Corona-crisis: is this a time for reflections on political consequences of this crisis, such as ‘lessons learned’? Or is it a time when the suffering and anxiety of many come so close to home that any kind of reflection could easily take the shape of a shortcut to new and ‘better principles for the world’?
Continue reading Looking at a cuckoo’s egg: Aspects of the corona-crisis in a Dutch contextCategory Archives: Blogs
Physical touch in caring
One morning, as I enter the closed ward for people with dementia, I come across an intensely frightened and distressed Clara. Sobbing and searching she wanders down the corridor. Almost instinctively, I take her in my arms, and she calms down.
During my studies to become a spiritual counsellor, emphasis was placed on learning conversation skills. Little attention was paid to the bodily aspects of this work, whereas, in my opinion, physical proximity in the care relationship is very important. Continue reading Physical touch in caring
Bach and Care Ethics
Has Bach got anything to do with care ethics? Yes, indeed, so I will argue. Although he was a composer of the Early Eighteenth Century, living in the context of protestant Germany, his sacred vocal work can be understood in a way that from a care ethical point of view still has significance for people in present-day society. Continue reading Bach and Care Ethics
The necessity of critique of the critique
Care ethics, originating from feminist theory, started off as a critical approach of what was (and is) perceived as a male oriented (neo)Kantian ethic, that relies on generalization of rules. Since then, care ethics has developed its own critical insights (into relationality etc.). Yet it has its weaknesses Continue reading The necessity of critique of the critique
Care Ethics and Precarity; a precarious notion
On September the 28th and 29th, in Portland (Oregon, USA), the Care Ethics Research Consortium (CERC) , initiated by Joan Tronto and Carlo Leget, organised its inaugural conference entitled –Care Ethics and Precarity– at the Portland State University. Continue reading Care Ethics and Precarity; a precarious notion
Political Repair in relation to Tronto’s political ethics of care
Political ethics, even strands professing to an expressive-collaborative model of morality, still assume that there is a common moral community with a set of shared default understandings, which are divested of public deliberation. Authors of the political difference between the political and apolitical politics propose a shift which puts the political struggle over whether there is a common community with common understandings center stage. Continue reading Political Repair in relation to Tronto’s political ethics of care