ters put it, our ômoral theoryö or ômoral philosophy.ö The chapter continues to describe the basic characteristics of ethical systems, which characteristics include their prohibition of certain behaviors and their non-self-serving universal applications (Pollock-Byrne, 1989, pp. 13-14), as well as to explore religious ethics, Kant's ethical formalism, utilitarianism and other ethical systems (Pollock-Byrne, 1989, pp. 14-21).
The second approach to understanding moral beliefs relies on psychological theories of moral development. Psychological theories attempt to answer how individuals become moral and how moral beliefs determine behavior (Pollock-Byrne, 1989, p. 25). Significant contributions in this area are Piaget's and Kohlberg's explanation of the stages of moral development an individual undergoes as she moves from egocentrism to cooperativeness. Pollock-Byrne also points out criticisms that Kohlberg relies too heavily on reason and justice at the expense of emotion and other aspects of moral good (1989, p. 27). The chapter concludes with a discussion on ethics education.
In this chapter, Pollock-Byrne explains the principles that underlie justice and how a society comes to agree, for the most part, on a definition of justice. She notes that in Western societies the idea of justice incorporates notions of fairness, equality, impartiality and appropriate rewards or punishments (Pollock-Byrne, 1989, p. 38). Justice is also something to which individuals and society have a right, not a privilege for which one should feel grateful. Nonetheless, Pollock-Byrne notes that claims of the impartiality of justice often conflict with ideas of ôindividualized justiceö for offenders with certain backg
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