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Moral Development Situation

If I was in Heinz's situation, I would do what he did - break into the pharmacy and steal the medication. The loss to the pharmacy would be minor compared to the loss of a human life if Heinz did not break in and steal the medication. Although stealing is morally wrong under most circumstances, there are some situations where it can be justified, such as this one where a life is at stake. Common sense must rule the decision, and it should not be made lightly, but in dire circumstances such as Heinz's, he really has no choice. He cannot just sit by and watch his wife die when there is a possibility of saving her. If this is the only option open to him, then his actions are justified.

According to Kohlberg, people go through go a series of stages of moral development, which he divided up as follows: Level 1 - stage 1 - preconventional morality; stage 2 - individualism and exchange; Level 2 - stage 3 conventional morality; stage 4 - maintaining the social order; Level 3 - stage 5 social contract and individual rights; stage 6 - universal principles (Crain, 1985, 118-126). Children in stage 1 know there are absolute rights and wrongs and would say Heinz was wrong to steal the drug. In stage 2, they begin to realize there are different ways to look at things and might find explanations for Heinz to steal the drug. Children usually enter stage 3 in their teens, and at this stage believe people should live up to good moral standards, and would argue Heinz had the right to steal the medicine because his intentions were good because he was doing it to save the life of his wife.

By stage 4, people are more concerned with the good of society as a whole and would condemn Heinz because he broke the law (Crain, 1985, 118-126). They would reason that society cannot let people decide for themselves which laws they will and will not obey. In stage 5, while people still want what is good for society, they ask what is good for society...

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Moral Development Situation. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 07:44, March 19, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1705608.html