In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the subject DSSD 605: Philosophy of Transformative Strategies in Philippine Womens University

Carol Gilligans Moral Development Theory: A Critical Reflection

By Genevieve M. Nangit Student No. 20132620

March 29, 2014

Carol Gilligans Moral Development Theory: A Critical Reflection

Introduction

Our adviser in a philosophy course on transformative strategies assigned us to read the moral development of Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg, and Carol Gilligan. This is the first time I encountered the works of these individuals and to familiarize myself with their theories, I research and read as much as I can the documents I downloaded from the internet. My fear that I might have overlooked important ideas, I cross-referenced and validated the documents. After reading the overviews and excerpts of the three authors, it was the work of Carol Gilligan that interests me a lot because it somehow resembles my moral thoughts.

The book of Carol Gilligan was titled In a Different Voice: Womens Conception of Self and Morality. In this book, she based the theory of womens moral development by analyzing the answers of the respondents in the questions asked in the three studies: college student study, abortion decision study, and the rights and responsibilities study. The college student study was about identity and moral development in the early adult years by relating the view of self and thinking about morality to experiences of moral

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conflict and the making of life choices. (Gilligan, 2003, p.2) While the abortion decision study considered the relation between experience an d thought and the role of conflict in development. (Gilligan, 2003, p.3) And the rights and responsibilities study was about the conceptions of self and morality, experiences of moral conflict and choice, and judgments of hypothetical moral dilemmas. (Gilligan, 2003, p.3)

Analyzing further the writing and the responses of the study subjects in Gilligans book, I realize that the moral arguments of women are attached to value-laden word that was present in the question. The responses they gave when they answer a question revolves around this specific word and became the core in the hierarchies of their moral arguments. This findings will be discussed further in the third section.

The second section will present how I became to love words. It was not love at first sight, rather the relationship evolved as my vocabulary and context increases through reading and human interactions. In all the books I have read and still reading, it is the bible that made the most powerful meaning in words. I was 16 years old when I started an extensive study of the bible, and realized that the meaning of every word is consistent from Genesis to Revelation. Truly, the only source of truth comes from God.

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Because of the importance I placed on words, it became powerful to me to the extent that it influences my mood. I can feel the word and its relation to its surrounding texts when I read it and hear it. Words in a discourse are not just a combination of letters that has meaning but are symbols that are effectual and can create change. Once a word is spoken or written it becomes alive. Through words we share our thoughts and emotions, and if misused can destroy a relationship and hinder development. If words can destroy, it can also create depending on the premise and value of its usage. It is always the heart of the user that defines the character of the word. Because of the use of words and its effect, I was inspired to learn its impact on individuals and so I opened myself on different kinds of texts and conversations. After considering the discourses I had, I realized that I cannot manage certain context, individuals and environments. As a consequence of this realization, I choose to give high preference to individuals and books that use words with reverence and never devoid of relation to its surrounding texts. Because of words and discourses, there are certain aspects in this world - individuals, ideologies, activities and advocacies - I had chosen not to be involved, and this is termed choices.

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Critical Analysis of In a Different Voice

In her book, In a Different Voice: Womens Conception of Self and Morality, Gilligan presented her own interpretation of Kohlbergs 3 stages of moral development. The first stage, which Kohlberg called as preconventional morality, is when the primary objective of a womans decision is influenced by her instinct of self-survival. Then transitioning to the second stage, which Kohlberg called as conventional morality, happens when a womans decision is now influenced not solely by her instinct of selfsurvival but included others as well. The third stage, which can be called as postconventional morality, is attained when a woman begin to consider the consequences of her actions and the responsibility of not inflicting harm or violence to herself as well as the other.

Reading the work of Gilligan and the responses of the women on certain questions posted by the interviewer in the three studies made me realize that they put emphasis on certain words, making these words the premise of their moral arguments.

Amy is considering not whether Heinz should act in this situation (should Heinz steal the drug?) but rather how Heinz

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should act in response to his awareness of his wifes need (Should Heinz steal the drug?). (Gilligan, 2003, p.31)

In the statement above, first and foremost, Amys reply is rooted on her belief that stealing should not be done because this will affect the relationship of individual with his fellowman. Next, her argument is based on maintaining the relationship of the husband and the wife. It may seems that Amys reply is solely based on relationship and without regard to the life of the wife, but in my own point of view, it was the premise that stealing is bad that greatly affect her arguments. The word steal took over her moral thought than the event that the wife is dying. As I read on the arguments of Amy, I saw that her moral thought was about maintaining the value of not stealing, and she believe that t his can be attained by the process called communication where everyone can express themselves and hopefully share one anothers burden, which eventually will save the life of the wife. Unlike Jack, he focused on the word should and argued that stealing can be forgiven because of the situation and by putting emphasis on the life of the woman. Jack and Amy has the same goal, that is to save the life of the wife but their arguments on how to do it differs. And the difference lies on their values which is expressed in the words they had chosen to focus. It may seem that Amys way is long and tedious because

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it requires a lot of communication until each individual attain an understanding without compromising the law, meaning Amy put law and order first over the individual needs. While Jacks way is fast and provocative because it requires adjustment of the law later, meaning Jack put individual needs first over law and order. I see that Amys arguments are rooted on maintaining the order of the society at all cost whil e Jacks arguments are rooted on attaining the solution immediately at all cost.

Another worthy argument that gives different perspectives between a boy and girl are presented in page 32-33 (Gilligan, 2003).

Jeffrey said, When I really want to go to my friends and my mother is cleaning the cellar, I think about my friends, and then I think about my mother, and then I think about the right thing to do. (But how do you know its the right thing to do?) Because some things go before other things.

Karen said, I have a lot of friends, and I cant always play with all of them, so everybodys going to have to take a turn, because theyre all my friends. But like if someones all alone, Ill play with them. (What kinds of things do you think about

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when your are trying to make that decision?) Um, someone all alone, loneliness.

As I compared the response of Jeffrey and Karen, I once again saw, the emphasis on relationship which is present in Karens statement and is absent in Jeffrey. I deduced this observation through the argument of Karen when she saw the limitation of time and choose to accept the constraints by managing it. Her statement shows that she values her friends and thus she has to manage her limited time with each of them. Unlike Jeffrey, he did acknowledge the limitation of time and choose to do what he sees right. Jeffreys argument ends on the idea that he has no time at the moment to think about managing his relationship with his friends because he is cleaning his mothers cellar. While Karen went beyond the moment and look at ways on how to still interact with her friends. If I may add t o Gilligans observation that while Jeffrey sets up a hierarchical ordering to resolve a conflict between desire and duty, Karen describes a network of relationships that includes all of her friends, because Karen values the word friends and unlike Jack who sees the word friends as desire that can be suppressed if the situation calls for it.

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Another word that makes an impact in my analysis is morality.

The

question was if you had to say what morality meant to you, how would you sum it up? (Gilligan, 2003, p.64)

When I think of the word morality, I think of obligations. I usually think of it as conflicts between personal desires and social things, social considerations, or personal desires of yourself versus personal desires of another person or people or whatever. Morality is that whole realm of how you decide these conflicts.

Once again, the reply above affirms my observation in the premise of Amys moral thought that is law and order when it comes to the word steal. In the statement above, morality is about obligations through the knowledge of what is right and wrong, with emphasis on resolving conflicts between personal desire and social consideration. Once again, there is the context of relationship but in a broader sense by including society.

Concluding my analysis on the emphasis of women in words, I would like to consolidate the womens moral development by referring to the responses

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in the question How would you describe yourself to yourself? (Gilligan, 2003, p.158).

This sounds sort of strange, but I think maternal, with all tis connotations. I see myself in a nurturing role, maybe not right now, but whenever that might be, as a physician, as a motherIts hard for me to think of myself without thinking about other people around me that Im giving to. (Claire)

I am fairly hard-working and fairly thorough and fairly responsible, and in terms of weaknesses, I am sometimes hesitant about making decisions and unsure of myself and afraid of doing things and taking responsibility, and I think maybe that is one of the biggest conflicts I have hadThe other very important aspect of my life is my husband and trying to make his life easier and trying to help him out. (Leslie)

I am a hysteric. I am intense. I am warm. I am very smart about peopleI have a lot more soft feelings than hard feelings. I am a lot easier to get to be kind than to get mad. If I had to say one word, and to me it incorporates a lot, adopted. (Erica)

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I found that the responses of the three women emphasize the value of relationship through the words or phrases: nurturing role, trying to help him (husband) out, and adopted. They defined themselves not in relationship to other people but the value on maintaining relationship, in other words, women emphasize relational values. And this is reflected in their moral thought because they regard peace, cooperation and harmony, which are attained through communication and understanding. In my opinion, time has always been an ally of women because in time they find healing, resolution of conflicts and attainment of peace. Maybe that is why women believe in communication and interaction because in time it will cultivate patience in the hearts of the individuals and things will be resolved without compromising the important values.

Words and My Moral Development

How did words become a powerful influence in my moral development? Let me share with you my journey.

The written word came first in my life when I received my first novel from my mother. I was 8 years old, the novel simply titled Heidi. When I opened

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the book the first time, I cannot understand most of the words. Maybe in the right time I will be able to read it, so I left it on the shelf. Once in a while I would open the book and read it, hoping that I can understand the meaning of each words. Patiently, I await on the day that I will be able to read and understand the story. Alas, it was on my high school years when I understood the novel. I did not only pronounce the words correctly but I was able to connect its meaning to the other words. I understood the word in relation to its context. I read the novel and learned the lesson.

Realizing the importance of words in understanding stories, I begun collecting words. I realize that words are not just combinations of letters but also a powerful medium to teach, inspire and create. Words for me are no longer static but very active, as they can convey emotions, values and convictions.

After I finished the novel Heidi, I became engrossed on reading different novels such as the works of Sydney Sheldon, Robin Cook, Dan Brown and many more. As my vocabulary increases and so is my context. Slowly, I lost my interest in commercial fictional work and looked for books that pertains to the intricate relationships of human and society, and this desire led me to the stories of holocaust. The first book I read about holocaust was a story

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of a girl who tattooed her mother with a number and saw her mother enter the gas chamber. Numbering and counting the individuals removed their roles and relationships. The mother became just a number, a child became a number. This book taught me how numbers removed the humanity of an individual, preparing her for death.

Though I was trained in statistical analysis, my fondness for words had never departed my thoughts. I have always revered the function of words, and pursued the use of all my statistical skill in conjunction with social development, whether be it health or behaviors. Thus, in my personal time, I am engrossed in reading the works of Philip Yancey, Stephen Covey, and Charles Swindoll. Unconsciously, my moral thought was molded by the kind of books I read. Eventually, it affected my behavior affecting my interactions and decisions, which are directed by the convictions fortified by these authors. These authors became my moral teachers, they opened my mind and affirmed my beliefs.

It was through these books that I saw the different kinds of sufferings of mankind, as well as, their courage and grace. I was blessed not just because I can read but as well as the capacity to experience it. I can comprehend the complexities introduced by the authors. As if, I am also

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experiencing the same emotions of the characters in the novel, and thoughts expressed by the authors. As a results, it is through these various books I understood the meaning of life - pain and victory.

Though I have read different books, it is always the word of God that is the source of my convictions. And I realize, that Gods way is not always aligned to our parents desire, peers desire and personal desire. By sticking to our belief and relationship with God, we will experience persecution from those who do not understand our relationship with Him. Truly, we cannot love God and love our parents at the same time, nor love our friends or love ourselves. The Lord demand all of us, nothing less but only more. It is only by all of me that I began to understand the word of God. Without limiting myself and my thoughts, God became attainable through His words. Once again, only by personal reflection and study of the word I found the solid ground to anchor all ideas and philosophies. Unlike the words in the novel or nonfiction books, the words in the bible became my main source of what is right or wrong. No human ideologies can surpass the wisdom of God because no human mind can comprehend the meaning of grace.

I have experienced and seen the effect of words that are carelessly used. It can destroy relationships and to the extent of harming the person through

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verbal abuse. I do not agree on the idea of disempowerment of words. Words have meanings and it is through their meanings that they make sense and capable as mode of transferring of knowledge, and expression of oneself. Disempowering a word is like removing the voice of the bearer. Why do we need to disempower a word that has already been existing before our birth and gave us knowledge, when it should be us who must handle the word with reverence. An example, some connote the word professional as a behavior of a person but for me it is a matter of quality of ones work as defined in the dictionary. T here was a time I would like to correct the use of unprofessionalism in the context of behavior, it has been used in certain field of profession but it must not be loosely expressed beyond that setting. Maybe, the term unprofessionalism fits the entertainment industry but it does not mean it is appropriate in all professional settings. The term should have been a misdemeanor and not unprofessionalism, unfortunately, the person was tactless and careless in expressing his opinion. A bad habit.

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Conclusion

In my final analysis, words are value-laden and it is the perspective and convictions that emphasize it and refer to it as a premise. Words are not just text that describes events but it expresses goodness or wickedness. They have power to modify and transform emotions and events. Words exists for human communication and for establishing relationship. That is why, I am not in favor of purely communicating through numbers and figures. We are humans and we have to communicate to establish a society, either through speaking or writing. As much as possible, I go to the mall and interact to people. I take the public transportation so that I can be with people. I do not have to be part of their interaction but at least experience their exchange of views. I always make the time to read and learn. It is important that we do not lose our attachment to words, we are individuals that need to communicate with fellow individuals because we live in a society composed of persons. The only way for persons to achieve harmony and cooperation is through communication. We can only share virtues and values if we interact with one another. And the intelligence and skills we attained are part of our human capital to be productive in the economic world but it is the virtue and value that keep us different from animals and machines. Machines can perform our skills but it is only we can have the values and

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virtues that can guide us in choosing to whom and to where we spend our limited time and skills.

Finally, I have observed that maybe because of my emphasis with words that had caused my distaste in communicating with individuals whose knowledge and use of words are so obstructed. I consider it a grievous offense when words are misused and displaced, because this will eventually result to misunderstanding. I have always been a peaceful person. These misappropriation had usually resulted to misconception and if not corrected immediately lead to brutal physical interaction, which is a usual occurrence among men. I began to wonder, could this be the reason why men tend to resolve issues through boxing or competitive games because they cannot resolve issues through words? Do men have a different perspective in words, as if they are always being challenged? In any case, I do not understand their context, I began to wonder whether men had lost a sense of context and the primary cause of the argument, that once a word is spoken it is followed by exchanged of inappropriate terminologies, I even ponder the idea that they maybe referring to a different kind of dictionary or thesaurus. Could it be that they have their own lexicology? So rather than tiring myself in figuring out how men use words, I choose to focus on women. Why do I choose women over men, well, I am a woman and words

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affect my mood. And the words of wise women bring out the moderateness in my character.

References

Gilligan,C. (2003). In a Different Voice. USA: Harvard University Press.

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