Kant argues that an action is moral only when the action is done for the sake of moral duty. And, we can learn which ‘maxims’ (rules) to follow by using the Categorical Imperative as the moral test. In today’s class, we will look at Care Ethics that strongly disagrees with Kant’s moral theory. Nel Noddings, a prominent Care Ethicist, inverts Kant’s theory by arguing that a particular experience, i.e. authentically caring for another, is the basis on which all our actions get their moral value. For Noddings, the moral test is whether our action is done as a way to authentically care for another. By the end of class, students will:
1. Be able to describe Nodding’s care ethics, some objections against this moral theory and Nodding’s replies to them.
2. Be able to compare and contrast Nodding’s phenomenological account of ‘caring’ with Mengzi’s thought experiment called The Child at the Well.
3. Understand how a Care Ethicist would respond to the moral dilemma that is described in “How Much Must I Give Up for My Schizophrenic Brother?”
Consider the following questions, write your responses in your journal, and talk about them with a friend:
1. What is involved when someone really cares for another person? What is it like to be really cared for?
2. How might there be appropriate limits to caring for another and being cared for by another?
3. How might Nodding’s Care Ethics help you to think through the moral dilemma that is raised in “How Much Must I Give Up for My Schizophrenic Brother?”