The three characteristics of the stages
A large proportion of modern social scientists as well as the “ culturally enlightened” laity are what Kohlberg labeled ethical relativists. They believe that moral principles vary from one culture to another and that there is no logical way to explain or reconcile these differences among cultures. Such a line of thought can easily lead to the conviction that one culture’s moral values are as good as another’s, since each culture has as much right to its own value system as does any other culture. On the basis of this assumption, we would conclude that a person is morally developed or well adjusted when he abides by the dominant values of his society . but it is not necessary for an ethical relativist to stop the extension of this line of logic at the societal level. If he or she chooses, the ethical relativist can carry it on to individuals whithin a society. In such a case, the relativist can conclude that it is each individual ’s right to adopt his or her own code of ethics, since there is no logical way to judge one person’s code as better than another’s .