Carol Gilligan's Ethical Discrimination Against Women

The idea that women and men think differently is as old as time. This idea has traditionally been used to justify discrimination against women. A famous ancient Greek philosopher by the name of Aristotle once said that women are not as rational as men, and so they are naturally ruled by men. The German philosopher Immanuel Kant agreed with this point, adding that women "have no civil personality, and their existence is, so to speak, purely inherent." (Anne Philips, p. 108). He went on to say that they should have no voice in public life either. Jena-Jacques Rousseau who was a Genevan philosopher tried to put a good face on this by emphasizing that women and men merely possess different virtues. Undoubtable thought, it turned out that men's

This is because male partiality is present in most ethical theories, because most ethical theories where created by males. Gilligan also examines the male justice perspective stating that the male moral perspective of justice is essentially rooted in rules and principles, often denning the role of emotions and feelings. However the female moral perspective of care concerns emotions and feelings like sympathy, compassion, and love. Gilligan believes that individuals tend to make ethical decisions based on just one ethical perspective, even if they are familiar with both. Males using principal, although they are aware of feeling and emotion, and females using emotions, although they are aware of principals and rules. To explain how two perspectives can coexist in parallel, Gilligan uses the example of the ambiguous figure, a well-known phenomenon of visual perception. While looking at a drawing, for example, one person might see a vase, while another might see two profiles of a face. Although to different images are being perceived, it is nearly impossible to see both images at the same time. Gilligan goes on to say that eventually an individual will probably be able to see both the profiles of the face and a vase as well. However one view will still remain more compelling than the other. That is why while making an ethical decision, one might favor one ethical perspective over

Men’s morality for instance is often seen in terms of benefiting others, reasoning that they ought to do what is in the best interest of those involved in a particular case. Their primary requirement is not to act impartiality, or unfairly, and respectfulness is a key virtue. On the other hand, women’s morality is highly personal. Their primary moral obligation is to help others, and not turn away from those in need, and to prevent further ham to such individuals. Compassion and caring are key virtues in their morality. According to psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg, the highest stage of moral development is when an adult can be governed by personal moral principles and a sense of justice, and not by social pressure. Kohlberg’s theory finds that women often do not reach this stage of development. Therefore he judged them to be morally deficient or morally underdeveloped. Freud, another well-known psychologist, believed that woman often base their morality on causes about personal relationships rather than a sense of justice. He believed this was a lesser form of morality, thus concluding that woman are morally inferior to men. There have been several variations to the research psychologist have done over time. It is believed that any difference between women’s and men’s morality can be accounted by experience and social status, and not by their gender. Therefore ethics of care is a viable and valuable