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FEMINIST ETHICS
By:Scott Kocos
Shannon Biesenthal
WHAT IS IT?
• The goal of gender-equal, not
gender-neutral ethics
• An ethical theory which promotes
non-sexist principles, policies, and
practices
What Is It? (Continued)
Feminist ethics is an attempt to:
• Highlight differences between how
males and females interpret
situations
• Help humans deal with rising
dilemmas in private and public
• Deconstruct any ethic that
systematically subordinates women
Differences in Men’s Moral Voices and
Women’s Moral Voices
Men
•
•
•
•
•
Justice
Rights
Treating everyone fairly and the same
Apply rules impartially to everyone
Responsibility toward abstract codes of
conduct
Differences in Moral Voices
(Continued)
Women
•
•
•
•
•
Care
Responsibility
Caring about other’s suffering
Preserve emotional connectedness
Responsibility toward real individuals
Why Must We Do This?
Western ethics failed women in five inter
related ways:
1. It showed less concern for women’s rights
than men’s
2. It dismissed ethically uninteresting problems
arising in the “private world,”
3. It implies women are not as ethically
developed as men
Why Must We Do This?
(Continued)
4. It prizes masculine traits and
exhibits little regard for feminine
traits
5. It favors culturally masculine
approaches to ethical reasoning
When Did This Start??
•The first push for Feminism
was in the late 1700’s
•The late 1800’s saw the start
of women voting
Who Contributed??
• Mary Wollstonecraft
(April 27, 1759 –
September 10, 1797)
• concluded that moral
virtue is unitary
• denied women are
doomed to be less
virtuous
• Women having strong
sexual desires was
degrading and immoral
Wollstonecraft
(Continued)
• Called the mother of feminism
• Honored women’s natural talents
• Insisted that women not be
measured by men’s standards
• Helped achieve a better life for
everyone
John Stuart Mill
• Believed in equal
education for women
• Women are educated to
serve the interests of
men
• First considered radical,
now seen as classic
statement of liberal
feminism
Criticisms of Feminism
• Care is a less important moral virtue
than justice
When care and justice conflict:
• Impartiality has to trump partiality
• No person is more or less important
than any other
Criticisms (Continued)
• If women care better than
men, it’s wrong to relate
women with value of care
• It makes care more important
than anything else
Current Ethical Dilemma
• Stay-at-home
• Stay-at-home
moms vs. stay-atmoms are seen as
home dads
caregivers for the
kids
• Stay-at-home dads
are seen as
working from the
home
Some Questions
• What other current day situations have to
do with Feminism?
• Why do some individuals recognize a
higher moral law, while others simply are
content to obey the rules without
question?
• Do teachers, judges, elected officials,
doctors, and others make decisions based
off of care vs. justice?
Thanks For
Listening!!!!