If life is a game, then how do we level up? I seek to answer this question and propose different levels available to us in all aspects of life. I'm going to call this Levels of Development. Just some guidelines and goals to work towards, and thinking about what's possible. What level are you at, and where do you want to be? What is your own take on these levels?

This week's chart is on morality. By that I don't mean 10 is good and 1 is absolutely evil; I think I aim more for clarity and knowledge about what you stand for and what is important to you, and why. And developing your judgement on these issues.

Level 1: Ignorance

Never thought about it before. Why does morality matter?

Level 2: Dreaming

The question's come up before but you just went with your kneejerk reaction. But you don't particularly care, since morality doesn't really affect your day-to-day life (or so you think). And you don't really care for figuring it out either.

Level 3: Sheeple

You realise you basically have the same viewpoints as everyone close to you, without knowing why. The mass media informs most of your opinions on the world and you've never really questioned their assumptions before.

Level 4: Waking up

You start to realise that you have a choice in deciding what's right and wrong, and deciding how you want to live your life. Is what's wrong really wrong?

Level 5: Learning

You have some ideas and knowledge of philosophy to help you make your judgement calls. Sometimes it helps to see how others have thought about the issue and going through their reasoning.

Level 6: Armchair philosopher

You start to get more interested in the formal arguments for morality from different schools of thought. You perhaps start to browse the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. You are able to explain to other people what you believe in if the topic of conversation goes in that direction.

Level 7: Self-awareness

You start to form your own view on what's "right" and "wrong" and can back these up with reasoning and argument. You have an idea of what your values are, through observing your thoughts and actions. At this stage you might have an identity crisis but eventually settle on something that you're comfortable with.

Level 8: Metacognition

You recognise that what you think is right and your values can change over time, and are able to recognise that different people will come to different conclusions about such things. You are able to spot your own flaws in thinking when it comes to such issues, and can readily admit when you don't have something figured out.

Level 9: Internet philosopher

You can talk about what you think to a high degree, and don't shy away from thinking about the more murky aspects of life. You have read up on and roughly know the different schools of thought about morality, and are able to understand where they are coming from. You perhaps also have your own philosophy on life and morality. You are very clear on your values. If you conclude that you should live in line with your values and you aren't currently, you start to make changes to do so.

Level 10: Sage

You are able to argue for your stance on life, and what you think is right and wrong, or whether there is a right and wrong in the first place (maybe some things will always be murky). You are familiar with the major arguments of different schools of thought and have made your own judgement call on what you want to adopt as your own morality. You are open to changing your position if you are convinced that something else suits you better or makes more sense. You also have a good idea of the values you want to live by and why. You live a life that is congruent with your morals - you put what you believe in into action.