Care and Moral Theory

Care ethics has long been contrasted with moral theories like deontology, utilitarianism, and virtue ethics. Yet, the characteristics that distinguish care ethics from deontology, utilitarianism, and virtue ethics are some of the very characteristics that philosophers usually associate with moral theory per se. If care ethics departs from other moral theories on some of the very grounds that define moral theory itself, the question arises: Is care ethics a moral theory? If so, what kind of moral theory is it?

Drawing together some of the world’s leading care theorists, Care and Moral Theory addresses these questions. Early chapters situate care ethics in relation to other moral theories and highlight its unique methods and aims. Middle chapters offer analytical clarity on key concepts in the moral theory of care. A final set of chapters offers a whole new framework for thinking about care ethics. Despite the diversity of perspectives included in this book, the chapters as a whole are all oriented around the common project of elucidating the characteristics of a moral theory of care.

Care and Moral Theory offers an accessible entry point for anyone interested in the nature of care ethics. By clarifying its relation to other moral theories and highlighting its differences, it makes evident what is distinct and important about this increasingly popular moral theory.

Daniel Engster is Professor in the Hobby School of Public Affairs and Associate Director of the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center on Ethics and Leadership. His research focuses on care ethics, relational egalitarianism, and public policy. His books include The Heart of Justice: Care Ethics and Political Theory; Justice, Care, and the Welfare State; and Care Ethics and Political Theory.

Steven Steyl is Lecturer in Bioethics at the University of Notre Dame Australia and Honorary Academic at the University of Auckland. His research lies mainly in the areas of normative ethics, applied ethics, and political theory, and has appeared in a variety of journals and edited volumes including The Philosophical Quarterly, Hypatia, and Care Ethics, Religion, and Spiritual Traditions (Peeters, 2022).