First Cut: 6 reasons
I'll begin with something I remember from back in school. During one of the random sessions when our principal, Fr. Jose Philip, would speak to our class, he once outlined 6 reasons why people would do something. Somehow, those points have stuck and it is with those points that I will start. The points, in order, are:
1. Fear of punishment
2. Anticipation of reward
3. Social acceptance
4. Play-by-the-rules
5. Conviction
6. Love
Fear of punishment: This is a simple situation. A child who does his homework because he will be punished by his teacher at school if he did not, is operating under this rule.
Anticipation of reward: A child, who studies hard for his exams in anticipation of receiving a new bicycle is operating under this rule.
Social acceptance: A student joining a particular group might have to say something against another opposing group. That is when he is trying to get social acceptance.
Play-by-the-rules: A person does something because it is part of the rules. He might not even be convinced that the rule is fair, but he does it because it is the law or a rule.
Conviction: A person is convinced that what he is doing is the right thing to do. For example, he might find a paper cup lying on the road and he might decide to put it into a dustbin. He might be doing it because he is convinced it is the right thing to do.
Love: A person does something out of love for humanity in general. It is almost like being an ascetic, a situation that few people achieve in life.
Ideally, a person would mature from stage one to stage six over the period of his life. However, realistically, that is not the case. For various situations that a person finds himself in, his reasons for doing something can vary anywhere from level one to level six. These six reasons may not even be able to completely explain all the different kinds of behaviour we observer. As I try to analyse different situations, other reasons might emerge; however, this is the first cut.
Update: Fr. Jose reminds me that these stages were proposed by Lawrence Kohlberg. These stages are also known as Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development.
1. Fear of punishment
2. Anticipation of reward
3. Social acceptance
4. Play-by-the-rules
5. Conviction
6. Love
Fear of punishment: This is a simple situation. A child who does his homework because he will be punished by his teacher at school if he did not, is operating under this rule.
Anticipation of reward: A child, who studies hard for his exams in anticipation of receiving a new bicycle is operating under this rule.
Social acceptance: A student joining a particular group might have to say something against another opposing group. That is when he is trying to get social acceptance.
Play-by-the-rules: A person does something because it is part of the rules. He might not even be convinced that the rule is fair, but he does it because it is the law or a rule.
Conviction: A person is convinced that what he is doing is the right thing to do. For example, he might find a paper cup lying on the road and he might decide to put it into a dustbin. He might be doing it because he is convinced it is the right thing to do.
Love: A person does something out of love for humanity in general. It is almost like being an ascetic, a situation that few people achieve in life.
Ideally, a person would mature from stage one to stage six over the period of his life. However, realistically, that is not the case. For various situations that a person finds himself in, his reasons for doing something can vary anywhere from level one to level six. These six reasons may not even be able to completely explain all the different kinds of behaviour we observer. As I try to analyse different situations, other reasons might emerge; however, this is the first cut.
Update: Fr. Jose reminds me that these stages were proposed by Lawrence Kohlberg. These stages are also known as Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development.
