A “care ethics” developed out of feminism from a sense that an ethical standpoint more common to women had been left out of the traditional ethical philosophy that had been dominated by philosopher men.
Care ethics is more contextual and situation-specific, less generalizable and abstract than many other varieties of ethical philosophy. People are not seen as interchangeable, essentially equal, and autonomous, but as unique, validly special in different ways to different people, and necessarily enmeshed in a variety of crucial relationships. In contrast to “justice”-based ethics which has traditionally been seen as (ideally) impersonal and impartial, “care” is personal and person-specific.
It’s debatable whether care ethics is a variety of virtue ethics, but some virtues are particularly emphasized within it, including:
