1. Feminism
Nel Noddings

2. Ethics and Feeling Hume: ethics depends on feeling
Is doesn’t imply ought
How do we get from is to ought? Feeling.
Feeling alone can motivate us to act.

3. Natural Caring A feeling necessary to ethical action is natural caring
Sometimes, we act on behalf of someone because we want to
Example: mother caring for her child

4. Ethical Caring Ethical caring isn’t itself natural
But it springs from memory of natural caring
“I must, but I don’t want to”—overcome by memory of natural caring, but recalling feeling of our own best moments
Ethical caring springs from two sentiments— natural caring and the memory of it

5. Ethical Ideal
“Our best picture of ourselves caring and being cared for”
Both constrained and attainable
Fully relational, built up in response to others

6. Commitment “I must”—I might reject it
Temptation: “I must” to “something must be done”
Then I do not care
Caring requires me to respond with an act of commitment

7. Comparison with Kant
Kant: there is one and only one unqualified good, a good will
But what is a good will?
Kant: (1) one that decides on the basis of universal considerations; (2) one that treats others with respect
Noddings defends another, common sense answer: (3) one that cares.

8. Consequences
Like Kant, this implies that consequences are not ethically important
What matters isn’t how well things turn out
So, what does matter?
What I considered
How fully I received the other
Whether my caring helped the other pursue projects

9. Source What’s the source of the initial “I must”?
It is immediate, and arises directly— like infant crying in the night
The source is natural