Essay on Morality and Heinz Steals

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Lawrence Kohlberg was an avid follower of Piaget’s work. He modified and elaborated Piaget’s theories to come to his own conclusion of identifying the three major levels of moral reasoning. Each level represents a fundamental shift in the social moral perspective of the individual. The Pre-conventional level, Conventional level and the Post-conventional level are the three levels that make up Kohlberg’s theory of moral development and education. Kohlberg created this method by interviewing 72 boys from both middle and lower class families in Chicago. The basic interview consisted of a series of dilemmas named the “Heinz Steals the Drugs” in which a European woman was near death from cancer, there was a drug that might save her but was quite expensive and the druggist would not sell it to the woman’s spouse for cheap in return the husband broke into the man’s store and stole it for his dying spouse. The lowest level of moral reasoning, in which people approach ethical issues by considering the personal punishments or rewards of taking a particular action is called the Pre-Conventional level. It is described as the person operating according to a punishment and reward mentality. The reasons given for acting in a certain way is to avoid being punished by the authorities; to serve one’s own interests, although the person also shows signs of recognizing that other people may have different interests. For example in the “Heinz Steals the Drugs” scenario, Heinz shouldn’t steal the drug because he will go to jail; and Heinz should steal the drug because his wife will love him more. The intermediate level of moral reasoning is called the Conventional level. In this level people respond to ethical issues by considering the need to uphold social norms. A person’s morality centers on the need to obey society’s rules. Reason’s for this are, to be a good person in one’s own and other people’s eyes; the need to keep the social system going and avoid a breakdown in society. In the “Heinz Steals the Drug” scenario, Heinz should steal the drug because that’s what a good husband does; or Heinz should not steal the drug because good citizens don’t steal; Heinz can’t steal the drug-even though it might be best-because, if one person decides to steal, so will another then another, and then, the laws would all break down. In Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory, the highest level of moral
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