Carol Gilligan

“While an ethic of justice proceeds from the premise of equality—that everyone should be treated the same—an ethic of care rests on the premise of nonviolence—that no one should be hurt.”

“An ethics of justice focuses on questions of fairness, equality, and individual rights, while an ethic of care focuses on relationships, responsibilities, and the prevention of harm.”

“Illuminating life as a web of connections rather than a hierarchy of relationships, the ethic of care suggests a different way of seeing.”

“The activities of care—listening, attending, responding with respect—are moral practices.”

“The essence of the moral decision is the exercise of choice and the willingness to accept responsibility for that choice.”

“Patriarchy creates a dynamic in which boys are hurt, and girls are silenced.”

“Attachment and separation are complementary processes in the life cycle.”

“Voice is a powerful metaphor for the connection between self and relationship, and for the capacity for human expression.”

“The moral problem arises from conflicting responsibilities rather than from competing rights and requires for its resolution a mode of thinking that is contextual and narrative rather than formal and abstract.”

“Women's development hinges on the ability to speak what is on their minds.”

“This shift in moral perspective is manifest by a change in the moral language. The moral language of rights is replaced by the moral language of responsibility.”

“Justice is the infrastructure of democracy; love is its poetry.”

“The quality of relationship is the primary predictor of human health and happiness.”

“The discovery now being celebrated by men is that we have a relational self.”