Explaining Ethics of Care – A High Schoolers Guide to Understanding Its Core Elements

Explaining Ethics of Care – A High Schoolers Guide to Understanding Its Core Elements

Ethics of care theory posits that the context can be prioritized over the global code and justice. The theory emphasizes human beings’ interconnectedness and obligates caregivers and patients to sustain a morally acceptable interaction. In addition, it highlights vulnerability and dependency, which contribute to the theory’s normative elements.  Carol Gilligan coined the term ethics of care, whose origin can be traced to the feminist theory. Gilligan defines care as a female virtue. However, this gendered definition remains controversial, especially regarding the application of care ethics (Okano, 2016).

Relational networks are critical in care ethics. As a moral agent, one is connected to specific people who could be affected by their actions. The most important aspect is meeting others and taking care of their needs and interests. A moral agent’s maturity is highlighted by their capability to care for others and themselves as well. According to empirical studies, the moral agent’s choices are determined by situations and relationships as opposed to abstract morality principles. Ethics of care highlight the harm that is likely to occur if care is absent (Nortvedt, Hem, & Skirbekk, 2011). Resolving issues as they arise is viewed as more important than dealing with dramatic dilemmas that build up over time.

Tronto developed a care ethics model that highlights four critical phases. These include need recognition, willingness to respond, direct action, and reaction to the process of care. These phases are governed by ethical responsibilities, namely, attentiveness, responsibility, competence, and responsiveness. Paul Ricoeur defines care as a part of people’s ethical duties that require one to be ‘with the other and for them’ (Maio, 2017). Based on Aristotle’s friendship concept, it is clear that care is dependent on reciprocation. This reciprocity is further elaborated, noting that the person receiving care is not the only beneficiary. Instead, the caregiver also experiences a change in the process through the expansion of their horizons, leading to self-identity.

To offer care efficiently, the care provider must distance themselves from their own person and venture into a foreign territory. This facilitates the ability to widen their perspective and point of vantage. Besides gaining self-identity, the caregiver also gains a higher level of self-esteem. Their interaction with the receiver allows them to look inwardly and value themselves more. Ricoeur emphasizes that care can only be accessed once a response to the demand or need is provided. This response is provided through kindness and consideration for others. Thus, care is completely dependent on others’ goodwill. Ricoeur summarizes care as a combination of goodwill, spontaneity, intentionality, and self-awareness (Maio, 2017).

Care ethics is guided by the situation at hand as opposed to reliance on moral principles. Instead of using generalizability, care ethics requires particularity. Such singularity allows caregivers to solve issues adequately. The specificity of a situation is further divided into three aspects, including an emphasis on the situation’s immediacy and uniqueness, recognizing the situation’s particularity, and the generation of creative solutions to resolve conflict as opposed to the application of rules (Maio, 2017).

Care ethics has been applied to numerous fields, including medicine, education, and counseling. However, Gilligan’s initial perspective that care is a feminist virtue has the potential to create a gender stereotype, which may oppress women eventually. Creating the perception that women are ideal caregivers may result in the gender offering care at their own loss. As it is, women are found in a majority of caregiving roles. Despite their overwhelming presence in these roles, society still fails to care for the caregivers or teach them the need to care for themselves as care ethics advocates (D’Olimpio, 2019). Thus, understanding care ethics from different philosophers’ perspectives provides a comprehensive elaboration of care.

References

D’Olimpio, L. (2019). Ethics Explainer: Ethics of Care. Retrieved from https://ethics.org.au/ethics-explainer-ethics-of-care/

Maio, G. (2017). Fundamentals of an Ethics of Care. In F. Krause, & J. Boldt, Care in Healthcare (pp. 51-63). London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Nortvedt, P., Hem, M. H., & Skirbekk, H. (2011). The ethics of care: Role obligations and moderate partiality in health care. Nursing Ethics, 18(2), 192-200.

Okano, Y. (2016). Why Has the Ethics of Care Become an Issue of Global Concern? International Journal of Japanese Sociology, (25), 85-99.

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The Dialectic
Identify a topic we have studied up to this point that you feel you have most fully understood.
In your own words (300 or more), explain your pet theory as if you were teaching a high schooler. Ensure to include the elements you think are the most fundamental to the theory.

Explaining Ethics of Care – A High Schoolers Guide to Understanding Its Core Elements

We’ve studied ethical theory, egoist ethics, consequentialist ethics,
deontological ethics, virtue ethics, ethics of care, right-based ethics, divine command theory, and applied ethics.