Criteria Of Adequacy: The Ethics Of Care Theory

A moral theory is critiqued by reviewing the criteria of adequacy. The criteria of adequacy consist of three concepts: consistency with our considered moral judgements, consistency with the facts of moral life, and resourcefulness in moral problem-solving. A moral theory should obtain these concepts in order to be truly valuable. Therefore these concepts can be used to determine the importance of the theory of care ethics.

Criterion 1 asserts that within a moral theory, there should be a consistency with our moral judgements. Moral judgements, according to more dominant moral theories, are usually achieved when one puts aside biases and self-interests to make a moral decision. Therefore it is easy to assume that the ethics of care theory lacks criteria one, based on the fact that care ethics promote relations rather than impartiality. However the ethics of care theory is skeptical of universal rules and asserts that the “compelling moral claim of the particular other may be valid even when it conflicts with the requirement usually made by moral theories that moral judgments be universalizeable” (Vaughn 64). This can be proven plausible, when you think of the relationship between a mother and her child. A mother has a relationship with her child and therefore has a responsibility to care for

Unlike other moral theories which focus on individual interests or universal interests, ethics of care focuses on the grey area between these two interests. Those who believe in the ethics of care theory seek to “preserve or promote an actual human relation between themselves and particular others” (Vaughn 65). This means that when solving a moral problem, a person who follows ethics of care, does what will best suit the well-being of the person they are caring for, while at the same time looking out for their own