Vulnerability: New Essays in Ethics and Feminist Philosophy

by Catriona MacKenzie (Editor), Wendy Rogers (Editor), Susan Dodds (Editor)

The aim of this volume is to open up reflection on the nature of vulnerability, the responsibilities owed to the vulnerable, who bears these responsibilities, and how they are best fulfilled. In canvassing responses to these questions, the contributors engage with a range of ethical traditions and with issues in contemporary political philosophy and bioethics. Some essays in the volume explore the connections between vulnerability, autonomy, dignity, and justice. Other essays engage with a feminist ethics of care to articulate the relationship between vulnerability, dependence, and care. These theoretical approaches are complemented by detailed examination of vulnerability in specific contexts, including disability; responsibilities to children; intergenerational justice; and care of the elderly. The essays thus address fundamental questions concerning our moral duties to each other as individuals and as citizens. Contributing significantly to the development of an ethics of
vulnerability, this volume opens up promising avenues for future research in feminist philosophy, moral and political philosophy, and bioethics.

Genres: Philosophy, Feminism

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Joseph Sverker]

A very, very interesting book that takes vulnerability as a fundamental starting point for what it is to be human. This book mainly then explores the ethical consequences of that ontological assumption. Many important insights here.

[Sofia_cc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very intriguing to gain so many new perspectives on vulnerability.