Ethics of Care

The term ethics of care refers to ideas concerning both the nature of morality and normative ethical theory. Over the past two decades or more, a discussion has arisen regarding these ideas. The caring perspective is distinctive in that it uses a relational and contextbound approach toward morality and decision making. In doing so, this perspective stands in stark contrast to ethical theories that rely on principles to highlight moral actions—such as Kantian deontology, utilitarianism, and justice theory. Importantly, such principles are meant to be absolute and incontrovertible.

Nel Noddings has provided one of the first comprehensive theories of care. Arguing that caring is the foundation of morality, she sees the dyadic relationship as ontologically basic to our very humanity. Identity is defined by the set of relationships individuals have with other humans, and as such without relationships we would not be human. In suggesting that caring is a universal human attribute, caring relation (a relationship in which people act in a caring manner) is seen to be ethically basic to humans. Since the impulse to care (in a specific way) is universal, caring ethics is freed from the charge of moral relativism to the same degree as is virtue theory.

The particularity of relations is fundamental to the ethics of care. Each relation consists of at least two people, the one-caring and the cared-for. Such a relation can certainly be more than merely dyadic as the one-caring and the cared-for come to exhibit reciprocal commitment to each other's well-being. However, what is distinctive in all such relations is that the one-caring acts in response to a perceived need on the part of the cared-for. The act is motivated by an apprehension of the cared-for's reality, a receiving of the cared-for into the one-caring such that the one-caring feels and senses what the cared-for is experiencing. The one-caring responds to the well-being of the cared-for by initiating a commitment to help the cared-for. Authentic care provides the motivation for such assistance. This does not mean that the one-caring does exactly what the [Page 803]cared-for desires in all situations. Rather, the onecaring considers the cared-for's point of view, assessment of need, and expectations of the one-caring in formulating a response that provides the best opportunity for helping the cared-for. This response might be irrational, since caring involves the commitment to do something, however remote the possibilities of success, to improve the cared-for's condition. In the ideal situation, however, the reason(s) the one-caring gives for his or her actions would be sufficient to convince a disinterested observer that he or she indeed acted in a way to promote the cared-for's well-being. Caring thus involves sentiment but is not necessarily emotional in nature.

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 Nel Noddings calls a “problem-solving” mode—keeping in mind the particular relationship and context 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.

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