Ethics of Care as Moral Theory by Virginia Held

Ethics of Care as Moral Theory by Virginia Held

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“The Ethics of Care as Moral Theory” by Virginia Held

According to Virginia Held, ethics of care – a novel normative theory – could be an appropriate alternative to the known moral models, which have been found deficient in guiding human lives. Held agrees that the ethics of care has existed for only a few decades, but has been established as a distinct moral framework that can offer desired solutions to individuals’ problems. Its ability to address political and global issues and provide viable solutions to personal relationship challenges makes it a better alternative to exemplify care clearly. Held believes that his theoretical approach is better in dealing with ethical issues than other moral theories, including utilitarianism and Kantian ethics.

Virginia Held fundamentally describes what it means by ethics of care, its features, what it holds, and what it enables human beings to do. She discusses the theory’s feminist root and why she believes her approach could be a morality with worldwide appeal. She examines the meaning of “care” and depicts a picture of a caring individual. Unlike other moral theoretical approaches that prefer impartiality to all other things, the ethics of care demands, above all, the moral import of individuals’ ties to their groups and families. The theory examines such individual ties, mainly focusing on caring relations instead of people’s virtues. Held suggests how to achieve a fit-together-framework for such values as equality, individual rights, and justice with trust, care, solidarity, and mutual consideration.

Equally, Held examines and describes the ability of the ethics of care to deal with social issues. According to her, the theory is more promising than utilitarianism and Kantian theory for providing advice on market expansiveness and other values that should prevail. Finally, she demonstrates the promise of the ethics of care for dealing with universal challenges and seeing the outlines of intercontinental civility anew.

Reference

Held, V. (2005). The Ethics of Care as a Moral Theory. The Ethics of Care: Personal, Political, and Global, 9-28.