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Cited by 615Feminism, Gender, and IntersectionalityPhilosophical Ethics and TheoryPolitical Philosophy and Ethics

The Ethics of Care: Personal, Political, and Global

Held, Virginia·2005
DOI 10.1093/0195180992.001.0001
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Abstract

The book presents the ethics of care as a promising alternative to more familiar moral theories. The ethics of care is only a few decades old, yet it has become a distinct moral theory or normative approach, relevant to global and political matters as well as to the personal relations that can most clearly exemplify care. The book examines the central ideas, characteristics, and potential importance of the ethics of care. It discusses the feminist roots of this moral approach and why the ethics of care can be a morality with universal appeal. The book explores what is meant by “care” and what a caring person is like. Where such other moral theories as Kantian morality and utilitarianism demand impartiality above all, the ethics of care understands the moral import of ties to families and groups. It evaluates such ties, differing from virtue ethics by focusing on caring relations rather than the virtues of individuals. The book proposes how values such as justice, equality, and individual rights can “fit together” with values such as care, trust, mutual consideration, and solidarity. In considering the potential of the ethics of care for dealing with social issues, the book shows how the ethics of care is more promising than other moral theories for advice on how limited or expansive markets should be, showing how values other than market ones should have priority in such activities as childcare, health care, education, and in cultural activities. Finally, the book connects the ethics of care with the rising interest in civil society, and with limits on what law and rights are thought able to accomplish. It shows the promise of the ethics of care for dealing with global problems and with efforts to foster international civility.

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Crossref · 10.1093/0195180992.001.0001

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206 of 206 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Ethics of care literature does specifically address the conflict of interest between parent and child, but Kidfluencing is unique in the amount, nature, and dependency of the conflict.

    “Ethics of care (Held, 2005) literature does specifically address the conflict of interest between parent and child, but Kidfluencing is unique in the amount, nature, and dependency of the conflict.”

    From The Child Labor in Social Media: Kidfluencers, Ethics of Care, and Exploitation (2025) · cites this paper as Held, 2005

  • Where ethics of care has largely viewed the risks arising from caregiver and receiver being in conflict, we demonstrate that there are substantial risks inherent in their interests being partially aligned.

    “Where ethics of care (Held, 2005) has largely viewed the risks arising from caregiver and receiver being in conflict, we demonstrate that there are substantial risks inherent in their interests being partially aligned.”

    From The Child Labor in Social Media: Kidfluencers, Ethics of Care, and Exploitation (2025) · cites this paper as Held, 2005

  • The ethics of care literature demonstrates that there are risks of conflict between the interests of parent and child within parental responsibility.

    “The ethics of care literature (Held, 2005) demonstrates that there are risks of conflict between the interests of parent and child within parental responsibility.”

    From The Child Labor in Social Media: Kidfluencers, Ethics of Care, and Exploitation (2025) · cites this paper as Held, 2005

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Authors
Held, V.
Affiliations
The Graduate Center, CUNY (US)
Corresponding author
Held, Virginia
Publisher
Oxford University PressNew York
Published
2005-12-01
DOI
10.1093/0195180992.001.0001
OpenAlex
W4244032312
Cited by
615
References
206
Citations by year
2026: 134 · 2025: 118 · 2024: 82 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 30 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 8
FWCI
3.72
Type
book
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
DIAL (Catholic University of Leuven) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Feminism, Gender, and Intersectionality
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Philosophical Ethics and Theory
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Philosophy and Ethics
Keywords
care ethics, moral theory, feminist ethics, care, impartiality, family ties, virtue ethics, Kantian ethics, utilitarianism, justice, equality, individual rights, solidarity, trust, civil society, global challenges, child care, health care, education

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