ABSTRACT
Lawrence Kohlberg (1927–1987) completed his BA in psychology in just one year, and his subsequent doctoral dissertation launched his start as a developmental psychologist. His fast-track education and career, however, were each made possible by a prior decade of intellectual work and reflection about moral issues. This cognitive-ethical combination allowed him to found a new branch of life span developmental psychology—moral development and moral education. I first met Professor Kohlberg in the fall term of 1976 when I began my doctoral studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. I gradually got to know him well over the next decade as his student, research colleague, and personal friend. I now believe that to understand Lawrence Kohlberg’s contributions to developmental psychology best, one needs to begin with his life story. With this in mind, the first section of this chapter is devoted to Kohlberg’s moral biography, the second section maps out the development of Kohlberg’s moral psychology, and the third section charts the development of Kohlberg’s moral pedagogy. Lawrence Kohlberg with the author's infant son, 1984. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203806135/53033083-3e02-48c0-88bf-b3501014f267/content/fig16_1_B.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>
