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Lecture VIII
Feminist Virtue Ethics: Gilligan
I. Introduction
A. Carol Gilligan is a contemporary American moral psychologist.
B. Definition of Feminism: The Western and other traditions have
been characterized by social structures (cultural, religious, legal, and
economic) which have impeded or restricted the development of
women, and these structures ought to be dismantled.
C. It this ‘ought’ that makes feminism an ethical theory.
D. To understand Gilligan’s theory, we must first understand the
difference between ‘sex’ and ‘gender.’
1. Sex: biological term
a. Male: in humans, the nucleus of each cell contains
22 paired chromosomes and 1 pair of 2 sex chromosomes
(XY).
b. Female: in humans, the nucleus of each cell
contains 22 paired chromosomes and 1 pair of 2 sex
chromosomes (XX).
2. Gender: social term
a. Masculine: a certain set of socially-defined
personality traits which are culturally relative
b. Feminine: a certain set of socially-defined
personality traits which are culturally relative
D. Implication of Distinction between Sex and Gender
1. The socialization process is supposed to result in
biological males behaving masculinely and biological females
behaving femininely.
2. Yet there is nothing necessary about this process: some
biological males behave feminine, and some biological females
behave masculine.
E. Gilligan’s Contribution to Ethics
1. The central contribution of Gilligan’s moral psychology
to philosophy is the awareness of the ethical implications of the
engendering socialization process.
2. Gilligan argues that there are in fact two moral systems
in our culture—one masculine and one feminine—and that
females have traditionally been morally judged according to the
standards of the masculine system.
3. Holding females to the masculine standards of morality
is grossly unfair, and hence unethical.
II. Traditional Moral Psychology
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A. Based on the work of psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg
B. Kohlberg’s Scale of Moral Development:
1. Deference to authority;
2. Satisfaction of one’s own needs and consideration of
needs of others;
3. Seek approval by conformity to stereotyped rules;
4. Conformity is augmented by a sense of goodness in
maintaining social order;
5. Association of morality with rights and standards which
are endorsed by society as a whole;
6. Generation of self-chosen universal principles of justice
beyond social framework.
C. Implications
1. The lowest levels of moral sophistication are based on
making judgments according to social context—deference to
authority, social acceptance, and so forth—while the highest
form of moral sophistication is the ability to make judgments
based on totally abstract principles such as the Categorical
Imperative (see Lecture VII), independently of social context.
2. In this way, traditional moral psychology, illustrated by
Kohlberg, is very Kantian in orientation by emphasized the role
of abstract reason.
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D. Kohlberg concludes though empirical research that men,
based in this Kantian scale, are much more morally superior than
women.
III. Feminine Moral Psychology
A. According to Gilligan (In a Different Voice), Kohlberg’s moral
psychology is seriously flawed, because women and girls are judged on
criteria that in our culture is masculine.
B. Gilligan argues that a problem in psychological theory has
been misinterpreted as a problem in human moral development.
1. The problem is that there have only been one
theoretical psychological apparatus to evaluate two distinct
psychologies of gender.
2. Gilligan’s central thesis: we need a second moral
psychology that accurately describes femininity.
3. In order to accomplish this, we need to look at the
different ways men and women are engendered.
C. Differences between masculinity and femininity.
1. Childhood games
a. Boys: games of competition (ball games, running,
jumping, scoring, etc.) where victory is gained at the
expense of losing.
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b. Girls: games of cooperation (doll house, dress-up,
role-playing games) which are not overtly competitive and
the outcome does not involve wining or losing.
D. These games provide a window into the socially-constructed
psychologies of masculinity and femininity.
1. Masculine psychology
a. Individuals are like inert atoms bumping and
colliding with one another in the game of life.
b. Some individuals get knocked out of the “game.”
c. Selves come into relationships and pass out of
relationships; or, to put in another way, selves have
relationships.
d. Masculine psychology is useful for free-market
capitalism.
2. Feminine psychology
a. Individuals are embedded in webworks of
relationships.
b. Ecological model of mutual dependence
c. Selves are defined by the relationships that begin,
last, and end; or, to put in another way, selves are
relationships.
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d. Feminine psychology is useful for families and
local communities.
IV. Care Ethics
A. Gilligan names feminine moral psychology the “care
perceptive.”
B. The Care Perspective has ethical implications.
C. Gilligan’s Scale of Feminine Moral Development
1. Orientation of survival (baby): focus on caring for the
self;
2. Focus on care and conformity, desire to please others
and to do what is good for others;
3. Awareness of illogic of self-sacrifice of [2];
4. Understanding of connection between the self and
others;
5. Care becomes self-chosen principle based on the
recognition of interdependence.
D. The lowest levels of moral sophistication are based on
egoistic, self-centered gratification, while the highest levels involve the
recognition of inter-dependence of individuals and the affirmation of
these relationships.
1. In this care model, empathy (concern for others)
becomes a self-chosen principle of conduct.
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2. In terms of femininity, this principle of conduct is the
manifestation of virtuous character.
E. Conclusion: Feminine moral behavior is to be understood in
terms of the ethics of care.
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