345-BMA Cultural Perspectives (Part 2) Feminism & Ethics of Care PDF Fall 2023

CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES (Part 2): FEMINISM & THE ETHICS OF CARE ETHICS for Science Programs 345-BMA Michel Jacques Gagné 3. Feminist Ethics “Feminist Ethics is an attempt to revise, reformulate, or rethink traditional ethics to the extent it depreciates or devalues...

CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES (Part 2): FEMINISM & THE ETHICS OF CARE ETHICS for Science Programs 345-BMA Michel Jacques Gagné 3. Feminist Ethics “Feminist Ethics is an attempt to revise, reformulate, or rethink traditional ethics to the extent it depreciates or devalues women’s moral experience.” - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy According to Feminist scholar Alison Jaggar (“Feminist Ethics”, 1992): a. Ethical theories have been largely devised by men. b. Traditional ethics assumes a false division between private and public spheres. c. Women have often been depicted as ethically less mature than men (e.g.: more emotional, less impartial…). d. “Male” values often presented as superior to “female” values (e.g.: Courage vs. Gentleness) e. Universal rules presented as superior to personal and situational duties. i. The feminist movement is usually divided into three historical “waves”: 1. Late 18th – Early 20th century: The pursuit of equality under the law. (e.g.: voting rights, property rights, abolition of slavery, etc.) 2. 1950s – 1980s: The pursuit of the liberation of women as an exploited class in economic, political, and domestic spheres. 3. 1990s-present day(?): The pursuit of equitable treatment in the workplace, and emancipation from traditional roles and “patriarchal” culture. ii. The three “waves” also represent three competing feminist ethical systems: 1. Liberal feminist theory: Morality is universal. Women are entitled to the same education and rights as men. The focus is on the legal status of the woman as an individual. Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) “The most perfect education, in my opinion, is such an exercise of the understanding as is best calculated to strengthen the body and form the heart. Or, in other words, to enable the individual to attain such habits of virtue as will render it independent. In fact, it is a farce to call any being virtuous whose virtues do not result from the exercise of its own reason. This was Rousseau’s opinion respecting men: I extend it to women.” Mary Wollstonecraft – A Vindication of the Rights of Women 2. Marxist feminist theory: Male-dominated political and economic systems that exploit women and minorities must be overturned. In the field of morality, women are a distinct-but-equal class, alienated from their own humanity by male-dominated institutions and ideology. Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) “Being banished to the ghetto of domesticity and the division of labour along male/female, private/public lines is precisely what women should be rejecting if they want to realize their full value as human beings. […] The family ghetto must be destroyed!” “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” Simone de Beauvoir—“The Second Sex, Thirty Years on” 3. Feminist Care Ethics: There is a distinctly female experience and “voice” that challenges traditional male- centered moral systems. Feminine ethics of care emphasizes the importance of relationships of interdependence in determining what makes up a person’s moral duties: - Attending to the needs of those who depend on us - Respect and Value the emotional experiences of others - Seek situation-specific solutions, not universal rights/duties - Do not make strict distinction between private and public - See the person as part of a system, not an autonomous mind “Caring, empathy, feeling with others, being sensitive to each other’s feelings, all may be better guides to what morality requires in actual contexts than may abstract rules of reason, or rational calculations.” - Virginia Held (1929-?) 3.1 Carol Gilligan (1936- ?) Gilligan’s theory arose in opposition to fellow education psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg, who argued that: A. There are six stages of moral development in children and teens: 1. Desire for rewards & fear of punishments 2. Egoistic/Relativistic reciprocity 3. Contextual norms of “good” and “bad” behaviour to secure admiration, acceptance, and a clear conscience. 4. Social order & respect for established laws 5. Avoidance of harm / seeking general harmony 6. Universal ethical principles B. Women rarely climb past stage 3, while men routinely mature past stage 4 and higher. Click here to view Carol Gilligan Interview on Big Think Gilligan proposed that women have a distinct and better-balanced moral compass that harmonizes personal and collective needs, and favors relational responsibilities over general duties and universal norms: There are three stages of “Feminine” ethical development: 1. Pursuit of self-interest 2. Altruistic pursuit of the interests of others 3. Pursuit of common interests 3.2 Nel Noddings (1929-2022) further developed this system by arguing that: A. Most human relationships are formed between unequal and interdependent persons. (i.e.: Impartial reciprocity is a myth). B. Proximity, intensity, and nature of the relationship between “cared-for” and “one-caring” will determine the ethical duties of the caregiver. (see diagram on next slide)  Family & Self Friends Community Society Rest of World