One Might Be Surprised to Hear Philosophers Speak of Ethics

One might be surprised to hear philosophers speak of ethics, justice, and care as different issues, in particular that theorists in the justice tradition have had little to say about care issues at all. Feminists point out that it is hard to shift orientations from justice ethics to care ethics and vice versa. An action that is just, fair, and right may be the opposite of an action that is compassionate, sympathetic, and merciful. Think of real-life examples where it would be better to be merciful and other examples where it would be better to be just. To use an example from Christian literature, if the wages of sin is death and everyone sins, then justice is served by having everyone die. However, the sending of a savior supplants justice in favor of mercy. On the other hand, an example of when justice trumps mercy might be, in particular, child-rearing situations, where, if the child does not learn the natural negative consequences of his or her actions, he or she might repeat behavior that would be detrimental to his or her development.

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