<P> Kohlberg's stages of moral development are based on the assumption that humans are inherently communicative, capable of reason, and possess a desire to understand others and the world around them . The stages of this model relate to the qualitative moral reasonings adopted by individuals, and so do not translate directly into praise or blame of any individual's actions or character . Arguing that his theory measures moral reasoning and not particular moral conclusions, Kohlberg insists that the form and structure of moral arguments is independent of the content of those arguments, a position he calls "formalism". </P> <P> Kohlberg's theory centers on the notion that justice is the essential characteristic of moral reasoning . Justice itself relies heavily upon the notion of sound reasoning based on principles . Despite being a justice - centered theory of morality, Kohlberg considered it to be compatible with plausible formulations of deontology and eudaimonia . </P> <P> Kohlberg's theory understands values as a critical component of the right . Whatever the right is, for Kohlberg, it must be universally valid across societies (a position known as "moral universalism"): there can be no relativism . Moreover, morals are not natural features of the world; they are prescriptive . Nevertheless, moral judgments can be evaluated in logical terms of truth and falsity . </P> <P> According to Kohlberg, someone progressing to a higher stage of moral reasoning cannot skip stages . For example, an individual cannot jump from being concerned mostly with peer judgments (stage three) to being a proponent of social contracts (stage five). On encountering a moral dilemma and finding their current level of moral reasoning unsatisfactory, however, an individual will look to the next level . Realizing the limitations of the current stage of thinking is the driving force behind moral development, as each progressive stage is more adequate than the last . The process is therefore considered to be constructive, as it is initiated by the conscious construction of the individual, and is not in any meaningful sense a component of the individual's innate dispositions, or a result of past inductions . </P>

According to kohlberg's theory of moral development in level 2 one is most concerned with