Over the past decade, mainstream feminist theory has repeatedly and urgently cautioned against arguments which assert the existence of fundamental—or essential—differences between men and women. Any biological or natural differences between the sexes are often flatly denied, on the grounds that such an acknowledgment will impede women's claims to equal treatment. In Caring for Justice, Robin West turns her sensitive, measured eye to the consequences of this widespread refusal to consider how women's lived experiences and perspectives may differ from those of men. Her work calls attention to two critical areas in which an inadequate recognition of women's distinctive experiences has failed jurisprudence. We are in desperate need, she contends, both of a theory of justice which incorporates women's distinctive moral voice on the meaning of justice into our discourse, and of a theory of harm which better acknowledges, compensates, and seeks to prevent the various harms which women, disproportionately and distinctively, suffer. Providing a fresh feminist perspective on traditional jurisprudence, West examines such issues as the nature of justice, the concept of harm, economic theories of value, and the utility of constitutional discourse. She illuminates the adverse repercussions of the anti-essentialist position for jurisprudence, and offers strategies for correcting them. Far from espousing a return to essentialism, West argues an anti- anti-essentialism, which greatly refines our understanding of the similarities and differences between women and men.

This book develops a care justice framework to critique and disrupt current policies and reframe a policy blueprint for elevating a just organization of care for unpaid family caregivers and underpaid home care workers assisting older adults. In doing so, Hooyman invites readers to envision a society that fully values the essential work of care. The book is distinctive in its analysis of the interrelationships among both types of care laborers, who often face structural constraints on their decision to care and whose work is devalued and marginalized. Their care work affects every member of society, but it is generally invisible to others, and its economic value is rarely recognized by policymakers. How care work is organized and unrewarded typically has the most financial, physical, and emotional costs for women, people of color, and immigrants across the life course. Inequities for care workers by race, immigrant status, class, and sexual orientation are rooted in systemic racism, sexism, classism, xenophobia, and homophobia. In this book, policy priorities and change strategies are reframed to attain the six core components of a care justice framework, which include fundamental structural changes to elevate care work, ensure meaningful choice to care, and reduce systemic inequities faced by care workers. This framework is informed by feminism, Black feminism, intersectionality, and care theory. By conceptualizing care justice, the author aims to stimulate new discourse and action related to the care of older adults – the most important work in society – and make the seemingly unattainable attainable. This timely book will be salient to anyone committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and with an interest in policy, gerontology, disability studies, ethnic studies, feminist studies, social justice, social work, and social welfare.

This book, an essential tool for anyone studying the state of feminist thought in particular or ethical theory in general, shows the outlines of an ethic of care in the distinctive practices of African American communities and considers how the values of care and justice can be reformulated.

This volume is a compilation of key papers presented at the global conference titled “In Defence of the Family: Family, Children and Culture,” held in Bangkok in June 2011. The event marked the 25th anniversary of the Service and Research Institute on Family and Children (SERFAC), headquartered in Chennai, India. SERFAC was established by Dr Catherine Bernard, MBBS, MS, and collaborators from diverse backgrounds from India and around the world, committed to ensuring the well-being of families so as to address the contemporary moral, spiritual, institutional and technological crises affecting families, children, communities, nations and global society. An internationally registered non-governmental organization, SERFAC, which enjoys Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC (the Economic and Social Council) of the UN, works towards creating awareness and sensitizing society to the fact that a healthy family life and its allied institution of marriage constitute the most important resource base and natural environment for the well-being of its members, particularly children. Families and children across the world face a multitude of ever-changing challenges in an increasingly internationalized culture due to globalization. It is vital for society to respect the autonomy, integrity, solemnity and sacredness of every unborn child, of every person, individual and family, and for every nation to work towards a meeting at different levels. A dialogue must occur to enrich and celebrate this diversity of family, children and cultures, in order to make the world a more humane and civilized place in which to live. In this way, we can ensure a promising future for humanity. The Service and Research Institute on Family and Children has made a start in this reversal process by identifying and working with the smallest, yet, at the same time, the most potent social unit – the Family.

The author assesses the ethics of care as a promising alternative to the familiar moral theories that serve so inadequately to guide our lives. Held examines what we mean by care and focuses on caring relationships. She also looks at the potential of care for dealing with social issues and global problems.

This book broadens the scope of thinking about ethics in global social relations, criticizing the 'leading traditions' in international ethics, and exploring the ways in which some strands of feminist moral philosophy may offer an alternative perspective to view ethics in international relations.

The Handbook is a comprehensive reference work in ethical theory consisting of commissioned articles by leading scholars. The first part treats meta-ethics and the second part normative ethical theory. As with all the Oxford Handbooks, the collection is designed to achieve three goals: exposition of central ideas, criticism of other approaches, and defenses of distinct points of view.

What does it mean to be a "just" and "caring" society when we have only limited resources to meet unlimited health care needs? Do we believe that all lives are of equal value? Is human life priceless? Should a "just" and "caring" society refuse to put limits on health care spending? In Just Caring, Leonard Fleck reflects on the central moral and political challenges of health reform today. He cites the millions of Americans who go without health insurance, thousands of whom die prematurely, unable to afford the health care needed to save their lives. Fleck considers these deaths as contrary to our deepest social values, and makes a case for the necessity of health care rationing decisions. The core argument of this book is that no one has a moral right to impose rationing decisions on others if they are unwilling to impose those same rationing decisions on themselves in the same medical circumstances. Fleck argues we can make health care rationing fair, in ways that are mutually respectful, if we engage in honest rational democratic deliberation. Such civic engagement is rare in our society, but the alternative is endless destructive social controversy that is neither just nor caring.

First Published in 1993. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In these essays, a diverse group of ethicists draw insights from both religious and feminist scholarship in order to propose creative new approaches to the ethics of medical care. While traditional ethics emphasizes rules, justice, and fairness, the contributors to this volume embrace an "ethics of care," which regards emotional engagement in the lives of others as basic to discerning what we ought to do on their behalf. The essays reflect on the three related themes: community, narrative, and emotion. They argue for the need to understand patients and caregivers alike as moral agents who are embedded in multiple communities, who seek to attain or promote healing partly through the medium of storytelling, and who do so by cultivating good emotional habits. A thought-provoking contribution to a field that has long been dominated by an ethics of principle, Medicine and the Ethics of Care will appeal to scholars and students who want to move beyond the constraints of that traditional approach.