Moral Voices, Moral Selves: Carol Gilligan and Feminist Moral Theory

In her landmark 1982 study In a Different Voice, Carol Gilligan argues that there is not only one, true moral voice, but two: one masculine, one feminine. Moral values and concerns associated with a feminine outlook are relational rather than autonomous; they depend upon interaction with others. Susan J. Hekman argues that the approach to morality suggested by Gilligan's work marks a radically new departure in moral thinking.

In a far-reaching examination and critique of Gilligan's theory, H...