LogFAQs > #969531269

GranTurismo posted...

what? what do you mean by this though?

Theres a concept commonly taught in undergraduate level psychology classes known as Kohlbergs Stages of Moral Development

Essentially people start in a preconventional state of reasoning where moral behavior is egocentric and motivated by punishments and rewards.

As people mature, they progress to the conventional state where moral reasoning is based on conformity and belonging to a society.

Some people can further develop a post-conventional stage where their moral behavior is derived from a belief in justice and other abstract principles and values.

So, to get to the TCs question, if you believe that obedience to the law is only motivated by punishment for most people, then its basically another way of saying that you believe most people are immoral and would behave freely as such if there wasnt the threat of violence against them for doing so.