Lesson 8

Feminism and the Ethics of Care

What is This Lesson About?

Lesson 6 is on Feminism and the Ethics of Care.

What Will You Learn

In this lesson, you are expected to have:

Acquired clear understanding about Feminism and Ethics of Care.

Let Us TRY This

Brain and Heart Drill No.1

 Think and share an instance in your life caring for ONESELF and caring for OTHERS made a great impact on you.
What did you feel? What realizations and moral lessons did you get out of that CARING EXPERIENCE?

We are taught to be kind and caring to others from a young age. Whether it is due to our religious beliefs or simply human nature, we all
want to reach out and help someone in need. Most, if not all, of my family members are genuinely caring individuals who would drop
everything to assist someone in need. I, too, have followed in those tender-hearted footsteps, but after some life lessons, I've realized
that some people will take advantage of someone who puts others before themselves. Too many times, I've been burned by people I
never imagined would do such a thing. The majority of people can say the same thing about themselves and
can describe several occurrences of that happening. This past year, in particular, has been a very eventful year for me. It has taught
me many lessons and the most valuable one I will hold on to is “being nice isn’t always the best”. Finding a balance between being
nice and making sure one does not get taken advantage may seem difficult at first, but it will keep one from going through the trials
with a close friend that I have.

Brain and Heart Drill No.2

TASK 2: You need to refer to at least 1 educational link/reference that would talk about Feminist Ethics of Care.
Take note of the important ideas or insights you learned from the educational links. Write them down on MY NOTES so
you will not forget them.

Title of the Video/Reference: Feminist Ethics Link/Source/Reference:Feminist Ethics

MY NOTES

• The approach is known as "ethics of caring," as opposed to the more traditional male-oriented "ethics of
justice."

• Women continue to provide the overwhelming amount of unpaid care in the home, including childrearing and
household responsibilities.

Task 3: After viewing or referring to the video/link, complete the ff: phrases:
I think that: Women are extremely sensitive and constantly consider the feelings of others while extending a helping hand
since we, women, put ourselves in the shoes of others to better comprehend what they are going through.
I feel that: People should stop seeing women as weak when it comes to problem solving just because they use their
emotions the majority of the time.
. I have to: be mindful of how gender influences our moral views and actions

PLEASE READ, UNDERTSAND AND TRY TO REFLECT ON THE LESSON EXCERPT

THAT I HAVE SHARED…GODBLESS AND GOODLUCK!

Lesson Excerpt

Perez, Priscilita P. No part of this module may be reproduced or transmitted in any forms or means without written permission from the author.
Ethics of care, also called care ethics, feminist philosophical perspective that uses a relational and context-bound approach toward
morality and decision making. The term ethics of care refers to ideas concerning both the nature of morality and normative ethical theory. The
ethics of care perspective stands in stark contrast to ethical theories that rely on principles to highlight moral actions—such as Kantian
deontology, utilitarianism, and justice theory—and is not meant to be absolute and incontrovertible.

American philosopher Nel Noddings provided one of the first comprehensive theories of care and argued that caring is the
foundation of morality. She saw relationships as ontologically basic to humanity, where identity is defined by the set of relationships
individuals have with other humans. In suggesting that caring is a universal human attribute, Noddings asserted that a caring relation (a
relationship in which people act in a caring manner) is ethically basic to humans. Since the impulse to care is universal, caring ethics is freed
from the charge of moral relativism to the same degree as is virtue ethics.

American philosopher Nel Noddings provided one of the first comprehensive theories of care and argued that caring is the
foundation of morality. She saw relationships as ontologically basic to humanity, where identity is defined by the set of relationships
individuals have with other humans. In suggesting that caring is a universal human attribute, Noddings asserted that a caring relation (a
relationship in which people act in a caring manner) is ethically basic to humans. Since the impulse to care is universal, caring ethics is freed
from the charge of moral relativism to the same degree as is virtue ethics.

Within the ethics of care, the one-caring receives the cared-for without evaluation. However, in deciding how to respond, the one-caring
works in what Noddings called a “problem-solving” mode in order to keep in mind the particular relationship and context and to avoid slipping
into the abstract, impartial, impersonal reasoning of the deontologist, the utilitarian, or the justice theorist. Ultimately, there is a defining
imperative to act that is a critical function of what it means to care.

These ideals apply to both natural caring, which is caring borne of inclination and love for those close to the one-caring, and ethical
caring, which is the feeling response of “I must” to a person’s predicament. Ethical caring is a natural outgrowth of natural caring, but, unlike
Kant’s ranking of duty as primary and inclination as secondary, in the ethics of care the inclination to care is primary. Even with regard to
those with whom one has no caring relationship—complete strangers—memories of natural caring arise, generating a feeling of “I must do
something.” This impulse is obligatory in anyone who
aspires to the this sense of self as a moral, caring person. However, within the ethics of care, to the stranger is limited. Two criteria must be
obligation met for such a duty to have
force: (1) the relationship with the other person must exist (or have the potential to exist),
and (2) the relationship must have the potential to grow into a mutually caring relationship. One does
Perez, Priscilita P. No part of this module may be reproduced or transmitted in any forms or means without written permission from the author.
not have either the capacity or the duty to care for everyone. However, one does hold an obligation to be prepared to care at all times for
particular others—for “the proximate stranger.”

There are three levels of a caring morality: the self is cared for to the exclusion of the other, the other is cared for to the exclusion of the self,
and moral maturity, wherein the needs of both self and other are understood. While stopping short of equating this ethics with virtue ethics,
some authors have suggested that this portrayal sounds very much like the description of an Aristotelian virtue. Not opposed to a legitimate
place for emotion in ethical discourse, Aristotle outlined the importance of feeling at the proper times and for good reasons. He saw the virtues
of a moral person as the mean between the extremes of excessive and deficient behaviour. Applying this depiction to caring, the virtue would be
caring (understanding the needs of self and other), the vice of excess might be codependence (caring for others to the exclusion of self), and the
vice of deficiency might be selfishness (caring for self to the exclusion of others).

Although it was not necessary that feminine moral theory be aligned with the ethics of care, it so happens that those writing in the feminine
tradition have come to associate care and responsibility to others with a female-gendered approach to ethics and individual rights and justice
with a male-gendered approach to ethics. Feminist philosophers have argued that the deontological, utilitarian, and justice moral theories are
grounded in the masculine experience. More specifically, those theories are seen to emerge in concert with the traditionally masculine forum of
economic activity. Within that perspective, the values of competition and domination are seen to undergird both the activities of the marketplace
and the rational moral theories. Philosophers such as American feminist Virginia Held have argued for adopting more compassionate bases for
human interaction(s).

Feminist moral theory has tended to mirror the differing gender experiences of women and men, particularly as those affect the development of
understanding with respect to the ways the ethical life is conducted. However, it has been noted that “feminist” moral theory is not “feminine”
moral theory, as feminist perspectives are not fully determined by gendered points of view. Nevertheless, the suggestion that gender matters,
particularly as gender relates to one’s ethical predispositions, calls into question the inherent “objectivity” of ethical theories, which are
advanced in part because of their universal merit and application. Feminine moral theory thereby deals a blow to the exclusively rational
systems of thought, which have as their grounding an inherent disregard for the inherently personal—and sometimes gender-biased—nature of
knowledge construction.

Ref: https://www.britannica.com/topic/ethics-of-care
Perez, Priscilita P. No part of this module may be reproduced or transmitted in any forms or means without written permission from the author.
PLEASE READ THE MATERIALS ON PAGES 5-10.

Ethics of Care
Ethics of care is a feminist approach to ethics. It challenges traditional moral theories as male centric and problematic to the extent they omit or
downplay values and virtues usually culturally associated with women or with roles that are often cast as ‘feminine’.

The best example of this may be seen in how ethics of care differs from two dominant normative moral theories of the 18thand 19thcentury.
The first is deontology, best associated with Immanuel Kant. And the second utilitarianism, attributed to Jeremy Bentham and improved
upon by John Stuart Mill.

They each require the moral agent to be unemotional. Moral decision making is thus expected to be rational and logical, with a focus on
universal, objective rules. In contrast, ethics of care defends some emotions, such as care or compassion, as moral.

On this view, there is not a dichotomy between reason and the emotions – as some emotions may be reasonable and morally appropriate in
guiding good decisions or actions. Feminist ethics also recognises that rules must be applied in a context, and real life moral decision making is
influenced by the relationships we have with those around us.

Instead of asking the moral decision maker to be unbiased, the caring moral agent will consider that one’s duty may be greater to those they
have particular bonds with, or to others who are powerless rather than powerful.

In a Different Voice

Traditional proponents of feminist care ethics include 20 thcentury theorists Carol Gilligan (b. 1936) and Nel Noddings (b. 1929). Gilligan’s
influential 1982 book, In a Different Voice, claimed that Sigmund Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis and Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of moral
development were biased and male oriented.

On these dominant psychological accounts of human development, male development is taken as standard, and female development is often
judged as inferior in various ways.

Gilligan argued if women are ‘more emotional’ than men, and pay more attention to relationships rather than rules, this is not a sign of their
being less ethical, but, rather, of different values, that are equally valuable. While Gilligan may have deemed these

Perez, Priscilita P. No part of this module may be reproduced or transmitted in any forms or means without written permission from the author.
differences to be ‘natural’ and associated with sex rather than gender, these differences may well have been socially constructed and therefore
the result of ‘nurture’.

How might the ethics of care theorist resolve the classical ‘Heinz’ dilemma: should a moral agent steal the required medicine he cannot afford to
buy to give to his very sick wife, or stick to the rule ‘do not steal’, regardless of the circumstances? A tricky dilemma to be sure as there are
competing duties here (namely, a positive duty to help those in need as well as a negative duty to avoid stealing).

Arguably, the caring person would place the relationship with one’s spouse above any relationship they may or may not have with the
pharmacist, and care or compassion or love would outweigh a rule (or a law) in this case, leading to the conclusion that the right thing to do is to
steal the medicine.

Note: the utilitarian may also claim a moral agent should steal the medicine because saving the wife’s life is a better outcome than whatever
negative consequences may result from stealing. However, the reasoning that leads to this conclusion is based on unemotional weighing of costs
and benefits, rather than a consideration of the relationships involved and asking what love might demand.

Writing at the same time as Gilligan, Noddings also defended care as a particular form of moral relationship. She sees children as naturally
caring (with the exception of sociopaths and psychopaths) and claims this is a prerequisite for ethical caring. While Noddings does not rule men
out from being caring, it is usually women who feature in her examples of caregivers. Noddings, like Gilligan, prioritises relationships that are
between specific individuals in a particular context as the basis for ethical behaviour. This stands in contrast to the idea that morality involves
following a universal, abstract moral rule.

Who cares?

Ethics of care has been influential in areas such as education, counselling, nursing and medicine. Yet there have also been feminist criticisms.
Some worry that linking women to the trait of caring maintains a sexist stereotype and encourages women to continue to nurture others, to their
own detriment, and even while society fails to value carers as they ought. While Noddings claims moral agents also need to care for
themselves, this is so they are better able to continue caring for others.

Obviously, it is not only women who care or who take on caregiving roles (paid or unpaid). Yet empathetic professions such as nursing,
teaching, childcare, and counselling are female dominated, and women still do the majority of unpaid caring roles including childrearing and
domestic duties in the home.

So let’s hear it for the carers, and support policies that seek fair remuneration, equal respect and value for those in caregiving roles.
Perez, Priscilita P. No part of this module may be reproduced or transmitted in any forms or means without written permission from the author.
Feminism and the Ethics of Care
Introduction

Dissatisfaction with the (over-) emphasis on autonomy and rights, claimed to be male
individualistic values, has prompted alternatives that rather put emphasis on care and connectivity,
claimed to be feminine values. Feminism is difficult to define since it has evolved in waves with different
focuses and even antipodal positions. Nevertheless, emphasis on care as a core value is present in all
trends of feminism. Feminism is arguably often thought of as the assertion that all women are oppressed
in the sense of having no choices. Therefore, they need to free themselves from oppression and strive to
make their own choices.

Amongst other things, feminism is about upsetting gender codes and stereotypes in order to
liberate women from prescribed roles. Feminism is an approach to social life politics and ethics that
commits itself to correcting biases which lead to the subordination of women. It should be said from the
outset that there is no univocal definition of feminism. Although there are common concerns, each
consecutive wave of feminism has had different focuses, not to mention internal disagreements on
specific stances. Sexism, understood as male oppression, is ranked together with ‘classism’ and ‘racism’
as undesirable and to be uprooted. ‘Patriarchalism’, as opposed to feminism, can be traced far back from
times immemorial.

In contrast, in the Western world, the first feminine expression of equality originated in the 19th century. This was the first wave. Although there
is some dispute surrounding the numbering of the subsequent waves of feminism, the first wave was followed by a second in the 1970s and a third in the
1990s. In essence, all three waves have focused on gender, gender roles and activities. Between them and within each wave, each of these issues has
been regarded differently. Discussion Civic maternalism
– First wave feminism In A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792), Mary Wollstonecraft was the first female author to challenge the assumption of
feminine inferiority In The Subjection of Women (1861), Scottish utilitarian philosopher John Stuart Mill brought the idea of women’s suffrage to the
British electors in 1865.

The first wave of feminism, between the 1870s and the 1920s, began with civic reforms aimed at women obtaining the right to vote and at
becoming fully-fledged citizens. The so-called suffragettes celebrated maternal identity, traditional female values and women’s specific nurturing qualities.
Women, they argued, have special concerns for their children’s quality of life. Scottish eugenicist Marie Stopes (1880–1950) campaigned for women’s
rights; she opened the first “birth control” clinic in England. Margaret Sanger (1879–1966) founded the American Birth Control League that became the
Planned Parenthood in 1921. Progressively quality of life issues extended to care and concern for the environment and future generations. In this regard,
it is noteworthy that American water chemist Ellen Swallow Richards, the first female instructor at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is
credited with founding the science of ecology (from the Greek oikos, home, house, household) in the 1870s.

Perez, Priscilita P. No part of this module may be reproduced or transmitted in any forms or means without written permission from the author.
It is clear that the feminist agenda has included the issues of identity, gender roles and feminine
qualities from the outset. Feminine care for others and for nature was seen as a specific and essential female quality and virtue. The political agenda
centred on equal suffrage rights and equal salary rights for equal qualifications and jobs. Its “civic maternalism” aimed at integrating feminine private
sphere values into public politics and at acquiring the civil rights and liberties hitherto reserved for men. With the following waves of feminism, the focus
has shifted back and forth. Female anti-essentialists rejected female essentialism, the celebration of a distinctive femaleness together with its maternalistic
rhetoric. Ecomaternalism, the battle against the male-produced environmental crisis, was replaced by ecofeminism as an alternative to male-dominated
politics. Academic feminism was forced to somehow yield to grass root female activism.

Sisterhood and ecomaternalism – Second wave feminism In The Second Sex (1949) French philosopher and writer Simone de Beauvoir argued that
women are regarded as “wombs”. A woman’s life is defined by the dictates of her “biological fate”. De Beauvoir insisted that women need be no more
connected with their body than men are. In The Dialectic of Sex Shulamith Firestone echoed her view. She argued that artificial reproduction would allow
women to overcome the oppressed social position that is a direct consequence of their biology. Later on, however, reproductive technology came under
fire because of the dangers of using it as a new way to exploit and dominate women.

In the 1970s second wave feminism discourse and activism was informed by explicitly feminist analyses of patriarchy and female subordination.
The goal was to offer an alternative to the male dominated politics of the time. Women, so they argued, have a unique connection to nature, a natura l
moral goodness and a propensity to care. The urge to “mother” is an integral part of feminine gender identity. Women focus on quality of life issues for
their children and future generations. These issues include concern for the environment. For all these reasons, women are claimed to offer a better role
model for society than men. In Le temps de l’écofeminisme Françoise d’Eaubonne argued that male dominance has led to the environmental crisis.
Because of their biologically based knowledge and their natural protective instincts, the specific feminine power is the best bet to curb the crisis. In other
words, second wave feminism celebrated a distinctive femaleness that was later dubbed female essentialism and also ecomaternalism. This is because the
trend was going against de Beauvoir’s advocacy of disconnecting womanhood from its “biological fate”, and the need to project private sphere values into
public politics in order for women to become fullyfledged citizens.

Second wave feminist theorising and activism were informed by a unique feminine analysis of
women’s subordination and offered a socio-economic alternative that aimed also at promoting
selfcontrol over reproductive rights and health. This has often been seen as abstract, exclusionary and
confrontational. In Adrienne Rich’s words, it became “white solipsism of feminism”.

Carol Gilligan offered a more inclusionary option. In a Different Voice Gilligan argued that women hold a different set of moral values from men.
Women’s moral decision making is based on “caring” instead of the male “rights and justice” approach to moral dilemmas. Men tend to believe that moral
problems arise from competing rights to be judged and adjudicated through reason. Women, on the other hand, are more concerned with care than with
rights. Conflict resolution should be arrived at through contextual and inductive thinking. Gilligan insisted that female and male morality differ and that
both are necessary and complementary.
Perez, Priscilita P. No part of this module may be reproduced or transmitted in any forms or means without written permission from the author.
 Some feminists went beyond Gilligan’s “different voice” claiming that female moral decision making is based on care rather than rights and justice.
In contrast with Gilligan, the so-called maternalists claimed that the woman’s voice is not only different but also better and superior to men. A non-violent
society, so they argued, can only be built on responsibility and interdependence instead of on rights and autonomy. One of the trends of second wave
feminism not only promoted but also insisted on the gender gap. This, as Antoinette Fouque argues, is counterproductive. She writes: “Feminists are a
bourgeois avant-garde that maintains, in an inverted form, the dominant values…Since these women are becoming men, in the end it will mean a few
more men.”

Identity politics and ecofeminism – Third wave feminism In the early 1990s, several feminists
expressed dissatisfaction with maternalist approaches to care and to environmental concerns that
maintain the stereotypes of feminine identities and practices. They suggested that woman’s specificity
and capacity to care selflessly open the door widely to abuse of that caring. For instance, Patricia
Jagentowicz Mills wrote: “Feminists must remain committed first and foremost to a woman’s right not to
reproduce, not to mother”. To view pregnancy as merely natural maintains patriarchal gender division
and oppression. Therefore, she claims, citizenship ought to be reconfigured into an embodied notion
including the private sphere into the public one.

Identity politics has been on the agenda of feminism since the outset of the movement. How it
should be conceived and put into practice as mothers or as women has changed with times. With
ecofeminism, identity politics has taken centre stage. Broadly, ecofeminism was a reaction against elite
and academic forms of feminism. It spans from grass-root community activism of non-elite women
practising “womanist politics” to democratic and political ecofeminism.

Grass root activists, called “re/sisters” because they put life before freedom, underscore women’s special understanding of environmental
degradation. This is because they and their children are closest to natural resources and their degradation (that affects their children’s quality of life and
future generations). It is also because women perform a disproportionate amount of subsistence work in the developing world. For all these reasons and
because of women’s way of knowing and experiences of reproduction, they are the foundation for a new and more authentic approach to the
environment. A classic example was the “tree-embracing movement” of Chipko, India, to save the local forest from commercial logging. Women embraced
trees much as they would protect an endangered child. Grass- root activism intended to counter a perceived hierarchy in which academics, the majority of
whom are located in “first world” universities, speak for and define feminism. On the other hand, it is argued that grassroot activism is too parochial for it
tends to end when the local problem has been addressed and solved.

Democratic and political ecofeminism is, as defined by Susan Hekman, “taking one’s identity as a political point of departure, a motivation for
action, and a delineation of one’s politics”. In other words, the female status must be used as the base for political engagement. This means that the realm
of the environment must reach beyond the narrow concept of conservation. It must expand into the realm of environmental justice that includes social,
political, economic and built environment. In this perspective, postmodern feminism and ecofeminism seek to deconstruct the category “woman” and to
deny that there are essential natures (male/female) at all. This means that to be a woman is not to represent a set of attributes (e.g. motherhood, care)
but rather to be in a position from which a feminist politics can arise.
 Ethics of Care
Perez, Priscilita P. No part of this module may be reproduced or transmitted in any forms or means without written permission from the author.
Whatever the feminist wave, care is a core femininist value. What do we mean by care, and is care a virtue for health care professionals? Care,
writes Curzer, may mean “to take care of, to care for, or to be interested in someone or something”.12-13 In Curzer’s view, the ethics of care is no more
than a sort of situation ethics as promoted by Joseph Fletcher. Instead of following general ethical rules (for example, respect for autonomy), one does
what the “loving” thing is to do in the given circumstances. In Fletcher’s own words, “The plain fact is that love is an imperious law unto itself. It will not
share its power. It will not share its authority with any other laws”.

In this perspective, rules are mere rules of thumb, suggestive but not binding. Against Fletcher’s
rejection of “legalism” (i.e. to act according to rules and principles) in favour of antinomianism (i.e.
rejection of rules), Childress argues that some principles and rules are plausibly considered absolute in
ordinary morality. What if lying, for instance, is what love requires? Who and how is the “loving” thing to
do determined?

Curzer makes a similar attack on the ethics of care by arguing that it is an incomplete ethical theory. Since the care ethics perspective is that the
individual is a nexus of relationships, it favours personal links at the expense of the stranger. It favours special obligations to next of kin, neglects
obligations to others, and ignores justice. Rather than being a caring person, Curzer promotes benevolence, the disposition to perform caring acts. Along
the same lines, Carse argues that the
/emotional involvement that is constitutive of an ethics of care applied to the physician-patient relationship may lead to paternalism, deception,
favouritism, futility, and burnout. He stresses that the concept of care requires an account of the virtues that constitute a caring person. He argues that
the ethics of care should lead to moral judgements rooted in Aristotelian virtue and Humean sympathy as our basic capacity.

Conclusion
Even feminists themselves have argued that feminism perpetuates the gender gap. In the context of male/female differences, Gilligan insists on
the complementarity and necessity of both “voices”. Along the same lines, third wave feminism, or ecofeminism, seeks legitimately to provide women the
opportunity to use their feminity as a base for political engagement. In the physician-patient relationship, “male” legalism runs the risk of being a “bad
doctor”. On the other hand, exclusive focus on being a “caring doctor” runs the risk of excessive emotional involvement in a specific patient at the expense
of objectivity and justice. In The Nicomachean Ethics (1106b 18–23), Aristotle wrote, virtue is to “have the right feelings at the right times on the right
grounds towards the right people for the right motive and in the right way”. In this perspective, the disposition to perform caring acts overcomes the
weakness of an ethics of care that focuses solely on special obligations.
Ref: Feminism and the Ethics of Care https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/20786204.2009.10873822
Brain and Heart Drill No. 3
 What beautiful insights relative to Feminist Ethics of Care have you learned? In what particular life instances would you
apply these?

Perez, Priscilita P. No part of this module may be reproduced or transmitted in any forms or means without written permission from the author.
I've learned that before designing an inclusive general agreement view based on women's differing perspectives, I must first hear them. Making an
attempt at this and working toward gender equality with men. In real-life situations, I might apply my feminist ethics of care by always considering
my emotions and logic and refusing to let people invalidate my conclusions simply because I'm a woman.
Brain and Drill No. 4

Create your own creative ADVOCACY POSTER (with yourself as the model) that is relevant to our topic on Feminist
Ethics of Care. Paste it here then explain briefly below your explanation to it.

My Advocacy Poster On Feminist Ethics of Care

Perez, Priscilita P. No part of this module may be reproduced or transmitted in any forms or means without written permission from the
author.

What May Advocacy Poster Means ….

Men and women deal with problems in various ways. having the right feelings at the right
time, on the right basis, for the right people, for the right cause, and in the right direction Gender
should not be used to dictate how a person should behave in certain situations.

End of Lesson 8

PROF. PRISCILITA “NANNY” PENETRANTE PEREZ

Endendendendendendendendendendendendendendendendend

Live Out the Beauty of Ethics…Always remember, it’s your VOICE FROM WITHIN…
Thank you so much for being with me in this self-learning journey…Your
PRAYERS, DISCIPLINE, PERSEVERANCE AND HARD WORK WILL ALWAYS SEE
YOU THROUGH….

Ethics will never sign off in our LIVES…All the best!

Ma’am Nanny

Perez, Priscilita P. No part of this module may be reproduced or transmitted in any forms or means without written permission from the
author.
Perez, Priscilita P. No part of this module may be reproduced or transmitted in any forms or means without written permission from the
author.