Ethics of care is one of the normative ethical theories, and examines the things that make actions perceived to be wrong or right. Developed in the second part of the 20th century by feminists, its emphasis is about the importance of a person's response to various things. Instead of considering what is just and fair, the person is asked to consider how to respond. There are generally universal standards as to how to respond to specific statements, acts, and situations. However, this is considered by those who follow ethics of care to be a morally problematic statement. The reason behind this is that it attempts to make every person and situation the same. It breeds indifference and blindness to the true person and situation, which implies a lack of caring. That lack of care is highly significant, because one has to care about themselves and others in order to work from a moral standpoint. If there is no caring, there is no compassion and no moral focus.
Care is important for moral theory because individuals are interdependent when it comes to seeing that their specific interests get achieved. Gilligan, Ruddick, and Held all did significant work in the area of care and moral theory, and all claimed that care was very important. The reason behind this is that, in addition to the interdependence among individuals, there is also a level of vulnerability that comes with choices. These choices can be more of a concern to some people than they are to others, making some people more vulnerable than others. In order to care properly and morally, the individuals who are particularly vulnerable to the choices of others have to be handled differently than those who are less vulnerable. This should be based on the level at which they are vulnerable to the choices of others, and the level to which they will be affected by those choices, which requires an analysis of the specific situation instead of a determination that every situation is the same.
Having theories about moral values or moral reasoning is important, and also expected for most of society. However, these theories have to consider that people and situations are all very different. It is not realistic to make an assumption about a person or a situation based on what has been seen with another person or situation. Even if these are perceived to be...
Instead of making assumptions that are blanket statements, a person who cares about others will focus on the details and context of the situation. By doing that, he or she promotes the specific interests of the people involved and also helps to safeguard those interest. By protecting the interests, the overall situation and the people involved in it are also protected. This can lead to a much better resolution of the issue as opposed to something that may be a blanket-style belief designed to cover everything and everyone. Realizing the differences is a much better choice.
This realization of the differences is also much more realistic, because caring means one pays attention to the situation and the people in it, instead of just taking his or her information from past experiences and applying it to present and future experiences. However, it is important to understand what is meant by "care" in this context. Caring as it is meant here does not have anything to do with the type of caring that is seen between loved ones like family members. This is a more universal caring about people as a whole, and about humanity as a group. One does not have to personally care about or even know the people in the situation to care about them ethically. The ethics of care is very different, for example, from the justice view of morality. When a person views morality in terms of justice, people should be expected to get what they "deserve." However, there may be circumstances surrounding a particular person or situation that would change what they "deserve" to receive.
By using the ethics of care, it becomes clear that compassion and empathy for specific people and situations is very significant, and that justice may not actually prevail when the letter of the law is always followed. Looking more at intent and choose what is "right" or "wrong" based on situational findings and context can greatly affect the outcome of any type of situation for one or more people. There have been critics of the ethics of care, though, including some women who feel that the "good woman" stereotype is being perpetuated through it. However, there are also many women and men who believe that this form…
