In the Victor Hugo story Les Misérables , a character named Valjean steals a loaf of bread to feed a starving child. How would psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg describe this act?
A)Kohlberg would not be surprised because he saw humans as morally corrupt.
B)Kohlberg would argue that the act of theft is not in and of itself immoral, depending on the rationale for the theft.
C)Kohlberg would have expected the theft if the child were Valjean's but not if the child belonged to someone else.
D)Kohlberg would have expected the theft but only if Valjean were operating at the lowest level of moral reasoning.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Kohlberg's theory of moral development includes the idea that individuals progress through stages of moral reasoning, and that the morality of an action depends on the intention and reasoning behind it. Kohlberg might argue that in this case, Valjean's intention was to provide for a child in need, which could be seen as an act of compassion and could be justified according to certain moral frameworks. Kohlberg would consider the reasoning behind the act rather than the act itself in determining its moral worth.

In the Victor Hugo Story Les Misérables , a Character