Abstract

My dissertation establishes a philosophical framework that supports an ethic of care as introduced by Carol Gilligan's study, In a Different Voice. My model, while supporting the 'silent voices' of women, is not an attempt to replace the existing model with a feminine one. Instead, asserting that an ethic of care by working with the traditional ethic of rights, can complement or challenge the traditional voices comprising the moral conversation without falling back on the existing dualisms that mold the current masculine thinking. By reading the traditional interpretation of morality as Kantian, my re-interpretation provides a thoughtful reading of Kant while showing in what areas this theoretical stance prove beneficial to the moral conversation. ;Turning to the moral writings of David Hume and John Dewey, two philosophers from within the tradition, both of whom counter the Kantian approach, I find the possibility for alternate models of moral decision-making. I maintain that despite the benefits Hume's thinking might provide for an ethic of care, he re-inforces the old associations and the accepted oppositions , thereby perpetuating the existing reliance on artificially constructed dualisms. For this reason, I turn to the writings of John Dewey, who views morality as a problem-solving-process. Viewing morality in such a way, allows for the self-reflexivity needed to accommodate a dynamic relationship as required for an ethic of care. ;In keeping with Dewey's thinking, I argue that the 'whole of experience' can be expressed through art-experience, as opposed to the intellectual endeavor, which limits experience to an intellectual pursuit. Used as a tool, in the problem-solving-process, the art-experience from my perspective becomes an alternative process for moral decision-making by opening the moral discussion to a broader, more inclusive range of human interaction. Such a tool, in addition to offering an alternative methodology of moral decision-making, which enhances the overall moral discussion, is particularly useful to women as they redefine themselves and re-interpret their roles in society. For me, women writing women is an exercise which may open a space for an ethic of care