Feminist Ethics

HISTORY OF SEXISM IN ETHICS

  • Traditional views include:

    • Aristotle: males are superior; females are inferior.

    • St. Thomas Aquinas: women are defective.

    • Immanuel Kant: women's learning diminishes their inherent qualities.

A DIFFERENT VOICE

  • Traditional ethics emphasizes justice, rationality, individualism, and impartiality.

    • These views often justify gender inequalities.

  • Carol Gilligan critiques this focus, highlighting the moral differences between genders without suggesting inferiority of women.

    • Women are importantly different from men when it comes to moral reasoning, but these differences don’t mean there is a moral deficiency or inferiority

    • Traits most often used by women in ethical reasoning → emotional > rational

      • are traditionally and unjustifiably undervalued in ethics.

KOHLBERG ON MORAL DEVELOPMENT

  • Stages of Moral Development:

    1. Obeying authority to avoid punishment.

    2. Satisfying personal desires through fair exchanges.

    3. Fulfilling social role duties.

    4. Obeying laws and promoting group welfare.

    5. Upholding societal rights and values.

    6. Following universal moral principles.

KOHLBERG’S STUDY: HEINZ’S DILEMMA

  • Analyzed responses to whether Heinz should steal a life-saving drug.

  • Differences in boys and girls' reasoning revealed gendered perspectives in moral development

    • Amy's focus on interpersonal relationships contrasts with Jake’s abstract reasoning.

  • This distinction questions assumptions about the superiority of principle-based ethics over care-based ethics. → Kolhberg concludes that boys develop at a faster rate than girls in terms of moral reasoning

GILLIGAN’S CRITIQUE

  • Traditional ethics prioritize justice and impartiality over care and relationships.

  • Feminine experiences, such as motherhood and socio-economic issues, are often overlooked in moral discourse.

BAIER ON TRADITIONAL ETHICS VS. ETHICS OF CARE

  • Traditional ethics' individualism is unrealistic; it ignores interdependence and inequality.

  • Emotionality is undervalued; moral behavior requires emotional understanding and training.

PROBLEMS WITH GILLIGAN

  • Issues regarding reliance on gender differences in moral reasoning.

  • Questions about the implications of women's moral conditions in ethics.

CENTRAL CLAIMS OF FEMINIST CARE ETHICS

  • Women are moral equals to men.

  • Women's experiences are crucial for understanding morality.

  • Feminine moral traits (empathy, compassion) are important and often superior in moral conflict resolution.

THE NATURE OF ETHICS OF CARE

  • Caring and empathy may offer better moral guidance than rational rules, emphasizing situational context in morality.