Moral Reasoning across Cultures Essay

Moral argumentation involves an active faultfinding thinking process that evaluates reasons for ethical beliefs (Sunar, 2002). Sometimes individuals may be disbeliever about electrical outlets related to honourableity. However, these same people seek to relate their chasteistic opinions with tangible reasons. By doing this, they try to prove the issues that encompass ethics entirely often end up making common fallacies in clean reasoning. The universal proposition acceptance of honorable reasoning or arguments becomes rather tough as culture seems to play a critical role in the way individuals go moral judgments (Sunar, 2002).To fully appreciate the difference in moral reasoning crossways cultures, it is important to examine many of the moral questions that arouse drawn serious debates in history. These moral questions such as euthanasia, abortion, same-sex conjugations have been a hurdle collectable to the differences in cultural practices and beliefs which discove r some individuals to view an issue as morally correct or morally wrong (Sunar, 2002). But at the same time, there be principals that be universally accepted crosswise cultures and this makes moral reasoning, to some level, be homogenous in intercultural dimensions.Morality can be viewed differently across different psychologists. To evolutionally psychologist, morality is an issue of inheritance implying that if the p atomic number 18nts had poor morals, the offspring go out not escape but inherit the genes of poor morals (Sunar, 2002). cognitive psychologists may differ and claim that morality is entirely learnt where a shaver develops character and morals through experiences and role-taking. The difference in their explanations comes in due to the attempt to answer the disconcerting question on why moral reasoning tends to differ across individuals, gender and cultural levels (Sunar, 2002).There are diverse and pervasive cultural differences in moral principles across culture s, an issue that has made serious debates among cross-cultural psychologists (Sunar, 2002). The thinking of cognitive psychologists as discovered in Kohlbergs cognitive-developmental hypothesis seem to be applicable sole(prenominal) to the Western people with liberal values and individualists favorable forms. In this perspective, social constructionists have given a strong critique on the cognitive-development theory in the understanding of moral reasoning (Bucciarelli, Khemlani & Johnson-Laird, 2008).The social constructionists maintain that every(prenominal) culture is entirely unique with distinct moral systems and meanings and the comparisons in their moral reasoning does not make sense. This argument can be support by the number of states juristicizing abortion. Countries such as Malta, El Salvador and Chile have made abortion to be illegal no matter the chequer or the purpose of the procedure (Pregnant breakout, 2002). On the other hand, countries such as Belgium, Bela rus, Australia, Bosnia, Cambodia and China have made abortion to be a legal practice for a number of reasons such as social or economic reasons (Pregnant Pause, 2002).A different perspective is held by evolutionary psychologists, psychoanalytic psychologists and cognitive-development psychologists. They all argue that moral reasoning should be homogeneous across cultures. Psychoanalytic theory claims that the internalization process is deeply rooted in the conflicts between the social life requirements and the individual desires. These factors tend to be universal and therefore moral reasoning is uniform across cultures.Cultures such as same-sex marriages that used to be predominantly in Western countries are belatedly finding a place in African countries (Bucciarelli, Khemlani & Johnson-Laird, 2008). This shows that moral reasoning is similar across cultures. Another element of similarities across cultures is the manner in which social institutes such as marriage are conducted. Punishments for poor marriage practices and rewards for good conduct have been shown to increase the observance of the moral principles regardless to cultural differences.Generally, the issue of moral reasoning tends to be both uniform and different across different cultures. There are moral principles that are universally acceptable and some practices will be known to be wrong among all cultures. However, some practices tend to have cultural boundaries where some countries or ethnic groups may restrict certain practices while others allowing the practices. These factors make moral reasoning to differ across cultures. Reference Bucciarelli, M. , Khemlani, S & Johnson-Laird, P. N (2008).The psychology of moral reasoning. Judgment and Decision Making. 3 (2)121-139. Pregnant Pause (2002). Summary of abortion laws around the world. Retrieved July 15, 2010 from http//www. pregnantpause. org/lex/world02. htm Sunar, D. (2002). The psychology of morality. In W. J. Lonner, D. L. Dinnel, S. A. Hayes, & D. N. Sattler (Eds. ), Online Readings in psychology and Culture (Unit 2, Chapter 11), Retrieved July 15, 2010 from http//www. ac. wwu. edu/culture/Sunar. htm