U2 - Class 12 - The Ethics of Care Flashcards
discussion: Why did the CEO increase the salary for everyone at his company? What was his motive?
So he could have his employees work with a livable wage and dispute wealth within his company
discussion: Was it a good decision? Why or why not?
Ultimately, yes because his employees have a livable wage and his company saw an increase in profit after
discussion: What should he do during the economic downturn caused by Covid-19 pandemic?
Keep the salary the same.
men’s ethical thinking vs women’s
Kohlberg argued that not many women rose to the highest levels of moral development and feminist writers at Harvard came up with a different developmental stage for women
Found that women and men too become autonomous and focus on others
men’s ethical thinking vs women’s: sigmund freud
“Women show less sense of justice than men, that they are less ready to submit to the great exigencies of life, that they are more often influenced in their judgments by feelings of affection or hostility…”
men’s ethical thinking vs women’s: lawrence kohlberg
Six stages of cognitive moral development (CMD)
“Women tend to get stuck at Stage 3”
Stages 1-2: Reward & punishment
Stages 3-4: Interpersonal & law and order
Stages 5-6: Social contract, universal principles
carol gilligan
Studied both men and women
Found that men and women have two different modes of experience
Different moral language
Different moral logic
Ethics of care
the ethics of care
“We have an obligation to exercise special care toward those particular persons with whom we have valuable close relationships, particularly relations of dependency.” (p. 125)
“The identity of self–who I am–is based on the relationships the self has with other selves.” (p. 126)
is this the ethics of care?
A. “Employees are your most valuable assets. If you treat them well, they will work harder and become more productive, which will benefit your business.”
B. “Our employees have worked hard, drove the success of our business, and created value for shareholders. We must pay them back.”
C. “We need to improve wages and working conditions at our contractors in Bangladesh to protect our brand images.”
D. “Thousands of workers in Bangladeshi sweatshops are working in inhumane conditions. It is our moral obligation to help them out.”
discussion: How is the ethics of care fundamentally different from all other ethical theories we learned so far?
Focus on relationships and responsibilities and takes into account gender
discussion: What are some weaknesses of the ethics of care?
Neglects justice - enables that behavior
discussion: Many ethical issues we discussed before today seemed to have nothing to do with gender. How does the ethics of care apply to issues that are not related to gender?
Kohlberg argued that not many women rose to the highest levels of moral development and feminist writers at Harvard came up with a different developmental stage for women
Found that women and men too become autonomous and focus on others
discussion: How does Dan Price’s action (CEO of Gravity Payment) reflect the ethics of care?
He takes into account relationships with his employees and the responsibility he has as CEO
ethics of care’s pros, cons and examples
Biggest pro
- Protects the weak and dependent (you created that dependence)
Primarily beneficial because it protects the weak
Caring for those less fortunate/advantaged
You may get others help so they can benefit you too
Biggest con
- Neglects justice
Denies justice
Someone who did something wrong
Enable that behavior
Example
- Certain small, entrepreneurial businesses try this
Group or founder might have a different purpose for having a business than profit maximization
EX: The goal is to work 9-3 while their kid is at school while I also have fun so success in that small firm is that everyone works 9-3. So that means employees made it. Firm isn’t maximizing profit but that is not the goal of that specific firm.
Feminine firm
ethics of care’s decision rule
AROL GILLIAN
Ethic of care
Decision rule
Focus on relationships and responsibilities
- Kohlberg argued that not many women rose to the highest levels of moral development and feminist writers at Harvard came up with a different developmental stage for women
Found that women and men too become autonomous and focus on others
Ethics of care
Moral to focus on relationships AND responsibilities!
- Relationships
Its ok to have relationship with other people in the community and it is ethical to take care of others
Business application : you have relationships with suppliers, customers etc. so you take care of them. You ask how your suppliers are doing when facing setbacks - Responsibilities
Nozick said to focus on rights
Every right has a corresponding responsibility
Everyone around you has the responsibility to not force or fraud you
If you have a responsibility then so do others
Business: I have a responsibility to fulfill a contract
Objectivism is the antithesis of this theory
