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The theories of Normative Ethics in this course have so far been driven by articulating universal and impartial moral principles. They are universal insofar at they apply to all people everywhere; they are impartial insofar as they do not allow special treatment to any particular individuals. Such principles may have their appeal, though they also seem in stark contrast to our lived experiences. That is, our lives involve a myriad of different relationships, each of which seems to generate its own special responsibilities on you. One approach to ethics that attempts to accomodate such particularity and partiality is the Ethics of Care, which is the subject of this module.

This module has four learning outcomes. When you finish it, you will be able to…

1. Describe the basic elements of an Ethics of Care,
2. Compare and contrast the stages of moral development proposed by Lawrence Kohlberg with those from Carol Gilligan,
3. Summarize Jean Grimshaw’s argument against there being a particularly “female” or “feminine” form of ethics, and
4. Reflect on whether your own special responsibilities to the people in your life can be integrated with more universal concerns for justice and impartiality.

Read This:

The Idea of a Female Ethic

Feminism and the Ethics of Care

Context

In the 1970s and 80s, feminist writers began to question the basic assumptions behind many traditional ethical theories. In particular, they challenged the idea that ethics consists solely in adherence to general rules and principles. In contrast to that, these writers pointed to an Ethics of Care that centers on the moral importance of relationships, emotion, and responsiveness to the needs of others.

In her article, British philosopher Jean Grimshaw (1941–2017) provides a considered analysis of the importance and limits of considering the Ethics of Care as a particularly “female” or “feminine” form of ethics. The chapter from James Rachels and Stuart Rachels provides further analysis on this type of moral theory.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to find much information about Grimshaw online, except for this obituary.

Reading Questions

As you read, keep these questions in mind:

1. According to Jean Grimshaw, what does it mean to say that ethics “is in some way gendered” (1991, p. 491)?
2. What is the “essentialist” (Grimshaw, 1991, p. 492) position on this matter and why do many feminists reject it? What is the “second sort of approach to the idea of a ‘female ethic’” (1991, p. 493) presented by Grimshaw?
3. What does it mean to say that “ethical priorities will emerge from life experience” (Grimshaw, 1991, p. 495) and how might this lead to a female ethic?
4. Grimshaw, James Rachels, and Stuart Rachels all discuss Lawrence Kohlberg’s experiments on moral development along with the response from Carol Gilligan. What were these experiments? What results does Kohlberg conclude from them? How is Gilligan’s analysis different? How do Gilligan’s insights seem to support the idea of an “Ethics of Care”?
5. What problems do Grimshaw and Rachels and Rachels see in a female ethic or an ethics of care? What benefits does they see?

Although I strongly suggest that you write out brief answers to these questions, you do not have to turn in written responses. You do, however, need to be prepared to answer questions like these on module quizzes and the unit exams.

References

Grimshaw, J. (1991). The idea of a female ethic. In P. Singer (Ed.), A companion to ethics (pp. 491–499). Blackwell.

Rachels, J., & Rachels, S. (2018). Feminism and the ethics of care. In The elements of moral philosophy (9th ed., pp. 156–168). McGraw-Hill.

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