Ethical Theories: In A Different Voice By Carol Gilligan

Carol Gilligan (b. 1936) is a contemporary ethical theorist who was among the first to challenge traditionally established moral theories. Gilligan was largely influenced by the feminist movement of her time and approached ethics emphasizing the female ethics of care in her most influential book In a Different Voice (1982). Gilligan was among the first to discuss ethics based on gender both as a result of natural tendencies and patriarchal societies which subordinate women claiming that “traditional moral theories...lack, ignore, trivialize or demean women’s values and virtues culturally associated with women” (Tong & Williams, 2016, 2.1 para. 1). Her writings contrasted what she saw as male-bias in the widely accepted theories of such philosophers

In Gilligan’s ethics of care, she claims that the highest form of ethical judgement is made when a woman makes a judgement in which she considers both herself and others with whom she has a relationship; a theory also supported by the feminist agenda (Tong & Williams, 2016). This is in contrast to Jeremy Bentham’s Utilitarian philosophy in which the good of the majority is more important that the good of the individual. Gilligan’s theory suggests that society (particularly American culture) discourages men from an ethics of care by placing men in such a high competitive environment. Critics have argued that Gilligan’s ethics of care, however, is no different than the ethics of benevolence. Furthermore, many have argued that when balancing care and justice, justice should prevail. This would support Bentham’s philosophy that what is right is that which is good for the most people. Gilligan has even received criticism from later feminists who fear that associating the idea of care with a female trait could lead to unwanted stereotypes and continued suppression of women to be placed in caring roles out of subordination that true compassion (Crysdale,