scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Journal ArticleDOI

Critical political theory and moral development

01 Dec 1977-Theory and Society (Kluwer Academic Publishers)-Vol. 4, Iss: 4, pp 505-541
About: This article is published in Theory and Society.The article was published on 1977-12-01. It has received 9 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Moral psychology & Moral disengagement.
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors provided an alternative conception of postconventional moral development which fits existing data on late adolescent and adult moral judgment better than Kohlberg's notion of post-convention moral development.
Abstract: This article provides an alternative conception of postconventional moral development which fits existing data on late adolescent and adult moral judgment better than Kohlberg’s hig

161 citations

DOI
01 Jan 2020
TL;DR: The anti-cultural turn of Western Political Thought that has emerged out of Enlightenment thinking and was first turned into a comprehensive political idea by Thomas Hobbes is discussed in this paper. But it is the emotional part of the human psyche that enables us to create family like bonds based on culture.
Abstract: OF DISSERTATION FROM HOBBES TO HABERMAS: THE ANTI-CULTURAL TURN IN WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT The theme of this dissertation is the anti-cultural turn of Western Political Thought that has emerged out of Enlightenment thinking and was first turned into a comprehensive political idea by Thomas Hobbes. The Hobbesian worldview makes the case that human sociability and ultimately culture are the main drivers of conflict, and that the prescriptions of any political philosophy should aim to replace sociability with individuality. Beginning with an overview of psychological research into the phenomenon of culture I put forward the argument that human beings are by nature social and individualistic, but that they oscillate between their ability to put group-interests before individual interests and vice versa. Culture is the main mechanism that influences which interest we give priority. This mechanism work through emotional attachments that create intuitions about what is morally right and wrong, thereby influencing final behavioral outcomes. The Enlightenment and Thomas Hobbes viewed these emotional attachments as an insufficient or dangerous fundament for social action, leading to a philosophical approach that put rational individualism at the center of its moral matrix, diminishing the importance of the emotional attachments created by culture. These attachments are crucial for the emergence of communities and the ability to engage in collective action. Contrary to the idea of a community formation driven purely by rationality, I propose that it is the emotional part of the human psyche that enables us to create family like bonds based onb culture. In my dissertation I investigate the consequences of this reductionist view on culture, and what it can mean for societies and institutions.

101 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A recent critique of Kohlberg's cognitive development approach to morality by Kurtines and Greif is examined in detail in detail by as mentioned in this paper, which is found to contribute some useful indications of studies which were then needed, and many of which have been published since the critique appeared.
Abstract: A recent critique of Kohlberg's cognitive‐developmental approach to morality by Kurtines and Greif is examined in detail. It is found to contribute some useful indications of studies which were then needed, and many of which have been published since the critique appeared. A careful analysis of the literature on moral development, however, shows Kurtines and Greif s criticisms to be largely unfounded, and in several cases misrepresentative of research findings. As a result the empirical support for the ‘stage’ and ‘sequence’ components of Kohlberg's theory is underestimated, as is the evidence in favour of a relationship between moral judgment and moral action. The misunderstandings largely reflect a common and mistaken attempt to reduce structural development in cognition to static psychometric traits, an attempt which confuses developmental theories with measurement instruments.

52 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In the last decade, the works of Habermas have found a receptive audience in the English-speaking world as well as discussed by the authors, where they have become the object of critical discussions in political theory, sociology, philosophy, education, social psychology, and speech communication.
Abstract: Jiirgen Habermas may be, as a recent commentator asserted, the dominant intellectual figure in contemporary Germany. But in the last decade, the works of Habermas have found a receptive audience in the English-speaking world as well. Building upon the insights of Marxist social theory, Continental hermeneutic phenomenology, and Anglo-American linguistic philosophy, Habermas has attempted to construct a comprehensive critical theory of society. As a result, his work has broad implications for the entire range of humanities and social sciences. Habermas’ theories are now the object of critical discussions in political theory, sociology, philosophy, education, social psychology, and speech communication. Because Habermas’s project touches such a variety of disciplines, his own writing and critical discussions of it are spread throughout a disparate array of professional books and journals. Consequently, a reader wishing to comprehend Habermas’ thought and its influence has faced a difficult task in locating all relevant materials. This problem was partially erased by Thomas McCarthy, TIre Critical Theory of Jiirgen Hubennus (Cambridge, MA MIT Press, 1978), pp. 441-445, who provided a fairly thorough listing of Habermas’ books and articles in German and English. The present bibliography is intended to remedy the problem completely by cataloging the critical treatments and extensions of his work which have appeared in Europe, North America, and elsewhere since 1964. Included here are books, book chapters, articles, dissertations, conference papers, and book reviews in

9 citations