Final answer:
Carol Gilligan based her arguments on evidence from psychological studies, challenging Lawrence Kohlberg's male-centric moral development theory by proposing that men and women use different perspectives, justice and care respectively, in their moral reasoning.
Step-by-step explanation:
Carol Gilligan based her arguments upon the evidence from psychological studies that highlighted differences in moral development between genders. Contrasting with her former mentor Lawrence Kohlberg's theory which was based on research conducted solely on male subjects, Gilligan conducted her own studies and found that males and females often have different approaches to morality. She observed that males tend to have a justice perspective, emphasizing rules and laws, while females often have a care and responsibility perspective, taking into account the reasons behind behavior and the importance of interpersonal relationships.
Gilligan criticized Kohlberg's work for assuming that the justice perspective was superior, instead suggesting that neither male nor female perspectives were "better," but served different purposes in society. While some criticisms have been levied against Gilligan's work, particularly regarding its sample size and inability to be replicated in subsequent studies, her contributions to the field of ethics, particularly in emphasizing the role of gender in moral development, are noteworthy. Gilligan's work has led to the development of care ethics as a distinct philosophical approach to understanding moral reasoning and development.