Gilligan's Moral Theory Controversy

This paper is going to discuss Ethics and Ethical Theories. It will include an introduction to ethical theories, virtue ethics, and care ethics. There will be sections discussing absolutism versus relativism, consequentialism versus deontological ethics, and lastly, free will versus determinism. It will also include a discussion about the study of morality and identify which of the approaches (Scientific, Philosophical, or Theological/Religious) are closest to my own personal beliefs. There will be a discussion regarding the three sources of ethics

Lawrence Kohlberg, a developmental psychologist, identified six developmental stages of human moral reasoning. The first stage that he recognized was the Punishment-Obedience Orientation, where the person’s concern is for avoiding punishment through obedience. The second stage was the Instrumental Relativist Orientation, where the person’s concern is to work in their self interest, and better their position. The third stage of moral development was the Good Boy-Nice Girl Orientation, where the person’s concern lies with their reputation. Next was the Law And Order Orientation, where the person was less concerned with their own immediate well being to the maintenance of a larger society. The fifth stage was the Social Contract

When working in a health or social care setting professional practitioners are very often with situations involving moral dilemmas. Therefore it is important for the health, care and social workers to understand morality and the meaning of moral decisions and how they are linked to the practice of heath and social care.

Lawrence Kohlberg, the author of three stages, was an American psychologist who is well known for his theory on the stages of moral development. According to Kohlberg, there are three levels of moral development:Preconventional (moral reasoning is based on external rewards and punishments), Conventional (laws and rules are upheld simply because they are laws and rules), and Postconventional (reasoning is based on personal moral standards)” (powerpoint).

Lawrence Kohlberg is known for his theory of moral development developed in 1958. His theory was dependent on the thinking of Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget and American philosopher John Dewey. It consists of three levels of moral reasoning: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional. These levels are based on the degree to which an individual accommodates to the conventional standards of society. Each level aquires two stages that serve as different standards of sophistication in moral reasoning. Overall, Kohlberg affirms that moral development is a process of maturing that emerges from thinking about about moral issues (“Kohlberg’s Moral Development”).

The importance of Lawrence Kohlberg’s work is the link he makes between moral development and reason. Although this concept originated with Kant and other earlier philosophers, Kohlberg provides a psychological analysis that sheds light on how reason influences moral judgments. Describe what is necessary for moral growth according to Kohlberg. Explain.

Every day we are faced with certain situations that challenge us with how to act in an ethical manner. It can be human nature to feel unsure or conflicted with the correct moral choice. Some can say that one should know how to handle such dilemmas and others may say that there should be a reference of some sort to help guide through such conflicts. Sometimes we know the answers and sometimes we are unsure of how to handle certain situations. Most times we go through life wondering what we should do. As I become further educated on the different theories of ethics, I believe there are answers that are available in guiding one through an ethical dilemma and or judgment. I will discuss Vincent Ruggiero’s three basic criteria, Robert Kegan’s order of consciousness, the three schools of ethics and the correlation between all three.

In his essay "Some Moral Minima," Lenn Goodman (2010) attempts to challenge moral relativism by arguing that certain acts contain "natural meanings," and subsequently that certain acts are inherently right or wrong, due to their natural moral meaning (p. 92). Goodman discusses a number of acts that he views as inherently wrong, including genocide, germ warfare, and rape, and purports to offer reasoned explanations for why these acts are wrong. However, upon examining Goodman's claims in detail, it becomes clear that he cannot offer any evidence for the existence of objective morality, and instead is reduced to mere assertions and the conflation of cultural evolutionary tendencies with existence of natural, objective meaning. In reality, objective moral meaning does not exist, quite simply because objective meaning in general does not exist; there is no meaning but what human beings have created as a result of biological and cultural evolution, and thus no act is inherently right or wrong. Instead, there are certain acts that have been defined as such through centuries of social conditioning and the gradual homogenization of subjective moral standards, or else utilitarian principles that prove effective for achieving a specific moral goal (that is itself subjective, and thus ultimately arbitrary).

Ayn Rand once said, “There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil.” In the society of today and of Ayn Rand’s novel, Atlas Shrugged, morality is the right and immorality is the wrong, but what is the evil then? The evil in both societies is the importance of money to the people and the people who step on others to climb the financial ladder. In Atlas Shrugged, one is introduced to many characters that are evil and support a corrupt government system; ; but perhaps the most obvious villain in the novel is James Taggart, president of Taggart Transcontinental Railroad.Taggart’s rival and foil character in Atlas Shrugged is Francisco d’Anconia, owner of d’Anconia Copper. Although both men have money, one is trying to monopolize his industry James Taggart, James Taggart, while the other is trying

Boston Prep’s approach to imparting moral character has roots in the school’s founding purpose. This purpose, though complex and multifaceted is clearly illustrated as the founder Scott McCue and his team devised a “more deliberate and more structured” (p.52) curriculum that focused on the development of scholastic principles as well as moralities. To my understanding, it is from this calculated, well-thought out effort of Boston Prep’s founding team that five virtues (courage, compassion, integrity, perseverance, and respect) were selected as a guide to aid these educators as they strived to “…insert [themselves] into the conversation [at a time when] young people are figuring out …the kind of ethical people they are going to become…” (p.52).

At eighteenth century, the cost of increasing development of capitalism is anomie: people chasing material life insanely even sacrifice others’ benefits. Because of this, Adam Smith, a successful philosopher and economist, released that the original morality principle was not suitable for that society anymore, and it needed to build another new theory system to suit the developing society. He wrote two masterpieces that proposed his ideas: The Theory of Moral Sentiments, which discusses the human development by analysing the human emotion, and The Wealth of Nations, which summarises the development of capitalism and it is also a foundation for today’s economy. This essay will analyse the self-interest, plays as a motivator role in morality and economy field, and benefits the development in that society. Moreover, will suggest some limitations of Smith’s idea.

While ethics theories often focus on justice, care, an "equally valid moral perspective," is usually disregarded because of male bias. The two perspectives are often pleasant-sounding, but a need for care point of view precedence exists. While truth is evident in both these statements, the problem of distinguishing between them becomes apparent soon after. Many feminist look to psychologist Carol Gilligan's research for evidence to confirm the difference between characteristically male and female approaches to moral decision making. Her research illustrated how men almost unfailingly focus on justice when making moral decisions and women use justice and care in equal proportions in their moral judgments. While men and women take different

Moral theories can help justify the decisions that are made. Each theory has separate viewpoints in which other theories borrow elements from. Moral theories attempt to explain what it is that makes some actions right and others wrong. These are then used as a guide to making choices. They operate at a more general level than moral or legal principles and rules. The four main groups that one should be aware of are: Utilitarian, Kantian, Aristotelian and Feminist.

It is widely known that some people possess personalities that have the natural ability to be more empathetic and caring towards others compared to other people. Unfortunately, the stereotype and generalizing of viewing women as automatically more empathetic than men is also prominent in today’s culture. This fundamental image of women and men possessing different views on morality is discussed with Carol Gilligan’s theory of “care ethics” which is more based on feministic views compared to Kohlberg’s “justice ethics” which focuses on the moral development of boys (Caputo, 2000).

It is essential to take Feminist ethics into consideration. Feminist ethics is providing a new approach to traditional ethics. Ethics have previously been formed around male-based assumptions. This new approach does not have to reject other forms of ethics but it can simply be a supplement. It will help aide different forms of ethics to make them less dehumanizing. We can allow feminist ethics to conform our moral framework while taking the insights of other forms of ethics into consideration but still acknowledging their shortcomings. Kantian ethics shows that reasoning is important and that we as humans should know what is right or wrong, but how one reasons and how decisions are made may vary in different situations. Kant leans more toward straight set rules that lead to a set of ethics that are too ridged. Utilitarianism is a form of ethics that thinks that the consequences are what matters, but can we really what those consequences will be. This is when feminist ethics will benefit traditional ethics as a supplement. It will help separate ethics from their male-based roots and will help make it equal for all individuals by showing interest in all activities, issues, values an moral experience for everyone and not just males or one certain group. Feminism is relatable and will show concern. Feminist ethics is taking a more caring approach to traditional forms of ethics and values relationships and