrained from breaking these laws by fear of the consequence of his actions. And the necessary steps to compel the bad citizen to act as a good citizen are taken by this force. The supreme control of law and order in a State is in the hands of a Minister who is responsible to the State Assembly and acts through the Inspector General of Police.
Which of the following is not implied in the passage ?
Read the following passage carefully and choose the most appropriate answer to the question out of the four alternatives.
True, It is the function of the army to maintain law and order in abnormal times. But in normal times there is another force that compels citizens to obey the laws and to act with due regard to the rights of others. The force also protects the lives and the properties of law abiding men. Laws are made to secure the personal safety of its subjects and to prevent murder and crimes of violence. They are made to secure the property of the citizens against theft and damage to protect the rights of communities and castes to carry out their customs and ceremonies, so long as they do not conflict with the rights of others. Now the good citizen, of his own free will obey these laws and he takes care that everything he does is done with due regard to the rights and well-being of others. But the bad citizen is only restrained from breaking these laws by fear of the consequence of his actions. And the necessary steps to compel the bad citizen to act as a good citizen are taken by this force. The supreme control of law and order in a State is in the hands of a Minister who is responsible to the State Assembly and acts through the Inspector General of Police.
The expression 'customs and ceremonies' means:
Read the following passage carefully and choose the most appropriate answer to the question out of the four alternatives.
True, It is the function of the army to maintain law and order in abnormal times. But in normal times there is another force that compels citizens to obey the laws and to act with due regard to the rights of others. The force also protects the lives and the properties of law abiding men. Laws are made to secure the personal safety of its subjects and to prevent murder and crimes of violence. They are made to secure the property of the citizens against theft and damage to protect the rights of communities and castes to carry out their customs and ceremonies, so long as they do not conflict with the rights of others. Now the good citizen, of his own free will obey these laws and he takes care that everything he does is done with due regard to the rights and well-being of others. But the bad citizen is only restrained from breaking these laws by fear of the consequence of his actions. And the necessary steps to compel the bad citizen to act as a good citizen are taken by this force. The supreme control of law and order in a State is in the hands of a Minister who is responsible to the State Assembly and acts through the Inspector General of Police.
The last sentence of the passage implies that:-
A child argues that Heinz shouldn’t steal the drug (medicine that can save his wife) because he will be caught and sent to jail if he does so. According to Kohlberg, which stage of moral understanding does the child fall under?
At which stage of moral reasoning in Lawrence Kohlberg's theory do children believe that rules must be enforced in the same manner for everyone and each individual must obey them as his personal duty?
Read the passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the given four alternatives.
What is Gandhian philosophy? It is the religious and social ideas adopted and developed by Gandhi, first during his period in South Africa from 1893 to 1914, and later of course in India. These ideas have been further developed by later "Gandhians", most notably, in India by, Vinoba Bhave and Jayaprakash Narayan. Outside of India some of the work of, for example, Martin Luther King Jr. can also be viewed in this light. Understanding the universe to be an organic whole, the philosophy exists on several planes - the spiritual or religious, moral, political, economic, social, individual and collective. The spiritual or religious element, and God, is at its core. Human nature is regarded as fundamentally virtuous. All individuals are believed to be capable of high moral development, and of reform. The twin cardinal principles of Gandhi's thought are truth and nonviolence. It should be remembered that the English word "truth" is an imperfect translation of the Sanskrit, "satya", and "non-violence", an even more imperfect translation of "ahimsa". Derived from "sat" - "that which exists" - "satya" contains a dimension of meaning not usually associated by English speakers with the word "truth". There are other variations, too, which we need not go into here. For Gandhi, truth is the relative truth of truthfulness in word and deed, and the absolute truth - the Ultimate Reality. This ultimate truth is God (as God is also Truth) and morality - the moral laws and code - its basis. Ahimsa, far from meaning mere peacefulness or the absence of overt violence, is understood by Gandhi to denote active love - the pole opposite of violence, or "Himsa", in every sense. The ultimate station Gandhi assigns non violence stems from two main points. First, if according to the Divine Reality all life is one, then all violence committed towards another is violence towards oneself, towards the collective, whole self, and thus "self"-destructive and counter to the universal law of life, which is love. Second, Gandhi believed that ahimsa is the most powerful force in existence. Had himsa been superior to ahimsa, humankind would long ago have succeeded in destroying itself. The human race certainly could not have progressed as far as it has, even if universal justice remains far off the horizon. From both viewpoints, non violence or love is regarded as the highest law of humankind.
According to the passage, which of the following statement is not true?
Read the passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the given four alternatives.
What is Gandhian philosophy? It is the religious and social ideas adopted and developed by Gandhi, first during his period in South Africa from 1893 to 1914, and later of course in India. These ideas have been further developed by later "Gandhians", most notably, in India by, Vinoba Bhave and Jayaprakash Narayan. Outside of India some of the work of, for example, Martin Luther King Jr. can also be viewed in this light. Understanding the universe to be an organic whole, the philosophy exists on several planes - the spiritual or religious, moral, political, economic, social, individual and collective. The spiritual or religious element, and God, is at its core. Human nature is regarded as fundamentally virtuous. All individuals are believed to be capable of high moral development, and of reform. The twin cardinal principles of Gandhi's thought are truth and nonviolence. It should be remembered that the English word "truth" is an imperfect translation of the Sanskrit, "satya", and "non-violence", an even more imperfect translation of "ahimsa". Derived from "sat" - "that which exists" - "satya" contains a dimension of meaning not usually associated by English speakers with the word "truth". There are other variations, too, which we need not go into here. For Gandhi, truth is the relative truth of truthfulness in word and deed, and the absolute truth - the Ultimate Reality. This ultimate truth is God (as God is also Truth) and morality - the moral laws and code - its basis. Ahimsa, far from meaning mere peacefulness or the absence of overt violence, is understood by Gandhi to denote active love - the pole opposite of violence, or "Himsa", in every sense. The ultimate station Gandhi assigns non violence stems from two main points. First, if according to the Divine Reality all life is one, then all violence committed towards another is violence towards oneself, towards the collective, whole self, and thus "self"-destructive and counter to the universal law of life, which is love. Second, Gandhi believed that ahimsa is the most powerful force in existence. Had himsa been superior to ahimsa, humankind would long ago have succeeded in destroying itself. The human race certainly could not have progressed as far as it has, even if universal justice remains far off the horizon. From both viewpoints, non violence or love is regarded as the highest law of humankind.
According to Gandhiji, truth complies to which of the following?
Read the passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the given four alternatives.
What is Gandhian philosophy? It is the religious and social ideas adopted and developed by Gandhi, first during his period in South Africa from 1893 to 1914, and later of course in India. These ideas have been further developed by later "Gandhians", most notably, in India by, Vinoba Bhave and Jayaprakash Narayan. Outside of India some of the work of, for example, Martin Luther King Jr. can also be viewed in this light. Understanding the universe to be an organic whole, the philosophy exists on several planes - the spiritual or religious, moral, political, economic, social, individual and collective. The spiritual or religious element, and God, is at its core. Human nature is regarded as fundamentally virtuous. All individuals are believed to be capable of high moral development, and of reform. The twin cardinal principles of Gandhi's thought are truth and nonviolence. It should be remembered that the English word "truth" is an imperfect translation of the Sanskrit, "satya", and "non-violence", an even more imperfect translation of "ahimsa". Derived from "sat" - "that which exists" - "satya" contains a dimension of meaning not usually associated by English speakers with the word "truth". There are other variations, too, which we need not go into here. For Gandhi, truth is the relative truth of truthfulness in word and deed, and the absolute truth - the Ultimate Reality. This ultimate truth is God (as God is also Truth) and morality - the moral laws and code - its basis. Ahimsa, far from meaning mere peacefulness or the absence of overt violence, is understood by Gandhi to denote active love - the pole opposite of violence, or "Himsa", in every sense. The ultimate station Gandhi assigns non violence stems from two main points. First, if according to the Divine Reality all life is one, then all violence committed towards another is violence towards oneself, towards the collective, whole self, and thus "self"-destructive and counter to the universal law of life, which is love. Second, Gandhi believed that ahimsa is the most powerful force in existence. Had himsa been superior to ahimsa, humankind would long ago have succeeded in destroying itself. The human race certainly could not have progressed as far as it has, even if universal justice remains far off the horizon. From both viewpoints, non violence or love is regarded as the highest law of humankind.
According to Gandhiji, what is the most powerful force in existence?