The structure of moral reason

This paper is a brief critical review of the present state of research and theory in the area of moral development. It poses a number of questions about the theoretical basis of Kohlberg's six stages and examines the nature of the evidence to date and the limitations of knowledge in the area. The writer argues for an extension of this theoretical approach to moral development, with a greater emphasis on structure, and a reexamination of the psychological implications of the definition of moral used in this area of research.This paper is a revised version of a paper presented to the British Psychological Society Social Psychology Section Conference, Bristol, September 22, 1973.Has a master's degree in psychology and is currently working toward a Ph.D. in psychology in the field of moral development.