Abstract

This thesis examines a mode of knowing that is contextual, narrative, dialogical and particularisitic, identified as the particularistic paradigm, by contrasting it with scientific objectivity and universalism in ethics. The particularistic paradigm is gender correlated with the practices of women, assumes a concept of the person as relational and interdependent, and is manifested in an ethic of care and a science informed by care exemplified by practices of certain scientist, e.g., Jane Goodall and Elizabeth Foe. Scientific objectivity and masculinity are demonstrated to be mutually reenforcing concepts. Universalism in ethics emphasizes abstraction and impartiality; it assumes a concept of the person that is autonomous, abstract, rational agent and reflects a male way of experiencing the world. The particularistic paradigm, sharing similarities with Gadamer's hermeneutic understanding and Aristotle's phronesis, represents a form of practice demanding skills and virtues, e.g. attentive love, that allows responsive and responsible knowledge of nature