What is the moral of feminism? Feminist ethicists believe there is an obligation for women’s differing points of view to be heard and then to fashion an inclusive consensus view from them. To attempt to achieve this and to push towards gender equality with men together is the goal of feminist ethics.
Full Answer
What is feminist moral psychology?
Feminist moral psychology deals with what feminists, in particular, have contributed to the field of moral psychology, or the ways in which their approach to these issues is motivated by feminist concerns, especially in connection to understanding and attempting to end women’s oppression.
What is feminist ethics in ethics?
Feminist Ethics. Feminist Ethics aims “to understand, criticize, and correct” how gender operates within our moral beliefs and practices (Lindemann 2005, 11) and our methodological approaches to ethical theory.
What is the Feminist Morality of motherhood?
Feminist Morality makes a vital contribution to the ongoing debate in feminist theory on the importance of motherhood. For philosophers and other readers outside feminist theory, it offers a feminist moral and social critique in clear and accessible terms.
Is the ethic of care a feminist moral theory?
Although the ethic of care is still in a fairly developmental stage, defended more fully in a 2006 book by Virginia Held, it has been criticized by some feminists as being merely a feminine, but not a feminist, moral theory.
What are the main ideas of feminist ethics?
Feminist Ethics aims “to understand, criticize, and correct” how gender operates within our moral beliefs and practices (Lindemann 2005, 11) and our methodological approaches to ethical theory.
What is an example of feminist ethics?
For example, the source of a mother's moral obligation to her infant is not the rights of the dependent person as a person, but rather the relationship that exists between the one in need and the one who is situated to meet the need.
What is the importance of feminist ethics?
A feminist ethic, which paid attention to these different identities and perspectives, became centrally important to taking women's lives and experiences seriously, and central to eliminating oppression of women, sexual minorities, and other oppressed groups.
What is the difference between feminist ethics and feminine ethics?
“Feminine” refers to a search for women's unique voice and advocates for an ethic of care. “Feminist” refers to an argument against male domination and advocates for equal rights. Both approaches seek to validate women's moral experiences, to understand women's oppression, and to eliminate gender inequality.
What are four characteristics of feminist ethics?
Four central themes that demonstrate both the breadth and depth of feminist ethical engagement are oppression, vulnerability and dependency, relationality, and the nonideal. Each of these themes responds to criticism of standard concepts and approaches in mainstream ethical theory.
What are feminist values?
It begins by establishing a link between feminine gender and feminist values, which include cooperation, respect, caring, nurturance, intercon- nection, justice, equity, honesty, sensitivity, perceptiveness, intuition, altruism, fair- ness, morality, and commitment.
What is the attitude of feminist ethics toward moral principles?
Feminists ethics is not a moral theory so much as an alternative way of looking at the concepts and concerns of the moral life. It's an approach focused on women's interests and experiences and devoted to supporting the moral equality of women and men.
What is feminist ethics essay?
Feminist Ethics Final Essay Feminist ethics addresses issues and aspects from traditional western ethics that devalues their female moral experiences by promoting male domination in society.
Who created feminist theory?
Mary WollstonecraftAlthough writings that could be characterized as “feminist” or embodying the perspectives and experiences of women have appeared throughout time, the history of Western feminist theory usually begins with the works of Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797), one of the first feminist writers in the liberal tradition.
What is the feminist theory in philosophy?
Feminist philosophy is philosophy that is aimed at understanding and challenging the oppression of women. Feminist philosophy examines issues that are traditionally found in practical ethics and political philosophy, metaphysics, epistemology and philosophy of language.
What is the feminism theory?
Feminist theory considers the lived experience of any person/people, not just women, with an emphasis on oppression. While there may not be a consensus on where feminist theory fits as a theory or paradigm, disruption of oppression is a core tenant of feminist work.
What is the feminist model of ethical decision making?
This approach involves a practitioner reflecting on their values and beliefs, in culmination with gender, race, class, and sexual/affectional preferences, and is mindful of how these factors also inform the opinions of all people involved in different ways.
What is feminist care ethics?
A feminist ethic of care is an ethic of resistance to the injustices inherent in patriarchy (the association of care and caring with women rather than with humans, the feminization of care work, the rendering of care as subsidiary to justice—a matter of special obligations or interpersonal relationships).
What is feminist ethics quizlet?
feminist ethics. an alternative way of looking at the concepts and concerns of the moral life; an approach focused on women's interests and experiences and devoted to supporting the moral equality of women and men.
What is the feminist model of ethical decision making?
This approach involves a practitioner reflecting on their values and beliefs, in culmination with gender, race, class, and sexual/affectional preferences, and is mindful of how these factors also inform the opinions of all people involved in different ways.
What is an example of ethics of care?
Now let's say that an acquaintance tells you she just had a messy break-up with her boyfriend. You don't know her very well. However, you believe that 'showing you care' is the best response, so you give her a hug. This is an example of ethical caring.
Why is feminist ethics not limited to gendered issues?
Feminist ethics is not limited to gendered issues because the insights of feminist ethics are often applicable to analyses of moral experiences that share features with gendered issues or that reflect the intersection of gender with other bases of oppression.
What were the Forerunners of Feminist Ethics?
1.1 Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Forerunners of Feminist Ethics. In the seventeenth century, some public intellectuals published treatises arguing that women were as rational as men and should be afforded the education that would allow them to develop their moral character.
What were the moral issues of women in the nineteenth century?
The resistance of enslaved women and the political activism of their descendants, the anti-slavery organizations of women in Europe and North America, the attention to inequity in women’s access to income, property, sexual freedom, full citizenship, and enfranchisement , and the rise of Marxist and Socialist theories contributed to women’s participation in arguments for the reductions of militarism, unfettered capitalism, domestic violence and the related abuse of drugs and alcohol, among other concerns.
What is gender binarism?
Gender binarism, which is the view that there are only two genders—male and female— and that everyone is only one of them (Dea 2016a, 108), is assumed by most feminist ethicists in the 1970s and 1980s (Jaggar 1974; Daly 1979). Some of these feminists criticize male supremacy without thereby preferring female supremacy (Frye 1983; Card 1986; Hoagland 1988). They argue that although the categories of “men” and “women” are physiologically distinct, the potential of feminism to liberate both men and women from oppressive gendered social arrangements suggests that men and women do not have different moralities or separate realities, and that we do not need to articulate separate capacities for ethics (Jaggar 1974; Davion 1998).
What was Mary Wollstonecraft's view on women's rights?
A century later, Mary Wollstonecraft, in her Vindication of the Rights of Women ( [1792] 1988), renewed attention to girls’ lack of access to education. Criticizing the philosophical assumptions underpinning practices that denied girls adequate education, Wollstonecraft articulated an Enlightenment ideal of the social and moral rights of women as the equal of men. Wollstonecraft also broadened her critique of social structures to encompass ethical theory, especially in resistance to the arguments of influential men that women’s virtues are different from men’s and appropriate to perceived feminine duties. Wollstonecraft asserted: “I here throw down my gauntlet, and deny the existence of sexual virtues,” adding that “women, I allow, may have different duties to fulfil; but they are human duties, and the principles that should regulate the discharge of them … must be the same” (51). The revolutions of the Enlightenment age motivated some men as well as women to reconsider inequities in education at a time when notions of universal human rights were gaining prominence. As Joan Landes observes, Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicolas de Caritat, Marquis de Condorcet was an extraordinary advocate for the rights of women in France during the same period who argued in 1790 for “the admission of women to the rights of citizenship” and “woman's equal humanity on the grounds of reason and justice” (Landes 2016). Like many theorists of their time and places, including Catherine Macaulay (Tomaselli 2016), Olympe de Gouges, and Madame de Staël (Landes 2016), Wollstonecraft and Condorcet granted that there were material differences between the sexes, but advanced moral arguments against ethical double-standards on the basis of universal humanism. Yet the notion of universal humanism tended to prioritize virtues traditionally seen as masculine. Wollstonecraft, for example, argued against perceptions that women lacked men’s capacities for morality, but praised rationality and “masculinity” as preconditions for morality (Tong 1993, 44).
What is the nineteenth century feminism?
Offering the first occurrence of the term feminisme (Offen 1988), the nineteenth century is characterized by a plurality of approaches to protofeminist ethics, that is, ethical theorizing that anticipated and created the groundwork for modern feminist concepts.
When did feminist ethics start?
Feminist ethics as an academic area of study in the field of philosophy dates to the 1970s, when philosophical journals started more frequently publishing articles specifically concerned with feminism and sexism (Korsmeyer 1973; Rosenthal 1973; Jaggar 1974), and after curricular programs of Women’s Studies began to be established in some universities (Young 1977; Tuana 2011). Readers interested in themes evident in the fifty years of feminist ethics in philosophy will find this discussion in section (2) below, “Themes in Feminist Ethics.”
What is feminist morality?
Feminist Morality makes a vital contribution to the ongoing debate in feminist theory on the importance of motherhood. For philosophers and other readers outside feminist theory, it offers a feminist moral and social critique in clear and accessible terms. 1.
How is feminism changing the way women and men think, feel, and act?
How is feminism changing the way women and men think, feel, and act? Virginia Held explores how feminist theory is changing contemporary views of moral choice. She proposes a comprehensive philosophy of feminist ethics, arguing persuasively for reconceptualizations of the self; of relations between … Read More
What are feminist transformations?
1. The Feminist Transformation of Consciousness and Culture. 2. Feminist Moral Inquiry: Method and Prospects. 3. Transformations of Moral Concepts. 4. Moral Theory from a Feminist Perspective. 5.
What is Virginia Held's philosophy?
Virginia Held explores how feminist theory is changing contemporary views of moral choice. She proposes a comprehensive philosophy of feminist ethics, arguing persuasively for reconceptualizations of the self; of relations between the self and others; and of images of birth and death, nurturing and violence.
What is feminist ethics?
Feminist ethics is an approach to ethics that builds on the belief that traditionally ethical theorizing has undervalued and/or underappreciated women 's moral experience, which is largely male-dominated, and it therefore chooses to reimagine ethics through a holistic feminist approach to transform it.
Why is feminist ethics important?
Feminist ethicists believe there is an obligation for women's differing points of view to be heard and then to fashion an inclusive consensus view from them. To attempt to achieve this and to push towards gender equality with men together is the goal of feminist ethics. The fixing of these issues are important in modern times because of the shifting view points as well as what has considered to be 'ethical' in terms of treatment and how women, in particular, women's bodies should be treated.
Why is gender important in peacekeeping?
Peacebuilding operations must shift the focus from solely disarming and cessation of hostilities against gang members to social constructions of violence against women, men, and children that is embedded in societies broken apart by conflict. Gender issues have not been part of mandates of peacekeeping missions and urges women to take a more active role in political processes in post-conflict reconstruction. Applying Feminist ethics in peacekeeping and re-building strategies can reach a wider range of issues as well as deemed not of dire importance in dialogues of International Relations. Current strategies are not reaching target goals of generating peace and cessation of gender violence and sexual abuses that continue to reach high levels in incidences. This remains a residue of post-conflict societies that must be addressed. Implementing feminist ethics generates greater peacekeeping and peacebuilding strategies for gendered strategies to meet the needs of both genders so as to be implemented into not only the institutions but society.
What is universal set of ethics?
A universal set of ethics is a significant part of feminist justice ethics but depending on the geographical location, such as the difference between the Global North and Global South, may differ in how justice is applied and may change what is considered justice.
What are feminist philosophers' views on ethics?
Feminist philosophers critique traditional ethics as pre-eminently focusing on men's perspective with little regard for women's viewpoints. Caring and the moral issues of private life and family responsibilities were traditionally regarded as trivial matters. Generally, women are portrayed as ethically immature and shallow in comparison to men.
What are feminist care-focused ethicists?
Feminist care-focused ethicists note the tendencies of patriarchal societies not to appreciate the value and benefits of women's ways of loving, thinking, working and writing and tend to view females as subordinate.
When was feminist ethics first developed?
Feminist ethics developed from Mary Wollstonecraft 's ' Vindication of the Rights of Women ' published in 1792. With the new ideas from the Enlightenment, individual feminists being able to travel more than ever before, generating more opportunities for the exchange of ideas and advancement of women's rights.
What is universalistic ethics?
A universalistic ethics presupposes equality among individuals. This lends it a
Is feminism without morality inconceivable?
this light, feminism without morality is inconceivable. Like every other social
What is feminist moral theory?
Feminist Moral Theory (FMT) not a particular moral theory (as we have defined �moral theory�) the attempt to expose what feminists regard as certain shortcomings in traditional moral theories (e.g., utilitarianism, Kant�s moral theory) and to suggest corrections.
Which theory neglects the regions of experience that have been central to women's moral experience?
traditional moral theories neglect �the regions of experiencethat have been central to women's moral experience" (p. 92)
Is mother-child relationship a good model of social trust?
The mother-child relationship may be a better model for �social trust� than the individualistic, contractual relationships that are emphasized by traditional moral theories.
Is caring part of men's moral experience?
The caring that is part of (most) mothers� relationships with their children is not part of (most) men�s moral experience and therefore is not given adequate recognition in traditional moral#N#theories (which have been developed mainly by men).
What is feminist ethics?
Feminist ethics is a new concept aimed at redefining and redesigning conventional and traditional experiences associated with women’s moral experiences from medieval times. Feminist ethics is therefore development and a new concept developed to remedy the inadequacies created by traditional western ethics which have consistently overlooked female contributions to society. Such sentiments are supported by Alison Jaggar, a feminist philosopher (cited in Christine 2), who faults traditional western ethical ideals because of several reasons.
What is the main motivation for feminist ethics?
This study also acknowledges the input of proponents of the fact that feminist ethics is motivated by power and subordination as the primary motivators to feminist ethics, but comprehensively, we observe that social (as opposed to political) intrigues is the main factor leading to women oppression and this is what feminist ethics essentially focuses on. This point of view is practically applicable today in the fight for gender equality in most functional areas of our society (including gender representation in political, social, and economic positions).
What is Gilligan's assertion about feminist ethics?
Gilligan’s assertion exposed a different field of philosophical research about feminist ethics that had not been previously researched before. Many researchers have also identified the research studies to be intrinsically positive but comprehensively, it is assumed that his point of view gives a new perception to the role historical oppression may have played in care ethics (Christine 6). Tronto explains this concept by stating that “whatever psychological dimensions there might be to explain women’s moral differences, there may also be a social cause: women’s different moral expression may be a function of their subordinate or tentative social position” (6).
What are the issues of mothering and care?
The feminist ethics concept revolves around matters of care and feminine virtues (more especially nurturing and compassion) as opposed to issues to do with power and subordination (in comparison to male counterparts). More importantly, even though many critics of feminist ethics tend to perpetuate the view that feminist ethics inclines more towards power and subordination, Christine (3) notes that feminist ethics is particular to experiences that are uniquely female such as pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing. These issues have nothing to do with power or subordination.
Why is feminist ethics flawed?
This concept is flawed because as noted above, feminist perspectives are also cognizant of the ethics of care.
Why is mothering and caring important in feminist ethics?
The feminist ethic was therefore developed from the standpoint that women should not be subordinated to the roles of nurturing, mothering, and care because this is a false ideology that seeks to limit their chances or opportunities of competing with their male counterparts in the political world.
What is the historical context of feminist ethics?
The historical context of feminism in which perspectives about feminism and feminist ethics are developed can be all equated to the traditional political theory standpoint. This means that the tradition of western political thought is essentially characteristic of the historical view of feminism.
What is feminist theory?
Feminist theory is a major branch within sociology that shifts its assumptions, analytic lens, and topical focus away from the male viewpoint and experience toward that of women. In doing so, feminist theory shines a light on social problems, trends, and issues that are otherwise overlooked or misidentified by the historically dominant male ...
What is the focus of feminist theorists?
Some feminist theorists focus specifically on how masculinity is developed through socialization, and how its development interacts with the process of developing femininity in girls.
What do radical feminists believe?
Radical feminists argue that being a woman is a positive thing in and of itself, but that this is not acknowledged in patriarchal societies where women are oppressed. They identify physical violence as being at the base of patriarchy, but they think that patriarchy can be defeated if women recognize their own value and strength, establish a sisterhood of trust with other women, confront oppression critically, and form female-based separatist networks in the private and public spheres. 8
What makes feminist theory creative and inclusive?
Part of what makes feminist theory creative and inclusive is that it often considers how systems of power and oppression interact, which is to say it does not just focus on gendered power and oppression, but on how this might intersect with systemic racism, a hierarchical class system, sexuality, nationality, and (dis)ability, among other things.
What are feminist theories of gender inequality?
Feminist theories that focus on gender inequality recognize that women's location in and experience of social situations are not only different but also unequal to men's.
What are the areas of focus of feminist theory?
Key areas of focus within feminist theory include: discrimination and exclusion on the basis of sex and gender. objectification. structural and economic inequality. power and oppression. gender roles and stereotypes.
How does structural oppression of women manifest in society?
One way structural oppression of women, specifically the economic kind, manifests in society is in the gender wage gap, which shows that men routinely earn more for the same work than women.
Moral Motivation
Deformed Desires
- One kind of motivation that has received and continues to receive afair bit of attention from feminists is what they call “deformeddesires,” “adaptive preferences,” or“repressive satisfactions.” Deformed desires aresignificant for issues such as autonomy, agency, and responsibility(see Section 3). John Stuart Mill was perhaps the first philosopher to acknowledge theconcept of desi…
Responsibility
- 3.1 Responsibility of Oppressors for Oppression
Responsibility for a group’s oppression seems to be distinctfrom responsibility for other immoral acts that individuals perform.One reason is that oppression is a difficult concept for many tograsp, partly because it can take subtle forms, partly because it isin many ways “normalized” such that … - 3.2 Taking Another’s Perspective
Another contribution feminists have made to the issue ofresponsibility is the notion of taking another’s perspective.Naomi Zack identifies the problem with racists, which, I believe, canbe applied to sexists, as being that a racist “lacks basic moralor ethical impulses to identify with oth…
The Psychology of The Oppressor
- While there has been some feminist writing to date on the psychologyof the oppressor, Robin Dillon calls for much more work in this area(Dillon 2012). In particular, Dillon urges that feminists develop whatshe calls “critical character theory,” a way of theorizingcharacter from a feminist perspective (85). Such a theory recognizesthat domination and subordination operate not just a…
Conclusion
- The topics in feminist moral psychology are motivated by the feministaim to end women’s oppression. Although what unites allfeminists is that they share this aim, as we have seen, feministsdiffer in their views on how best to accomplish this aim.Specifically, regarding topics in moral psychology, feminists differin their views on the following: the...
Gender Binarism, Essentialism, and Separatism
- Gender binarism, which is the view that there are only twogenders—male and female—and that everyone is only one ofthem (Dea 2016a, 108), is assumed by most feminist ethicists in the1970s and 1980s (Jaggar 1974; Daly 1979). Some of these feministscriticize male supremacy without thereby preferring female supremacy(Frye 1983; Card 1986; Hoagland 1988). They argue that al…
Ethic of Care as A Feminine Or Gendered Approach to Morality
- Jaggar argues against separatism or separate gendered realities,noting that there is no reason “to believe in a sexual polaritywhich transcends the physiological distinction” (Jaggar 1974,283). The work of psychologist Carol Gilligan therefore has greatinfluence on philosophers interested in just such evidence forsubstantial sex differences in moral reasoning, despite the fact thatGilligan her…
Intersectionality
- One way that some philosophers offer to resolve the possible tensionbetween conceptions of femininity and feminism is to bringintersectional approaches to the question as to whose femininity isbeing discussed. Concerns that femininity is antithetical to acritical feminist perspective seem to presuppose a conception offemininity as passive, gentle, obedient, emotional, and dependent, in…
Feminist Criticisms and Expansions of Traditional Moral Theories
- If there is a commonality between all of the above feminist ethicists,it is their interest in provoking reconsideration of ethical theoriesthat failed either to notice or to care when the perspective of thephilosopher so criticized was taken for either a generic truth aboutmoral theory or a gender-specific and false description of humannature. Elen...
Overview
Feminist ethics is an approach to ethics that builds on the belief that traditionally ethical theorizing has undervalued and/or underappreciated women's moral experience, which is largely male-dominated, and it therefore chooses to reimagine ethics through a holistic feminist approach to transform it.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
The American writer and sociologist Charlotte Perkins Gilman imagined a fictional "Herland". In this male-free society, women produce their daughters through parthenogenesis and live a superior morality. This women-centered society valued both industriousness and motherhood while discouraged individualistic competitive approaches to life. Gilman thought that in such a scenario women could relate cooperatively as there would be no requirement to dominate each other. He…
Concept
Feminist philosophers critique traditional ethics as pre-eminently focusing on men's perspective with little regard for women's viewpoints. Caring and the moral issues of private life and family responsibilities were traditionally regarded as trivial matters. Generally, women are portrayed as ethically immature and shallow in comparison to men. Traditional ethics prizes masculine cultural traits like "independence, autonomy, intellect, will, wariness, hierarchy, domination, culture, tran…
Historical background
Feminist ethics developed from Mary Wollstonecraft's 'Vindication of the Rights of Women' published in 1792. With the new ideas from the Enlightenment, individual feminists being able to travel more than ever before, generating more opportunities for the exchange of ideas and advancement of women's rights. With new social movements like Romanticism there developed unprecedented optimistic outlook on human capacity and destiny. This optimism was reflected in John …
Feminist care ethics
Carol Gilligan and Nel Noddings are exponents of a feminist care ethics which criticize traditional ethics as deficient to the degree they lack, disregard, trivialize or attack women's cultural values and virtues. In the 20th-century feminist ethicists developed a variety of care focused feminist approaches to ethics in comparison to non-feminist care-focused approaches to ethics, feminist ones tend to appreciate the impact of gender issues more fully. Feminist care-focused ethicists …
Feminist matrixial ethics
The 'metafeminist' theory of the matrixial gaze and the matrixial time-space, coined and developed by artist, philosopher and psychoanalyst Bracha L. Ettinger since 1985, articulates a revolutionary philosophical approach that, in "daring to approach", to use Griselda Pollock's description of Ettinger's ethical turn, "the prenatal with the pre-maternal encounter", violence toward women at war, and the Shoah, has philosophically established the rights of each female subject over her o…
Feminist justice ethics
Feminist justice ethics is a feminist view on morality which seeks to engage with, and ultimately transform, traditional universal approaches to ethics. Like most types of feminist ethics, feminist justice ethics looks at how gender is left out of mainstream ethical considerations. Mainstream ethics are argued to be male-oriented. However, feminist justice ethics does differ considerably from other feminist ethics. A universal set of ethics is a significant part of feminist justice ethics b…
Feminist ethics and the future
Feminist ethicists believe there is an obligation for women's differing points of view to be heard and then to fashion an inclusive consensus view from them. To attempt to achieve this and to push towards gender equality with men together is the goal of feminist ethics. The fixing of these issues are important in modern times because of the shifting view points as well as what has considered to be 'ethical' in terms of treatment and how women, in particular, women's bodies s…