Module 5: Elements of Moral Maturity

Unit Overview

This unit offers an image of moral maturity that consists of seven elements: moral agency,
harnessing cognitive ability, harnessing emotional resources, using social skill, using
principles, respecting others, and developing a sense of meaning.

Unit Learning Outcomes

By the end of this unit, students must have:

• outlined the elements of moral maturity

• described the ability of oneself to make decisions and choices
• explained the importance of moral maturity
Lesson 1: Elements of Moral Maturity
1. Moral Agency and Sense of Self

Moral agency means that people see themselves as having the right and the ability to
make decisions, and to act on them. Developing a sense of self and the authority of one's
voice is central to Belenky, Clinchy, Goldeberger, and Tarule's (1986) developmental
model. People whose identity is suppressed, such as women in authoritarian cultures, or
the emotionally or sexually abused (Hunter, 1990), may not think they have a right to
choose their own opinions.

A morally mature person is not only a moral agent, but is also aware that he or she is a
moral agent. Kegan (1994) refers to peoples' increasing ability to consider their own
cognitive processes as they develop. Their own thinking becomes an object of thought,
something to be understood, evaluated, and improved.

Accepting moral agency helps people appreciate their responsibility to act for the good.
This naturally leads to the question of what "the good" is, a search involving other aspects
of moral maturity. However, recognition that there is a self, the self chooses behaviors,
and behaviors affect the self and others, is fundamental to moral maturity.

2. Harnessing Cognitive Ability

Cognitive ability is the cornerstone of moral reasoning (Kohlberg, 1976). For instance, to
resolve a moral dilemma, one needs to identify stakeholders, evaluate their interests in a
situation, appreciate conflicts between principles, and often make tradeoffs. All of these
steps involve abstract reasoning.

Cognitive skill also helps people identify situations that have a moral component (Rest,
1986). A well-developed mind can better imagine the impact of various courses of action.
Further, mindfulness, where someone pays attention to otherwise automatic activities
(Langer, 1989), is a cognitively intentional act. Suppose a parent realizes he or she
habitually demeans a child who makes the normal mistakes of childhood. Breaking the
habit requires the parent to consciously monitor his or her automatic behavior. This takes
persistent cognitive vigilance.

More mature individuals also make better use of evidence (Perry, 1970). They move from
radical relativism - the notion that all opinions are equally valid - to the idea that some
beliefs are better supported by evidence than others. Using evidence requires more
cognitive effort than refusing to judge, or simply relying on intuitions. However, the
morally mature person will use evidence as circumstances - and his or her own principles
- demand.

Finally, developmental models like Belenky et al. (1986), King and Kitchener (1994), and
Perry (1970) hold that cognitive development is triggered by "crises" in Erikson's (1968)
sense. That is, information that conflicts with current beliefs leads people to revise their
thinking. Cognitive skill enables this process, helping people recognize conflicts and create
new systems of meaning.

3. Harnessing Emotional Resources

Emotions drive much of our behavior. Emotions supply goals for rational thought, and
rational thought redirects and sometimes vetoes emotions (Plutchik, 2001). Morally
mature

people understand this complex interplay. They take their own and other peoples'
emotions into account when interpreting events. They know, for example, that initial
emotional reactions do not always reflect someone's deeper values.
Emotions are important in initiating and sustaining action. Resisting impulses - the virtue
of self-discipline - is critical to goal achievement (Lickona, 2000). Moral anger can arouse
someone to oppose injustice (Smith, 1759). To paraphrase Aristotle, the morally mature
person knows how to be angry with the right person at the right time for the right reasons.
Moral trespasses can also invoke disgust (Haidt, Rozin, McCauley, and Imada, 1997).
Empathy, where someone feels the emotions of others (Hoffman, 2000), helps someone
understand how events affect other people. Elevation is another interesting emotion. It
occurs when someone observes a moral exemplar in action (Haidt, 2000). Elevation can
prompt the observer to action.

4. Using Social Skill

Morally mature people have the skills to participate in the social world. They can
understand others, make themselves understood, and sometimes persuade others to
adopt their own point of view. Social skill is particularly important for connected knowers,
those who seek to better understand the world by integrating their views with other
peoples' (Belenky, et al., 1986).

Morally mature people know that group norms affect behavior, and that social pressure
is used to encourage obedience. They can detect untoward social pressure applied to
themselves and others. They can maintain their commitment to their principles in the
face of group pressure. Some even build their own opposition groups, creating social
support for opinions that are out of the mainstream.

5. Using Principles

The ultimate sign of moral development in Kohlberg's (1976) model is principle-based

reasoning. A principle is an abstract moral idea applied across situations. Influenced by
Rawls (1967), Kohlberg thought that justice was the most important principle. Other
writers emphasize different principles. Gilligan's (1982) work on the principle of care is
perhaps the best-known modern example.

Morally mature people do not slavishly obey one principle, however. They are aware of
the conflicts between principles that underlie moral dilemmas. They understand
community standards and the relationships that bind communities together. This
sensitivity is the cornerstone of Aristotle's practical wisdom (Liszka, 2002).

6. Respecting Others

The morally mature person's respect for others shows itself in several ways. First, other
people are valued. Enlightenment philosophies, such as that enshrined in the American
Declaration of Independence, recognize the value of people simply because they are
people. Moral principles like justice and caring reflect the inherent worth of people.

Second, morally mature people know they are part of an interdependent social network
(Love and Guthrie, 1999). People move from dependence, where they define themselves
by others' opinions, to independence, where they become their own authority, to
interdependence. In the last stage, people recognize the complex web of relationships
that tie us to each other. We are both supported by and constrained by this network.

Third, a morally mature person recognizes that knowing is dependent to some extent on
the knower (King and Kitchener, 1994). Most people have more-or-less the same
experiences with things like gravity. However, social "facts" vary widely across cultures.
What sexual relationships are permitted? What gender roles have been established? How
are children best cared for? How is civil justice best administered?

Acknowledging the effect of culture on knowledge does not mean accepting radical
relativism. An Australian might believe that bribery is wrong, while knowing it is
customary in many places. However, someone who recognizes that knowledge is in part
socially defined can better deal with the realities of interpersonal exchange.

Finally, a morally mature person can interact with others without feeling that his or her
own worldview is threatened. Belenky et al. (1986) write about "real talk:" listening
carefully, encouraging, exploring ideas, posing questions, arguing, speculating, and
sharing. In real talk, listening does not diminish one's capability to hear one's own moral
voice.

The metaphors people use for conversation shapes their expectations (Johnson, 1993).
For instance, "discussion as war" means that one "defends a position" and "shoots down
the enemy's arguments." The goal is victory, not truth or understanding. Morally mature
people can use different metaphors as appropriate, like "discussion as exploration," where
participants cooperate to uncover new intellectual territory. Other options are "discussion
as play," and even "discussion as dance." However, such openness requires a stronger
sense of agency (or self) than some people have.

7. Developing a Sense of Purpose

The final element of moral maturity is a sense of life purpose. Chickering (1969), Frankl
(1984), Maslow (1968), and other writers emphasize its importance. Purpose can be a
superordinate achievement goal, although it need not be (Ogilvy, 1995). It might be a
way of living life, a dedication to certain processes rather than specific outcomes.

Service to others is one of the more common life missions among moral exemplars. Some
peoples' commitment to others is an integral part of their identity (Colby and Damon,
1995). Service to a higher power is another recognizable life purpose, which may or may
not entail service to others.
 A theme from various authors is that a sense of purpose makes life worth living, and
death easier to bear. Kushner (2001, p. 146) writes:

Over the course of my thirty years as a congregational rabbi, I have seen many people
come to the end of their lives... Most people are not afraid of dying; they are afraid of
not having lived... People can accept the inescapable fact of mortality. What frightens
them more is the dread of insignificance, the notion that they will be born and live and
one day die and none of it will matter.

Finding life's purpose is a difficult philosophical task. It's easy to chant someone else's
slogans, of course. However, to choose one's own goals - and to respect others while
pursuing them, to use one's cognitive, emotional, and social skills well, to keep fast to
one's own principles – is not so easy.

Activity 18

Instruction: Discuss and Explain: Give reasons, facts, details that show you understand the question
presented below.

1. What is the most important element of moral maturity does our society
need?