CHAPTER-5 THE RELATION BETWEEN HUMANISM, ECOFEMINISM AND CARE ETHICS

Transcription

1 CHAPTER-5 THE RELATION BETWEEN HUMANISM, ECOFEMINISM AND CARE ETHICS

2 CHAPTER-5 THE RELATION BETWEEN HUMANISM, ECOFEMINISM AND CARE ETHICS In this chapter we are going to discuss the meaning and types of humanism, then we will discuss the meaning and different views regarding care ethics and lastly, we will link ecofeminism with humanism and care ethics. At present an excessive use of natural resources and an uncompassionate attitude towards the natural world have resulted in ecological deterioration. Due to man s violent, uncompassionate and destructive attitude towards women and nature, the world today has become unsuitable for habitation. Ecofeminists are concerned with the growth, development and harmony of all life forms on earth. Since women bring forth life, so women s caring, compassionate and empathic attitudes toward all life both human and non-human natural world will preserve the integrity and harmony of all life on earth. 5.1 Meaning and Types of Humanism According to Concise Oxford English Dictionary, the word humanism is explained as a rationalistic outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Eliza Steelwater defines humanism as any philosophical perspective that assigns preeminent value to human 70

3 beings, their experiences, their interests, and their rights. 1 In the words of Corliss Lamont, In its primary connotation Humanism means simply human-being-ism, that is, devotion of the interests of human beings, wherever they live and whatever their status. 2 Thus, we find that in humanism, humans are the source of all value. Now, we will give here a brief sketch of the different types of humanism. Renaissance Humanism originated in Italy during the thirteenth century. Later in the sixteenth century Renaissance humanism spread to the rest of Europe. According to Paul Oskar Kristeller (1961), the word humanism is related with the Renaissance. In 1808, the word Humanismus was coined by the German educator, F. J. Niethammer to describe a secondary education that emphasized on the Greek and Latin classics, as distinct from practical and scientific education. The word Humanismus was derived from the term humanista or humanist which referred to the teachers or students of the humanities in the sixteenth century. In the words of Paul Oskar Kristeller, The word, to judge from its earliest appearance known so far, seems to have originated in the student slang of the Italian universities, where the professor of the humanities came to be called umanista, after the analogy of his colleagues in the older disciplines, to whom the terms legista, jurista, canonista, and artista had been applied for several centuries. 3 The word humanista was derived from studia humanitatis or humanities meaning a literary education of the Romans. But the term studia humanitatis in the first half of the fifteenth century referred to an education that emphasized on the Greek and Latin classics which includes grammar, rhetoric, moral philosophy, history and poetry. Paul Oskar 1 Steelwater, Eliza (1998): Humanism, in Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics, Ruth Chadwick (ed.), Volume-2, Academic Press, UK, USA, p Lamont, Corliss (1952): Humanism As A Philosophy, Third Edition, C.A. Watts & Co. Ltd., London, p Kristeller, Paul Oskar (1961): The Humanist Movement, in Renaissance Thought, The Classic, Scholastic, and Humanist Strains, Harper & Row Publishers, New York and Evanston, p

4 Kristeller defines Renaissance humanism as a characteristic phase in what may be called the rhetorical tradition in Western culture. 4 The prominent Renaissance humanists were Francis Petrarch ( ), Coluccio Salutati ( ), Leonardo Bruni ( ), Lorenzo Valla ( ), Poggio Bracciolini, Francesco Barbaro, Leone Battista Alberti ( ), Giannozzo Manetti, Marsilio Ficino ( ), Michel de Montaigne ( ) etc. According to Eliza Steelwater (1998), Renaissance humanism emphasizes on reason and affirms the worth of human beings. Enlightenment Humanism arose during the seventeenth century. The prominent Enlightenment humanists were Voltaire ( ), David Hume ( ), Rousseau ( ), Montesquieu ( ), D Alembert ( ) etc. According to John C. Luik (1998), Enlightenment humanists do not believe in God. Enlightenment humanism emphasizes on reason and science and believes that reason has the power to produce truth, autonomy and equality. Enlightenment humanism emphasizes on human compassion and the freedom and autonomy of human beings. Pragmatic Humanism was propounded by William James ( ), Charles Pierce ( ) and John Dewey ( ). According to John C. Luik (1998), Pragmatic humanism agrees with Enlightenment humanists belief in human primacy, reason and science but rejects Enlightenment humanists view that reason is an unchanging and defining essence of human nature and on the nature of human freedom. 5 4 Kristeller, Paul Oskar (1961): The Humanist Movement, in Renaissance Thought, The Classic, Scholastic, and Humanist Strains, Harper & Row Publishers, New York and Evanston, p Luik, John C. (1998): Humanism, in Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Edward Craig (ed.), Volume-4, Routledge, London and New York, p

5 Existentialist Humanism was propounded by Jean-Paul Sartre ( ). Existentialists emphasize on the free will of human beings. According to John C. Luik (1998), Existentialist humanists are sceptical about Enlightenment humanists belief in the primacy of reason but Existentialist Humanism affirms Enlightenment humanists emphasis on the autonomy and freedom of human beings. Heideggerian Humanism was formulated by Martin Heidegger ( ). John C. Luik (1998) stated that Heideggerian humanists reject Enlightenment humanists view because it mistakenly locates human essence in the rational animality of persons, and thus fails to recognize that the genuine source of human essence is in existence, in the human s primordial relationship with Being. 6 Naturalistic Humanism was propounded by Corliss Lamont. According to Corliss Lamont (1952), humanism is a philosophy of joyous service for the greater good of all humanity in this natural world and according to the methods of reason and democracy. 7 Corliss Lamont (1952) stated that Naturalistic humanism rejects supernaturalism and focuses on a naturalist cosmology, and believes that man is a part of nature. Naturalistic humanism emphasizes on reason, science and democracy. Thus, the Naturalistic humanism is also called as Democratic humanism or Secular humanism or Scientific humanism. The aim of Naturalistic humanism is the freedom, happiness and welfare of human beings. According to Corliss Lamont, there are twelve kinds of democracy which are interconnected. These are as follows, political democracy, civil liberties, democracy under the law, economic democracy, organizational democracy, social democracy, cultural and educational 6 Luik, John C. (1998): Humanism, in Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Edward Craig (ed.), Volume-4, Routledge, London and New York, p Lamont, Corliss (1952): Humanism As A Philosophy, Third Edition, C.A. Watts & Co., Ltd., London, p

6 democracy, religious and philosophic democracy, democracy between the sexes, the democracy of age, racial or ethnic democracy and lastly, international democracy. The prominent Naturalistic humanists were Morris R. Cohen, Albert Elnstein ( ), Julian Huxley etc. Thus, in summarizing these above mentioned kinds of humanism, we find that humanism focuses on the welfare of humanity. We find that humanism is centered on human dignity, freedom and happiness. Now, before linking feminism with these different types of humanism, we will briefly discuss the connection between feminism and ecofeminism. According to feminists, patriarchy or androcentrism is the cause of the oppression of women. According to ecofeminists, patriarchy or androcentrism is not only the cause of the oppression of women but is also the cause of the exploitation of nature. The aim of both feminism and ecofeminism is to eradicate patriarchal structure from the society. We now discuss in brief about the relation between humanism and feminism. We find that humanism is concerned with the welfare of humans. And feminism is concerned with the rights and status of women. Here, we will link each of these varieties of humanism with feminism. Starting with the Renaissance humanism, we find that feminism agrees with Renaissance humanists emphasis on the worth of humans because feminists focus on the value of both women and men. Since, the worth of women is emphasized in Renaissance humanism so, the evils of a bias perception gets modified in the philosophy of Renaissance humanism. But feminism rejects Renaissance humanists emphasis on reason because Renaissance humanists exclude the importance of emotion. On the other hand, feminism rejects Enlightenment humanists belief in reason and science. 74

7 Feminism supports freedom and equality of both women and men. The Enlightenment humanism emphasizes on the autonomy and equality of reason and it is not difficult to see that this autonomy and equality will be free of biases towards women. Similarly, feminism not only rejects Pragmatic humanists emphasis on reason and science but also discards Pragmatic humanists focus on the rejection of the autonomy and freedom of human beings. Feminism affirms with Existentialist humanists focus on the freedom and free will of human beings. According to feminists, subjugation of the free will of women resulted in their domination. It is popularly believed that Heidegger did not have anything to contribute to the issues that feminism was engaged in. The general view that ontology is gender neutral and is not concerned with feminine condition. Heidegger talks of being there we find ourselves thrown into the world. Our cognitive and experiencing world is a consequence of the confrontation between the world and human existence. In coming to terms with the world we are drawn to involve other agents and thus we engage in Heideggerian term, solicitous concern for others this is what Heidegger calls Caring (Sorge). This others refers to some other human in relation to the self. No tinge of gender can be traced in the other. Thus, we hold that the notion of Care was not alien to Heidegger but he used it in completely different context. This notion is very close to humanism where concern for others is taken into account. Viewed from this perspective Heidegger in a wider sense had taken into account the feminist issue. And lastly, feminism agrees with Naturalistic humanists focus on the freedom and happiness of human beings but rejects Naturalistic humanists emphasis on reason and science. We find here that Enlightenment humanism, Pragmatic humanism and Naturalistic humanism emphasizes on science. As far as science is concerned 75

8 feminists have diverse interest. Science has come up with tools for understanding nature. Science has provided basic know how to improve the quality of life of women in terms of heath, hygiene, sanitation and other amenities. These application of science apart, the feminist epistemology studies the way in which gender ought to influence our conception of knowledge. However, this is not a topic of discussion under this dissertation. The influence of science in the life of modern women is undeniable it totally takes care of the quality of her life. Here, it is important to note that each variety of humanism is just towards the issue of oppression of women. There is an uniform treatment towards man and woman underlying in all forms of humanism. The notions of freedom, autonomy, equality etc. apply to human being as such. 5.2 Meaning and Different views regarding Care Ethics In the previous section we have discussed the meaning and types of humanism. We find that the goal of humanism is the welfare of humans. In this section we will briefly discuss the meaning of care ethics and then we will analyze the viewpoints of care ethicists. According to Concise Oxford English Dictionary, the word care is explained as feel concern or interest or feel affection or liking. Thus, care is also an essential component for the welfare and well-being of humans. The relationship of human beings with each other should be based on care. Carol Gilligan, a psychologist introduced the ethic of care in her book In a Different Voice, Psychological Theory and Women s Development in Carol Gilligan (1982) contrasted the different moral developments of males with females 76

9 and found that the moral judgements of males are based on justice while the moral judgements of females are based on care. Care ethics emerged with the moral responses of the females in the Heinz dilemma. Lawrence Kohlberg (1981) constructed this Heinz dilemma to assess the moral developments of adolescent boys and girls. Examining all the moral judgements given by those boys and girls, Kohlberg stated that the responses of the boys are based on the conception of reason, justice and logic and therefore, concluded that boys are more morally matured than girls. But Carol Gilligan (1982) was dissatisfied with Kohlberg s theory of moral development because it is male-biased. Gilligan (1982) re-examined the moral judgements offered by Jake and Amy to the Heinz dilemma. In the Heinz dilemma, a man named Heinz could not afford to buy a drug to save his wife s life, who was suffering from a disease. This dilemma was presented to the adolescent boys and girls for their responses to the question as whether or not Heinz should steal the drug, inorder to assess their moral judgements. Jake, an eleven year old boy responded that Heinz should steal the drug because life is more valuable than property. Jake responded: For one thing, a human life is worth more than money, and if the druggist only makes $1,000, he is still going to live, but if Heinz doesn t steal the drug, his wife is going to die. (Why is life worth more than money?) Because the druggist can get a thousand dollars later from rich people with cancer, but Heinz can t get his wife again. (Why not?) Because people are all different and so you couldn t get Heinz s wife again. 8 Whereas, on the other hand, Amy, an eleven year old girl, responded that Heinz should not steal the drug but should find out another way to arrange money like borrowing from others inorder to buy the drug. 8 Gilligan, Carol (1982): In a Different Voice, Psychological Theory and Women s Development, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, p

10 Gilligan (1982) found that Amy s response was different from Jake s response. Amy responded: If he stole the drug, he might save his wife then, but if he did, he might have to go to jail, and then his wife might get sicker again, and he couldn t get more of the drug, and it might not be good. So, they should really just talk it out and find some other way to make the money. 9 According to Gilligan, Amy s response focuses on care and connection. Instead of viewing the world comprised of people standing apart and separated, Amy views the world comprised of people related and connected with each other. In the words of Carol Gilligan, Her world is a world of relationships and psychological truths where an awareness of the connection between people gives rise to a recognition of responsibility for one another, a perception of the need for response. 10 Gilligan (1982) stated that Amy s response shows a different way of solving moral problem. Amy interpreted the dilemma to a network of connection, a web of relationships that is sustained by a process of communication. 11 By comparing the moral responses of the males with the moral responses of the females, Carol Gilligan stated that the moral responses of girls and women focus on care, relationships, interdependence, interconnection and emotion. So, Gilligan concludes that girls and women solve moral problems as centering on care, emotion and connection which Gilligan identifies with moral maturity. Whereas, on the other hand, the moral responses of boys and men focus on justice, logic and reason and they set themselves alone, independent, disconnected and separated in the world. Thus, Gilligan propounded the ethic of care as a distinct voice of women. Gilligan describes this 9 Ibid., p Ibid., p Ibid., p

11 distinct voice of women as moral and relational. Thus, this paved the way for care ethics. Nel Noddings s (1984) ethic of care is also known as relational ethics. Noddings maintains that caring takes place between two individuals, the one-caring or the carer and the cared-for. The one-caring or the carer is the one who gives care and the cared-for is the one who receives care. Noddings stated that the onecaring or the carer manifests the characteristics of engrossment and motivational displacement which are essential for caring. Engrossment refers to the receptiveness and attentiveness of the carer which are required to understand the needs of the cared-for. Motivational displacement refers to the motivation of the carer as directed towards the needs of the cared-for. Noddings focuses on caring as a reciprocal act. Joan Tronto (2005) maintains that care is a practice and emphasizes on the moral attributes of care. Tronto recognized that there are four features of care. These are caring about or noticing the need to care in the first place, taking care of or assuming responsibility for care, care-giving or the actual work of care that needs to be done and care-receiving or the response of that which is cared for to the care. Tronto stated that the four moral aspects of care arises from the above four features of care. These are attentiveness, responsibility, competence, and responsiveness. Tronto stated that in caring, attentiveness that is, recognizing the needs of others that is to be cared about is the first moral aspect of caring. Caring begins with this moral aspect of caring. The second moral aspect of caring is responsibility. According to Tronto, responsibility is a term that is embedded in a set of implicit cultural practices, rather than in a set of formal rules or series of 79

12 promises. 12 The third important moral aspect of caring is competence. In caregiving, performing the work of caring competence is required. Responsiveness is the fourth moral aspect of caring. Responsiveness implies attentiveness to the needs of others and considers the needs of others from the perspective of the other. Responsiveness as Tronto states, signals an important moral problem within care: by its nature, care is concerned with conditions of vulnerability and inequality. 13 Tronto maintains that the analysis of the processes of care reveals that all the four ethical aspects of care evolved from the four features of care are linked with each other into a whole. Vrinda Dalmiya like Nel Noddings, describes caring as a dyadic relation between an ordered pair of individuals, called respectively, the one caring (or alternatively, the carer or caregiver) and the cared for. 14 According to Dalmiya (2008), there are five aspects of caring. These are caring about, caring for, taking care, reciprocating care or care reception and caring about care. Vrinda Dalmiya stated that caring begins when someone (the cared-for) begins to matter for someone else (the one-caring). 15 This aspect of care is caring about. With this aspect of caring about three kinds of the transformations of the self that is, an attitudinal, a volitional and a reflective transformation gets involved. According to Dalmiya, in caring for, a reorientation of interests takes place. In caring for, this attitudinal transformation helps to understand the cared-for through empathy. Dalmiya stated that a volitional transformation involved in taking care introduces the idea of trust and aims at the good of the cared-for in accordance with the viewpoints of the 12 Tronto, Joan (2005): An Ethic of Care, in Feminist Theory, A Philosophical Anthology, Ann E. Cudd and Robin O. Andreasen (eds.), Blackwell Publishing Ltd., UK, USA, Australia, p Ibid., p Dalmiya, Vrinda (2008): Care and its (Dis)Contents, in Jadavpur Journal of Philosophy, Volume 18, Number 1, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, p Ibid., p

13 cared-for. Vrinda Dalmiya stated that in caring, the carer needs the recognition of her efforts from the cared-for and this makes the caring relation inter-personal. Again, the caring relation is reciprocal when in return the cared-for care-for the carer. This aspect of care is reciprocating care or care reception. In the words of Vrinda Dalmiya, Care reception, thus, creates an avenue to register the reactions, approvals and even disapprovals of the cared-for and thereby, makes her an active participant in sustaining and crafting the caring relation. 16 And lastly, Dalmiya stated that in caring when the carer cares about the cared-for, then the carer also cares about caring. This aspect of care is caring about care. According to Dalmiya, this caring about care is a reflexive process which implies a commitment to both the caring relationship and to the cared- for. In emphasizing this fifth aspect of care, Dalmiya stated that caring for another returns to focus on ones self. 17 Vrinda Dalmiya (2008) describes these five aspects of caring as an inter-relational practice. Thus, from all the views of care ethicists, we see that all of them focuses on the moral values of care. 5.3 Linking Ecofeminism with Humanism and Care Ethics In this section we will relate ecofeminism with humanism and care ethics. In discussing the relation between ecofeminism and humanism, we will link each of these different kinds of humanism with ecofeminism. Beginning with Renaissance humanism, we find that ecofeminism affirms with Renaissance humanists focus on the worth of human beings because ecofeminism emphasizes on the value of both 16 Ibid., p Ibid., p

14 women and men, but rejects Renaissance humanists belief in reason because Renaissance humanism excludes the significance of emotion. Ecofeminism agrees with Enlightenment humanists belief in human compassion, but discards Enlightenment humanists emphasis on reason and science. Ecofeminism affirms the freedom and equality of both women and men. For ecofeminists, the exclusion of women from the sphere of reason and science in the Western rationalist culture resembles the superiority of men. Ecofeminism rejects Pragmatic humanists emphasis on science and reason. Ecofeminism rejects Pragmatic humanists focus only on humans because ecofeminists are concerned with the value of both humans and non-humans. Ecofeminism affirms Existentialist humanists emphasis on the freedom, autonomy and free will of human beings. In Heideggerian humanism, Dasein is gender neutral. Hence, it seems from the Heideggerian humanism gender discrimination will not find a place here. Much is emphasized on the humanity as such. Here, ecofeminsim affirms with Heideggerian humanists. In linking ecofeminism with Naturalistic humanism, we find that ecofeminism affirms Naturalistic humanists emphasis on democracy and freedom but denies Naturalistic humanists emphasis on science and reason. Since, Naturalistic humanism focuses only on human happiness so, we find that Naturalistic humanism is anthropocentric. According to Lamont (1952), Naturalistic humanism emphasizes on the scientific method for the acquisition of knowledge. Corliss Lamont stated that the modern science enhances in broadening the area of knowledge, accelerating the process of invention and extending man s control over his environment. 18 Here, it is evident that men with the help of science exerts power over nature. Hence, here, we 18 Lamont, Corliss (1952): Humanism As A Philosophy, Third Edition, C.A. Watts & Co., Ltd., London, p

15 find that patriarchy is the cause of the domination and the destruction of nature. Ecofeminists believe that patriarchy or androcentrism is the source of the present ecological crisis. We know that scientific method provides new insight to man in viewing non-human nature. Because of scientific advancement men are providing treatment to ailing plants and animals which was unheard of in a non-scientific world. But we are not considering this topic in this dissertation. Thus, in linking ecofeminism with humanism, we see that humanism focuses on the interests, worth, dignity, welfare and happiness of humans only. On the other hand, ecofeminists are not only concerned with the welfare of humans but also of all life on earth. Hence, we can say that to maintain peace and harmony on earth and to make a more humane society, humanism must cultivate and extend its focus on nonhuman nature also. Regarding the relation between humanism and care ethics, it can be said that care ethics rejects humanists emphasis on reason but affirms humanists belief in human compassion, autonomy and freedom. On the other hand, humanism must incorporate moral values of care. Now, in discussing the relation between ecofeminism and care ethics, we will link the views of care ethicists with ecofeminism. By analysing all the views of care ethicists, we find that care ethics is not male-biased. Ecofeminism also believes in the elimination of male gender bias. Carol Gilligan (1982) in her ethic of care pointed out that boys and men locate themselves as separated and disconnected in the world. For ecofeminists, this feeling of disconnection and isolation separates men from both women and nature and gives men the power to control and dominate both women and nature. On the other hand, Nel Noddings (1984) in her ethic of care describes caring as a reciprocal relationship 83

16 that can takes place only between humans. Here, we can say that care should not be limited only between humans where reciprocal relationship can take place. But we should extend our care also to non-human nature. We know that ecofeminists believe in the interrelatedness of all life both human and non-human on earth and this is evident in the example of rock climbing given by Karen J. Warren. According to Karen J. Warren (1993b), in rock climbing, the climber has two different types of attitudes towards a rock. The climber has a conquering attitude when the climber focuses on reaching at the top. But on the other hand, the climber when climbs the rock with a feeling of respect has an attitude of care. This indicates that humans have two different attitudes towards non-human nature. Karen J. Warren (1993b) stated that an attitude of domination and conquer characterize a logic of domination which is an important feature of a patriarchal conceptual framework. Karen J. Warren desires for a felt sensitivity, that is, a sensitivity to conceiving of oneself as fundamentally in relationship with others, including the nonhuman environment. 19 Thus, we find that according to ecofeminists, one should see oneself in relationship with the non-human natural world. This relationship of the self with the other is based on care, love and respect. On the other hand, Joan C. Tronto (1995) posits care at the center of the life of humans and stated that care is a process and is holistic. Tronto stated that Although the analysis of care began with women s work and lives, I have argued that we make a mistake if we fail to generalize our analysis of care beyond gender. All humans must be engaged in care activities, both as receivers of care and, in most cases, also as care- 19 Warren, Karen J. (1993b): The Power and the Promise of Ecological Feminism, in Environmental Philosophy, From Animal Rights to Radical Ecology, Michael E. Zimmerman et al. (eds.), Prentice- Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, p

17 givers. 20 Tronto thus, analyses her ethic of care irrespective of difference in gender. Here, we find that the work of caring should not be ascribed only to women, but all human beings both women and men must indulge in caring relationship for making a more humane society. Now, we will try to find some points of similarity between care ethics and ecofeminism. We find that both care ethics and ecofeminism focuses on holism and emotion. Both care ethics and ecofeminism emphasizes on moral values. In the words of Karen J. Warren, Relationships of humans to the nonhuman environment are, in part, constitutive of what it is to be a human. 21 Thus, ecofeminism focuses on the interrelatedness and interdependence of all life on earth. Ecofeminists are concerned with the welfare and sustenance of all life both human and non-human natural world. Hence, care should not be limited between human beings only, rather care should be extended towards non-human nature also. Here, our aim is to promote mutual love, care and respect not only between human beings but also to extend care, compassion and respect towards non-human nature. This type of attitude will help in developing a society free from the oppression of women and the destruction of nature. 20 Tronto, Joan C. (1995): Care as a Basis for Radical Political Judgments, Hypatia, Volume 10, Number 2, Spring, p Warren, Karen J. (1993b) : The Power and the Promise of Ecological Feminism, in Environmental Philosophy, From Animal Rights to Radical Ecology, Michael E. Zimmerman et al. (eds.), Prentice- Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, p