Cognitive Moral Development Theory and Moral Decisions in Health Care

See generally Piaget J. Inhelder B. , The Psychology of the Child (Basic Books. New York) (1969).

Kohlberg L. , Education for Justice: A Modern Statement of the Platonic View. in Moral Education (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.) (1970) at 50; Kohlberg L. , The Claim to Moral Adequacy of a Highest State of Moral Judgment, Journal of Philosophy 60(318):630–46 (October 25, 1973); Kohlberg L. , From Is to Ought: How to Commit the Naturalistic Fallacy and Get Away with It in the Study of Moral Development, in Cognitive Development and Epistemology (Academic Press, New York) (1971) at 155; Kohlberg L. , The Concepts of Developmental Psychology as the Central Guide to Education: Examples from Cognitive, Moral and Psychological Education, in Proceedings of the Conference on Psychology and the Process of Schooling in the Next Decade: Alternative Conceptions (U.S. Office of Education. Washington, D.C.) (1971) at 41.

Kohlberg L. , From Is to Ought, supra note 2, at 164-65.

Kohlberg's position on this issue has formed the basis of one substantive criticism of his theory from a philosophical perspective. There are, additionally, other substantial criticisms which are beyond the scope of this paper.

Consequentialist theories determine whether an action is good or bad based upon the consequences it produces in relation to a specific good which is sought, i.e., utility. Deontological theories judge an action as right or wrong on the basis of the intrinsic qualities of the action, rather than upon the consequences.

Hydranencephaly is an abnormality which originates in fetal life, and in which most parts of the cerebral hemisphere are replaced by a fluid-filled sac. The condition can be diagnosed with certainty at or shortly after birth. Only the brainstem, thalamus, and basal ganglia are intact, while virtually all of the cerebral cortex and white matter are absent. There is potential only for vegetative functioning. Hydrocephalus, a more common entity, has a decidedly brighter prognosis.

Frankena W. , Ethics, 2nd Edition (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.) (1973) at 15.

Id. at 18.

Kohlberg L. , The Implications of Moral Stages for Adult Education, Journal of Religious Education 72(2): 183–201 (March/April 1977).

Rawls J. , A Theory of Justice(Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.) (1971).

Tapp J. Kohlberg L. , Developing Senses of Law and Legal Justice. Journal of Social Sciences 27(2):65–91 (1971).

Kohlberg has recently postulated a transitional phase (not a true stage) 4&frace12;, and a stage 7. Neither, as yet, has been fully described in his publications.