Abstract

In my dissertation, I examine an ethic of care through the lens of professional nursing. First, I review the work done by Carol Gilligan, Nel Noddings, Sara Ruddick and Joan Tronto towards the development of an ethic of care. Second, I review the social and historical development of the nursing profession in the United States. Third, I explore the meaning of care-giving through qualitative interviews with working nurses. I find that nursing provides a particularly compelling example of the dilemma of powerless responsibility, inherent in care-giving work in our society. I develop a feminist understanding of care, grounded in a thorough understanding of the concrete realities of care-giving work. I argue that in order to affirm the moral value of care, an ethic of care must take these concrete realities seriously. An ethic of care grounded in care-giving work challenges the powerless responsibility of care-givers, and the inequitable distribution of care-giving in our society