MORAL REASONING

            Moral reasoning is our cognitive capacity to process information related to ethical dilemmas. It has long been regarded as the principal determinant of a person's ethical and moral behaviour. It is reflected at three levels: Pre-conventional, Conventional and Post-conventional.

            A person operating at the pre-conventional level of moral reasoning considers any decision/ethical behaviour for avoiding person harm, seeking personal gain. The one running at the conventional standard is mainly concerned about following the norms of a group he belongs to, and he follows the law. Anyone working at the post-conventional level will approach ethical behaviour from the perspective of human values like love, truth, and goodness, and form a universal view. They ask before the act if everyone does the same thing in a similar situation.

             Will the world be a better or worse place to live? The justification we hear from professional, politicians or business leaders for their actions, can help us figure out whether they are operating at lower or higher levels of moral reasoning.

            Moral reasoning as the basics of ethical behaviour is known to social scientists and developmental psychologists since long. Can moral reasoning be developed, and can it evolve consciously? Traditional wisdom says that mindfulness and the practice of yoga may help people moving psychologically from lower to higher levels of moral reasoning.