ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the concept ‘moral development’ from two main perspectives. The first is that of moral psychology, and examines how the capacity for making moral judgements can develop. In this light, rational deliberation (consistency with other reasoned beliefs) and the emotions (ethical naturalism) are specifically discussed as influential factors. Exploring this perspective is relevant in order to incite awareness about the origins of moral reasoning: which overt and hidden factors influence such decisions? The second perspective is that of normativity, and leads us to ask how ‘highly developed’ a person’s moral judgements are. Here, Kohlberg’s developmental sequence for moral reasoning and Gilligan’s care-based morality are discussed. Exploring this perspective is helpful in determining how one can evaluate the character of a specific line of moral reasoning, and how personal moral judgements can compare to alternative judgements. This analysis is concluded with a brief reflection on the implications all of the above has for ethical decision-making within organisations.
