Question

There is an emphasis in American culture on developing a strong sense of autonomy and independence as we grow older. Although Erikson was keenly aware that there is a constant tension between independence and belonging, a theme running throughout his developmental theory is that in order to advance to higher stages of development we must achieve a stronger sense of independence, increasingly liberating ourselves from our dependence upon others. Is our focus in America on autonomy and independence an unmitigated good or are there other possibilities? Looking at moral reasoning in America, Carol Gilligan contends that the emphasis on autonomy and independence is based on a masculine ideal, whereas a focus on social relationships, empathy, and interconnectedness lies at the heart of the feminist perspective. In your written assignment please describe Gilligan’s case for gender bias in Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning. How does she justify her argument? How does her theory of moral reasoning relate to Erikson’s ideas about the relationship between autonomy and intimacy? Finally, in your own upbringing, were interdependence/empathy or independence/autonomy emphasized more? At what ages (be specific with at least one example)? Did the focus change as you grew older? Was it different in your family depending on your gender? What perspective would you try to emphasize with your own (perhaps hypothetical) children? Would it be different for different genders? This last set of questions is asking for your opinion about these issues in moral reasoning and there is not a correct answer, but you should engage the course readings in your responses.

Answer 1

According to Carol Galligan who proposed the theory of moral development for women stating that the moral development proposed by Kohlberg doesn’t hold any water for women because of the physical and social conditions. She argued that the male perspective is more towards Logical and individualistic while the female perspective is towards care and contextual. She even suggested to go for an androgyny integrating male and female values.
Autonomy depends on which country you live in because western world gives almost equal rights to women but in developing countries and Islamic countries women are still treated as child bearing machines. The term freedom in these countries is applicable only for men. In the western world, women have the same level of autonomy because of the societal changes and economic independency while it is missing in other parts of the world.
Intimacy is again another interesting topic because a male doesn’t need to worry about bearing a child after being intimate with a woman physically but for a woman, it’s going to affect their entire life. They have to change their career, life style etc. in order to bring the children up. Intimacy in terms of relationship again depends on which part of the world one lives in. Western countries have the same perspective about a relationship and intimacy between a woman and man but in other parts of the world, woman cannot be very expressive and show their emotions openly.
According to me, the society has got different perspective about man and woman and that definitely affects the moral development of the child. I’ll definitely treat my children equally but despite the fact that Carol Galligan’s proposed moral development theory for women, the fact that it again changes depending on the geographical and societal environment where one lives.