Feminist Ethics
Feminist Ethics: "Kohlberg claimed that moral development is a six-stage process. Stage One is the punishment and obedience orientation. To avoid the 'stick' of punishment and/or to receive the 'carrot' of a reward, children do as they are told. Stage Two is 'the instrumental relativist orientation.' Based on a limited principle of reciprocity — You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours — children meet others' needs only if others meet their needs. Stage Three is the 'good boy-nice girl' orientation. Adolescents conform to prevailing norms to secure others' approval and love. Stage Four is the law and order orientation. Adolescents begin to do their duty, show respect for authority, and maintain the given social order to secure others' admiration and respect for them as honorable, law abiding citizens. Stage Five is the social-contract legalistic orientation. Adults adopt an essentially utilitarian moral point of view according to which individuals are permitted to do as they please, provided they refrain from harming other people in the process. Stage Six is the universal ethical principle orientation. Adults adopt an essentially Kantian moral perspective that seeks to transcend and judge all conventional moralities. Adults are no longer ruled by self-interest, the opinion of others, or the fear of legal punishment, but by self-legislated and self-imposed universal principles such as those of justice, reciprocity, and respect for the dignity of human persons (Kohlberg in Mischel, ed., Cognitive Development and Epistemology, 1971)."
