Question

A person arrested for robbery states, ""I stole the documents, and I am willing to pay my dues, but at least now the public is safer having this important safety information that the company was concealing."" Which moral level does this statement reflect?

Answer 1

Answer:

Postconventional

Explanation:

Kohlberg did some studies on morality and proposed a theory on moral development.

Kohlberg defined three different levels of morality (and each level consists in 2 stages). These levels are:

• preconventional,

• conventional and
• postconventional

In the preconventional level, the person's morality is externally controlled and therefore acts based on what the punishment or reward will be (1st stage) or based on how good will it be for him/her to act in some way (2nd stage)

The conventional level stages also have to to with external controls but now the person thinks in function of ensure positive relationships and societal order. The third stage here depends on the approval of others. The fourth stage has to do with accepting rules because they preserve the society order  and functioning.

The postconventional level stages are defined in more abstract principles or values. The 5th stage sees the world as a place with different values that must be respected. Finally the 6th stage is based in universal ethical abstract principles.

In this example, one person is arrested for robbery states, he says that he stole the documents but at least now the public is safer having this important information that the company was concealing. We can see that this person is not thinking about external controls anymore but he is focused in more abstract principles, like justice and transparency. Therefore, we can see that this statement reflects a postconventional moral level.