Ethical relationship

Ethical relationship

An ethical relationship, in most theories of ethics that employ the term, is a basic and trustworthy relationship that one has to another human being, that cannot necessarily be characterized in terms of any abstraction other than trust and common protection of each other's body. Honesty is very often a major focus.

Basics

Usually the most basic of these relationships studied is that between the mother and child, and second most basic is between sexual partners — the focus of feminism and Queer theory respectively, where relationships are central. Family role theory extends this to study paternalistic, maternalistic and sibling roles, and postulates that one's later relationships are formed largely in order to fill the roles one has grown to find comfortable as part of one's family environment - the family of origin thus setting pattern for the family of choice.

Contrasting Theories

As contrasted to theories of ethics that derive from social dispute resolution, or the meta-ethics as defined in Western moral philosophy, ethical traditions emphasizing abstract moral codes expressed in some language with some judgemental hierarchy, ethical relationship theories tend to emphasize human development. Thus they focus on unequal power and such matters as sexual honesty, marital commitment, child-raising, and responsibility to conduct such essential body and care matters as toilet training, weaning, forming attitudes to sexuality and to masturbation. Failures to consider consequences of teachings or examples set in these matters is disastrous, as it leads to failures of the most fundamental relationship any person has: to their own body, shame in it, pride in it, care for it, etc. Care and concern for other's bodies follows.

No ethical tradition has failed to prescribe at least some rules for the conduct of such relationships.

Carol Gilligan famously championed the role of relationships as central to moral reasoning, and superior as a basis for understanding human choices than any prior linguistic or meta-ethical concept (see ethic of care). Lawrence Kohlberg, her colleague famous for work on moral development as a part of human development, had reservations, but eventually joined her in starting a descriptive ethics of relationship conduct in what they called the ethical community or just community: This was in effect a community of practice which, at least in Kohlberg's conception, had a core epistemic community of those trusted to define and resolve the disputes between members, and to facilitate the growth of moral development: not only in children, but prisoners and others. Their democratic educational interventions are still the standard against which all work in ethical relationship psychology is measured. However they did not reconcile the different approaches to moral development they took to the project, rather, they played quite different roles in the interventions.

Donald R. C. Reed, whose Following Kohlberg: Liberalism and the Practice of Democratic Community, 1998, outlined the extension of these principles to that of deliberative democracy, claims that "During the four years following publication of Gilligan's In a Different Voice, (1982), Kohlberg and Gilligan both revised their accounts of moral development so that they converged far more than is commonly recognized." He argues for "extending this convergence to include the understanding developed in the just community projects."

There is also potential for application of these methods to ethical tradition. Kohlberg's student Burton Visotzky, for instance, in The Genesis of Ethics, 1997, applied the relationship approach to Ethics in the Bible. The book focuses on the choices and interactions of major characters in the Book of Genesis. Visotzky exploits much of the Talmudic, midrash and magisterium, demonstrating that these Jewish theological traditions too had often focused on the ethical relationship, not only between Man and God, but between others in one's family, tribe or community.

Mohandas Gandhi, Confucius, Menno Simons and Baruch Spinoza are examples of figures in moral philosophy and political philosophy who focused first and foremost on the ethical choices made in the actual framing and encounter of moral interventions. Greens and New Confucians are two examples of modern movements that are derived in part from relational traditions.

See also


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ethical dilemma — An Ethical dilemma is a complex situation that will often involve an apparent mental conflict between moral imperatives, in which to obey one would result in transgressing another. This is also called an ethical paradox since in moral philosophy …   Wikipedia

  • ETHICAL LITERATURE — (Heb. סִפְרוּת הַמּוּסָר, sifrut ha musar). There is no specific ethical literature as such in the biblical and talmudic period insofar as a systematic formulation of Jewish ethics is concerned. Even the wisdom literature of the Bible, though… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Ethical implications in contracts — When creating a contract, a negotiator is not only doing so to reach an agreement between two or more parties, but to create an agreement that is durable; whereby parties of the contract are legally bound and committed to its promises (Wade and… …   Wikipedia

  • Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 — The Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 (2000 asp 7) [Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000: cite web|title=Full text of the Act |url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2000/plain/asp… …   Wikipedia

  • Ethical Sensory Introvert — The Ethical Sensory Introvert, ESI, ISFj, the Guardian, Theodore Dreiser, or types. The Ethical Sensory Introvert is a rational, introverted, static type whose leading functions are introverted ethics and extroverted sensing.Model A Ego block… …   Wikipedia

  • Relationship between religion and science — Part of a series on Science …   Wikipedia

  • Ethical Sensory Extrovert — The Ethical Sensory Extrovert, ESE, ESFj, the Enthusiast, Victor Hugo, or types. The Ethical Sensory Extrovert is a rational, extroverted, dynamic type whose leading functions are extroverted ethics and introverted sensing.Model A Ego block With… …   Wikipedia

  • Equal power relationship — Peacemaking and feminist theory coined the term equal power relationship to describe a situation in which neither partner had a clear power over the other. It has since come into more general use.Perception and reinforcement of an equal power… …   Wikipedia

  • Nurse-client relationship — The nurse–client relationship in Hildegard E. Peplau s Interpersonal Relations Model theory is essential to nursing practice. It is the nurse–client interaction that is toward enhancing the client s well being, and the client may be an individual …   Wikipedia

  • New relationship energy — (often abbreviated as NRE) is a state of mind experienced at the beginning of most significant sexual and romantic relationships, typically involving heightened emotional and sexual receptivity and excitement. It begins with the earliest… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”