Feminism Nel Noddings Ethics and Feeling Hume ethics

Feminism Nel Noddings

Ethics and Feeling Ü Hume: ethics depends on feeling Ü Is doesn’t imply ought Ü How do we get from is to ought? Feeling. Ü Feeling alone can motivate us to act.

Natural Caring Ü A feeling necessary to ethical action is natural caring Ü Sometimes, we act on behalf of someone because we want to Ü Example: mother caring for her child

Ethical Caring Ü Ethical caring isn’t itself natural Ü But it springs from memory of natural caring Ü “I must, but I don’t want to”—overcome by memory of natural caring, but recalling feeling of our own best moments Ü Ethical caring springs from two sentiments—natural caring and the memory of it

Ethical Ideal Ü “Our best picture of ourselves caring and being cared for” Ü Both constrained and attainable Ü Fully relational, built up in response to others

Commitment Ü “I must”—I might reject it Ü Temptation: “I must” to “something must be done” Ü Then I do not care Ü Caring requires me to respond with an act of commitment

Comparison with Kant Ü Kant: there is one and only one unqualified good, a good will Ü But what is a good will? Ü Kant: (1) one that decides on the basis of universal considerations; (2) one that treats others with respect Ü Noddings defends another, common sense answer: (3) one that cares.

Consequences Ü Like Kant, this implies that consequences are not ethically important Ü What matters isn’t how well things turn out Ü So, what does matter? Ü What I considered Ü How fully I received the other Ü Whether my caring helped the other pursue projects

Source Ü What’s the source of the initial “I must”? Ü It is immediate, and arises directly— like infant crying in the night Ü The source is natural