The Female Ethic

Paper Summary:

This paper broaches the subject of philosophy and morality from an entirely different viewpoint than that of the predominant western philosophies of the past, in particular those schools of thought that have greatly influenced the Western world of today and were largely written by men. The writer points out that the noted great thinkers throughout history, from Plato to Nietzsche and beyond, have, by and large, been male and have been written with a decidedly masculine standard. Women are by far more vocal and involved in the machinations of society today than they have ever been before. There are women CEO's, authors, politicians, and women involved in just about every facet of culture today. Most of the philosophies offered until relatively recently, historically speaking, possess a decidedly masculine viewpoint. The writer maintains that there are many advantages and disadvantages to both feminist ethics and masculine ethics, but admittedly, feminist ethics certainly offer a different take from most of what has been recorded in the past.

From the Paper:

"Instead of worrying about definitive rights and wrongs and philosophies of moral judgment based on absolutes, feminist ethics are concerned with relationships and how a decision, belief, or an event might affect the whole community. This is a logical thought process since females have been oppressed for centuries, and over the course of time have risen from a role of domesticity to a more equal, more prominent role in society. Males have gotten ahead, as it were, throughout the course of history by relying on philosophies based on individual gains, the use of willpower, and the exertion of might. Females have been forced into a position of submissive existence for most of history due to a lack of such dominant philosophies. It makes sense that a feminine philosophy would be more communal, and less self or individually focused, as females have traditionally had the role of holding the family unit together. Feminist ethics are focused largely on leveling the playing field these days, and on respecting the others involved in their respective environments. The plus of such a belief is that it is a more caring, thoughtful, and humane philosophy than most masculine schools of thought. The problems with it are that such philosophies, it could be argued, are weak and susceptible to a more dominant philosophy that is focused on individual gains."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Feminist Ethics - Rosemary Tong & Nancy Williams - University of Stanford - 1998 - http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-ethics/
• Wikipedia - Ethics of Care - unknown authors - Wikipedia - 2007 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethic_of_care
• Answer.com - Principle (definition) - Unknown authors - Answers Corporation - 1999-2007 - http://www.answers.com/%20principle
• Article Title: The Idea of a Female Ethic. Contributors: Jean Grimshaw - author. Journal Title: Philosophy East & West. Volume: 42. Issue: 2. Publication Year: 1992. Page Number: 221.
• Jean Grimshaw Philosophy East and West, Vol. 42, No. 2, Moscow Regional East-West Philosophers' Conference on Feminist Issues East and West (Apr., 1992), pp. 221-238 (article consists of 18 pages)

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