Ever since we were kids we were introduced to the concept of right and wrong. We were constantly taught how to differentiate between right and wrong, but nobody actually teaches us how there is no singular right or wrong. Our morality is always framed in black or white. The biggest proof of this black-and-white view is our existing laws for crimes. What we often forget in our rush to categorise everything in black and white is that the laws and morality that we use to categorise right from wrong are applied to the actions thoughts and motivations of human beings. And human beings can never be just black or white. But rather they exist and function in various shades of grey. Hence, they are considered morally grey. Let’s understand a bit more about moral development by going through Kohlberg’s theory of moral development to understand how morally grey works.
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development
Moral development refers to the process by which an individual learns to differentiate right from wrong and form their sense of morality. American Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg came up with the widely used and acknowledged model of moral development. The model also known as Kohlberg’s theory of moral development consists of six stages and explains how moral reasoning is formed over the years. The six stages are further divided into three levels. The first level in Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is known as Preconventional Morality and it consists of 2 stages which last from birth to 9 years of age. The first stage in the first level is called Obedience and Punishment which involves someone deciding or doing something moral as a way of avoiding punishment. The second stage in the first level is called Individualism and Exchange which involves deciding or aligning your moral actions that serve one’s needs the best.
The second level of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is known as Conventional Morality which applies to individuals in their early adolescence to their adulthood and consists of 2 more stages. The first stage in this level and the third stage overall is called, Developing Good Interpersonal Relationships. This stage, also referred to as the “good boy-good girl” orientation, focuses on how our moral development depends on living up to society’s social expectations and roles. It brings in the aspect of conformity or the idea of trying to fit in and hence abiding by the majorly agreed upon moral codes of conduct. The second stage in this level and the fourth stage overall is called, Maintaining Social Order. This particular stage focuses on maintaining law and order to preserve the entity called society. People consider society as a whole and see following law and order as a way of sustaining it and hence, consider it as their duty to follow law and order and respect authority.
The third level of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is known as Post-Conventional Morality, and it is only achieved by a few adults who can grasp the abstract principles of morality. The first stage in this level and the fifth stage overall is called, Social Contract and Individual Rights. In this particular stage, individuals begin to realise and acknowledge that different people may have differing values, principles, ethics and morals of their own. They understand why everyone needs to agree to certain rules to sustain society as a whole but also take into account the differences in opinions and values. The second stage in this level and the sixth stage overall is called Universal Principles. This particular stage focuses on how certain individuals understand morality and form as well as follow their internalised principles of morality and justice even if they may conflict with existing laws and rules.
The Case of Morally Grey
From Kholberg’s theory of moral development, we realise that not a lot of people can truly reach the highest stage of moral development. Maybe part of it has to do with the fact that we wish to be a part of society and hence prefer to conform rather than stand out from the crowd. But we need to understand that just because one is white the other doesn’t necessarily need to be black, just like the opposite of love is not hate for how can you get disgusted at something you once cherished? You might not feel the same amount of love and preciousness towards that person or thing but you can’t exactly feel disgusted without it carrying hints of affection from the past.
The term morally grey refers to those individuals who don’t exactly follow or rebel against the existing laws without a cause. This term mostly applies to people who have achieved the sixth stage of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development. It highlights the capacity of people to discern right from wrong according to their own principles that may differ from society from time to time.
In this world of differing opinions and individuality taking a central position, it’s high time we start acknowledging that your white in the sense of morality could be somebody else’s grey and that’s fine. Take the case of white lies, we have been told since time immemorial to never lie as it is bad and only hurts people. But as we grow up and meet people from different walks of life we realise that there is something called white lies which we tell to prevent hurting the person’s feelings on many occasions. Although lies are considered bad, white lies are actually a saving grace. Even choosing to use white lies is also a sort of morally grey move on a person’s part. True the level of morally grey attitude that one exhibits differs from person to person and even varies in extremes as some may choose to indulge in just white lies and nothing else while others may choose to form their entire identity based on it. And when Kohlberg talks about the sixth stage of moral development he most likely is referring to people who form their identity based on their own moral alignments.
Regardless the most important thing at the end of the day is that we respect people for their individuality rather than shun them for it. We let them be morally grey and in fact, we should try to be such a way whenever possible to whatever degree we can manage, because this world will only become better and richer with a variety of opinions and perceptions which will only come with the ability to form one’s own morality which is not targeted at harming anyone. Let’s appreciate the different shades of grey that we human beings are, rather than forcing us to choose between black and white.
