ABSTRACT
In 1976 Constance Holstein published the results of a longitudinal study that was to have far-reaching implications. Holstein appeared to discover a gender bias in the Kohlberg scoring rules. Kohlberg's description of the moral ideal reflects the themes of separation, autonomy, and independence, but these themes are bound up with masculine sensibilities and devolve from male socialization experiences. Feelings of empathy, caring, benevolence, the attitude of sympathy, deepen our commitment to justice. Moral deliberation about justice is necessarily consensus-seeking with an emphasis on dialogue and prescriptive role-taking. The debate between Gilligan and Kohlberg is one part of a more general debate in ethics concerning the fundamental nature of moral functioning. The moral voice identified by Gilligan is thought to represent a corrective to the impartialist, Kantian tendencies evident in Kohlberg's theory. Gilligan's other moral voice is a useful reminder that some aspects of our moral life are poorly described by impartialist conceptions of universal justice.
