HOW DO WE CARE?

Ethics of Care

In approaching the discourse on planetary thinking, we can benefit from a feminine-informed philosophical movement (pioneered by the prominent American feminist, Carol Gilligan) known as ethics of care. This philosophy posits that in contrast to male dominated ethical outlooks with emphasis on universal moral rules and so on, women focus upon solidarity, community, and caring about each other’s comrades. In ethics of care, attentiveness is front and center. Moreover, ethics of care values emotions and the role emotions play in conceptualization of interrelation between all of us. In other words we are all related and must be attentive to one another.

JOURNAL

I am contemplating writing a polemic essay on the role of intellectuals!

Public intellectuals not only have the obligation to help citizens of the planet to understand their world, but also to coherently make arguments for moral choices to be made by all. We as complex beings live in a complex world and are connected to each other. As such we have to make choices that impact not only our lives but lives of others. We organize ourselves into societies and impose our rules. And our rules usher in complicated moral issues that societies grapple with. Who can we rely on to understand and take action towards these issues? Certainly not the political leaders. This, I believe, is the duty of intellectuals. The public intellectuals must address practical areas of life such as ethics and politics.