Carol Gilligan’s Moral Orientation and Moral Development

Humans and the Dilemma of Moral Decisions

Humans are faced with the dilemma of deciding between right and wrong. There are various components of people’s personalities that influence their decisions between good and wrong. Although a typical environment has a substantial influence on this topic, it is feasible for people from the same environment to have distinct moral judgments. Certain characteristics, whether personal or communal, influence the element of social morality in a social environment. Carol Gilligan, a student of Lawrence Kohlberg’s, advanced the concept of moral development. Gilligan advanced her mentor’s theory on moral development to outline the disparities in the moral development of males and females. This paper articulates this theory as argued by Gilligan and its application in society. This theory is expounded with a story of a community of moles that give shelter to porcupines that no shelter of their own. The porcupines, however, continually stab moles with their quills.

Morality as the Foundation of a Coherent Society

The concept of moral development entails the prosocial behaviors such as caring, altruism, and helping; and personal traits such as respect, fairness, and honesty (Brandenberger, Jay W.). These aspects and the general overview of morality are the fundamental tools that help to foster justice, cohesion, peace, unity and all other virtues which are necessary for a coherent society. Many societies that end up in turmoil tend to lack morality that can help to mend a strong bond among people. The way people relate to one another largely depend on social morality. Therefore, the development of this essential tool of bonding people is something that cannot be overlooked. Factors which boosts or hinders it must be checked where possible, critical support is needed to anchor the positive elements and offer solutions to the negative ones. Cohesive communities are built on the principles of morality, and therefore, its development is of great essence.

Gilligan’s Critique of Kohlberg’s Theory

Gilligan felt that Kohlberg’s theory failed to adequately discuss the issue of gender differences on moral development because participants in his study were dominantly male and that the method was unable to include the perspective of caring (Brandenberger, Jay W.). She argued that males and females socialize differently and females are more articulate than males in emphasizing interpersonal relationships and being concerned with the welfare of other people. She suggested that the difference is primarily based on the mother-child relationship. According to her, and which is feasibly right, females are taught the moral perspectives whose primary focus is to foster personal relationships that lead to caring in the community.

The Core of Moral Development

Moral development refers to the long-term process of psychological growth regarding the individual capacity to evaluate moral problems. According to the theory of moral development, children begin with simple ideas about what is acceptable as moral reasoning. When the conditions in the society favor moral development during early childhood, moral reasoning is likely to become flexible, universal and abstract. The focus of Gilligan’s theory is based on the moralities of care and justice.

Morality of Care vs. Morality of Justice

The morality of care emphasizes various principles including universality and interconnectedness; avoiding acts of violence and lending a hand to the people in need. This kind of morality is said to be more predominant among girls due to their close connections with their mothers. The connections, however, leave them less concerned with the matter of fairness. The morality of justice is based on the principles of equality and viewing the world as a home to autonomous persons who interact freely with one another. It is said to be more prevalent in boys because of how they distinguish themselves from their mothers. The separation from their mothers leaves them concerned with the idea of equality.

Differing Perspectives on Problem Solving

Relating to the story of moles and porcupines, people approach problems in two perspectives; a morality based on justice and another one based on care. People with a standpoint of justice-based morality see dilemmas as conflicts between opposing claims. The moles and the porcupines want different things that are incompatible. Both of them cannot have a valid claim to the burrowing ability. Hence only one of two can have the right claim. A solution, in this case, cannot resolve the dilemma but passes a verdict whereby just one side gets everything while other gets nothing.

The perspective of care-based morality tackles the problem differently. Instead of treating the parties as separate entities, with valid and invalid claims, it considers them to be together in a difficult situation. Any conflict between them is part of the more significant problem. This approach does not decide in one way but instead looks for possible means of removing the problem or getting around it. It begins with the specific case and the people in it and looks for a solution that would not hurt anyone. Compromise is embraced freely in this perspective if it can help in finding a solution to a problem. Studies have shown that males tend to adopt the justice perspective while the females embrace the caring aspect.

Works Cited

Brandenberger, Jay W. “Moral Development: Theory And Applications.” Journal Of Moral Education, vol 44, no. 3, 2015, pp. 387-389. Informa UK Limited, doi:10.1080/03057240.2015.1053317.

Schinkel, Anders, and Doret J. de Ruyter. “Individual Moral Development And Moral Progress.” Ethical Theory And Moral Practice, vol 20, no. 1, 2016, pp. 121-136. Springer Nature, doi:10.1007/s10677-016-9741-6.