Ethics of Care: Analysis of Teleological and Deontological Ethics

This assignment presents an essay on the ethics of care, a feminist philosophical approach emphasizing the importance of relationships and care in moral decision-making. The essay contrasts the ethics of care with deontological and teleological ethical systems, highlighting the differences in their principles and applications. It explores how the ethics of care prioritizes the consequences of actions and the well-being of individuals, contrasting with deontological ethics, which focuses on adherence to universal rules. The essay uses examples from medicine and public relations to illustrate the practical implications of these different ethical frameworks. Furthermore, the assignment includes an annotated bibliography of relevant sources, providing definitions and discussions of ethics of care, as well as its application in various fields, such as medicine, public administration, and public relations.

Running head: ETHICS OF CARE 1
Ethics of Care
Name
Institution

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Part A. Annotated Bibliography
Dunn, C., & Burton, B. (2020). Ethics of care | ethics, and philosophy. Retrieved 21 April
2020, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/ethics-of-care
In this online article, the two scholars attempt to define the ethics of care as seen in
philosophical and contemporary real-life situations. In this article, the scholars define ethics
of care as feminist philosophical approaches that relate day to day actions to morality.
Throughout the article, the scholars attempt to discuss the characteristics of ethics of care and
also identifies the differences between ethics of care and deontological, utilitarian and justice
ethical theories.
Mandal, J., Ponnambath, D. K., & Parija, S. C. (2016). Utilitarian and deontological ethics in
medicine. Tropical Parasitology, 6(1), 5.
This article attempts to show the concept of ethics of care as practiced in the medical
field. Throughout the article, the scholars analyze the ethics of care as practiced by medical
practitioners. In what they term as medical ethics, the scholars assert that medical
practitioners have to balance the outlined obligations and duties with the humane moral
standards to achieve appropriate outcomes.
Paquette, M., Sommerfeldt, E. J., & Kent, M. L. (2015). Do the ends justify the means?
Dialogue, development communication, and deontological ethics. Public Relations
Review, 41(1), 30-39.
In this article, the scholars attempt to differentiate the main components and
principles of deontological ethical systems. In this article, the author is more concerned about
investigating whether the common teleological phrase “the ends justify the means” holds in
the field of public relations. In this paper, the scholars specifically aim to discuss how public

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relations leaders establish deontological ethical standards in their dialogues, verbal
exchanges, and communication.
Pols, J. (2015). Towards an empirical ethics in care: Relations with technologies in health
care. Medicine, Health Care, and Philosophy, 18(1), 81-90.
In this peer-reviewed article, the scholar is poised to define the theoretical concepts
between empirical ethics and ethics of care in health care systems. The paper tends to suggest
that health practitioners can integrate empirical ethics with care ethics to achieve the best
outcomes in healthcare. The scholars assert that “good” care is essential in ensuring positive
outcomes in hospitals and health centers.
Stensöta, H. O. (2015). Public ethics of care—A general public ethics. Ethics and social
welfare, 9(2), 183-200.
In this article, the scholar is more concerned to analyze and examine ethics of care as
evident in politics, public administration, and public policy. In the article, the scholar gives
examples of how ethics of care are manifested in how politicians use ethics of care to promise
appropriate welfare programs and administration to their subjects.

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Part B: Essay
Popularly referred to as feminist ethics, ethics of care are categorized in the
teleological ethical system. A teleological ethical system is composed of sets of moral
standards and principles which tend to support the claim that the end product of action is
superior to the processes involved when performing a duty. Ethics of care normally functions
against deontological ethics which prioritizes the need to focus on the processes involved
when performing a duty to the end product of an action. In essence, while teleological ethics
are summarized by the phrase "the ends justify the means", Immanuel Kant's deontological
ethics affirm that that "the means justify the ends" (Paquette, et al., 2015). Ethics of care tend
to suggest that humans should care for others, regardless of the rights, justice, and rules that
define the society (UvA ComScience Microlectures, 2017). Whereas deontological ethics
emphasize the need to comply with a universal set of standards, ethics of care, similar to
other normative and teleological ethical theories that tend to value the importance of
appropriate response that bestows the value for humanity (The Audiopedia, 2017).
Considering that ethics of care are more concerned about the outcomes of human action
towards care for humanity, these theories can be categorized in the teleological ethical
systems rather than the deontological ethical systems.
In Kantian deontological ethics, adherence to a certain set of rules that are constrained
by morally approved rights is considered to be the definition of ethics. However, the ethics of
care are not much concerned about universal rights. The main issue in the ethics of care
surrounds the consequences of an action. An example of ethics of care surrounds the ethical
grounds held by doctors and medics in their moral obligation to care and protect human life
(Mandal, et al., 2016). Although there are rules that suggest that doctors should protect
human life as derived from the Hippocratic Oath, doctors usually follow the moral instinct to

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preserve human life. In this case, the protection of human life is seen as a good consequence
of doctors’ moral need to practice care for human life.
In their article, Dunn & Burton (2020) assert that the contrast in ethics of care and
deontological ethics is sharp both in principle and practice. Whereas deontological ethics are
more concerned with the universal rules and guidelines in our day-to-day actions of duty,
ethics of care are more concerned about attaching virtue and moral sentiments from the
outcomes and consequences of our actions. In their article, whereas the scholars argue that
ethics of care suggest that individuals are supposed to act as per what can be judged to be
morally good, rather than what are the universal rules. Using an analogy, assume that an
individual meets an injured murderer, who is almost dying. Although the entire society may
be demanding that the dying murderer should be killed, it is unlikely that a moral person can
kill the dying murderer, let alone, living him to die. An individual is likely to be guided by
his/her compassion and care towards human life. An individual will likely have to assume the
universal rights and rules, and rather, take the dying murderer to hospital.

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References
Dunn, C., & Burton, B. (2020). Ethics of care | ethics and philosophy. Retrieved 21 April
2020, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/ethics-of-care
Mandal, J., Ponnambath, D. K., & Parija, S. C. (2016). Utilitarian and deontological ethics in
medicine. Tropical parasitology, 6(1), 5.
Paquette, M., Sommerfeldt, E. J., & Kent, M. L. (2015). Do the ends justify the means?
Dialogue, development communication, and deontological ethics. Public Relations
Review, 41(1), 30-39.
The Audiopedia (2017, February 20). What is ETHICS OF CARE? What does ETHICS OF
CARE mean? ETHICS OF CARE meaning & explanation [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvrNdr5L_5Y&feature=youtu.be
Uva ComScience Microlectures, (2017, October 5). Alternative Paradigms: Care Ethics and
Feminine Ethics [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=4iaCpAFypq8&feature=youtu.be