How do moral emotions relate to moral reasoning, and how does this relate to Kohlberg's emphasis?

How do moral emotions relate to moral reasoning, and how does this relate to Kohlberg's emphasis?

• A. Moral emotions influence moral actions; Kohlberg emphasizes progression of moral reasoning.
• B. Kohlberg emphasized moral emotions; others emphasize reasoning.
• C. Emotions have no relation to moral actions.
• D. Kohlberg posits intuition drives moral behavior.

Answer: (A)

Moral emotions shape how we act in moral situations, because feelings like empathy, guilt, and indignation signal what we care about morally and can motivate or deter certain actions. Kohlberg, on the other hand, is all about how people justify their actions: his stages describe a development from concrete, rule-based reasoning to more abstract, principled reasoning about justice and rights. In his view, action follows the level of moral reasoning a person can articulate, even though emotions may accompany the process. So the best choice captures that emotions influence actions while Kohlberg emphasizes the progression of moral reasoning. The idea that Kohlberg focused on emotions isn’t accurate, nor is the notion that emotions have no relation to morality, or that intuition drives moral behavior.

Moral emotions shape how we act in moral situations, because feelings like empathy, guilt, and indignation signal what we care about morally and can motivate or deter certain actions. Kohlberg, on the other hand, is all about how people justify their actions: his stages describe a development from concrete, rule-based reasoning to more abstract, principled reasoning about justice and rights. In his view, action follows the level of moral reasoning a person can articulate, even though emotions may accompany the process. So the best choice captures that emotions influence actions while Kohlberg emphasizes the progression of moral reasoning. The idea that Kohlberg focused on emotions isn’t accurate, nor is the notion that emotions have no relation to morality, or that intuition drives moral behavior.