Study On Kohlberg's Moral Development Theory

Kohlberg's Moral Development Theory formed in the period of Post-World War II, the scientific researches on moral development is not a mainstream in academia of America then. However, Kohlberg firmly believe that mankind is in need of moral education and its philosophical guidance badly. For probing into morality and its essence, Kohlberg had established the moral development theory that has opening and far-reaching significance in the fields of moral philosophy, moral psychology and moral education, by a lot of positive studying and researching and logical analyzing for thirty years and more, and which on the basis of Baldwin and Piaget's theory of cognitive development stages, and having recourse to the philosophical thoughts of Socrates, Plato, Kant, and his contemporaries, John Rawls and Ju rgenHabermas . Kohlberg's Moral Development Theory is reflected centrically in his works, which moral development philosophy: moral stages and justice idea, moral development psychology: the essence of moral stages and its definition, moral development and moral education: moral stages and its practice.Moral development stages model is the core of Kohlberg's moral development theory. The moral development"model of three levels and six stages"( pre-conventional moral level, conventional moral level, post-conventional moral level) became afterwards Kohlberg's moral studies and researches basis, which brought forward in Kohlberg's doctor paper. It must begin with moral judgment to study and research morality, because moral judgment provides all the social interactional rules and criteria. Lots of experiments and investigation confirmed the truth of that the definition meets all of the stages criterions in all social fields. Kohlberg pinpointed that these stages definition is restricted strictly by experiential criteria, and the structures of these stages concepts is not rely on some psychological theories but on the logical analysis sufficiently about what the ideas and its internal logical contacts from the interviewee's responses. Each moral stage contains a justice concept, and these are essentially justice structures that compose moral or prescriptive justice operations and social perspectives choo- sing levels. The development of moral judgment is a kind of movement by the orientation of formal properties of constructing moral perspec- tives, in other words, moral development is essentially equalization construction or reconstruction in the interaction against environment structure by invariant sequence. Personal cognitive levels decided the upper limits of his moral development and it is the necessary but not sufficient condition of moral development. Cognitive moral structure- conflict determines the beginning of moral development. And it deter- mines moral development speed for individuals to take Role chance more or less and the structure character of social environment to participate.The apocalypse of Kohlberg's Moral Development Theory to our moral education: firstly, insist on making moral education be scientific on the basis of moral development. Secondly, change our philosophy of moral education by holding the essential properties of moral develop- ment. Thirdly, optimize social moral atmosphere in line with the spec- fic circumstances of our country following the objective rules and laws of moral development. It is the main contribution from Kohlberg's Moral Development Theory to establish the model of cognitive moral development, to stimulate moral education and to make the methods of moral phenomena researching to be scientific. But, Kohlberg's Moral Development Theory has the limitations of that overemphasizing rational works in moral developing process, and ignoring a certain extent, the influence of moral emotion component, moral will (or self-control) and economy factor etc.