As commemorated on our website, care-ethicist Frans Vosman passed away on June 10th, 2020. He leaves us his intellectual heritage. Here we highlight an article featuring in a recently published book, as part of the peer-reviewed Series Ethics of Care.

The book in case is tome 8 of this series, Ethics of Care: the State of the Art. In his contribution to the book Vosman presents a “critical carthography” (using an expression of Rosi Braidotti) of care ethics. One might say, his intention was to take stock of what the different voice of care ethics has brought us. Thus performing “critical cartography” as he called this undertaking.

Frans Vosman addresses in his contribution a pivotal question concerning the ethics of care, whether as a critical theory it will be able to stand the test of time. He devotes the first part of his article to the substantive features of care ethics; its base and critical insights. He then gives the disciplinary outlines; what kind of approach is the ethics of care. In the final part, titled “Uneasy conversations”, he illustrates by way of examples, the way in which a further development of the ethics of care will be halted by an aporia and a void. He concludes with a roadmap for a self-critical ethics of care. Along this path the ethics of care may get away from the aporia and void and be developed further.

Then, what does it mean, to connect the outcome of Vosman’s critical cartography to the term “disenchantment”? For an answer to that question we advise you to read the article. For those who would like to read it in the shape of a book, or who have become curious as to the entire publication: the book may be ordered directly from Peeters Publishers or through Amazon.

(Introduction by Brecht Molenaar)

Read the article here