What is "ethics of care" moral theory?

 

The moral theory known as " the ethics of care" implies that there is moral significance in the fundamental elements of relationships and dependencies in human life.  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. Normatively, care ethics seeks to maintain relationships by contextualizing and promoting the well-being of care-givers and care-receivers in a network of social relations. Most often defined as a practice or virtue rather than a theory as such, "care" involves maintaining the world of, and meeting the needs of, ourself and others. It builds on the motivation to care for those who are dependent and vulnerable, and it is inspired by both memories of being cared for and the idealizations of self. Following in the sentimentalist tradition of moral theory, care ethics affirms the importance of caring motivation, emotion and the body in moral deliberation, as well as reasoning from particulars. One of the original works of care ethics was Milton Mayeroff's short book, On Caring, but the emergence of care ethics as a distinct moral theory is most often attributed to the works of psychologist Carol Gilligan and philosopher Nel Noddings in the mid-1980s. Both charged traditional moral approaches with male bias, and asserted the "voice of care" as a legitimate alternative to the "justice perspective" of liberal human rights theory. Annette Baier, Virginia Held, Eva Feder Kittay, Sara Ruddick, and Joan Tronto are some of the most influential among many subsequent contributors to care ethics.

Step-by-step explanation

One of the best examples of care ethics being used in modern times is in bioethics. Professions involved in medicine specifically deal with caring for others. As a result, care ethics has become a part of assessing both medical practices and policies. The most salient definition and framework of care to apply to the contexts of science and technology is that of Joan C. Tronto and her colleague Berenice Fisher. Tronto and Fisher suggest that caring be viewed as "a species activity that includes everything that we do to maintain, continue and repair our world so that we can live in it as well as possible.