Heinz Dilemma Questions

Introduction: Heinz dilemma addresses an individual’s personal beliefs, moral’s and development. My moral development research participant was Nicholas Watkins. Nicholas is a seventeen-year-old; he is a senior in high school. He is a middle child and the only boy. He has one older sister, which happens to be me, and one younger sister. He grew up in church and is currently serving a president of the young people department. Nicholas is very family oriented and both of his parents are still married. When asked about his social life outside of school he described his friends and himself as the social butterflies. His personality traits are fun, talkative and compassionate. In fact, he used the same words to describe his group of friends. If …show more content…
He believes that stealing was not the right thing to do in this situation. He believes that Heinz should not have broken into the drugstore because, even though his situation was bad he should not steal and it is wrong because stealing is bad. He does not feel that it is Heinz obligation to steal because he was not forced to do so however, he understands the reasoning behind stealing. Nicholas believes that regardless if Heinz loves his or not stealing is wrong. Nicholas also brings up the fact that he could be punished by the law for doing such a thing. His answer did not change when the wife was changed to an animal. He feels that a pet Is not that serious because they are temporary. Nicholas is convinced that it is important do everything possible to save another person’s life to an extent. Nicholas stated “Yes, Heinz broke the law, stealing is wrong and you should not want to go to jail.” He also feels that Heinz is in the wrong for be willing to steal because he wouldn’t have been with his wife in her last and final days, he would be in jail. When asked what he would do if he was in Heinz position he said he would find ways to help and raise money in order to help his …show more content…
Here I was torn when making my decision on which stage of moral development Nicholas was in. Parts of my research lead me to believe that he is stage three or stage four which are both level II. The law/order or justice level. Stage four suggest that moral behavior is one’s duty and that you should have respect for authority. Nicks reasoning and responses lead me to that he is Level II stage four. My hypothesis was wrong, in my hypothesis I stated he was stage three. This research made me look deeper into my morals, values and ethics of myself and society. I learned things about myself as well as my younger