WHAT IS MORALITY OR MORAL SENSE?Explain

involve starting with a descriptive theory. The subjects are then observed and the information gathered is discussed by comparing it to the pre-existing theory, with reference to at least one source
the observation should be real . you should mention that you observe this child
you will observe a child Moral development
here are some of the information we took in class about it and the theories about it
DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL REASONING

WHAT IS MORALITY OR MORAL SENSE?

MORALITY IS AN INFORMAL PUBLIC SYSTEM APPLYING TO ALL RATIONAL PERSONS, GOVERNING BEHAVIOR THAT AFFECTS OTHERS, AND HAS THE LESSENING OF EVIL OR HARM AS ITS GOAL (Bernard Gert, 2005, The definition of morality)

PEOPLE ASSUMED YOUNG CHILDREN HAVE TO BE TAUGHT RIGHT FROM WRONG. LATER THEY COULD LEARN WHAT IS RIGHT OR WRONG.

HOWEVER IT SEEMS THAT DEVELOPMENT OF MORALITY IS DEPENDENT FIRST ON FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS AND THEN ON COGNITION.

TWO FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH MORAL BEHAVIOR

1. SOCIAL CONTROL: SITUATIONS REWARDING MORAL CHOICE AND PUNISHING IMMORAL CHOICE; HOWEVER CHILDREN ASSOCIATE WITH CHILDREN WHO HAVE SIMILAR MORAL VALUES
2) SELF-CONTROL: MORAL PRINCIPLES ASSOCIATES WITH EMPATHY.

1) FROM SHAME TO MORALITY

FEELINGS OF SHAME WHEN WE THINK WE HAD NO CHOICE AND
NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT THE FACT (ABOUT 2 YEARS OLD)

Question: IS SHAME NECESSARY TO BECOME A MORAL PERSON?

2) GUILT WHEN WE KNOW WE HAD A CHOICE (ABOUT 4 YEARS).
GUILT MIGHT DETERMINE HOW WE CHOSE NEXT TIME. RELATIONSHIP TO HIGH AND LOW SELF-ESTEEM.

Question: difference between shame and guilt.

PIAGET’s view
Morality is respect for social rules, sense of justice and care.

2 BROAD STAGES OF MORAL JUDGMENT
Up to age 3/4 children are pre-moral, they do no engage in moral reasoning. Moral is what they want.
(keep in mind that children construct their own understanding of rules)

1. HETERONOMOUS (under the authority of another) 5-10
characterized by
REALISM
RULES DEFINE WHAT IS RIGHT OR WRONG
INFLEXIBLE NOTION OF RIGHT AND WRONG
2. AUTONOMOUS (10 to adulthood)
characterized by
FLEXIBILITY
RULES ARE NOT CARVED IN STONE
DECENTRATION
OTHERS MIGHT HAVE DIFFERENT RULES OR DIFFERENT IDEAS ON SAME RULES
RULES ARE JUST GUIDELINES
The “autonomous” stage of moral reasoning, is characterized by the ability to consider rules critically, and selectively apply these rules based on a goal of mutual respect and cooperation. The ability to act from a sense of reciprocity and mutual respect is associated with a shift in the child’s cognitive structure from egocentrism to perspective taking. Coordinating one’s own perspective with that of others means that what is right needs to be based on solutions that meet the requirements of fair reciprocity. Thus, Piaget viewed moral development as the result of interpersonal interactions through which individuals work out resolutions which all deem fair.

LAWRENCE KOHLBERG THEORY of MORAL DEVELOPMENT (1969):

BASED ON COGNITION (PIAGET): REASONING about HOW WE THINK
and also WHAT WE SAY MIGHT NOT BE WHAT WE DO. Based his theory on responses children gave to his famous moral dilemmas (Heinz is one of them)

STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT stage based model where progression through stages occurs in fairly set order. Moral development can be promoted through formal education. His theory focuses mainly on ideas about justice and fairness.
The theory spans over 3 LEVELS each having 2 STAGES

PRE CONVENTIONAL LEVEL
PUNISHMENT AND OBEDIENCE (right and wrong based on what is punished)

INSTRUMENTAL PURPOSE ORIENTATION (rules which are in their immediate interest)

CONVENTIONAL LEVEL
MORALITY OF INTERPERSONAL COOPERATION (adolescents behave as others dictate, friends and family are most important, helping others and being good)
SOCIAL-ORDER-MAINTAINING ORIENTATION (adolescents and adults behave according to a code of honor coming from society, it is not weighed, developed, revised)
POST CONVENTIONAL LEVEL
SOCIAL CONTRACT ORIENTATION (flexible rules acting according to the greatest good for the largest number of people, transcending individuals’ needs))
UNIVERSAL ETHICAL PRINCIPLE ORIENTATION (respect for universal principles and the demands of individual conscience, strict adherence to values like truth, honor, integrity, seen in few people)

AND LAST example of the observation the professor post it, and that is how the paper should look like
CRITICAL PEDAGOGY
The Brazilian educator Paulo Freire proposed a method to educate “oppressed peoples”, the vast majority of his adult students. Critical theory re-examines the current structures of various types of society, by pointing out their contradictions and proposing that the oppressed can, by acquiring self-awareness of the causes of their conditions, transform their lives.
According to Freire, people living in poverty do not reflect, they just act. When they reflect, they think they are in the situation they are because that is their destiny (magic awareness), a power stronger than they is dominating their lives. They might even be able to see that their poverty is due to lack of education or lack of opportunities (naïve awareness), but they do not know that there are ways out. It is only when they start reflecting on their behaviors that they can change their situation (critical awareness). The process of problem-solving begins when the teacher listens to learners’ issues. Then, the teacher asks a series of inductive questions (from concrete to analytical) regarding the situation. In the discussion, the learner experiences five progressive steps:
1.Describe the situation; 2.Define the problem; 3. Personalize the problem; 4.Discuss the social implications of the problem; 5. Discuss alternatives.
OBSERVATION
During a walk in my neighborhood late at night, I noticed a man who was sleeping on the steps
of a church, protected by cardboard boxes, holding an empty bottle in his hand.
A policeman stopped by and told the man he could go to a homeless shelter.
The man did not seem to understand. He was probably drunk. He turned on his side and continued
to sleep. The policeman went back to his patrol car and drove away.
REFLECTION
At first, I thought the man was homeless, an habitual drunk who had lost his job because he could not hold
his liquor. Then I thought about Freire’s theory. The following day I went to the church and asked about the
guy who slept on the steps during the night. The priests there knew of him. After he lost his main job,
his wife had left him, taking their two children back with her to their native country.
He had found it difficult to find a new job, because he had little education and his health had deteriorated.
He felt abandoned, lonely and desperate and refused help because he thought he deserved to die: he felt
his situation was due to a power beyond his control. I realized that nobody had told him he was where he
was not because he deserved it, but because of circumstances, and that he was not completely powerless,
that he could still do something to improve his situation, just by letting the priests, or the social workers,
give him a helping hand.