Public and Private Sphere in the Ethics of Care: Transforming Social Space Through Care Relations
Overview
This essay examines Virginia Held's care ethics theory and the relationship between public and private spheres. The paper argues that Held presents a framework where the private sphere can serve as a model to redesign and transform public spaces, thereby bridging the traditionally opposing domains through principles of care and autonomy.
What this essay covers
- Introduction to care ethics and Held's theoretical framework
- Analysis of private sphere characteristics including autonomy and family relationships
- Examination of public sphere transformation through private sphere principles
- Discussion of cultural and temporal variations in public-private relationships
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Public and Private Sphere
In The Ethics of Care, Virginia Held presents a comprehensive overview of care ethics, its traits, and certain normative theories. The relationship between the public and private sphere centers on the idea that it is possible to transform the public sphere by redesigning it to align with private relationships. While the private is the opposite of the public sphere, Held argues that it is possible to transform the public space's social aspects to make it private. The private space is where an individual has the autonomy to choose without any limitations from external forces. The private sphere includes the family or the home premises (Held). Therefore, the two spheres in Held's perspective are related by virtue of their opposites and how public spaces can be redesigned to make them private. This is an essential aspect that reveals how the parameters showing the relationship between private and public spheres can vary based on culture and time. Issues that can never be addressed within the private sphere can also be publicized to offer effective solutions.
Works Cited
Held, Virginia. The ethics of care: Personal, political, and global. Oxford University Press, 2006.