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Rethinking Moral Reasoning Theory
Author(s) -
Nokes Kathleen M.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
image: the journal of nursing scholarship
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1547-5069
pISSN - 0743-5150
DOI - 10.1111/j.1547-5069.1989.tb00126.x
Subject(s) - lawrence kohlberg's stages of moral development , moral reasoning , moral development , morality , social cognitive theory of morality , moral disengagement , social intuitionism , epistemology , normative ethics , psychology , moral psychology , sociology , social psychology , philosophy
Many nursing studies on moral reasoning and ethics have used Kohlberg's theory of moral development. The body of knowledge that resulted from these studies indicated that nurses and nursing students had consistently lower than expected levels of moral reasoning. Educational offerings were developed to assist nurses to improve their moral reasoning. This article explores the cognitive‐developmental theory of moral development as one way of determining the moral development of nurses. Since this theory of moral reasoning focuses on the rational thought of the individual and does not consider the impact of the environment, it is of limited applicability in nursing. A new theory of morality needs to be developed—a more holistic one that will include both universal principles and contextual issues.