Do Women Have a Distinctive Ethical Perspective - Essay Example

ETHICS: Do Women have a Distinctive Ethical Perspective INTRODUCTION: Morality is basically geography based. Culture, and race are the adheringfactors of moral codes. Moral absolutism is pragmatically unattainable in the current position. Moral relativism that accommodates moral disagreements within its realm is the currently and widely accepted dictum everywhere. People all over the world accept that what is moral to one set of people need not be moral to another. Such acceptance of moral disagreements is the full-blown texture of ethics, which is relatively flexible. This flexibility is affixed to the core of ethical theories wherein geographical dominance, colour, class, race, gender and economic strength are well manipulated to stratify the set of people. Moral codes are the interwoven fibres of ethical theories. Usually moral codes are the provisions of agreement between two men or women or group of people. As long as the provisions of agreement are adhered with conformity they are deemed to be moral codes. If any violation emerges at any point, then the moral codes cease to be moral codes. Thus moral disagreements pave way for ethical disintegration. The basic and pivotal sub classifications of ethical theories are: - 1. Beneficence. 2. Least Harm. 3. Respect for Autonomy and 4. Justice. Utilitarianism is one of the most practiced norms of ethical theories. There are two types of utilitarianism namely, act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism promotes doing good to most people unmindful of personal feelings and societal constraints like laws whereas rule utilitarianism regulates doing good to most of the people within the frame work of admitted/agreed laws and rules. (Catherine Rainbow, 2002) In this paper we are going to discuss the ethical perspectives of men and women. The ethical perspectives of men normally are justice based and that of women are care based. Men’s perspective in many cases permits inconsistent decisions at palliating circumstances that lead to certain limited violations of provisions already agreed for. Women although termed frail sex, do not allow such violations and tend to be rule utilitarianism followers in many situations. Moral codes and moral issues are always accompanied necessarily by contexts. While discussing ethical theories and in the formation of ethical theories it becomes necessary to remove contexts so that theories could be generalised. This task many times becomes very difficult because on removing the contexts of the issues we are at the danger of landing on diluting the very motto of generalisation. Thus contexts are to be removed only for identification. That is we have to identify which context forces one to land on a particular ethical connotation and formula. (Christoph Rehmann – Sutter et al, 2006) Justice based ethics and care based ethics: - In the deliberative processes justice based ethics comprises principled and reason based calculations where as care based ethics involves narrative and contextual calculations that give priority to emotions. Likewise in the scope of decision making, towards attaining universal applicability impartiality is placed in the prime focus by justice based ethics. In case of care based ethics, maintaining context – dependant applicability, partiality is respected. And finally, the moral aim in these two types of ethics glaringly differs. JBE adjudicate competing claims while protecting against conflicts; but CBE maintain connections avoiding conflict and violence. (Christoph Rehmann – Sutter, et al, 2006) These differences between JBE and CBE do not in any way presume that they are complementary to one another. Although these classifications could not be treated equal to one another it is also not viable to deem one to be superior to another, since they are on parallel lines to formulate ethical theories at different targets but with same goal of happiness and contentment to all. Feminism and ethics: - Feminism was initially considered as an urge for freedom and violations. The inner urge in every woman to express her self including the man in her have long been depressed which has recently – say a few decades ago – given way for feministic views. Even the current situation is not completely endorsing feminine display. Ideas of feminism when expressed by male philosophers, thinkers, educationists and artists are given relatively greater weight. Annette Baier’s thirst for fundamental moral codes to be governed by trust – emotion based – and not by rules is clearly put forth by her in Moral Prejudices. (Annette Baier, 1994). An other feminist ideologist Marilyn Friedman of US also considers autonomy and rights as crucial to refashion so that they can be applied to women’s circumstances and thereby social subordination and oppression meted out to women could be circumvented to some extent. She had a different approach of taking gender as a tool for interpretation rather than an element of explanation. She viewed the masculine role of protector in relation to women and children through the lens of War. The plight of the protected – the women and children – being ever placed in subordination to men is thus the result of patriarchal construct of any society. Dependence and obedience are thus forcibly expected from women. (Marilyn Friedman, 2005). CONCLUSION: Politics is generally a realm of power-centered play ground. It comprises basically two groups of people—one to rule and the other to be ruled—in which the ruled mass must necessarily posses the qualities of subordination in one or in all respects. In any kind of politics this is the basic undertone. In social interactions too this formula works out. Although Status and knowledgeable capability form part of these criteria, sex is an easiest core of distinction to stratify a set of population on the grounds of frailty. This being the general formula adopted, the reason for male ruling or trying to govern females is still obscure. In what way male community is more powered than females? Answer to this question was derived in a deformed state. That is, the biological importance given to male community is the seed bed of all these chaos. As far as the physical strength is concerned no specific distinction is found in human anatomy. Physical strength is something related to the food habit and exercise practices followed by individuals. The role of males in procreation has wrongly been assigned a greater importance from time immemorial keeping females in a relatively lower plane. This is where the crux of the entire scenario lies. A phenomenon in which two entities are the comprising units, and in which the responsibilities and activities are equally shared among the entities, is it nice to adjudge one to be superior to the other? In sex, the biological convenience of males occupying an upper position is wrongly construed as a rule of law to consider males as superior in extra sexual ambit too. The recent evolution of feministic views in many societies is also subjected to certain limitations of underplaying the dominance of females, despite the fact that women begin to occupy increasingly greater fields of occupation whence, males are alone believed to be fit to occupy. Women who were rather expected than considered to be docile have begun to break the glass ceiling by entering into many fields. Unmindful of the stigmatization about becoming public figures, women have conveniently entered the field of art wherein they have ample opportunity to express their boundless inner self and energy. Feminism is perhaps having its roots in creations of women artists. A woman needs to be assured that that it’s fine for her to violate the rules of female passivity, which she has been taught from time immemorial. She needs to be appreciated for taking initiatives at times. (Beverly Engel, 2002). ‘I am identified; acknowledged; adorned and occupied’ is the basic quenching element of every female thirst. However the violation urge underpins the seedbed of feminism. Moral codes and ethical perspectives of women are thus virtually different from that of men although their display in several contexts is underplayed. Masculine role of display is a masquerade and women’s masquerade is a way of their display. Difference in the perspective of women in respect of moral codes do not land them anywhere in an island of non perfection. They too aspire for universal happiness but through emotional channel unlike men who often opt for channel of reasoning and in fact with egoism. Reconstruction of any theories is not currently imminent. The emergence of feminism has done its job considerably by way of masculine trend of narcissistic awareness in all sphere of life. * * * * * * Reference list – Annette Baier, 1994, “Moral Prejudices: Essays on Ethics”, Harvard University Press, ISBN 0674587154 Beverly Engel, 2002, “Sensual Sex”, Orient Paper backs, Delhi, India in arrangement with Hunter House Inc, USA, pp 184 Catherine Rainbow, 2002, “Descriptions of Ethical Theories and Principles” retrieved from www.bio.davidson.edu on 15.03.08) Christoph Rehmann – Sutter, Marcus Duwell and Dietmar Mieth, 2006, “Bioethics in Cultural Contexts: Reflections on Methods”, pp1&324, Springer, ISBN 140204240X Marilyn Friedman, 2005, “Women and Citizenship”, pp16, Oxford University Press, US, ISBN 0195175344 Read More