Journal 1

Nellie Gotebeski

August 29, 2009

Moral Development

How did I see people being sensitive or insensitive in the last few days? Did I notice reasoning being used to make a moral decision? What kinds of moral motives did I see? What moral actions did I see people take?

After reading in class the Four Components of Acting Morally, we discussed each of the four stages. Some interesting questions brewed from our discussion. First, we briefly discussed the four components and what needed to occur at each stage. Stage one is called ethical sensitivity and this involves perception and imagination. We mentioned bystander effect and the case of Kitty Genovese. The article we read defined sensitivity as “drawing inferences about how the other will be affected and feeling empathy, disgust, and so on, for the other.” In class, we discussed the issue of children with autism. In autism research, it has been a common trait for children with this disorder to be oblivious or insensitive to the emotions of others. This furthered discussion toward the innate abilities versus our individual capacities and how this factors into the idea of moral development. This semester I am enrolled in the practicum in developmental disabilities. Each week I work with two boys, Adam and Aaron, who were both diagnosed with autism and live in the South Bend area. On Friday, I decided to be more attentive to Adam’s sensitivity or insensitivity to moral cues. Adam has six other brothers and sisters and therefore his environment stirred many moral situations. In one instance his sister, Alex, began to cry after her crayon broke. Instead of comforting her and being morally aware of the situation, Adam continued to dance around to the Wiggles. He was morally insensitive to the situation because he did not react to the situation, acknowledge possible actions, or consider the outcomes to each of these actions. Moral development in children with disabilities is very interesting to me and I hope to expand my knowledge in this area. 

Ethical judgement is the second component of moral development. This stage includes “formulating what a moral course of action would be and to identify the moral ideal in a specific situation.” I am living in a house with ten other girls, and therefore, many moral dilemmas arise. One of our housemates, is studying for the LSATS and is very stressed for her upcoming test. She has been studying for hours straight and does not have time to go to the dining hall or prepare herself food. Another one my roommates, has an easier workload this semester and as I read my Spanish assignment, I decided to become quietly attentive to her reactions. I personally removed myself from the situation for the time being to observe the moral decision making of others. My friend was sensitive our roommates situation and asked if she had eaten recently. It is obvious that there were several possible actions for this situation. She could have ignored it, solely asked how she felt, advised her to take a break and eat something, or offer to pick up or prepare something. My friend chose the final solution which I believe was the most morally appropriate action. She used her ingredients and together we cooked a pasta dish and shared it with our friend. It was clear that the motivation existed because my friend was motivated to “select among competing value outcomes of deals, the one to act upon.” Finally, moral implementation was executed because my friend carried out what she intended to do. With the start of this class, I find myself becoming more sensitive to situations in which requires moral action. Moral development is constantly occurring and I hope in some small way I can improve upon my own moral development this year and continue to build upon my capabilities in each of the four components.