The Postconventional Level of Moral Development: Psychology or Philosophy?

Kohlberg (1981), elaborating and concretizing ideas of Piaget and Dewey, has empirically documented that there are distinct stages in the development of moral judgment, and he has demonstrated that these lead from an egocentric level to a second (conventional) level where social norms are recognized, and further on to a third (postconventional) level where an attempt is made to justify these norms in terms of general principles.