Some Points on Post-Modernism and Feminism Marc J. Roberts ID 250 December 3, 2008

Alternative Meta-Ethical Arguments About the Justification of Ethics Supernatural source—e.g. divine revelation Natural source—found in the world from history, psychology, human nature etc. Internal source--human emotion, intuition, or reason Post-modernism—there is no way to “justify” ethics

Views About the Relationships Among Science,Ethics and Art Kant: all three are distinct forms of “knowledge” Realism: Science and ethics are both empirical, art is not. Moderate post-modernism: Ethics is like art, science is different Extreme post-modernism: Not even science is like science—it is all art.

Post-Modernism and Relativism Some post-modernists are relativists but not all Someone can say “X would make for a better world and you all should do that” even if they cannot prove they are correct Rorty would argue that there are standards “internal” to a line of thinking— followers of a particular approach can make arguments analogous to artistic criticism

Post-Modern Arguments Since ethics are created not found, no compelling “foundational” arguments are available Convincing non-believers is a matter of “prophesy” and “poetry” The task is to create interest, followed by empathy and sympathy, to excite enthusiasm and elicit commitment

Post-Modernism and Deconstruction Deconstruction is an approach to the analysis of language that seeks to understand the unconscious and social structural reasons for terms and categories For example, why do we study the history of mankind, respect the head of state or consider firm and upright behavior moral? The most aggressive deconstructionists are extreme post-modernisms

Perspectives on Feminism Feminism may be best understood as a social movement that has relied on various ethical ideas: rights, consequences, communitarian vision etc. Feminists also vary in their meta-ethics Some modern feminists consider themselves post-modernists and some of those are deconstructionists, but not all

Feminist Criticisms of Western Moral Philosophy Totally ignores family life: children, aging, relationships and responsibilities Reflects the fact it was written by privileged men who did not take those aspects of life seriously Many of the distinctions reflect a “fragmenting” rather than “synthasizing” intellectual style

“Ethics of Care” as a Form of Feminism The perspective is non-impartial, non- calculating consequentialism It recognizes relationships imply special responsibilities It seeks to account for all aspects of a person and their circumstances: opportunities, capacities and well being It asks us to view all affected by a policy as our children or grandchildren