SENSES OF THE SELF

& MORAL DEVELOPMENT

ETHICAL SUBJECTIVISM & EGOISM

KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF MORAL
DEVELOPMENT
Objectives
• Compare and contrast ethical subjectivism and ethical
egoism
• Discuss contentions against Ethical Egoism
ETHICAL SUBJECTIVISM
AND
ETHICAL EGOISM
SUBJECTIVISM
• The starting point of subjectivism is the recognition that the
individual thinking person (the subject) is at the heart of all
moral valuations.
• Sheis the one who is confronted with the situation and is
burdened with the need to make a decision or judgment.
• From this point, subjectivism leaps to the more radical claim that
the individual is the sole determinant of what is morally good or
bad, right or wrong.
ETHICAL SUBJECTIVISM:
• The basic thought of Ethical Subjectivism is the idea that
our moral opinions are based on our feelings and
nothing more.  On this view,  there is no such thing as
“objective” right and wrong.
ETHICAL SUBJECTIVISM:
• Subjectivism teaches that there are no objective moral truths
out there.
• There are no objective moral facts. Therefore 'murder is wrong' can't
be objectively true
• Many forms of subjectivism go a bit further and teach that moral
statements describe how the speaker feels about a particular
ethical issue.
• Moral statements are just factual statements about the attitude the
speaker holds on a particular issue
• So if I say "Lying is wrong", all I'm doing is telling you that I disapprove of
telling lies
ETHICAL SUBJECTIVISM:
• Some forms of subjectivism generalize this idea to come
up with:
• Moral statements are just factual statements about the
attitude normal human beings hold on a particular issue
• And this may ultimately lead us to this conclusion about
moral truths:
• Moral judgements are dependent on the feelings and attitudes
of the persons who think about such things
ETHICAL SUBJECTIVISM:
GOOD POINTS OF SUBJECTIVISM BAD POINTS OF SUBJECTIVISM

• Reflects the subjective elements of • "If I approve of something, it must be

morality good“
• Reflects the evaluative elements of moral • Moral statements seem more than
statements statements about feelings
• Shows that moral judgements • How can we blame people if moral
communicate dis/approval
truths are always subjective?
• May clarify what people are arguing
about
• Reflects the persuasive intentions behind
ethical discussions
PSYCHOLOGICAL EGOISM
• “Human beings are naturally self-centered, so all our action are
always already motivated by self-interest.”
• This theory that describes the underlying dynamic behind all
human actions. As a descriptive theory, it does not direct one to
act in any particular way.
• Instead,
it points out that there is already an underlying basis for
how one acts.
• The ego or self has its desires and interest, and all our actions are
geared toward satisfying these interests.
ETHICAL EGOISM
• Itdiffers from psychological egoism in that it does not suppose
all our actions are already inevitably self-serving. Instead, ethical
egoism prescribes that we should make our own ends, our own
interest, as the single overriding concern. We may act in a way
that is beneficial to others, but we should do that only if it
ultimately benefits us.
• It is the view that people ought to pursue their own self-interest,
and no one has any obligation to promote anyone else’s
interests. It is thus a normative or prescriptive theory: it is
concerned with how people ought to behave.
Arguments In Support Of Ethical Egoism
“Everyone pursuing his own self-interest is the best way to
promote the general good.”
Bernard Mandeville (1670-1733) "The Fable of the Bees" & Adam Smith
(1723-1790) "The Wealth of Nations.“
• Smith - when individuals single-mindedly pursue “the gratification of their own vain
and insatiable desires” they unintentionally, as if “led by an invisible hand,” benefit
society as a whole.
• This happy result comes about because people generally are the best judges of
what is in their own interest, and they are much more motivated to work hard to
benefit themselves than to achieve any other goal.
Prisoner's Dilemma
• Consider the prisoner’s dilemma, for instance. This is a hypothetical
situation described in game theory.
• You and a comrade, (call him X) are being held in prison. You are both
asked to confess. The terms of the deal you are offered are as follows:
• If you confess and X doesn’t, you get six months and he gets 10 years.

• If X confesses and you don’t, he gets six months and you get 10 years.

• If you both confess, you both get five years.

• If neither of you confesses, you both get two years.

Prisoner's Dilemma
• Regardless of what X does, the best thing for you to do is
confess.
• Because if he doesn’t confess, you’ll get a light sentence; and if
he does confess, you’ll at least avoid getting extra prison time.
But the same reasoning holds for X as well.
• According to ethical egoism, you should both pursue your
rational self-interest. But then the outcome is not the best one
possible. You both get five years, whereas if both of you had put
your self-interest on hold, you’d each only get two years.
Ayn Rand's Objectivism
• Author of "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged.“
• Her complaint is that the Judeo-Christian moral tradition, which
includes—or has fed into—modern liberalism and socialism,
pushes an ethic of altruism. Altruism means putting the interests
of others before your own.
• This is something people are routinely praised for doing,
encouraged to do, and in some circumstances even required to
do, such as when you pay taxes to support the needy. According
to Rand, no one has any right to expect or demand that I make
any sacrifices for the sake of anyone other than myself.
Objections of Moral Philosophy
• Ethical egoism has no solutions to offer when a problem arises involving
conflicts of interest.
• Ethical egoism goes against the principle of impartiality.
• To many, this seems to contradict the very essence of morality.
• The golden rule—versions of which appear in Confucianism, Buddhism,
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—says we should treat others as we would
like to be treated.
• One of the greatest moral philosophers of modern times, ​Immanuel Kant
(1724-1804), argued that the fundamental principle of morality (the
“categorical imperative,” in his jargon) is that we should not make
exceptions of ourselves. According to Kant, we shouldn’t perform an
action if we cannot honestly wish that everyone would behave in a similar
way in the same circumstances.
KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF
MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Lawrence Kohlberg
• A professor of psychology in Harvard
University
• Prominent moral development theorist
• His thinking grew out of Jean Piaget’s
writing on children’s intellectual
development
• His theory is descriptive, rather than,
proven facts.
• Kohlberg presumes that there are six stages of moral
development that people go through in much the same way as
infants learned first to role over, to sit, to crawl, to stand and
finally to walk.

• Kohlberg clearly emphasized the following system of his theory:

• Everyone goes through each stage in the same order, but not
everyone goes through all the stages, and
• A person at one stage can understand the reasoning of any stage
below him but cannot understand more than one stage above.
PRE-CONVENTIONAL LEVEL
pre-conventional because individuals do not yet speak as members of
society, instead they see morality as something external to themselves
• Stage 1: Punishment And Obedience (Avoid Punishment)
• The first stage is characterized by a view that right action is to behave
according to social acceptable norms imposed by some authority figure
(e.g., parent, teacher) in order to avoid punishment. (Egocentric)
• Stage 2: Individual And Instrumental Exchange (Aiming at Reward)
• The second stage is characterized by a view that right behavior means
acting in one’s own best interests. (Individualistic)
CONVENTIONAL LEVEL
it speaks on isolated individuals rather than as members of the society. It sees
individual exchanging favors, but there is still no identification with the values of the
family/community
Stage 3: Mutual And Interpersonal Conformity (Good boy & Good Girl
Attitude)
• Characterized by an attitude which one seeks to do that will gain the approval of
others. (individual in relationship to other individuals)
Stage 4: Law And Order (Loyalty to Law & Order)
• Characterized by abiding the law and respecting authority and performing one’s
duty so that social order is maintained. (differentiates societal point of view
from interpersonal agreement or motives)
POST-CONVENTIONAL LEVEL
moral decisions are generated from the rights, values or principles that
are or that could be agreeable to all individuals composing or creating a
society designed to have fair and beneficial practices
Stage 5: Social Contract & Individual Rights (Justice & Spirit of the Law)
• Characterized by thinking about a society in a very theoretical way,
stepping back from their own established society and considering the
rights and values of the society ought to uphold. (individuals are aware
of the values and rights prior to social attachment and contract)
Stage 6 :Universal Ethical Principles (Universal Principles of Ethics)
• Characterized by an attitude of respect for universal principle and the
demands of individual conscience. (social agreement are derived on
which they are grounded)