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Psychologist Carol Gilligan revises revolutionary 'different voice' work to include 'human voice'

Back in the 1960s, it was commonly thought that men were more morally developed than women. Common belief said that males made decisions based on justice, whereas women made theirs based on emotions and sensitivity. Those qualities were not valued.

But psychologist Carol Gilligan raised her voice and said that women simply have different voices: equally valid, equally developed. She wrote about it in a seminal book called “In a Different Voice.” Her then-new theory caused a revolution.

Now, nearly half a century later, she has a new theory — women don’t have a different voice, but instead a human voice, which men must access as well. Her new book is called “In a Human Voice,” and she joins host Robin Young to talk about why this new way of viewing psychology is so important.

Book excerpt: ‘In a Human Voice’

By Carol Gilligan

Excerpted from “In a Human Vocie” with permission of the publisher, written by Carol Gilligan and published by Polity Books.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

The cover of "In a Human Voice" by Carol Gilligan. (Courtesy of Polity Books)
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The cover of "In a Human Voice" by Carol Gilligan. (Courtesy of Polity Books)