THE CHINESE PERSPECTIVES ON MORAL JUDGMENT DEVELOPMENT

Kohlberg's theory of moral development is extended and revised. The Chinese perspectives on moral development are integrated into the present 6-stage model. The last three stages are: (4) Golden mean orientation and social system; (5) Majority rights and individual rights, and (6) Universal ethical principles of natural harmony. The first three stages are hypothesized to be cultural universal but the last three stages are supposed to have a cultural component. For each of the Stages 4, 5 and 6, a general structure is constructed and then a Chinese sub-structure and a Western sub-structure are derived from their corresponding general structure. Confucian and Taoistic philosophies are employed to elaborate some of the characteristics of the Chinese sub-structures.