Making moral decisions in my life has been quite dramatic, and I would attribute the dynamics in changes in moral decision-making based on Kohlberg’s theory of development. For instance, From the preconvention stage, I could carry out the task I was assigned to avoid getting punished; even though the punishments were not necessarily severe, anytime I would strive to accomplish the task in order not to be punished. According to the stages of moral reasoning and development, the assertion that enabled me to fear punishment is described as the self-centered –stage, which is the first stage of Kohlberg’s Description. However, as time went by, I became more egoistic. For instance, when there was food to share with my siblings, I would be convinced to share the more significant portion for myself at the expense of my siblings. According to the stages of development, I was at the egoist stage, the second stage in the realm of preconvention stages of the Gilligan (Moheghi et al., 2020). Essentially, even though it was morally wrong to share the more significant portion of the food, I had to put myself first. That is to say, I was more inclined to consider my own needs than others, and therefore, I would choose to satisfy them without considering the interest of my siblings.
Nonetheless, I have effectively transformed and viewed other people’s interests before mine. For instance, I currently ensure that my siblings have good meals before I share mine. Similarly, when the situation demands, I better stay without a pie but ensure my friends benefit before I do. Recently, when I was gifted PS 4 console for achieving high grades in my class, I was able to donate it to my friends who like video games a lot. According to Kohlberg’s stages of moral reasoning, this stage can be categorized as a conventional stage whereby it is more encompassed with self-sacrifices (Moheghi et al., 2020). For instance, even though I enjoy playing video games, I was able to donate the console to my friend. Therefore, it can imperatively be described that there were elements of self-sacrifice in my giving up the possession of the console to my friend. Thus I considered his interest superior to my own. Essentially in the conventional stage, putting the interest of others is considered to be more paramount than self-satisfaction. In this stage, self-sacrifices are made to maintain good relationships with peers and somehow earn their approval.
Similarly, unlike the pre-conventional phase, the post-conventional stage brings more balance between the conventional and preconvention stages. For instance, the stage is focused on balancing personal interest, sacrifice, and societal benefits (Moheghi et al., 2020). For example, the decision to tidy the school compound is more of a post-conventional decision making as such will ensure a clean environment for the whole student fraternity and therefore reduces the impact of environmental pollution that can harm the social setting. Nonetheless, the two scenarios described in the previous paragraphs provide insight into how moral reasoning changes as the brain or person develops. Initially, I was more focused on self-interest by embracing the egoist stage. However, there are many significant changes in my moral reasoning, and I can actively balance societal interest, personal sacrifice, and personal interest.
Reference
Moheghi, M., Ghorbanzadeh, M., & Abedi, J. (2020). The investigation and criticism of moral development ideas of Kohlberg, Piaget, and Gilligan. International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 7(2), 362-374.
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