Ethics of Care

Disclaimer: Ehtics of Care in de grondverf.

Notes (September 7, 2020 )

Based on “Who cares (Joan C. Tronto, 10 januari 2015)”.
Definition of care: In the most general sense, care is a species activity that includes everything we do to maintain, continue, and repair our world so that we may live in it as well as possible. (Page 3) This corresponds to an acceptable way of living in relation with fellow citizens and environment.
Care is about meeting needs, and it is always relational. (Page 4) This corresponds with co-arising, that is, co-evolution through co-creation.
Four phases (Page 5):
1. Caring about: identifying caring needs;
2. Caring for: accepting responsibility;
3. Caregiving: taking care;
4. Care-receiving: evaluating care situations.

This is a never ending process akin to the social theory.

A democracy should be based on care. In short, a functioning democracy is full of people who are attentive, responsible, competent, and responsive. (Page 7)
Paradox: Democracy requires that people be equal, but mainly, care is about inequality. How can we think about turning something that is so unequal into something that is equal? (Page 13)
Principle 5: Caring with: a reciprocate activity. (Page 14)
- Additional notes (November 8, 2020):
  - Interaction: transactional versus EoC
  - Somehow, sometime, someone is given something in return, that is, eventually, you will be rewarded, not necessarily in a material way (goods, money), but also in the form of recognition and/or respect.
  - You will not be necessarily rewarded by the people that you supported.
  - There can be a large time gap between giving and being rewarded.

Definition of democracy: Democracy is the allocation of caring responsibilities and assuring that everyone can participate in those allocations as completely as possible. (Page 15)
Privileged irresponsibility (Page 29):
- I am not good at caring;
- I am busy working;
- I am taking care of my own family;
- Bootstraps worked for me, and will for you.

Networks of equals stimulate trust, as opposed to hierarchies. (Page 36)
Solidarity, as a social value, creates the conditions for caring among people and for greater responsiveness to democratic values. (Page 36)

Ethics of Care is based on the relational aspects of being human. Humans are social beings, that is, they are mutual dependent and co-evolve through co-creation. This corresponds with the WGTM principle.
It is also based on Mutual Understanding (MU). That is, to understand each other’s point of view, needs, etc. This leads to solidarity: awareness → trust → connectedness → caring with. Critical social theory is aimed at discerning underlying mechanism that sustain imbalances in power at the expense of oppressed groups. In a more modern context, critical social theory is geared toward finding the mechanisms that inhibit the development of individuals and groups. EMM/CSH leans to this theory so in a sense it is a normative methodology. However, it can be argued that only the mechanisms are exposed. Nothing more, nothing less. This is how a democracy is supposed to function. It is up to the stakeholders to discuss the findings and set directions for future developments.
Ethics of care pushes the adaptation of new cultural/social values (as opposed to neoliberalism-market view). As such, it is normative because it lays down the rules for an assessment framework. This corresponds with finding Shared Meaning (SM) in the context of an Ethics of Care – based philosophy.

Dit is een beveiligde pagina.