Alternative Paradigms: Care Ethics and Feminine Ethics

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Del curso dictado por University of Amsterdam

Media ethics & governance

12 calificaciones

University of Amsterdam

Media ethics & governance

12 calificaciones

Media Ethics and Governance About this course: This course explores some of the basic theories, models and concepts in the field of media ethics. We will introduce influential ethical theories and perspectives, explore changing societal demands and expectations of media creation and media use, and we will elaborate on existing ethical norms for media professionals. After following this course, you will be able to reflect on ethical dilemmas and develop a well-substantiated argumentation for ethical decision making in a variety of media-related contexts. Upon completion of this course, students should: • have knowledge of the history and development of perspectives on media ethics; • have knowledge of the dominant theoretical approaches and concepts; • be able to use this knowledge to develop a well-substantiated argumentation

De la lección

Theoretical building blocks of Communication Ethics

In this section, we discuss several ethical theories and perspectives, such as Consequentialism and Utilitarianism. These theories serve as building blocks for the rest of the course: when you understand the most important aspects of each perspective, you are able to use the various perspectives to consider ethical dilemmas from different angles.

Alternative Paradigms: Care Ethics and Feminine Ethics5:25

Conoce a los instructores

Rutger de Graaf
PhD
Graduate School of Communication Science
Damian Trilling
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication Science
Lotte Salome

Department of Communication Science
Sandra Jacobs
Assistant professor
Department of Communication Science
Annemarie van Oosten
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication Science

Previous ethical theories have put forward universal principles of morals,

virtues, and justice.

From the 1980's,

an alternative paradigm emerged that criticized the dominant perspectives.

This paradigm is called feminist ethics or care ethics.

And it basically emphasizes connection to others.

In this paradigm, women's nurturing relationships are taken as a model for

care, where everyone has responsibilities and an obligation to care for others.

In the words of Daniel Engster, caring is understood as everything we do

directly to help others to meet their basic needs,

develop or sustain our basic capabilities, and alleviate or avoid pain or

suffering in an attentive, responsive, and respectful manner.

Feminist ethics call for more attention to the moral issues

that arise in the so-called private world which relate to the housework and

taking care of children, the disabled, and the elderly.

One of the main criticisms by feminist ethicists was that current ethical

theories were not actually universal as they may not apply to everyone.

The publication of In a Different Voice, Psychological Theory and

Women's Development in 1982 can be seen as the start of this movement.

This publication consisted of a study by developmental psychologist Carol Gilligan

on how women's ways of analyzing and resolving dilemmas differed from men's.

At that time, general ideas about morality were based on formal and

abstract notions of rights, rules, and justice.

For instance, according to Lawrence Kohlberg's study among men,

humans start out as individual, moral agents who are separate from others,

and who then independently learn moral principles to obey.

However, Gilligan noticed that Kohlberg's description of moral

development did not always apply to women.

She argued that women's moral development was much

more characterized by a morality of responsibility and care.

This moral development already begins with the self who is connected to the others,

and whose moral goals are to maintain such connectedness.

Feminist theorist Nel Nodding, had a similar viewpoint, and

argued that ethical theories were too male-centered by focusing on reason,

and law, and justice, which were thought to be inherently male values, and

not enough on feminine values, such as empathy, relatedness, and responsiveness.

This is not to say that justice was no longer important, but

justice was seen as an extension of caring.

As Nodding argues in her book Starting at Home, justice itself is dependent

on caring about, and caring about is in turn dependent on caring for.

Although feminist ethics or care ethics were founded in the idea that men and

women differ in their ethical and moral decision-making,

this perspective prescribes how both women and

men can engage in decision-making that is characterized by putting oneself

in someone else's shoes and acting on feelings of empathy.

In fact, feminist ethics has been criticized for being too female-biased and

for doing exactly the same as the dominant perspectives they criticize.

That is, focusing on the biological and social differences between man and

woman rather than on a universal human being.

Now, third way for post modern feminism, also emphasizes how women and

men differ amongst each other in their tendencies to be rational and caring.

So what does this mean for communication ethics?

Well first of all, in order to be ethical,

we must be able to take the perspective of someone with the different gender,

race, nationality, educational background, or class.

It means we must engage in self-reflection and

be aware that we are prone to errors and biases based on our own social context.

It means being open to feedback and

objectively listening to the viewpoints of others.

Government censorship or other legal action is not a solution.

Ethical dilemmas should be resolved through engaging in critical

conversations and informed debate.

For communication research,

it means choosing the topics that have societal relevance and benefits.

Listening to one's participants and stakeholders, and

being open to their suggestions.

It also involves making sure that research findings reach stakeholders and

a wider audience, preferably while the research is still being carried out.

Most importantly, feminist ethics are about listening attentively, and

making sure that what one communicates to the world does not harm others by

stereotyping, denigrating, or excluding subgroups.

This does not only apply to women or women's interests.

All major problems and ethical dilemmas have an impact on both women and men.

A feminist ethics are about understanding and

wanting to correct any problems of power inequities and oppression.

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