The concept of feminist ethics emphasizes the belief that ethical theorizing at the present is done from a distinctly male point of view and, as such, lacks the moral experience of women. As such, feminist ethics seeks to re-imagine present-day ethics under a feminist approach to make it more “balanced” so to speak. While I do agree that a vast majority of traditional ethics is based on a male perspective, what must be understood is that it generally focuses on the betterment of humanity as a whole. I believe that the main flaw in feminist ethics at the present is that it focuses so much on espousing the female perspective that it neglects to take into consideration that the values seen in traditional ethics focus on the development of society which espouses moral and ethical treatment for all its members. While there are certain traditional ethical mindsets that do place women on a lower pedestal as seen in the case of Islamic and to a certain extent Christian traditional ethical values, the fact remains that modern-day traditional ethics while having a “male voice” does espouse equal treatment for both men and women alike. The focus of ethics is not whether or not the perspective is male or female, rather, it should be focusing on how it can improve society. The desire for creating a better and more ethical society is not under the exclusive domain of either men or women, rather, it encompasses all genders. The need to create a feminine voice of ethics merely detracts from the necessity of creating a proper ethical consensus regarding what it truly means to act in an ethical manner and to treat people with the respect and dignity that they deserve.
Feminist Ethics and my concept of morality
Based on what I know about feminist ethics, I believe that utilizing a decidedly female point of view will help to expand the current moral arguments found in various ethical frameworks at the present. This is not to say that feminist ethics is superior in any way, rather, it can act as a means of supplementing the already present ethical frameworks resulting in a broader and better body of work.
Carol Giligan and her Book
After going over her book, I have to say that while there are some parts which are still applicable today such as discrimination of women in the workplace, there are many parts which are outdated, especially when taking into consideration the current developments in government polices which penalize employers that show discrimination against female employees. Based on what I have seen in society at the present, I believe that women’s rights have significantly improved since the time of Giligan and will continue to improve in the future till it reaches a point that the discrimination of women in present day society will be largely absent.
DNR Order
A DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) is defined as a legal order that justifies the wish of the person to not be subjected to CPR or types of advanced cardiac life support if their heartbeat or breathing stops. From a legal perspective, DNR is the implementation of an individual’s desire to die a “natural death” without their life being prolonged in an artificial way. As such, while the retirement center has enacted a new policy regarding resuscitation, the fact remains that a patient still has the right to their own body and, as such, has the right to choose a natural death. In the case of Julia and Mrs. Chu, Julia should acknowledge the wishes of Mrs. Chu and not perform any artificial methods of resuscitation.