Deck 10: Feminist Ethics and the Ethics of Care

Question 1

Throughout most of history, Western philosophers have often

A) made false and damaging claims about women.
B) ignored female perspectives on ethical issues.
C) discounted the philosophical interest of women's experiences.
D) all of the above

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Feminist ethics claims that

A) men and women should always be treated the same.
B) the experiences of women are vital to a full understanding of morality.
C) there are innate differences between men and women.
D) all of the above

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Feminists often claim that moral theories have traditionally placed too much emphasis on

A) human dignity.
B) compassion.
C) justice.
D) pleasure.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The moral theory that takes the mother/child relationship as a basis for ethics is known as

A) the ethic of care.
B) ethical pluralism.
C) the ethic of procreation.
D) maternalism.

Question 5

According to feminist ethics, an action is right if and only if it

A) treats men and women equally.
B) does not violate anyone's rights.
C) is performed out of a motive of care.
D) none of the above

Question 6

According to feminist ethics, emotions

A) are central to moral motivation and moral discovery.
B) motivate us to act morally but do not help us to discover how we should act.
C) usually distort our views about morality in negative ways.
D) are irrelevant to morality.

Question 7

Feminist ethicists tend to think that our behavior should be based on

A) an impartial consideration of the interests of all those who are affected.
B) the application of absolute ethical rules.
C) a sensitive appreciation of the complexities of a situation.
D) all of the above

Question 8

Feminist ethicists argue that traditional moral theories have overemphasized ___________ at the expense of ____________.

A) competition; cooperation
B) calculation; emotion
C) impartiality; special relationships
D) all of the above

Question 9

Many feminists believe that rights are

A) not emphasized enough in ethical theory.
B) overly emphasized in ethical theory.
C) the key to understanding morality.
D) both a and c

Question 10

Which of the following is a potential problem for the ethics of care?

A) It is too demanding.
B) It cannot account for the special obligations we have to our family and friends.
C) It makes acting morally too easy.
D) It threatens to restrict the scope of the moral community too greatly.

Question 11

According to the text, what is one potential cost to downgrading the moral importance of impartiality?

A) Without impartiality, we have no moral duties to strangers.
B) Impartiality is an important corrective for prejudice and bias.
C) Without impartiality, we can't account for self-regarding duties.
D) none of the above (There is no obvious cost.)

Question 12

One challenge for feminist ethics is that

A) some moral rules have exceptions.
B) it does not give concrete guidance about how to resolve moral conflicts.
C) sometimes it is appropriate to treat men and women differently.
D) partiality is sometimes justified.

Question 13

Which of the following philosophers believed that women are the moral equals of men?

A) Aristotle
B) St. Thomas Aquinas
C) Rousseau
D) none of the above

Question 14

Which of the following best describes feminist ethics?

A) It is a particular ethical theory.
B) It is a family of ethical theories.
C) It is an account of what rights people have.
D) It is a psychological theory about gender difference.

Question 15

What relationship plays a central role in the ethics of care?

A) mother/child
B) wife/husband
C) sister/brother
D) friendship between females

Question 16

Which of the following carries great moral value, according to the ethics of care?

A) competition
B) abstraction
C) partiality
D) reason

Question 17

According to the text, what attitude do many feminists take toward rights?

A) They have been insufficiently emphasized in moral philosophy.
B) They have been overly emphasized in moral philosophy.
C) Claiming rights unites people more often than it divides them.
D) both a and c

Question 18

According to feminist ethics, the supreme principle of morality is that an action is right if and only if it

A) maximizes utility.
B) shows care for others.
C) doesn't involve gender discrimination.
D) none of the above (There is no supreme principle of morality.)

Question 19

According to the text, which of the following is not a challenge for feminist ethics?

A) Partiality is sometimes permissible.
B) The theory threatens to restrict the scope of the moral community too greatly.
C) Justice is an important moral value.
D) Competition is sometimes valuable.

Question 20

According to feminist ethics, which of the following has traditional, male-dominated moral theorizing failed to take into account?

A) the experiences of women
B) the moral importance of traditionally feminine traits
C) traditionally feminine ways of approaching moral reasoning
D) all of the above

Question 21

In what ways have Western philosophers traditionally marginalized and shown disrespect for women? How does feminist ethics seek to address this problem? Do you think it succeeds? Why or why not?

Question 22

Compare and contrast the ethics of care with one of the ethical theories discussed previously. What advantages do you think the ethics of care has over the alternative theory you've chosen? In what ways is the other theory preferable? Which do you think is ultimately more satisfactory, and why?

Question 23

Write an essay discussing the ethical value of impartiality. Why do feminists downplay the importance of impartiality, and why have other philosophers held it to be important? Is impartiality an important ethical value or not? Defend your answers.

Question 24

What are some of the distinctive experiences of women, and how have feminist ethicists suggested that these should inform our moral theorizing? Do you think they are correct in thinking this? Why or why not?

Question 25

Write an essay discussing the ethical concept of rights. What role has this concept traditionally played, and why do feminists think that it has been overemphasized? Do you agree with the feminist critique? Why or why not?

Question 26

Case Study
Jacob and Diana are spouses who have an extremely close relationship. They have a "no secrets" policy-they tell each other nearly everything and never keep anything important from each other. The only things they ever keep secret are things like gifts or surprise parties. They believe that this degree of openness and trust allows them to have a deeper and more meaningful relationship than would otherwise be possible.
Recently, Jacob's childhood friend Nicole revealed to him a dark, traumatic secret from her past. Nicole, distraught, asked Jacob to promise her not to repeat it to anyone, and Jacob, not wanting to upset her in the moment, agreed. But soon after, Jacob realized that keeping his promise would mean keeping something important for Diana, which would violate her trust. Diana knows Nicole but is much less close with her, so Jacob understands why Nicole would not want her to know. But he and Diana tell each other everything-that's just how it is.
-To what features of this situation would a feminist ethical approach tell us to be sensitive in determining what Jacob should do? How would this approach to understanding what Jacob should do differ from traditional ethical approaches to such cases? Which approach is better?

Question 27

Case Study
Jacob and Diana are spouses who have an extremely close relationship. They have a "no secrets" policy-they tell each other nearly everything and never keep anything important from each other. The only things they ever keep secret are things like gifts or surprise parties. They believe that this degree of openness and trust allows them to have a deeper and more meaningful relationship than would otherwise be possible.
Recently, Jacob's childhood friend Nicole revealed to him a dark, traumatic secret from her past. Nicole, distraught, asked Jacob to promise her not to repeat it to anyone, and Jacob, not wanting to upset her in the moment, agreed. But soon after, Jacob realized that keeping his promise would mean keeping something important for Diana, which would violate her trust. Diana knows Nicole but is much less close with her, so Jacob understands why Nicole would not want her to know. But he and Diana tell each other everything-that's just how it is.
-Does the fact that this case involves interpersonal relationships make a feminist ethical approach particularly apt? Is a feminist approach generally more useful than a traditional approach when it comes to the ethics of relationships? Why or why not?