Instructor Resource Manual – Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues, 9e – MacKinnon & Fiala
Chapter 9: Feminist Thought and the Ethics of Care
Learning Outcomes
• Describe the importance of feminist thought for ethical inquiry.
• Explain some of the problems confronting women around the world.
• Explain feminist criticisms of traditional views about ethics and moral development.
• Identify the arguments of key feminist authors, including Carol Gilligan, Nel Noddings,
Sarah Ruddick, Martha Nussbaum, Judith Butler, and Annette Baier.
• Describe the essential features of the ethics of care.
• Explain the difference between feminine ethics and feminist ethics.
• Distinguish between the several versions or “waves” of feminism.
• Defend your own ideas about the importance of feminist ethics and the ethics of care.
Associated Readings
1. Noddings, “Caring” from Caring, pp.1-6.
2. Baier, “The Need for More Than Justice”
3. Lindemann, “What is Feminist Ethics” from Invitation to Feminist Ethics, pp. 2-3, 6-16.
Getting Started
One might begin discussion of feminist ethics and care ethics by asking students to work
together on compiling a list of similarities and differences between men and women. Look
together at the list to determine if they focus only on biological differences. Has anyone listed
psychological or moral differences?
You might look again at the list of virtues generated from the Getting Started discussion of
Virtue Ethics. You could then introduce the issue of whether there are specifically masculine or
feminine virtues. Consider the question of whether there are certain roles for which women or
men are better suited. Raise the question of whether this has anything to do with character traits
or ways of thinking and reacting. Then one can get to the list of stereotypical traits early in the
chapter to see if students agree that these traits are typical of females and males. Finally,
introduce the important question of how these traits come to be. Is it by nature or nurture?
Key Terms
Instructor Resource Manual – Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues, 9e – MacKinnon & Fiala
Female genital mutilation: removal of parts of the female genitals (includes a variety of
procedures); also called female circumcision.
Feminism: intellectual commitment and a political movement that seeks justice for women and
the end of sexism in all forms.
Feminist ethics: a critical theory of ethics that rejects male dominant ideas, can include
“feminine” ethics emphasizing community and caregiving (associated with Noddings).
Care ethics: ethical theory that emphasizes nurturing relationships, while downplaying autonomy
and individualism (associated with Noddings).
Queer theory: a post-structuralist approach to thinking about gender and sexuality that maintains
that sex and gender roles are socially constructed (associated with Butler).
Answers to End of Chapter Review Exercises
1. Feminism, generally speaking, is concerned with the just treatment of women and with ending
2. Your textbook lists several contrasting pairs of terms that are associated with supposed
differences between female and male ethical perspectives (see, p. 174). In sum, the supposed
3. Kohlberg focused on male subjects and found that the highest stage of moral development was
Instructor Resource Manual – Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues, 9e – MacKinnon & Fiala
Answers to the Study Questions for
Baier, “The Need for More Than Justice”
1. Baier claims that the most outspoken challengers to the supremacy of justice as a social virtue
are “members of those sections of society whom one might have expected to be especially
2. According to Baier, the moral tradition of rights tended to exclude certain groups (especially
3. According to Baier, the problem with the view that stresses relationships of equality is that
Answers to the Study Questions for
Lindemann, “What Is Feminist Ethics?”
1. Lindemann wants to stress that feminism is not just concerned with gender difference and
2. According to Lindemann, it is important for feminists to “understand, criticize, and correct”
