Self-Sacrifice in Care: a Responsive Perspective

This book engages a debate on the ethics of care that evolves around the phenomenon of goodness without acknowledgment. Central to this investigation are care relations from a position that critically revaluates the intricate issues for the ethics of care: altruism and self-sacrifice, selflessness of care and lack of recognition. The inquiry opens a new perspective on self-sacrifice by drawing on the responsive phenomenology of Bernhard Waldenfels. Interpreting his description of the...
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This book engages a debate on the ethics of care that evolves around the phenomenon of goodness without acknowledgment. Central to this investigation are care relations from a position that critically revaluates the intricate issues for the ethics of care: altruism and self-sacrifice, selflessness of care and lack of recognition. The inquiry opens a new perspective on self-sacrifice by drawing on the responsive phenomenology of Bernhard Waldenfels. Interpreting his description of the relationship between self and Other and the experience of otherness changes our view of the ways in which we are connected with each other and of the reasons why we respect and care for each other to a point at which the self is at risk. This new approach is well-placed to strengthen both the ideal and the recognition of self-less care. By bringing together intense debates in care ethics and responsive phenomenology, Susanne Pohlmann profoundly enriches the ethics of care and its related discussions.