Kohlberg and Freud: A reconstruction of emergent moralities

In this contribution we propose a comparative reconstruction of Kohlberg's and Freud's theories of moral development. We concentrate not on the developmental processes and their driving forces, but on the emerging conceptions of morality according to both theories. Each of the developmental stages is characterized in terms of the different sets of criteria typically constituting the changing (implicit) rationale for moral judgement and action. These criteria are represented according to the 'logic of development' published earlier in this journal (van Haaften, 1998), which makes it possible precisely to describe the relations between the criteria within and through the successive stages in both theories. We also make some suggestions about stages preceding and following those that Freud explicitly mentions. Our reconstruction may serve as a first step towards a more exact comparison, and eventually perhaps partial integration, of different theories of moral developmen