On Noddings'' Care Ethics

• Main Authors: CHIH-HWA SHIH, 石致華
• Other Authors: Shui-Chuen Lee
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/96839526487509588494

博士 === 國立中央大學 === 哲學研究所 === 99 === In this dissertation I explore how Noddings employ the notion of moral sentiment in her construction of care ethics. Noddings holds that relation is the basis of human existence, and caring relation is the basis of morality. In the caring relation, there are the one-caring and the cared-for. The characteristics of the one-caring are receptive attention, empathy, motivational displacement, commitment, and reciprocity. The characteristics of the cared-for are receiving and recognizing caring. Morality as an active virtue requires two feelings--- the sentiments of natural caring and of ethical caring. For Noddings, natural caring is a kind of effortless act for the relief of the suffering and needs of the other. Ethical caring is a recall of the sweet memory of being cared and help to make good when natural caring failed. It needs ethical effort. Ethical caring succeeds by means of ethical ideal and a sense of obligation. Noddings applies her care ethics to education and social policies, and .many other issues. The major contribution of Noddings’ care ethics is her use of women’s experiences to build an ethical theory and expand it towards a universal ethics. This represents the flourishing of women’s consciousness and a second wave of the movement of culture in the west Feminism. It also contributes to moral education and life education. Care ethics emphasizes moral practice in concrete situation. With the two kinds of moral sentiments, care ethics builds, maintains and enhances caring relation. These are ground-breaking for traditional ethics. In her early theory, Noddings did not deal with the issue of justice. So I introduce Virginia Held’s theory of care and justice to make up the insufficient part of Noddings’ theory. Held argues that justice is needed in the contexts of care and care is needed in the contexts of justice. We need to combine the two in a satisfactory ethics. Anyhow, care must be given priority, we should carry out justice in the atmosphere of care. But I think Held only applies care and justice to different sectors of social affairs, and did not give a real integration of care and justice. So the problem of care and justice is not resolved satisfactorily. Another make up is from Michael Slote’s empathy care ethics. He use the idea of empathy to refine the philosophical foundation of care ethics. He argues that empathy could connect care with justice, care ethics with deontology, across genders, across private and public domains. Slote is ambitious in unifying different thing in moral theory. Noddings holds that receptive attention is more radical and important then empathy. She criticizes Slote putting too much in empathy and neglecting other meanings of care. Slote trys to show that a care-approach makes sense across the whole range of normative moral and political issues. Noddings said this would be a mistake. For it is impossible to have all aspects of moral life explained by one comprehensive theory. I think Slote’s empathy care ethics is merely “empathy ethics”, he lost sight of the whole meaning of caring, and never talked about relation and the target of care ethics---to build, maintain, and enhance caring relation. His care ethics is so different from others. At the end of this dissertation, I did some comparative study between care ethics and Confucianism. I point out there are four aspects of similarities. They are: (1)The meaning of care and of Jen(仁) are resemble. (2) They all emphasis the importance of practice. (3) Confucian love with gradation is resemble to the concentric circles of caring. (4) They all start from family to a humanity or caring society. There are five aspects of difference between them : (1) Confucianism takes “heaven”(天) as a transcendental concept, and have a important position in moral theory. Noddings reject transcendental, abstract ideas in her theory. Care ethics is concrete and practical. (2) They are different in the source of morality. (3) Confucianism has 2000 years history with heavy burdens, such as oppression of women and patriarchy. Care ethics is so modern and without historical burden. It fights against oppression of women and patriarchy. (4) Confucianism takes the principles of Jen(仁), Yi(義), Li(禮), Zhi(智), as the guiding principles. Noddings rejects principles. (5) Confucianism takes person as a moral agent while Noddings takes person as a relational self. According to this comparison, I think it may lead to a Confucian care ethics.