ON THE PURPOSE AND BOUNDARIES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT (O celu i granicach rozwoju moralnego)

Lawrence Kohlberg, the father of one of the most significant theories of moral development, assumed a cognitive-developmental perspective in his studies of morality, placing the concept of moral reasoning in the very heart of his research. A key feature in his theory of moral development, with justice as its core component, is the idea of moral universals. The general conception of moral universals has its reflection in a few distinct propositions. In the theory of L. Kohlberg, the concept of moral universals serves as an useful tool for the description of the highest stage of moral development. From this vantage point, development can be seen as a progression in moral reasoning from entirely subjective and culturally determined judgements, beliefs and rules of behaviour to general rules that can be universally applied to all people and all situations. In her paper the authoress would like to present an understanding of moral universals in the context of moral development. She would like to focus on the description of the postconventional stages of moral development with an emphasis on some of the controversies concerning the highest stages of Kohlberg's theory.